Foundations & Concrete Work (Best of Fine Homebuilding) (Paperback)

by Fine Homebuilding Editors (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Here is professional guidance for anyone planning to build, repair or renovate foundations, driveways, retaining walls and other concrete structures. Readers learn all about how to use, mix and cure concrete. Thirty-two complete articles from builders, masons and engineers show how to lay out a site, pour footings, slabs and walls, design forms, insulate masonry wallsplus how to avoid common mistakes. Color throughout.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Taunton (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561581828
• ISBN-13: 978-1561581825
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,163,630 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is an interesting and information book, May 3, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This book consists of a collection of articles which have appeared in the "Fine Homebuilding" magazine. As such, it covers the topics which the people who wrote the articles chose to discuss, which implies that some topics are covered more than once, while others may not be dealt with at all. There is not necessarily comprehensive coverage of the subject, which a beginner or student of the material may require.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so great...., March 20, 2001

By	Rob Stokes (Sumner, WA United States) - See all my reviews

I purchased this book with the intent on learning about laying my own forms, and pouring footings for a small garage addition. Although there is good information in the book, it is not cohesive, nor does it flow and in fact is quite dis-jointed. I did not learn what I needed to know about form building, but I did learn more than I really needed to know about several other areas of concrete work.

I was really hoping that a "project progression" approach would have been a natural means of writing a book such as this, but I gambled and lost. This book goes on the shelf and I'm poorer for it's purchase.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Variety of concrete methods, June 19, 2001

By	Daniel J Dravis (Eau Claire, WI United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this book because I'm removing my current driveway and wanted to replace it myself to save labor costs. I did find an article on driveways which was useful to me. I also found several other article of interest becuase I plan on building my own house from the ground up in the future.

As some other reviewers have pointed out, this is not a "project progression" book. There are plenty of others out there, go buy one of them. If you want to find out what's new and innovative in the trade, try this one! I recently went of a "Parade of Homes" in my area (northern Wisconsin) that was supposed to show off homes of the best builders in the area. Was I disappionted!! Only 1 of 16 homes had used any of these new ideas. Nearly every one had a damp/wet basement. People just stick with the same techniques that were used 25+ years ago.

If you are about to build, buy a book like this, get informed and either do it yourself or make your builder, build you a "modern" home.