Build It Right! What to Look for in Your New Home (Paperback)

by Myron E. Ferguson (Author) "Welcome to the world of houses and homes, a world as imprecise and varied as the people who live in them..." (more)
Key Phrases: premanufactured cabinets, downdraft units, heated room air, Other Whole-House Items, National Electrical Code, Refrigerators Next (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
When you remodel or build a house, you have what can seem like a million options. Knobs, handles, or finger grooves in the kitchen cabinets? Self-rimming sink or drop-in? Top vent fireplace or direct vent? Often you're at the mercy of a contractor whose eye is on getting a bigger cut of the eventual cost, so you can end up with the most expensive--and not necessarily the best--choice. Myron Ferguson diagrams and describes the options efficiently and helpfully, and straightforwardly states when and why a certain choice is best. This simple, pragmatic guide will be worth its weight in gold to the first-time remodeler and builder.

Review
BOOK ADVISES HOMEOWNERS TO BUILD IT RIGHT Ten years ago I got my shot at the great American dream, my husband and I built our own home.

Of course we didnt actually pound nails or pour concrete, but we did draw the floor plan, work with the builder on thousands of details, and watched as our home was completed step by step. If we had been lucky enough to have seen Myron Fergusons book, "Build It Right," before we started the process we could have avoided some annoying mistakes and incorporated (for no extra money) some features that would have been great assets.

For most people, their home is the largest investment they will ever make. Paying attention to details is the difference between enjoying that investment and hopefully making a profit when the time comes to sell and owning a home that is unappealing to a new buyer. Whether you are building a new home or buying a used property, this book has plenty of suggestions. -- Elaine Jackson, The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, September 11, 1997

DO YOUR HOMEWORK Which way do the doors swing? Will headlights from passing cars shine into your living room? Is there a light above the kitchen sink? Are the tile floors slippery when wet? Is there a light switch where youll need it?

Basic questions such as these are posed in Build It Right! What to Look for in Your New Home by engineer Myron Ferguson. This newly revised edition is an excellent handbook for home buyers. A few hours spend reading this book will sharpen your critical eye as you visit models, compare one home with another and talk with builders and sales agents. Ferguson avoids jargon and tech talk and writes for a consumer audience. -- Judy Stark,Times, St. Petersburg, FL August 2, 1997

New Book Explains What to Look for In Your New Home

BUILD IT RIGHT! by Myron E. Ferguson. The title of this new book should be "Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your New Home". Author Myron E. Ferguson offers a room-by-room house tour and shows good features to emulate and bad features to avoid.

The books dozens of photos and illustrations explain the topics...The author praises good design and shows why bad planning leads to problems later. His inexpensive tips can be used by both home buyers and homeowners planning renovations.Whether you are custom-designing a new house or buying a tract or resale house, this book is must reading...On my scale of one to 10, it rates a solid 10. -- Kelly Humphrey, Northwest Florida Daily News, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, April 5, 1998

USER-FRIENDLY BOOK MAY HELP WHEN BUILDING OR BUYING

Do any of the following scenarios sound familiar?

You enter your new home after dark and spend several minutes searching for the light switch, which is inconveniently located several feet from the door. In the mean time, you stub your toe and trip over the cat... After you move in you spend hours rearranging the furniture, only to discover that there are no cable outlets near where you want to put your TV.

These sorts of aggravations plague homeowners every day. Want to avoid them? Read Myron Fergusons newly-revised book, "Build It Right: What to Look for in Your New Home." The information can benefit people who are building a custom home, buying an existing house or remodeling their current residence.

A favorite comment (of readers) is that, "You'll never look at a house the same way again after youve read "Build It Right!", Ferguson said. "It really does help people." -- Robert Bruss, Real Estate Book Review, Tribune Media Services, September 29, 1997

WILL YOUR NEW HOUSE WORK?

"Build It Right!: What to Look for in Your New Home," is the result of (Ferguson's) travels to over 1000 homes. The book reads like a home tour with someone who can stay focused on how a home works. Ferguson picks up a lot on his radar that most of would never think about, at least until we moved in and for example, had to get to the whirlpool tub's pump that "oh, no! can only be reached by removing the toilet." (A real example.)

He is a strong advocate of function, although not without sensitivity to form. "In most cases," he says, "there is little conflict between form and function....Rather, its simply a matter of remembering function."

"In one custom house I visited," he wrote, "the door from the master bedroom opens right across the door into the room where the toilet is. So to get to the toilet, you go from the bedroom into the bathroom, then you must close the door you just through so you can open the door to get to the toilet. Wanna try this in the middle of the night?"

People building custom homes can use the book to avoid the problems described. Tract-home buyers might not be able to avoid them, but Ferguson wants them at least to realize what theyre getting into.

Ferguson says hes seen some houses in which he can't find a thing to criticize. He says he also understands when a builder does something because the alternative would be expensive. What really annoys him, to this day, are all the things that could be changed, at little or no cost, but the builders just don't think about. -- Linda Shaw, Seattle Times, July 25, 1998 and these other Knight Ridder newspapers: Houston Chronicle, August 16, 1998; San Jose Mercury News, September 5, 1998; Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 27, 1998; Hartford Courant, January 31, 1999

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Product Details

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Home User Press; Rev Sub edition (June 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965485609
• ISBN-13: 978-0965485609
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #614,407 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Might save you from bad planning, but it leaves a lot unsaid, July 24, 2002

By	Michael Bird (Yorba Linda, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There is a lot of good information in this book, but there is also a lot missing as well as some misleading information. I'd recommend this book to someone that was planning on building or remodeling with the caveat that they also read from other sources or better consult with established professionals in each and every trade on the project.

The strong points of this book include good discussion of doorway layouts, spacing in kitchen and baths, things to look out for that could be problems and good questions to ask or things to consider when planning. Pointing out problems and potential problems that a homeowner may face in the future makes this book worth the money, after all, if after reading this book an owner solves or prevents just one simple mistake, the book has paid for itself many times over.

The weak points of this book are why I suggest reading elsewhere or consulting with professionals. I am an electrician by trade so I read the chapter on electrical first. It wasn't that any of the information was really bad or mistaken, but simply that I felt it didn't mention a lot of things that could and should be brought up when planning.

The author makes a point (several times) about having three conductor wire run to any potential ceiling fan location. While this isn't bad advice, it's incomplete. Many of the top of the line fans use remote control switching and don't require an extra wire. The best fans I have installed use a remote that is battery operated and the ceiling fan itself is wired to a two conductor wire that isn't even switched. If an owner picked up one of this fans they would now have a switch on the wall that did nothing or worse a switch that if turned off would cancel out the auto temperature function of the remote.

While pointing out the importance of having an extra outlet outside for things like Christmas lights, he fails to mention the nice addition of eve high outlets wired to a timer.

There are many reasons to consider timer switches, especially for outside wall and path lights. The best is a 7 day 24 hour electronic timer that fits in the space of a regular switch. These can be programed to go off at various times through out the night, a nice feature when on vacation or simply for added security.

The use of lighting controls, dimmers, timers, etc. is barely touched on or not discussed at all. While these systems can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, all but very meager budgets such at least consider the options available because for some applications the extra money can be justified.

The use of dimming xenon lighting for undercabinet use instead of fluorescent is not discussed. I believe it is a much better option.

I also noticed some problems in other trades. The use of insta hot water heaters is mentioned as a good way to save energy in the kitchen because the hot water doesn't have to travel to get there. I am not sure what the author was basing this information on, but it isn't correct. First off he implies that an insta hot can supply water at the sink but he doesn't mention that there are two kinds of systems. One is the insta hot that keeps about a gallon of near boiling water for use in making coffee, tea and instant soups and oatmeal. While this is great for people on the go or someone that doesn't want an elderly member of the family turning on the tea kettle and perhaps forgetting it; it is not an energy saving device. The second kind of insta hot is a small unit that doesn't store any water, it just heats up the water as it passes through the unit. It is really only designed for one purpose only hand washing. In the discussion on supplying extra or insta hot water for bathrooms, the author mentions that planning for the space and supplying electrical or gas are the considerations. But what about venting the unit if it is gas? This is a big consideration and would make adding a second unit not very cost effective. The best solution would simply be to add a circ pump and if necessary increase the size of the water heater. The way the information is laid out in the book would probably just confuse the non-professional.

The biggest problem I had in my reading of this book was when I read the author describe linoleum as the floor of choice in the kitchen. I nearly quit reading right there and then and threw the book in the trash. To his credit he does mention that in certain parts of the country tile is the way to go and if you live in those parts it's ok to go with tile. I happen to live in Southern California where linoleum is the flooring used in apartments and condos and cheap o tract homes. I can't believe anyone would recommend linoleum over tile. Tile stands up for years and if one breaks, which is unlikely, it can be replaced with another tile. If linoleum rips, which it's easy to do when moving appliances around, it is not as easy to fix as replacing a tile and regrouting, it will have to have a seam and seams tend to come apart after time. Plus linoleum over the years tends to get dull with wear while tile can be cleaned and resealed, linoleum is a print on paper and once it wears out or is ripped or scratched it can't be taken back to it's pristine state. While I personally hate the current trend in fake wood floors (laminates) because I think they look fake, I think a compelling argument could be made to use them over linoleum. The author of this book obviously doesn't mind linoleum, which is fine, but he fails to make a case for the other options as well as he could have and should have so that the reader could make informed choices.

Finally I would like to say that despite my misgivings and the problems I found, I'd like to reiterate that anyone going into building or buying a new home wouldn't be hurt by reading this book and even a simple suggestion or solution to a problem would pay for the cost of the book, but don't stop with just this book. It leaves too much out.

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've read on building a new house ..., July 7, 2001

By	"rsukla" (Okemos, MI United States) - See all my reviews

The author does an excellent job of walking the reader through the residential build process, beginning with lot selection, choosing an architect and builder, design, and construction. This book is rich with helpful, practical, and useful information on a variety of topics, including windows and doors, the electrical and non-electrical wiring, HVAC, and plumbing. The suggestions offered are straight-forward and are common sense ideas that will help anyone building a new home. Recommendations such as wiring garage door openers to an electrical switch that can be turned off while the house is vacant as a security precaution, installing a basement floor drain for high-efficiency furnaces or if a humidifier is installed, using a mixing valve to bring both hot and cold water to an outside hose bib, are just a few examples that are offered. I found the section on kitchen design/layout, countertop selection, and exhaust systems very useful, as it caused me to alter some of the design I had previously done in the construction of my home, which will prevent me from experiencing certain issues that I may have otherwise overlooked.

Having built 2 homes previously and having read 4 books on this topic in the past 2 months, I can tell you without reservation that this is the most-comprehensive, organized, and easy-to-read book I have found available on this topic thus far. I would highly recommend the material for anyone who is either building a new home or planning to undergo a renovation of their existing house. For first-time home builders, you will find this book invaluable.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book written for the first-time builder!, January 22, 2001

By A Customer

Not only was this book easy to ready, but it was extremely informative. I bought several books after my husband and I decided to build a new home and this was the best. Whether you're doing your own contracting or hiring one, this book explains, in detail, what makes a good home and what is sloppy or poorly designed construction. It makes you think of things you might not have -- such as leaving enough clearance when building cabinets so you can walk around the open diswasher, or checking to make sure the interior doors all swing the right way so they don't open into each other. It talks about insulation, cabinets, heating and air vents, placement and number of electrical outlets you should have, etc. Truly, a wonderful book. I followed almost every suggestion that applied to our construction.