Building Your Own House: Everything You Need to Know about Home Construction from Start to Finish [Paperback]

Robert A. Roskind (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press; Revised edition (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580081789
• ISBN-13: 978-1580081788
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,274,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

To date, Roskind, his wife, Julia, and their 19 year-old daughter, Alicia, have organized and hosted 74 of these "One Love Events" in Jamaica and on Native American reservations, colleges and at public venues in the U.S. All are non-commercial, involve no sponsorship funding and are free to the public. They are non-denominational, apolitical and bring forward a message of universal love for all.
Their latest event was on February 6, 2005, Bob Marley's 60th Birthday Celebration, in Kingston, Jamaica with a live audience of tens of thousands and a TV and radio audience of almost two million. It included presentations by the Jamaican head of state, Governor General Sir Howard Cooke, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Tourism, Bob's daughter, Stephanie Marley, many conscious civic leaders and talk show hosts and twenty well-known recording artists also performed including Bunny Wailer, Culture, Luciano, Ernie Smith and Abijah.
These events have often led to a community-wide healing. Their five events on the Hopi reservation in Arizona led to the Hopis defeating reservation gambling and preserving their ancient ways. Their two events on the Havasupai reservation on the floor of the Grand Canyon led to the tribe electing a pro-environmental tribal council committed to protecting the Canyon. In Jamaica, their 54 concerts brought a much-needed message of love to a country in turmoil.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars mixed bag, July 11, 2000

By 

Rick Dove - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Building Your Own House: Everything You Need to Know about Home Construction from Start to Finish (Paperback)

This book is a combination of two books. The first and largest section is an older, existing book on building a sealed-in structure up to the external millwork. The second section covers the interior, to include mechanicals, drywall, flooring, tilework, and then outside to decking.

The first section is older and written from a bit of the "new age" alternative housing viewpoint that was popular in the '70s but has ever since branded builder-owners as kooks. Examples are given of log homes, geodesic domes, and sod houses that may be just a tad tough to get financed and are certain to have your subdivision up in arms. There was no mention of cutting-edge energy-efficient building materials such as SIPs or concrete-filled styrofoam. That being said, the rest of the section is a strong primer on building a stick-built house from foundation to roof with lots of photos.

The second section was more up to date, but not as comprehensive as the first section. Drawings replaced photos. The chapters on indoor millwork, drywall, and flooring are good, but the chapters on electrical and plumbing lack. There is nothing on HVAC.

I will keep this book for the exacting step-by-step tutorial on stick building and interior woodwork.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars no longer the standard, August 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Building Your Own House: Everything You Need to Know about Home Construction from Start to Finish (Paperback)

This book started out with good intentions, but is so laughably out of date that it is hard to read with a straight face. The section on windows does not even list vinyl as one of the options. It might be a good starting point for someone with no experience, but it is past time for a serious make over.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Building Your Own House: Everything You Need To Know About C, September 4, 2001

By 

Larry Gore (Shippensburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Your Own House: Everything You Need to Know about Home Construction from Start to Finish (Paperback)

Although there was some sound advise, the illustrations were outdated by about 20 years. If I had it to do over again, I would have bought a book that offered more uptodate photos.