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How to Design and Build Your Own House (Paperback)

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3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book guides you systematically through the whole process of designing and building your own house. It offers practical assistance from the moment you begin thinking about the kind of house you want. It helps you focus your ideas and translate them into working plans. It shows you how to estimate costs. Then, step by step, it shows you how to construct the house -- explaining and illustrating every step systematically so that you can proceed confidently from beginning to end.

Here are complete, clear instructions on everything you need to know, including:
-- How to decide what you want the house to be like -- inside and outside, and in relation to the environment and neighborhood
-- How to translate your ideas and decisions into working drawings
-- How to deal with all the components of a house: structural (roof, floor, walls, columns, foundations), mechanical (plumbing and heating), electrical, interior and exterior finishing materials
-- How to establish the exact dimensions of everything, how to decide and specify where components go (from windows, heating ducts, and electrical outlets to toilets and showers)
-- How to choose and specify those parts of the house (windows, doors, furnace, hardware) that can be purchased prefabricated and ready to install
-- How to estimate costs of everything specified
-- How to incorporate the latest energy-conserving materials and equipment
-- Step-by-step directions on how to build the house section by section, from excavation and foundations to floors, walls, and roof; fireplaces, chimneys, and stairs; plumbing, heating, and electricity; wood shingles, gutters, and waterproofing; how to lay brick and principles of brick construction...everything!

Practical information is provided on purchasing materials and tools. And, throughout the book (exactly where needed) are pertinent instructions on basic techniques such as how to mix and work concrete, build forms, lay block, toe-in a nail, install a lockset, cut gypsum board and tile. Tables are included for calculating heat loss, loads, distances between structural elements, and so on. And the 748 line drawings illustrate every aspect of design and construction.

With its clarity and authority -- and its extraordinary wealth of specific, detailed instruction -- this is the single most comprehensive and useful book ever published on how to design and build your own house.



From the Inside Flap

This book guides you systematically through the whole process of designing and building your own house. It offers practical assistance from the moment you begin thinking about the kind of house you want. It helps you focus your ideas and translate them into working plans. It shows you how to estimate costs. Then, step by step, it shows you how to construct the house -- explaining and illustrating every step systematically so that you can proceed confidently from beginning to end.

Here are complete, clear instructions on everything you need to know, including:
-- How to decide what you want the house to be like -- inside and outside, and in relation to the environment and neighborhood
-- How to translate your ideas and decisions into working drawings
-- How to deal with all the components of a house: structural (roof, floor, walls, columns, foundations), mechanical (plumbing and heating), electrical, interior and exterior finishing materials
-- How to establish the exact dimensions of everything, how to decide and specify where components go (from windows, heating ducts, and electrical outlets to toilets and showers)
-- How to choose and specify those parts of the house (windows, doors, furnace, hardware) that can be purchased prefabricated and ready to install
-- How to estimate costs of everything specified
-- How to incorporate the latest energy-conserving materials and equipment
-- Step-by-step directions on how to build the house section by section, from excavation and foundations to floors, walls, and roof; fireplaces, chimneys, and stairs; plumbing, heating, and electricity; wood shingles, gutters, and waterproofing; how to lay brick and principles of brick construction...everything!

Practical information is provided on purchasing materials and tools. And, throughout the book (exactly where needed) are pertinent instructions on basic techniques such as how to mix and work concrete, build forms, lay block, toe-in a nail, install a lockset, cut gypsum board and tile. Tables are included for calculating heat loss, loads, distances between structural elements, and so on. And the 748 line drawings illustrate every aspect of design and construction.

With its clarity and authority -- and its extraordinary wealth of specific, detailed instruction -- this is the single most comprehensive and useful book ever published on how to design and build your own house.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf; 2 Rev Exp edition (October 12, 1987)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0394752007
  • ISBN-13: 978-0394752006
  • Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.2 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #266,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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 (4)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tells what to think about, July 17, 2002
By A Customer
Anybody can sit down and draw a rough floor plan. But this book tells you to think in terms of how you use space rather than rooms. That simple piece of advice makes you think differently about what you want in a house and what you need. If you are thinking of building, GET THIS BOOK. Even if you're going to a contractor or architect, get the book and sit down with your whole family to make plans. You'll find out about personal privacy issues, how your rooms and spaces should flow, how to make your house more efficient not from an energy standpoint, but from a "how I use my house" point of view.
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61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars How to Design and Build Your Own House, October 1, 2001
By Rich Sundquist (Placerville, CA United States) - See all my reviews
I used this book to design and build my first house 15 years ago. I am now a general building contractor and continue to use it so much that that first copy is worn out and I'm buying a replacement. It offers a wonderful combination of design ideas, structural tables, and common sense advice.
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of process!, October 22, 1999
By A Customer
Great attention to many points which must be considered for design and building a home. While the material (particularily the pictures) are dated, the overall advice is timeless. Impressed that it admits not everyone is suited to the demands of the process.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars "architect, use of."
This is definitely not a book for anyone with a serious interest in architectural design. There are inumerable books on "how to design and build your own house. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John Milnes Baker

4.0 out of 5 stars Good roadmap
This book gives you an insight into the complexities of building your own house. Organization seems to be key.
Published 16 months ago by Michael P. Quinn

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference
Great reference for all the phases of building. A good general overview, does not go in depth on each portion. A good reference if you plan to build your own house.
Published 19 months ago by Chelsea Walsh

1.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was looking for
I was looking for a book that had information one needed to know about subcontracting. I bought this book, because the computer search stated that this was the best book for this... Read more
Published on March 24, 2007 by D. Brown

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading....
I bought this book a few years ago after reading the great reviews. After reading the book I was like "wow this stuff is extremely complicated you almost have to have a college... Read more
Published on July 18, 2006 by Spazmonkey

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Starter Book
As a person who is looking to build their own house the book provided a good start. It gave a great overview of how to design living area and incorporate ideas to the plan. Read more
Published on February 23, 2006 by M. Smith

2.0 out of 5 stars out of date
Many of the concepts are timeless but the edition I received was 15 years old and much of the technology and materials in house building have changed.
Published on December 12, 2003 by James D Cross

5.0 out of 5 stars Broadest coverage, patiently explained
It's not easy to cover such a huge subject, but these two architects do a remarkable job. The illustrator gets equal billing, and it's well-deserved, as the drawings alone are... Read more
Published on January 27, 2003 by misterbeets

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