5 comments about Building the Timber Frame House: The Revival of a Forgotten Art.

1. I have read all the major timber frame books on the market, including both titles from Jack Sobon. Benson's book is packed with information on how to build a timber frame and has an index in the back that allows one to figure out what size timber is needed. This book is one of, if not, the best on this subject.



2. The details on this are excellent. Sketches, plans, perspectives, maths, tables, formulas, theory, you have it all. All graphics hand-drawn! Each joint has a photo, a drawing and cutting details and dimensions. Focused too: nothing outside the scope of the *classic* timber frame.



3. My husband loves this book. He said he has learned so much and that this was the best book to learn how to build a timber frame house by.



4. If you are expecting a book full of glossy sharp pictures, this is not the one to buy.A lot of drawings and BW pictures that inform what they need to. This is a very good manual for those who want to venture in a timber frame project.



5. My friend is a master carpenter and he saw this book at a recent trip to Hanford Mills museum.
   He is an avid reader and loved the book so much that I am inclined to read it as well!! Enjoy.

5 comments about The Septic System Owner's Manual.

1. If you want to know what are the various kinds of septic systems and how they work, this is a good book. If you have a problem and want to know how to diagnose or solve it, you'll be disappointed. Overall message on how to maintain a septic system seems to be, "the less you use it, the better." Index is inadequate.



2. This book has been really helpful to me as a planning commissioner in trying to analyze our local ordinances as most of our county is rural with homes served by well and septic systems. It has been very helpful in allowing me to understand how it all works (or should work when all is well).



3. As a practicing Environmental Health Specialist and homeowner with an onsite sewage disposal system, I can say with some authority that these authors know their s***. As a former Bug owner I can also say that the drawings by Peter Aschwanden, who got you through your first VW repair in Muir's classic, don't hurt one bit. Somehow car repair and septic repair gets your hands really dirty, in a Zen-like way. But I'll stop there before I dig too deep.
   
   It's all here for the novice: standard gravity fed drainfields, septic tank sizing, gravel-less trenches, alternative and gray water systems, frequency of tank pumping, what not to dump down the drain, designing your own system, and the history of septic systems.
   
   For $6 used you'll learn enough to avoid the ultimate nightmare: a failing septic in the winter. And even if that occurs, you'll know how to keep from giving your hard-earned buck to that "Waste of Time" Septic Engineer in the yellow pages.



4. Informative with basic information for those who have or are new to the world of septic tank maintenance. Could save you lots of money and headache over the life of your tank.
   Fun chapter on history of waste disposal systems throughout the progress of civilization. Also, some political background if you are being forced to make a change in your system that works -- the septic tank. It's worth the price even though much of the information can also be found searching the Internet but who has that much time?



5. This book is THE cookbook for septic systems. If you want to do it yourself or want to do your homework prior to having one put in or if you just want to know everything you wanted to know about septic systems but were afraid to ask, this is the book for you. It is well illustrated and easy to read and understand. I have put in several septic systems and have found this to be the best reference guide out there.

5 comments about Creating the Not So Big House: Insights and Ideas for the New American Home.

1. A FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE NOT SO BIG PHILOSOPHY, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE, GOOD COMMON SENSE.



2. We are remodeling our house and my daughter and husband are about to build a new house. A friend of us got many great ideas from this book when they built their home, so they recommended it to me. I had purchased it as a gift for my daughter who, along with her husband, have been reading it since then word by word, and studying the pictures. They are so excited by the concept of a great home and the excellent ideas found in the book. It gave them the direction that they will definitely take when designing their new home.



3. We have read both books and did find some things interesting, there was only one or two houses in either of the books about the Not So Big House that would have worked for us. One thing we did find that the cost of the "not so big house"; because of many of the materials used; it is really more than what a number of people might find too expensive for their budget.



4. Hopefully all the people who are supposed to be interested in preserving the natural world will buy into Susanka's idea and build smaller, more useful houses rather than energy and environmental guzzlers. Be nice if some of the "talking heads" would do as they say. Great ideas for all of us interested in using less and preserving more.



5. Sarah Susanka, an architect orginally based in Minnesota, has written an extremely valuable book about creating comfortable living space in a small house. Until the recent housing crisis (and yes, even despite it among the super-rich) residential housing in this country was guided by the principal that "bigger is better". From an average house size of about 1,300 square feet during the housing boom that followed the Second World War, houses have been getting larger and larger. The effect of this on the environment went virtually unnoticed until it became fashionable to talk about global warming. No retired couple needs a weekend home of 8,000 square feet, yet one would be shocked by the number of such houses that were built in the 90s and were all the vogue up until about a year ago. Now that Hollywood movie stars, earning $20 million a film are driving hybrid cars and installing windmills in their backyards to power their 50-inch flat screens, the small house is somewhat in vogue.
   
   Ms. Susanka has many interesting ideas on how to maximize the use of space, including the notion of creating "living" space, e.g., seating, a fireplace, and even a tub, on the other side of the walls of a house.
   
   If you are thinking about building a house, read this book first. Perhaps you will scale down your plans and that would be a benefit to both you and to the world outside.
   
   Books of this type have proliferated in the past few years but this volume, one of the first on the subject, remains as vital as it was when first published.

4 comments about Bungalow Details Interior.

1. In her Bungalow books Jane Powell has come close to inventing a new genre: the architectural book that is actually fun to read. The latest (Bungalow Details:Interior)is no exception. The illustrations by Linda Svendsen are stellar, as always, but sometimes I think they distract from the best part: Ms. Powell's writing. Jane Powell manages to combine extraordinary erudition with a real sense of fun, two things that virtually never go together. Her knowledge is encyclopedic, her humor unending, her love of puns totally scandalous. She is also wise, with a real sense of what should and should not be done with old houses and the resources they represent. The writings in her Bungalow (and Linoleum) books deserve to be excerpted and presented in a smaller, less expensive edition: the Sayings of Chairman Jane, if you will, devoid of distracting pictures. I highly recommend this and all of her books.



2. If you are interested in restoration this is a WONDERFUL book! Both of my daughters have purchased homes built around 1920-1927. They are using this book as their bible!



3. The reader might well develop a relationship with this book. Jane Powell takes you on an in-depth tour of the American bungalow. As she talks, her writing is conversational, the details are often interrupted with a pun, other humor, or an outburst revealing her biases. Readers who are looking for an academic study should go elsewhere. This is an enjoyable light-hearted "Open House" without a salesperson but rather a builder-decorator-owner. Powell knows this subject from being there and having done that. Behind her puns you find a seriousness based on an emotional bonding with bungalows. If the reader is thinking about rehabbing a bungalow this book is a necessity. If the reader has rehabbed a house meet a friend.



4. I loved the author's sense of humor... very candid about what IS acceptable for a truely historically accurate home... although my 1914 home was remodeled by not-so-accurate "carpenters." I loved the pictures (so many rooms that look like mine!). Great for ideas, but remember this is not a DIY book. Just a pretty picture book.

4 comments about The Complete Guide to Doors & Windows (Black & Decker).

1. Not only did it cover step by step on all doors and windows. It covered garage doors and openers. It discussed installing locks. And there was even a section on if your window won't open you do this to fix it type of stuff. Also, if you are putting in a bay window, there is a section on how to roof it. I had been looking for a help book like this for a long time. It does not bog you down in highly technical stuff.



2. I had to tear out an old, rotting window that had an old rotting air conditioner wedged into it. My fiancee and I decided to install a wider window in it's place. Oh oh. That meant tearing out the stucco exterior and plaster interior to do so! I didn't want to spend 1000 bucks (or more) to hire someone to do it and install a new window. I've never done any work like this before, and I didn't know where to begin. So I looked into getting Home Depot to do it, but they would only replace existing windows with the exact same size window for a fee of 250 dollars on top of the price of the window. So that wasn't going to work for us. I needed help! So I found this book on Amazon and decided to check it out at Home Depot, since they had the same book but for a little more.
   Well, since it was the only book that seemed to cover everything I needed to know, and I was running out of time, I decided to purchase it and put in the order for the window. Well, the window came and I got right at work at demolishing the old window and extending the opening for the new one.

   This book was GREAT! Although the book is only 300 pages, it gives you a good overview of what you need to do to get your project done. Once I started figuring out exactly what I needed to do, I could use this book as a reference on what to do to accomplish it. You see, this book does not really give you an "idiots guide" how to... it will not explain the little detail, like how to plaster a wall or how to miter cut trim for your window or door. You need to use it as a reference book and an overview of your project. You MUST read the book through and figure out what steps you need to take. For example, for me... I had to:
   1) Tear out the old window (without destroying the wall completely)
   2) Extend the opening (which means I need to know how to cut/remove stucco on the outside and plaster on the inside)
   3) Reframe the new opening to support the ceiling and new window (which also gives you ways to support the ceiling if you intend to mess around with the studs in the wall that hold up the ceiling)
   4) Install the window (different types of windows have different types of ways to install)
   5) Fix the stucco outside and plaster inside (this is where I am now)
   6) Add trim on the outside and trim on the inside (I've already read what I need to do this and have gotten the materials to finish it)

   And you know what, this book gave me great examples on how to do ALL that. BUT, I had to jump around the book to read the sections that applied to me. Remember, this book only gives you a great overview of your project. That is the ONLY reason why I gave it 4 stars. I'd like to give it 4.5. This book is very very good at giving me the information I needed and had GREAT pictures and examples. JUST MAKE SURE YOU READ THE WHOLE BOOK FIRST (skim through sections you don't need to know, but maybe look at them anyway because you may learn something useful), and then read the sections again that apply to you! If you need more details, find another suppliment book for that task. Know what you need to do first before you start any major project.
   
   And you know what, I probably saved myself $1000 doing it myself. This book more than paid for itself.




3. This book is one of the Black and Decker series. It concerns doors and windows. It has a lot of pictures. It shows each step of installing a door. It shows which tools to use and when to use them. It shows how to cut and fit the door and trim. I like it when there is a picture with a caption under it which explains what is happening in detail. Often times a two page spread would have 12 pictures with 12 captions. I think my work will look more professional now that I have read the book. I use it for reference at times. I recommend the book.



4. This review comes from a certified non-handy guy with minimal practical skills. I was fortunate enough a year ago to discover a fine window guy. As a result, we have excellent Pella window replacements in our 1930 Indiana home.
   
   I bought this book to help me with next steps: specifically, what do do about our crumbling main entrance way and our on-again, off-again internal doors. It all has charm, you understand. The problem is it only works half the time.
   
   Before I make the investment in these next steps, I want to understand my options, what portions of it I might remotely hope to do myself, what I'm in for if I hire an external expert to do the work.
   
   THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WINDOWS AND DOORS has helped me on every one of those fronts. In addition, it's just a handsome book with lots of good illustrations and well-written text.
   
   We're not talking Dostoyevsky here. You'll need to go elsewhere for great literature. But I doubt the old Russian was much good with windows and doors, anyway.
   
   This book is a keeper.

3 comments about Mini Farming for Self Sufficiency.

1. If you are new to mini-farming, this is the book to get. Markham grows a tremendous amount of food in a postage stamp piece of land, and he tells how to do it in this book. From planting the seeds to processing the harvest to a lesson on soil chemistry in between, this book covers it all in a folksy, easy to read style.
   
   It is a very practical book, for people who need to grow gardens to save money and to provide their children with better diets. America is dividing along class lines, and one of the major class differences is food. The poor eat junk food and suffer obesity, diabetes, arteriosclerosis and heart disease; while the wealthier class eats real food -- that stuff that EVERYONE ate back in the old days.
   
   The fact that junk food exists at all is a great injustice; junk food is "feed" for us "human cattle," if only it were as nutritious as what we give livestock! The fact is, you'd be better off eating alfalfa pellets and cracked corn with a bowl of water, than Doritos and Pepsi. That's right -- livestock feed has more nutritional value than so-called "fun foods," which are becoming more and more a staple of the American diet.
   
   How many square feet of cropland is necessary to feed one person? John Jeavons put the number at 1250 square feet. Brett Markham puts the number at 700 square feet, based on his experience. If Markham is right, that means the average suburbanite can supply most of the food for their family. I think it's worth getting this book and giving it a try. I got the book, and I'm going to try it this year.
   
   And if you have children, for heaven's sake, feed them right! I work in a health care related field, and I can tell you that we are seeing an American pandemic of diet-related diseases, all because we gave up our gardens and turned out food supply over to ConAgra and Archer Daniels Midland. Most of our food is basically the corn surplus in fancy packages. Partially hydrogenated corn syrup will KILL YOU! The next time you go shopping, read the labels of all packaged foods, and think twice!



2. I just read this book and I am very impressed. It compares favorably both to classics of intensive gardening and to classics on self sufficiency. Less complicated than How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits: (And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) (How to Grow More Vegetables: (And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains,), less expensive and resource-hogging (in terms of peat moss, vermiculite, and grids) than All New Square Foot Gardening (which is still well worth buying for the beginning gardener; the charts on planting for a continuous three-season harvest alone are probably worth the price of the book). More focused and with more current (though perhaps still debatable) numbers than One Acre and Security: How to Live Off the Earth Without Ruining It, and written for an even smaller (and tractor-free) scale than Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach (Down-To-Earth Book).
   
   This book contains the simplest and most understandble description of double-digging that I have ever read, and the simplest way of placing seeds at the correct spacing in intensive gardening. It has good discussions of thermophilic composting and of the importance of aging compost; various types of irrigation systems; food requirements per person and practical ways of meeting them (including the economic infeasibility of growing wheat in the home garden); making aerated compost tea with a simple and inexpensive homemade system; the best media for seed starting; an introduction to saving and storing seeds, and references to excellent books that provide more information (such as Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners and Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's & Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding & Seed Saving); inexpensive ways to extend the growing season; fruit trees, bushes, and vines; raising poultry for eggs and/or meat; organic and certified naturally grown; and maximizing the money you make selling produce. The chapter on preserving the harvest by canning, freezing, and dehydrating (no mention of Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables) is not in-depth and will not take the place of other books on the subject, but serves as a good introduction. The only disappointment to me was that there was no mention of sheet composting (see Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling,No Weeding, No Kidding!); I might suggest building your raised beds in that way rather than by double digging.
   
   If you are trying to move off the grid, grow 100% of your own food, and make your own clothes, this may not be the book for you. If you'd like to raise a lot of your own food in a garden that will fit in the typical suburban yard (the actual number of square feet he suggests cultivating for a family of three is just under 1/20th of an acre), this book is a great place to start.



3. Practical advice on how to create a self sustainable garden, and profit from it both nutritionally and financially. A must have for the self-suffiecient gardner.

3 comments about The Complete Guide to Reducing Energy Costs (Consumer Reports: You Need to Know).

1. This book covers the basics of what consumers need to know to reduce their utility bills and reduce their consumption of Greenhouse Gases. The one section that is outdated refers to heating your house using cord wood. Please do not cut down trees and burn them to heat your house! Trees are the one carbon-capture technology that actually exists, everything else is smoke-and-mirrors. We need trees to help clean up the mess we are making of the environment!



2. This is an excellent and complete overview to the improvements you can make in your home to make it more comfortable and more energy efficient. By following it's advice, you can improve your efficiency by up to 30% - depending on the age and condition your home is - I've personally experienced 27% savings on a 2800 sq ft home built in 1989. This has been a hobby and passion of mine for over a year, I've used various resources on the Internet. This one book covers all the topics I've discovered elsewhere, educates the issues well, instructs how to make the efficiency changes based on expert experience, all in a layman's language that's easy to understand and follow. I wish they would have published it a year ago - would have saved me significant amount of time that I've spent researching and learning the hard way.



3. This is a great comprehensive guide. But if you're already energy conscious, there's not much new in this publication. For the general homeowner, it's definitely a must-have. Here are the most significant facts: new window replacements don't usually pay for themselves; CFL bulbs save a ton of energy and reduce carbon emissions at a low cost; front load washers save water but not much energy; your home loses energy through electrical outlets and switches; central cooling and heating is most efficient (don't use space heaters); and upgrading your central a/c and heater may be economical.

5 comments about Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Non-Toxic Avenger Shows You How to Improve Your Health and That of Your Family, While You Save Time, Money, and, Perhaps, Your Sanity.

1. I was so excited about the changes brought about in my house by using the tips in this book, that I ordered a three pack of the Dutch Rubber Broom she describes in the text (a garage broom, a kitchen broom, and a hand broom for the car, for 9.99 plus S&H). The company overcharged me (19.99 instead of 9.99), and then messed up my order (just gave me the garage broom). When I confronted them with this, they first stated that they didn't have a three broom offer, then when I forwarded them their own web page, they still refused to correct the error, stating that the error was on my part, because that isn't what is reflected on the order.
   
   The gal on the email and phone argued with me rudely. She admitted that others have had the same issue, but it was because they were, like myself, incapable of reading a web page correctly. I have been reading since the age of three, and I'm a computer programmer, so I think I have a firm grasp of how to navigate a web page.
   
   My option, at this point, is to pay to ship the garage broom back to them unused and get my twenty dollars back (roughly the price of shipping), or to give them another $20 and have them graciously ship me the rest of my order. Their adamant claim, of course, is that they had fulfilled my order, and it isn't their issue in the first place to even address this. The route to speak with someone higher on the food chain was short-circuited by this same rude person. Just a warning, in case you wanted to give that broom a try. The book: fabulous! The broom company: leaves much to be desired. I wish I'd never bothered.
   
   UPDATE: I was fortunate enough to be able to contact the book's author (WOW), and she actually fixed the problem with the company. Can you believe it? I couldn't have even dreamed of a better response from an author. It's unfathomable to me. For the fact that she really cares enough to go the extra mile for a complete stranger who is willing to listen to her advice, I'm profoundly grateful, and would give her more than the five stars her writing has earned her, if it were possible. Neat! If you're deliberating whether you'll buy this or not, just do it for the sake of giving your greenbacks to a real person with real compassion and real action in her intentions. I'm floored and am ready to check out her gardening books, just for this reason!



2. If I could only own one book on keeping a greener home, this would be it. There are tips on everything from opening a clogged drain to homemade beauty products. This book is never out of reach at my house now!!



3. great tips. I can't wait to start cleaning green. The one thing that would be great is if the book had a list that summerized the cleaning supplies that were needed to clean each room. How many spray bottles do I need and what is in each bottle? I have started to go through the book again and write down my own list, but it is a bit scattered. Does anyone have their own list?



4. I am impressed with the wealth of information available in this book. We have a problem with clutter and I have already begun using her ideas! Throwing things out, making a rolodex of where items are and labeling cabinets so items go where they belong. I also tried borax for cleaning my marble bathroom sink and it did a better job then anything else I've ever tried.
   
   I like how the book is written and if an item relates to something else in the book, it tells you what page to find the related item on so you don't have to search for it. This one book covers what 3-4 of my others books combined cover! I think the book was worth every penny.
   
   Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Non-Toxic Avenger Shows You How to Improve Your Health and That of Your Family, While You Save Time, Money, and, Perhaps, Your Sanity



5. Best book on this subject I have ever read. Easy to read, thoughtful, funny and practical. Common sense in paperback.

5 comments about Home Improvement 1-2-3: Expert Advice from The Home Depot (Home Depot ... 1-2-3).

1. Good Book



2. Great for estimations and knowledge of what's involved. Have implemented some suggestions but probably would have to attend a free lesson at home depot to really do the advanced stuff. Great for small things like repairing toilets, snaking drains etc.



3. If you have ANY home improvement project or own a house..this book is a MUST have!



4. If you own a home, this is the book for you because each page teaches you how to each project. Full of color pages, step by step instructions and a list of the tools you will need. For the expert, this is too simple, but for the novice, every project can be done.
   
   I like how the book gives you the tools you will need so that if you do not have it, you can get it before you start the project.
   
   The book covers all the basic home repairs that you may need from bathrooms to beadrooms, from door to windows and from interior to exterier. While it does not take on projects you want it takes care of all the project you need for your home.
   
   Good Luck.



5. I've used this book as a guide for repairs / maintenance on a condo in a 100-year old apartment building and a 60-yo house -- it's been a great guide. Estimates of time, skills, tools and materials required are really helpful to keep you from starting too big a project or getting halfway and realizing you're missing some essential materials.
   
   Especially if you're a homebuyer trying to make sense of a home inspector's report -- and figure out how big the tasks are that might be required for the new home -- this book is great. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Home Maintenance for Dummies.

1. Ideal for stupid people who are interested in home maintenance.



2. I purchased this book along with two other home maintenance and repair books because I am a new homeowner and would like to be on top of my game. I also bought it because I was really concerned about how deeply technical the other two books would get and I knew this would give me a good foundation. This book is good because it breaks down a home into it's various systems and gives you a good general overview of how each of them work and what they're comprised of. The best part about this book, in my opinion, is the Home Maintenance Schedule and Checklist. It gives you a good description of what needs to be done when and you can refer to the book for instruction if necessary. I imagine this book will be instrumental in keeping my home in great condition through the years.



3. This book tries to cover everything on home maintenance and ultimately fails to adequately explain in detail the things you might really use.
   
   Take, for example, insulating an attic space. It's covered, but only very briefly. I ended up using various websites that had more detail and were more helpful when I took up that project.
   
   There's an entire chapter on pools and spas, an entire chapter on decks, and several others that seem to be a bit more specialized. That's not a problem; the problem is that the general home stuff that almost any homeowner would need (e.g. plumming or HVAC or normal repairs) get less treatment.
   
   I have no doubt the authors would be able to repair just about anything in most houses. But their book, supposedly for idiots, glazes over far too many normal repairs without enough detail for us idiots to actually be able to use this book.
   
   There are some helpful tidbits in here, and if you already have a collection of DIY type home repair books, this might make a good addition. But if you're looking for a good general home repair book to help you with most normal home repair projects - this isn't it.



4. This book has provided me with the knowledge that I needed to complete jobs around the house that I could not otherwise have been able to do. This book provided me with the incentive to do it myself.



5. First, it arrived on time: Second, I just started working on the house, fixing petty electricity problems etc..It's relly helpful