4 comments about Everything You Need to Know About Building the Custom Home: How to Be Your Own General Contractor.

1. This book covers both house buying and working with contractors. Do not be put off by its title; I would recommend it even if you are buying a standard house or building an addition to your existing house.

   Although it seems to be very specific to building a new custom house, in fact it gives excellent advice on all phases of buying a house or lot (including evaluating it, bargaining, financing, etc.) as well as finding contractors, negotiating with them, etc. It assumes you are going to be your own general contractor, but even if you are not, its advice is pertinent and useful.

   Some of the discussions of contracts and payment schedules may seem a bit nit-picky, but you ought to read "The Home Remodeler's Combat Manual" to show why it can be necessary.

   I find it much better than Bob Vila's book on house buying, and also better than House Buying Step-by-Step (which was the best among the other books I found at the bookstore).

   It's unfortunate that its title makes its scope seem so narrow.

   (I wrote the above in 1995, and don't know if anything even better has come along since then.)




2. This book really went into detail on how to finance, how to choose a site, and a lot of other preparation processes for building a home. What it is severly lacking in is a detailed idea of how to schedule the home building process. It has a flow diagram, but does not have any detail behind each task. The most important piece of building a home in an established time is to know the order of when to schedule work; when to pick household items, colors, flooring, etc; when to install the septic system or run electricity; when to decide on the type of cabinets (stain or paint grade); etc. All of these items are critical to obtaining a quality home, at the lowest cost, in the quickest time possible. Many home builders are 1)delayed by the simple fact that they do not know about the steps until they are delaying the process and 2)surprised by the cost of the home because they established a price based on unknown selection criteria. Change orders mean increased cost and time to any project. I would like to find a book that really addresses these issues for a home builder.



3. This book should probably have been called "How to Prepare Yourself Legally and Financially to Build Your Own Home." The title it does have is not representative of the book's true focus, and I believe does a disservice to those who want a construction book *and* those who would benefit from the legal and financial information it so richly covers. One group is disappointed, while the other skips over it because they think it doesn't apply to their needs.

   To be blunt, the actual construction process is not very well covered. For instance, owner-builders probably do not know what types of materials are high quality vs. just high price tag vs. "standard" and possibly inadequate. That is a huge hole in the book -- materials overall are skimmed over. The one time they got specific, they almost sounded like a commercial for Andersen windows. I'm sure Andersen windows are just fine, but I seriously doubt that you simply "must" buy them to have resell value in your house.

   The other huge hole is how to manage the actual building phase -- what to expect, pitfalls and such. Yes, it has a chart, but it's hard to read (it's sideways!), there is no explanation if the numbers signify days or weeks, and in general it is not adequate. There was a very short chapter at the very end on common mistakes, but once again it seemed to skim over that information. Also, I realize that every house is built differently, but it would have been nice to have one example project used throughout the book so that the reader could see a cohesive picture of how that particular house was built. Nothing like a concrete example!

   In spite of its shortcomings and the rather dated ideas about what makes a home have resell value (this book was written in the early 90s, just as "starter castles" with cavernous ceilings and huge greatrooms were becoming popular), this book offers a ton of good -- and most importantly, timeless -- information.

   In a nutshell:

   If you need or want to know about the financial and legal process of building your own house, right down to the surveying, appraising and loans, including sample contracts and forms, then buy this book.

   If you are interested in a guide on how to actually *build* a quality, custom home that has updated materials lists, a detailed example schedule and realistic work/time/money expectations, worksheets and samples of change orders, contracts for craftsmen and other construction sundries, then do not buy this book.




4. Bought the book, but found a dream home before we had the chance to start building. I would recommend it highly if you are thinking about being your own contractor.

4 comments about Interior Materials and Surfaces: The Complete Guide.

1. This is a useful book if you've never seen the inside of a house. This is in no way a professional sourcebook. When I opened it up and saw listings- not categories, but individual listings- for "plywood", "carpet", "bricks", and so on, I felt bitterly disappointed. This is not the book to pick up to learn about technical specifications, the advantages and disadvantages of different wood species, or anything to do with the vast array of new materials that have recently come out (3Form Varia, Interface FLOR tiles, molded drywall, etc.) Take a walk through Home Depot instead.



2. This book provides a broad, basic overview of most categories of interior materials, perfect for familiarizing the beginning student of interior design. The focus on issues of sustainabilty and cost makes this book stand out. This book sets out to provide a starting point for further study and research, and is effective in that capacity.



3. What I really liked was the options to use materials I would never have thought of. Like Zinc for a kitchen countertop.. for low cost and durability it was a perfect choice.. we all know the rage for granite and marble will eventually fall out of favor, and cost of them is prohibitive. This book had many ideas -such as Yaght Enamel-I enjoyed considering for my own home.



4. I'd have to agree with the one-star rating as far as the actual specs for the various materials, suitability and etc. In that way, definitely a disappointment. From the idea-generating angle, though, I think it is good for keeping possibilities in view, rather than focusing solely on what is the "must-have" of the year. The Safety and Environment listing is helpful as well. Still, it might be more productive to go on that field trip to Home Depot, provided you're not looking for unusual solutions. It is a pricey thing, though, so buy it used or get one on loan.

5 comments about Off the Cuff: The Guy's Guide to Looking Good.

1. I bought this book for my husband. He's an engineer and they have a "uniform" - khaki pants and a golf shirt. I tried for years to upgrade this image, but to no avail. With a recent promotion and some hard earned weight loss, I wanted him to be more knowledgeable about how he gets dressed in the morning. I bought several books on men's fashion, but this is the one he refers to most often. It's simple, straight forward and funny, and it's getting good results. Thank you Carson!



2. This book has lots of good advice and helpful tips. It is written in Carson Kressley's inimitable style which means you will laugh out loud at times.



3. For a little over $12, this book gives a lot of info about the different types of clothes/accessories that the average guy would not have been aware of. It simple enough for anyone to read and gives a lot of useful tips without getting into too much detail about useless stuff.
   
   For example, the discussion on different types of pants and when it is appropriate to wear them is really very practical. A highly-recommended book for anyone who wants to improve their wardrobe.



4. This is actually a pretty good book for the fashion novice. For a long time, I never considered myself at all interested in what I wore or how I looked. However, when I decided to try becoming an actor, appearance began to matter a bit more. This was around the the time I purchased this book, and I admit I purchased it not because I love the show Queer Eye, but because it was cheap.
   And the information in here is, to be fair, quite solid. Before reading this, I was overly fond of the color black, despite my fair skin and slim build. But on a tip from this book, I started switching to more greens, blues, and yellows, and have gotten nothing but compliments for it. I've also started taking more fastidious care of my skin and hair, and have to admit its a routine I have fallen into quite comfortably.
   The biggest drawback of this book, for me, was the author himself. Contained herein is great and accessible suggestions for how to match the colors up, how to freshen up your wardrobe, how to watch what pants with what shirt and shoes, etc. But behind it all is the obnoxiously flamboyant style of a man who's wrist is probably limper than wet noodle. For some fellows, like myself, it becomes annoying to read when each sentence whispers "I'm gay, tee hee!"
   Overall, a fairly quick read and solid information. Just do not purchase if you are excessively homophobic.



5. My old boss recommended this book to me when I said that I knew nothing about men's fashion. The book has some decent advice, but I can't stand Kressley's writing style. How many times did he need to introduce a sentence with the word "people"? Also, his snotty decision not to include ironing tips for men's shirts because you should dry clean all your clothes anyway is retarded. Good tips if you don't feel like doing a lot of reading, but be prepared to be annoyed.

No comments about Complete Patios & Masonry (Stanley Complete).

5 comments about Soil Mechanics and Foundation Design: 201 Solved Problems.

1. This book covers huge amount of subjects and all in great detail. Author has emphasized NCEES topics like deep and shallow foundations, pavement design, retaining walls, soil settlement and earthwork engineering. There is a blend of technical clarity and engineering practice hints that makes this book a keeper reference after the P.E. exam. Another plus is that it has not been rushed to market and has a systematic and uniform way of arriving at answers.



2. ~ This author has given his 100%, when he wrote this book. It is a gift to all Civil Engineers who is working in construction materials engineering/testing and/or Geotechnical Engineering. People taking PE, must have it.
   
   ~ Price is amazingly so low.
   
   ~ Book worth way much more than five star or my words.
   
   ~ Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering DVD Review by the same author is also good for PE Exam.



3. The book seems not refined to me. The figures could be improved and the errors could be minimized. I would not recommend this book.



4. This book does not give you the right type or depth of question that comes in the exam,it could be enough for the morning session but for afternoon session you need a good source,not this book.save your money and use it towards a better book



5. This book is poorly written. The solutions are often not explained well. There was no attempt by the author to properly subscript notation or uses his own notation. The problems are simple. A much better book is the 6 minute solutions - which I highly recommend. Don't waste your money on this book. One star is a high rating in my opinion.

No comments about Custom Slipcovers Made Easy: Weekend Projects to Dress Up Your Décor.

2 comments about Introduction to Control System Technology (7th Edition).

1. I"ll be very happy to read this book,batI hav"nt money to bay it.Last brutal war destroyed may busines.Plese send me one book,andI"ll read it and return on your address.Thank you Igor popov ,dipl.ing.



2. there's never any examples or explanations of how to solve anything and it constantly says "refer to some figure from 2 chapters ago."

No comments about Painting Houses & Gardens in Watercolor.

No comments about The Black & Decker Complete Guide Maintain Your Pool & Spa: Repair & Upkeep Made Easy (Black & Decker Complete Guide).

3 comments about Timberframe Plan Book.

1. As the editor of LivingHome, I have to say that this new book is a real winner. With the popularity of timberframe homes, many of the best companies put out beautiful brochures (some even charging for them), and some have Web sites, but the photos on the Web don't do justice to the soaring spaces and gorgeous interiors of these type of homes. The authors of this book have gathered some of the best photos from some of the best companies. Plus there is good actionable information and resources for those of us who say that some day we are going to build one these beauties, no matter what.



2. I found this book a waste of time. Looking for actual timber frame plans, instead I found a bunch of pictures in no particular order or organization. May make a makeshift coffee table book for people to read while you think big thoughts in your completed timber frame home, but it sure won't help you design one.



3. Don't buy this book!
   Unless you want a lessons in terrible architecture and how NOT to build a timber frame.
   The pictures are also the worst quality I have ever seen in a book. Waste of my money.