Customer Reviews

Your Eco-Friendly Home: Buying, Building, or Remodeling Green

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I checked this book out while doing a college research paper on green building and design. While some of the information in this book may be useful, the book is not much different than any real estate book. The book is written by Sid Davis who is a realtor and not an expert in green building. I would suggest other books written by more credible sources. The title is intriguing yet the content is marginal.

This book tries to cover too much ground and ends up doing so poorly. Much of what is here would already be covered in any basic home buying book. I was hoping for something a little more helpful than an overview of the bid process and a reminder to read contracts carefully. Perhaps the most useful take-home point is to find a real estate agent, builder, or contractor who knows the green building field. That point is well taken, but I would still prefer a treatment that doesn't essentially assume you'll rely on those professionals for most of your information. After all, that's not why I bought the book! There are a few useful sections, but overall not enough to justify the shelf space for me. I would recommend going with a more in-depth title like The Homeowner's Handbook to Energy Efficiency: A Guide to Big and Small Improvements, Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House: Bringing Your Home into Harmony with Nature (Natural Home & Garden), and/or one of Daniel Chiras's books like The New Ecological Home: A Complete Guide to Green Building Options.

YOUR ECO-FRIENDLY HOME: BUYING, BUILDING OR REMODELING GREEN explores the basics on how to find, buy, maintain and sell a 'green' house. Over 100,000 of them have been built in the past ten years, and real estate insider Sid Davis examines the expanding green real estate movement and how to develop a home system that is green. A fine addition to any home improvement or real estate-oriented collection.