Customer Reviews

The Portland Cement Association's Guide to Concrete Homebuilding Systems

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Remember, this book is almost TEN years old because it is based on research done in 1993 and published in '95. So there have been advances and experience that go well beyond this book. Dwell magazine has often tickled me with various new building techniques and I wanted to learn more about what might be appropriate for me and the Midwestern climate. This book will give you an overview of SOME of the styles (mortarless, poured-in-place, etc.), and also indicate what might be appropriate for your situation. I'm not a builder or an architect but I wanted to design my own house, so this book did help me to recognize and comprehend the different catagories of techniques. At the same time, this topic could really use an update that you won't find from the Portland Cement Association. My advice to people like me is to keep looking and seek out small-scale builders who will familiarize you with their technique that they know best. There are dozens, and the most difficult thing is getting a crew that doesn't have to be trained for a new technique but has already completed several homes using a proven method.

This book, even though it is somewhat old will give you a good sense of what to expect from building codes and prices, but it's just not enough, and there are no pretty pictures.

This book is writen for the tradesman, but is easy for a layman to understand. It covers the full range of concrete building products for residential wall systems. It provides extensive comparisons for each system, including relative cost, R-value, impact on other building components,and learning curve.

In particular,the Guide covers ICF (Insulating Concrete Forms), mortared and mortarless block, shotcrete, and proprietary systems such as the Hebel areated concrete blocks.

The authors interviewed hundreds of builders in the field and share design and installation tips as well as the relative advantages and disadvantages of each system.

Guide to Concrete Homebuilding Systems is a *must read* for anyone interested in the latest developments in concrete wall building systems.

This is the first book I have ever returned to Amazon. I was looking for a book to tell me "How To". This book is more advertising than anything else.

I bought this book because I am thinking of building my own house. This book is geared toward contractors and not homeowner-builders.

This book is an Ugly Duckling for now. Hopefully in the future they will put out a new edition with lots of colour photo's to show us what a finished project can look like. It does seem to cover most systems for building concrete structures. It is written for contractors, but with a little work it could be just as well suited for the potential home owner.

I purchased this book in 1995. It was and still is the only book of it's kind. It provides data such as time, cost, quality for a wide range of concrete construction methods. Yes there have been changes since 1994 but actual very little. I have built 12 concrete homes including my personal home of 10 years, using serveral systems covered in this excelent book

This is as another reviewer stated, "Advertising." Completely unpractical from either an engineer or buildler's point of view. Steer clear.

As we may note upon reading this tome, it is written primarily for one who is articulate with the construction trade. However it is onomonopoetic in its scope. As you read you find yourself absorbing and understanding far more than seems possible. One gets it quickly and is allowed to dream of design possibilities. I love a good book. Learning at an exponential rate is exhilerating.