5 comments about Making Concrete Garden Ornaments.

1. Explicitly exhibits (photographic) the process of concrete ornament construction - even suggests creative alternatives to Ms. Warner-Hunter's designs. You don't have to be an "official" artist to follow these instructions or to create beautiful garden scultpures/containers! Is written for the average-intelligence adult and is not at all "art-speak"!



2. This is an excellent resource for learning concrete sculpture! Start with this one, then get her other book, "Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden: Making pots, birdbaths..." for more advanced projects that reinforce your skill leves.



3. This is a good book for learning how to make your own hypertufa and concrete ornaments, including how to make the molds or reinforcements. Some of the projects are of overwhelming size for a person who is interested in small things for their garden. I like the planters, but some of the other things in this book are way too modern and gaudy for me.
   
   If you want to learn to do concrete ornaments for your yard, there is an incredible book still in print since 1904 called Concrete Pottery and Garden Furniture by Ralph C. Davison, which shows how to make garden ornaments such as columns, table, benches, planters in the Victorian and Greek styles--more my taste. This little book is packed with valuable photos and diagrams of how it's done.
   
   I would recommend Davison's book over this one, but Warner's book still has some great recipes for hypertufa and unique ways to construct molds for concrete statuary.



4. As soon as this book came, I had to go through it cover to cover. I love the projects, and the way everything is explained step by step. You are also given advice on using different mixes and techniques. I feel that the author not only teaches you how to do the projects in her book, but gives you the knowledge, skills, and encouragement to go beyond that. And that is exciting!



5. I've already made about 10 projects from this book. If you are a gardener, or like to 'ornament' your yard with tasteful items, this may be your book.

5 comments about Ortho's All About Greenhouses (Ortho's All About Gardening).

1. this book was just what I was looking for! It has great instructions on how to manage by small greenhouse that the kids got me for my birthday. Great for beginners! I was so impressed I bought one for a girlfriend!



2. Good book for those who just want basic information and principles. Descriptive literature is good, pictures are excellent, and the book is pleasantly / logically arranged. Is it the "source" on greenhouses, no. However, it is a good read and good book. I have purchased other resources (including the heavy text recommended by another reviewer) and find this book to be generally as informative as the others, particularly given its price.



3. This book gives great information from building the foundation to shelving. I found it a great help in choosing my greenhouse kit and what foundation to use. Anyone interested in purchasing or building their own greenhouse needs this book. I read several, this one was the best.



4. This book is great for people looking to either build or purchase a greenhouse. With recommendations about the location, to different types of greenhouses, this is a perfect reference book!



5. All About Greenhouses- Just a more simple compilation of facts about grenhouses. They are far from simple, and this book is a good start in what will be much to learn.. If you are planning to build, buy or begin a greenhouse, this is a good place to start the process.

5 comments about How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings.

1. This is a great general building reference book. I pull it out whenever I'm starting something new or if I want a refresher. This book has helpful detailed information on all phases of building design and construction. This includes: 1. Foundation design layout and pouring for slabs, piers, & footings of all sorts; 2. Framing design & construction-- whether pole or platform framing, roof trusses or rafters; 3. Siding & roofing options, design & construction details for each; 4. Wiring details from power to the service panel to switches, lighting and outlets; 5.Plumbing from the well to the septic leach field.

   It also has over 20 plans for various buildings ranging from pole barns and equipment sheds to guest houses, garages and studios. I have built several sheds from plans in this book and plan to build more.




2. I never built a building before, I did help build a deck.
   I bought this book to build a small music studio (16'x24')
   and it was easy to read. It had everything I needed in it to build the building and the project came out great. After reading this book you will think it is easy to build small buildings.



3. This book is written with simple jargon, clear illustrations and concise instructions. A great spring-board book for those new to construction.



4. Clear writing, accompanied by excellent illustrations for all the steps. Everything is included: planning, foundation, material, tools, foundation, windows, wiring and finishing. If you're a newbie, you're not wasting your money by buying this.



5. Although all the details are there I don't think this is a beginner's book. There are a lot of terms and language that is not familiar to someone not in the construction industry. For a beginner I think there should have been more pictures and diagrams and maybe more explanation of the terms used. It's not unclear but I had to do some digging to understand everything.

5 comments about Building a Deck (Build Like A Pro).

1. I am a firm believer in the KISS method of doing things. (Keep It Simple Stupid") Every step is covered in this book so that anyone can learn from it. The "Build Like A Pro" series of books are all laid out like this one. The "Expert Tips" are great. They show you short cuts to help you do the jobs right, but in less time. This is stuff you only learn by doing the job everyday. They are trade secrets.



2. My wife and I successfully built a deck using this book 2 years ago. Planned, submitted plans to village got building permit and final inspection. It felt good to accomplish such a large task with only 2 people who are not carpenters and haven't built a deck before. The deck is around 300 sq. ft. so it is not small. The book has all the information you need to build a solid deck. It also includes information on problems you could run into and ideas for customizing the deck. We are now building a smaller 100 sq. ft. deck for the front of our house. Believe me, we could not have done this without this great book.



3. This is a good book for beginners. Wish there was a little more variety of design style. Haven't built my deck yet, but either way if you follow this books suggestions I imagine it will be a very good deck.



4. Building a Deck (Build Like A Pro)
   
   My construction experience includes home additions, house remodeling/renovation, and many indoor upgrades, but only one deck. So, when we decided to replace our own old deck with one using the latest materials, a how-to book was in order. After reviewing deck books at local stores, this one stood out as the most useful.
   
   Cons:
   
   - This book was written in 2002 and needs a major revision to incorporate current building materials. For example, the deck railing chapter talks mostly about building railings out of wood. The same is true for decking, where almost the entire focus is on wood. The author devotes a page or so to Trex and a few other materials available in 2002, but a host of newer products are now available. Today, there are a wide variety of composite planking (plastics & wood) choices; all synthetic decking such as Azek deck "boards"; PVC and perma-cast balusters; and metal-reinforced vinyl/PVC railing (stainless steel cables, aluminum, steel).
   
   - The book explains attaching the top of a staircase to the deck and methods for anchoring the stairs bottom to a concrete pad; without addressing the frost heave issue. In my area, outside concrete pads frequently frost-heave upwards up to an inch by mid-January. If the author's approach was used here, heaving would jack up the stair bottom, weakening or destroying stairs-to-deck connections. This was inexplicable since the author addresses the frost issue in other places.
   
   - There were a few techniques described that, lacking a diagram or photograph, were too ambiguous to be useful.
   
   - One book can't cover every construction scenario, but it was frustrating that it didn't cover some of the things I needed. E.g., in the section on how to flash the ledger board, the examples show houses with siding above and below the ledger. There were no examples of having siding above the ledger and a masonry wall below.
   
   - If a ledger is lag-screwed against the house sheathing (through to a rim joist), our county building code requires flashing (metal, butyl rubber, etc.) between the sheathing and the ledger. Following the book's approach of having nothing at all there wouldn't pass inspection.
   
   Pros:
   
   - The main focus is teaching the reader how to build a deck, rather than how to deal with a contractor that will build your deck.
   
   - Intelligently organized, with excellent "pro-tips", details, safety tips, building codes, diagrams, and photographs throughout.
   
   - I didn't want a deck book for the novice. Not to worry; the author uses a writing style that worked for me, but should still work for a novice. The book may be too basic for a decking contractor, but it should be helpful for anyone else.
   
   - Multiple approaches are described for most aspects of a deck project, versus having one this-is-the-way-to-do-it, approach.
   
   - Occasional mention of the applicable building code (e.g., balusters can be spaced no farther than 4" apart), with advice of how to exceed standards, when the author believes building codes are too lax.
   
   - Every aspect of a deck project is well discussed, except for financing. It starts with deck planning, and things you should consider, and progresses logically through foundations, ledgers, posts, and beams, joists, decking, railings, stairs, and custom details.
   
   Summary:
   
   This book was clearly worth its small cost, even though it didn't [adequately] cover newer materials or all construction issues. I improved several aspects of our planned deck, based on ideas in this book, and, found out most of what I needed to know in order to do the detail plans required by our county building inspections department.



5. I bought this product because one of the reviews of the other deck books said that this was the best book. My husband has learned a lot from it, and hopefully one day, we will actually have a deck in our yard :) Seriously, this is a good book, it is very thorough from beginning to end of the project. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home (Susanka).

1. I come away with the feeling that Sarah was lead astray when this book was in development.
   
   Many of the houses in previous books in the 'Not So Big' series have been rather expensive even if they have not been that big. At least these books have provided me with ideas in redoing our moderate sized/priced house.
   
   In this book I find a 'Not So Big' house with a library, a sitting room, and a sunroom on the first floor in addition to a mudroom, kitchen with eating area, formal dining room and living room. The next house in the book sits on a 4 acre lot. Almost every house in the book has grounds that require hired maintenance professionals.
   
   I would imagine that one of the first chapters in Sarah's new book, 'The Not So Big Life', will recommend reducing the square footage of your house and the maintenance required for your grounds. Reducing the square footage of your house will substantially reduce the work needed for upkeep. The 'grounds' could be turned into a native prairie for which God will provide the maintenance. Half of our 1.3 acre lot is native forest looked after by God.
   
   The subtitle of the new book is 'Making Room For What Matters'. One of the things that matters for me is making time for things I enjoy by spending as little time as possible 'mowing the lawn'.



2. A house and its garden are different parts of the same overall design. Bestselling author Sarah Susanka and acclaimed landscape designer and award-winning writer Julie Moir Messervy understand this concept. They describe it as "opening up the relationship of indoors and out" and demonstrate it with actual case studies in "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home."
   
   "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home" covers the landscape of home, embracing the habit of home (playing up the corners, borrowing the landscape, the attraction of opposites, a stream of one's own, shelter and embrace), composing journeys (variations on a theme, Japanese journey, parallel paths, the territory of home, the world behind the walls), linking the inside with the out (living lightly on the land, easy living, a landscape of stone, good fences, rooms inside and out), and crafting the elements of nature (gardens of earthly delight, three cabins in a forest, at home on the range, terraces of grass, a cottage in the city). This book does show the influence of Julie Moir Messervy's training with the well-known Japanese garden master Kinsaku Nakane as a Henry Luce Scholar.
   
   "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home" has 216 pages and many dazzling color interior photos and plans. It is a good gardening ideas book for both design professionals and ordinary gardeners.



3. Prerequisites: You have a house with some space for plants.
   Pros: if you wanna block your not so eye-entertaining neighborhood.
   Cons: French (glass) windows/doors may have security concerns.
   
   You don't have to have a million-dollar house and 10 acres to have a nice view. The point of this book is "a look from inside out."
   
   Your windows and doors can be a frame looking through your garden, hence the garden/landscape is designed from an inside view of your house, as far as your eyes can reach.
   
   It teaches you how to create a relaxing enjoyment by using your current limited space, landscape, or even a slope with proper plant arrangements.
   
   It greens your house from inside out!!



4. I agree with many of the poor reviews by fellow "Not So Big House" thinkers. I was very, very disappointed by the lack of practical information and very few useful principles for "creating the landscape of home".
   While I agree with and have used so many of the principles in her other books, this one left me with nothing I can use to landscape my property.
   While some of the examples are quite interesting, most are also quite unusual and there is not much to take away for those of us with average-sized, rectangular-shaped lots living in subdivisions filled with tract homes.



5. It is a beautiful book that is well written and illustrated. So I'll give it 3 stars. But I don't believe it belongs in the Not So Big series. It feels like false advertising or misrepresentation. I appreciate the concept of connecting the outside and inside, but I expected to see ideas for small gardens/yards in small lots, not small planting areas within large lots and acreage attached to large houses.

5 comments about Pools.

1. Kelly Klein explains that she was inspired to create a comprehensive design reference for those wanting to complement their own backyard with a swimming pool. While the book does provide dozens of interesting and beautiful photographs of pools, water and people, it provides little, if any, inspiration for those hoping to design their own oasis. There are dozens of books that offer better photographs and design ideas for modern backyard swimming pools. In addition, there are thousands of photographs on the internet that would offer more help than most of those shown in Klein's book.
   
   If you are desperately looking for a coffee table book, you may find this one appealing. Personally I think there are dozens, if not hundreds, of better collections of photographs. Other than the quality of the paper, this pretentious volume wouldn't warrant a $12.00 price tag.



2. I read the few available reviews in advance of purchasing this book, and to my disappointment, the one negative reviewer was the most accurate. To one of the praisers, I agree that the book has a beautiful cover and would look great on a coffee table. However, inside the book, the images are poorly organized, and what little decription is available is at the end of the book in a short (two-page) reference. Better pool / landscape images are available in Architectural Digest and Southern Living articles. Overall, I found this book boring, repetitive, and disappointing. I haven't seen the Slim Aarons pool-themed book yet, but I would imagine it would have more interesting images and commentary / documentation.



3. If you are artist or photographer,buy it.
   If you are landscape architect or pool's designer,DON't buy it
   Kamal Moneir



4. I, too, missed the first edition of this book and combed used book stores for years in vain. When I heard Pools was being reissued, I was delighted and preordered. When it arrived, I sat outside in bright light for my first look, expecting to be dazzled, but was sorely underwhelmed. Over the years, I have noticed lousy printing in many of Rizzoli's books and this might just be the worst. Page after page, what should be vibrant images are overly dense or dingy and end up looking sinister instead. The shadow areas are often completely black. The whole book looks like it took a gloom pill. I feel for Kelly Klein. She's done a great job of assembling a fascinating collection of images which are mostly drowning in too much black ink.



5. I was excited to see this has been reissued, as the first edition copies cost several hundred dollars. Well I can see now why the 1st edition continues to bring top dollar. If you get a chance to see the pictures in the 1st edition and compare to this one, you will be highly disappointed. Pictures which were bright and cheery, turned out gloomy and look like they were taken at night with poor lighting. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't get over the poor printing. If you haven't seen a 1st edition, you might not care, but if you have, you may be quite disappointed like I was. Guess I will have to save up and splurge for a 1st edition. The good thing is this only costs about 5-10% of what a good 1st edition copy sells for.

5 comments about In A Mexican Garden: Courtyards, Pools, and Open-Air Living Rooms.

1. I love the pictures and ideas presented, but after 2 days, the binding had pulled away from the pages!! I think that is flaw that needs fixing.



2. I love this book! The beautiful photographs give the reader great ideas on how to design and decorate.



3. I was very surprise whith the quality of the presentation and the beautiful pictures. Excellent!!



4. This book is an explosion of beautiful colours on every page! It is filled with beautiful photographs of Mexican outdoor living and the commentary is concise but clear, enabling the reader to copy the ideas found in the book. I intend to use the book to create my own Mexican/Spanish style courtyard.



5. This is a great book for ideas on designing your own Mexican style garden and as in my case designing an Adobe Dollhouse and courtyard.

5 comments about Natural Swimming Pools: Inspiration For Harmony With Nature (Schiffer Design Book).

1. Simply put this book is a MUST READ for anyone intersted in any aspect of Sustainable and Ecological Design. It should be read right along with Permaculture by Mollison, the Passive Solar Handbook by Mazria, Rainwater Harvesting by Lancaster, and ecocities to Living Machines by Todd. Even if you aren't specifically interested in making a swimming pool (which you will be after reading it) the insights into the workings of hydro-ecologies and how to design natural systems are invaluable!
   
   If you aren't interested in the whole range of sustainability but just this particular topic of pool design then this book is STILL A MUST READ. If you're an ecologist who wants to make a pool, or a pool designer who wants to do something ecological this book provides an excellent layman's understanding of ecological design, with good technical and artistic advice for how to do it, and good technical and artistic advice for swimming pool construction.
   
   I would still advise you to also purchase the book Poolscaping as a companion to this one.
   
   This is an all around excellent book buy it now.



2. Great book for all aspects of creating a variety of green/natural pools. Beautiful pictures and good illustrations and copy to help in decision making.



3. THIS BOOK IS REALLY GOOD BUT IT DOES NOT GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY WANTING DIRECTION.



4. Lovely inspirational book, good pictures, diagrams and technical info. An excellent planning guide for natural swimming ponds and pools



5. The fantastic photos go on and on. The architectural plan and section views are very helpful. This book has all the information you need to come up with a good plan and list of needs/desires. You'll need to convert to metric and also research specific climate concerns, like temperature and regionally appropriate plants - everything listed in the book is for Europe.

5 comments about House Colors.

1. This book is destined to be a classic for professionals and novices alike. Rather than another "pretty" book to ad to the shelf, it is an extensive resource that can be used for years. If you've ever chosen a paint color only to have to change it several times, this will save your sanity and money. Susan is a professional who does the work for you. The resource section in the back of the book is amazing. If you want your house to be the one other's drive by and admire, buy this book. Bravo!



2. This book will be very useful to laymen and professionals for use in selection of exterior colors and materials for new houses, remodelings, and even when the house is getting re-painted.
   
   Laymen, when re-doing their own house to whatever degree, would love the book because Ms. Hershman clearly and simply explains her points by use of examples (in beautiful photography) as well as the written word. For professionals, the book offers a collection of images and ideas that can presented to their clients so that they can understand that color is not a "paint job". Rather, exterior color is really an integrated system of materials and colors--and that system can range for the very simple to the very complex.
   
   This book would be wonderful addition to anyone's library.



3. Design can be exclusive and this book breaks those rules by sharing the hard earned house color information from nearly 200 homeowners. I have selected an array of homes from many style of architecture to help the reader to hone in on colors that would work for their style of house. It's a must have for every homeowner everywhere. Exterior color is the most difficult color to achieve for anyone. This book is a priceless resource with information that isn't usually shared with the public and that's why I did it. Let's see great color everywhere! Enjoy!!!



4. This is the best reference I have ever seen for exterior colors. The pictures are of real houses, not staged for photography and the book gives you the paint brands and numbers of the colors used on each house. Very very helpful. I found colors to paint my home I would have never thought to consider and I am a decorator. Thank you Susan!



5. This book by Susan Hershman has been invaluable in many ways. Since we live in a Victorian City, the book is a way to show off ours and other similar cities. We use Susan's book for ideas and suggestions for our neighbors when they are improving their homes. Visually, House Colors is so stunning that it is now our number one cocktail table book. We can't imagine anyone undertaking a project involving painting without utilizing House Colors.

5 comments about The Outdoor Shower: Creative design ideas for backyard living, from the functional to the fantastic.

1. Just getting ready for another project and this book sheds great light on outdoor showers



2. Terrific ideas and with great pictures to go along with....great book to day dream with. Also very practical information and instructions for doing your own project.



3. SAVE YOUR $$$ and skip purchasing 'THE OUTDOOR SHOWER'. I bought and then returned this book as I found it to be lacking in fresh, new ideas on the subject of choosing and installing an outdoor shower. The text was blah and un-engaging and the all-important photo-illustrations were badly shot and not at all inspirational. I purchased this book thinking it would give me an overview of styles/periods/designs from which I might be inspired to install my own outdoor shower. Instead, what I found were amateurish, candid photos that were mundane, souless and frankly BORING. Avoid this book and head instead to your local newstand or library to find imaginative ideas in the shelter magazines: Coastal Living-MS Living-Yankee-Sunset all have featured pieces on this topic with a fresh outdoor lifestyle slant. This book was a dud with a capital D.



4. This book is a practical guide to putting in an outdoor shower. I would've liked more photos of what people have done to create great outdoor shower spaces- the book seems to mostly focus on Martha's Vineyard- but this book has some good advice on plumbing from the house, drainage, and partitions. It is a good place to start if putting in an outdoor shower, but I found the internet and my local guys at Home Depot to be better resources for some things.



5. The book has some interesting ideas and nice pictures, but it really comes up short in planning and building an outdoor shower. Eventually I did it myself and, by the way, there were some plumbing errors that should be pointed out to the author, specifically there are two kinds of PVC pipe, one for hot and cold and one just for cold water.