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The House That Jill Built: A Woman's Guide to Home Building [Paperback]

Judy Ostrow (Author), Karen Leffler (Photographer)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 28, 2005
Few experiences are as mind-and-body wrenching or as ultimately fulfilling as the design and building of one's own home. Now, an exhilarating new book offers an inside look at the process from a woman's perspective. The House That Jill Built is the first book that dares to ask women, "if you could, if you knew how, what would a house that you build for yourself look like?"
Millions of women are already learning the basics of do-it-yourself and getting in tune with the empowering nature of power tools. The House That Jill Built is perfect for women of all skill levels, from the experienced do-it-her-selfer to the woman who doesn't know the difference between a stud finder and a palm sander, to the woman who is looking to move on to more complex or large-scale projects. Sharing women's real-life experiences in creating their own dream homes, The House that Jill Built is a groundbreaking guide to the process as well as a collection of women's real-life home-building experiences, complete with before and after photos and drawings, advice from experts, safety precautions, and a comprehensive section of how-to tips, including a tool guide. Chapters highlight success stories, such as the design and construction of one woman's desert dream house to another's tropical paradise nestled up north. After reading these personal stories, every woman will feel motivated to pick up the hammer and go for it.
The House That Jill Built is proud to help build houses for women and their families: a portion of the author's royalties has been pledged to the Women Build program of Habitat for Humanity International.
Judy Ostrow is an independent journalist whose articles about home building, renovation, and sustainable residential design have been published in magazines such as This Old House, Home, and Natural Home. She is the author of Painting Rooms, and coauthor of two additional volumes about interior painting. A do-it-herselfer in training, Judy acted as general contractor for numerous projects at her family's homes in Westchester County, New York, and on the coast of Maine. She renovated her New York kitchen while writing this book. Karen Leffler began her career in architectural photography in northern California, where she also designed and built three houses. Karen lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In the lexicon of home, no experience is so mind-and-body wrenching, or so ultimately fulfilling, as the design and building of a house. The House That Jill Built is the first book to offer an inside look at the process, exclusively from a woman's perspective. It's a whole new take on "home making." From the woman who's just getting started with tools, to the experienced do-it-herselfer who's ready for something more, this book shares women's real-life experiences with creating their own dream homes-in their own words, with snapshots, drawings and beautiful photographs of the finished products. Filled with a comprehensive how-to section, advice from femaile homebuilders and building professionals and a unique tool-buying guide, The House That Jill Built is a great companion for women who want to turn their dreams into the picture-perfect home. Judy Ostrow is an independent journalist. Her articles about home building, renovation and interiors, as well as sustainable residential design, have been published in such national magazines as This Old House, Home, and Natural Home. She is the author of Painting Rooms (Rockport, 2001), and co-author of two additional volumes about interior painting. A do-it-herselfer in training, Judy has acted as general contractor for numerous projects at her family's homes in Westchester County, New York, and on the coast of Maine. She renovated her New York kitchen while writing this book. Karen Leffler began her career in architectural photography in Northern California, where she also designed and built three houses. This is her first book. Karen lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut. A portion of the author's royalties has been pledged to the Women Build program of Habitat for Humanity International.

From the Back Cover

If you could, if you knew how, what would a house that you build for yourself look like? How would it feel?
Millions of women already have a hands-on attitude toward the places they call home. They are buying their own tools, and learning the basics of do-it-herself. And every day, out of curiosity, or just plain necessity, women are learning that home improvement is not just for guys.
Now, The House That Jill Built takes the handywoman in all of us one giant step forward.
This groundbreaking guide shares the process of creating a personal dream house, through the eyes and experiences of women who have been there, and done that-making a design, acting as contractor, doing their own construction. It shows the way for any woman who longs to unlock the mysteries of home making-of the lumber and sheetrock variety-and provides solid advice to help her tackle big projects on her own.
So, please pass the hammer, Jack. It's Jill's turn.
The House That Jill Built will help build houses for women and their families. A portion of the author's royalties has been pledged to the Women Build program of Habitat for Humanity International.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Gibbs Smith (March 28, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1586854593
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586854591
  • Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A firsthand experience......, May 20, 2005
By 
Kathe Higgins (Rumney, NH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The House That Jill Built: A Woman's Guide to Home Building (Paperback)
It is a honor and privilege to be associated with Judy's project; it has been a project of perseverance for all those involved, including myself.

Judy's book highlights the triumph of overcoming seemingly unsurmountable situations....essentially, it salutes the spirit within each of us.

My original intention was to build an environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient home in the middle of the woods. I spent three years researching 'green' building materials and found that I couldn't go 100% green because of the prohibitive cost of some materials, but I did the best I could with the funds I had available.

I hope that women - and men - who want some advice on building their dream home, don't hesitate to contact me, especially those folks in NH. I am an advocate of strawbale homes and have a list of resources available for those who are interested. Keep this in mind, I am not an expert, but I can share what I have learned from the process.

With Blessings,

Kathe Higgins

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Profiling both selected female builders and their projects, July 3, 2005
This review is from: The House That Jill Built: A Woman's Guide to Home Building (Paperback)
Homeowners interested in home building and construction have two different, intriguing books to choose from. Judy Ostrow's The House That Jill Built: A Woman's Guide To Home Building will appeal to females who wish to either renovate or build their own homes, offering a woman's perspective to the entire process, from choosing tools to stories of female builders and designers who were ahead of their times. Vignettes profiling both selected female builders and their projects accompany practical do-it-yourself details to blend both inspiration and tips.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
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THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK came from many places. Read the first page
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Patti Garbeck, Lisa Hawkins, Mary Kraus, Lizabeth Moniz, New England, Alison Kennedy, Shelter Institute, New Hampshire, Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community, Yestermorrow Design
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