"I began building tiny houses back in 2009 when I built one for my mom. The house she was living in was starting to fall apart and become unlivable, so I knew I had to find her alternative housing. After researching various options I discovered the tiny house movement and realized that it was the perfect solution for her. A tiny house could be constructed to very high standards and still be affordable, plus it can be easily moved"--Author
Pretty Good House provides a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home that focus on its inhabitants and the environment--but keeps in mind that few people have pockets deep enough to achieve a "perfect" solution. The essential idea is for homeowners to work within their financial and practical constraints both to meet their own needs and do as much for the planet as possible. A Pretty Good House is: * A house that's as small as possible * Simple and durable, but also well designed * Insulated and air-sealed * Above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible, and resilient.
Building Your Own Home A Step-by-Step Guide "This is an impressive undertaking. I've seen plenty of books about home construction techniques but this is the first one I've seen that packages construction information with the whole process of acquiring the property." --P. Gilbert Mercurio, Executive Vice President Westchester County Board of Realtors "Written by an expert in both design and construction, the book is highly readable and addresses each aspect of the home building process in terms of cost-effectiveness, quality and aesthetics." --Michel Sargious, PhD, P.Eng. Professor Department of Civil Engineering The University of Calgary Now Building Your Own Home puts complicated material into terms anyone can easily understand. From managing the construction process like a pro to mastering every legal and financial detail, you get step-by-step instruction to guide you through the entire construction process. It explains with 132 clarifying photographs and illustrations how each part of the house is built. You'll learn how to: * find a good lot and select an appropriate design * apply for a building permit, secure the best financing terms as well as the best insurance coverage * handpick top-notch independent contractors--and successfully manage their work * control every stage of construction, from door knobs to deck installation to the plumbing and electrical work Easy-to-read and filled with practical information, Building Your Own Home contains everything you need to build a customized house of your dreams.
Have you ever dreamed of building or at least living in a beautiful stone house? For more than five years Stonefield Publishing's Stone House: A Guide to Self-Building with Slipforms has been the prime source for information on a unique method of stone masonry that affords everyone, regardless of their level of building experience, the opportunity to create walls and even homes of stone. "The technique has been around for a long time," says author Tomm Stanley, "but it's not that well known. Add to that the mystique that surrounds the traditional craft of stonemasonry and there's no wonder that stone houses are not all that common, even in areas where stone is abundant". The book has now been revised and is being re-released with two new chapters, digital enhancement to the original images and new photographs. Stonefield Publishing's Marketing Manager Brad Andersen notes, "We've received a lot of great feedback from readers over the years but one consistent issue was the image quality. We took those comments to heart and with technology that wasn't available to us back in 2003 have just brought the photos to life". Tomm says that writing the new chapters and preparing the revised edition for print allowed him to finally complete his original vision of the book. "One of the new chapters, called Reflections, could only have been written after the passage of time. It's about looking back and thinking about what could have been done differently, what worked very well and also speculating on potential targets for future alteration. It really finished the story for me and makes it more complete for readers." Stone House focuses on the story of Tomm Stanley's own experience of building his house with the slipform method. This book is certainly not your average "how-to" offering; it is more like a tapestry of information and entertainment interwoven with technical advice, diagrams and pictures, tales of the owner builder experience and as the title implies, plenty of guidance on how to build your own stone house using the slipform method of construction. It makes great reading for those that are on the way to becoming self-builders as well as the rest of us that dream of such adventures.
In a savvy and thorough guide to remodeling and building homes, architect and project manager Kristina Leigh Wiggins guides us through every step of the daunting process. Whether your project is indoors or outdoors, long term or short term, big or small, you¿ll want to have Building Your Home: A Simple Guide to Making Good Decisions by your side to help you achieve the home of your dreams.
This complete guide to building your own home covers every step of the process. It includes advice on: how to select land ; design guidelines; the roles of professional consultants ; how to deal with the workings of control authorities ; preparing working drawings ;who's who of subcontracting and supply industries. Includes in detail the practical steps that owner-builders need to take to ensure their building meets the aims of local regulations in environmental efficiency. Also included are detailed drawings showing how all the components are assembled to achieve the home of your dreams.
Buying a new home can be an expensive endeavor. Many people dream of building their own home but mistakenly believe that doing so is not cost effective. However, you can save 20 to 40 percent or more by building your own home. In The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Home and Saving Thousands on Your New House you will discover that your dream can become reality. From basic planning to construction methods, this new book will take you through all the steps of building your own home. You will learn how to: choose a site, draw up a construction time line, apply for construction loans and financing, obtain essential insurance information, buy or prepare inexpensive plans, find and negotiate with subcontractors, comply with building codes, select features and fixtures, choose the style of the house, decide on the size of the rooms, and get building permits. You will learn about building materials and foundations, floors, walls, paint, windows, decks, garage doors, roofing, flashings, chimneys, plumbing, wiring, ceilings, floors, railings, and attics. In addition, you will learn how to design a home that will meet your needs, perform constructions tasks safely, and build amenities. This book will inform you about common problems to watch for, including foundation, roofing, walls, stairs, sidewalks, driveways, heating and cooling, electrical capacity, and wiring. This book will detail money-saving options and environmentally friendly techniques, while at the same time allowing you to monitor the quality of the materials and the workmanship, fine-tune the design, and make sure the results are exactly what you had envisioned. Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company president's garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice. Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.