Building Your Own Home: A Step-by-Step Guide [Paperback]

Wasfi Youssef (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 1988

Building Your Own Home A Step-by-Step Guide "This is an impressive undertaking. I've seen plenty of books about home construction techniques but this is the first one I've seen that packages construction information with the whole process of acquiring the property." --P. Gilbert Mercurio, Executive Vice President Westchester County Board of Realtors "Written by an expert in both design and construction, the book is highly readable and addresses each aspect of the home building process in terms of cost-effectiveness, quality and aesthetics." --Michel Sargious, PhD, P.Eng. Professor Department of Civil Engineering The University of Calgary Now Building Your Own Home puts complicated material into terms anyone can easily understand. From managing the construction process like a pro to mastering every legal and financial detail, you get step-by-step instruction to guide you through the entire construction process. It explains with 132 clarifying photographs and illustrations how each part of the house is built. You'll learn how to:
* find a good lot and select an appropriate design
* apply for a building permit, secure the best financing terms as well as the best insurance coverage
* handpick top-notch independent contractors--and successfully manage their work
* control every stage of construction, from door knobs to deck installation to the plumbing and electrical work
Easy-to-read and filled with practical information, Building Your Own Home contains everything you need to build a customized house of your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book tells how to secure financing for a building project and overseeif not directly supervisethe work of builders and contractors. It begins with such relevant topics as legal and financial matters including surveys, deeds, liens, mortages, performance bonds, and even workman's compensation. A transitional chapter summarily describes about 30 distinct styles of housing. The remaining chapters each cover a different phase of the building processnot in great detailbut enough to impart basic concepts and enable one to direct informed questions to contractors. The wide-ranging information is basically sound; more encylopedic in treatment than just a guidebook. Recommended for public libraries. Bill Demo, Tompkins Cortland Community Coll., Dryden, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Some Valuable Tips From Engineers "Building Your Own Home" calls itself a step-by-step guide for those who want to construct their own home from the ground up, or for homeowners who want to renovate. It's a superb reference guide. Chapters 2 through 18 focus on the steps one must take before construction: legal, financial and administrative work. For example, you may not find out about subsurface water problems until after you build the house and notice a problem in the basement. Youssef suggests taking to the neighbors around the lot you wish to buy to see if they have encountered similar problems. The author warns readers about a mechanic's lien which can be attached to one's property by contractors, subcontractors or laborers to secure payments on work performed when the value or condition of the property has improved. Lenders will withhold installments on a construction loan if a mechanic's lien is attached to your property. Youssef loves to use lists to explain concepts, and his organization works well, providing a quick at-a-glance guide. "Building Your Own Home" has 132 illustrations and photos, making it a comprehensive manual most homeowners would want on their bookshelf. "Building Your Own Home" is an encyclopedia reference guide. -- Mary Sit, The Boston Globe, April 20, 1997.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 26, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471635618
• ISBN-13: 978-0471635611
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful reference, May 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Building Your Own Home: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback)

Wasfi Youssef does know much about the legal aspects, the municipal restrictions, the building codes, and contractor & inspector practices in use. This alone may make his text highly useful for the neophyte builder, or the husband & wife turned general contractor. Wasfi Youssef does cover the legal site-prep matters very well, but his text is sorely in need of better detail on the nuts and bolts of home building. He covers the "pen, paper, and permit" aspects very well, but the "hammer, chisel, nail, and stud" parts are inadequate. From reading his book, it should be more appropriately titled, "How to Contract the Building of Your Own Home". I have my doubts that Mr. Youssef actually built it any part of his home with his own hands, and he may have relied on contractor tradesman for the "nuts and bolts" of it.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for any home owner who does not want to be taken....., January 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Building Your Own Home: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback)

A must for all home owners who do not want to be taken advantage of. This book covers all faccets of construction from picking land to landscaping in an easy to understand language. This gives the home owner a better sense of construction, even for a small job. This is essential in todays market, where contractors are praying on people who do not understand anything about construction or repairs. An excellent book that is an even better resource guide.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Vague Summary of Home Building Issues, February 1, 2001

By 

Mark Hogue (Aiken, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Your Own Home: A Step-by-Step Guide (Paperback)

This book is way too vague to be useful to someone actually trying to build a home. There's far too little detail on anything useful. For example, there are three pages on plumbing, two pages on electrical wiring. You can imagine how helpful this is going to be someone bold enough to set off in charge of a building project.