| | |  | Design Books | Home » » Building an Affordable House | | | | | | | Description: | | The first comprehensive guide of its kind, Building an Affordable House is for homeowners and building contractors who want to incorporate proven cost-saving techniques into their projects. Written by a contractor who has been nationally recognized for his innovative approach to cost control, this book shows readers how to generate significant savings on major projects such as building a new home or adding on to an existing one. The first section provides an economical approach to planning projects, while the second reveals the quality-conscious, cost-cutting strategies the author has uncovered through direct construction experience and extensive consultation with industry experts. The third section covers finish details from drywall to flooring, with emphasis on saving money without compromising quality or distinctive results. Handy features include floor plans, resource listings, and project management tools. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9781561585960
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Fernando Pages Ruiz | | Paperback:
| 208 pages | | Publisher:
| Taunton Press | | Publication Date:
| January 01, 2005 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1561585963 | | Product Length:
| 10.8 inches | | Product Width:
| 9.1 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.6 pounds | | Package Length:
| 10.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.55 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 26 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 26 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
128 of 130 found the following review helpful:
Chock full of good ideasApr 02, 2005
By Mark
"eclectic dilettante"
This book has snappy writing and good ideas, but seems to suffer from "magazine-frenzy-layout." By that, I mean there is at least one color picture per page (even gratuitous ones), stylish diagrams, pull-quotes, and sidebars. But sometimes this is just distracting. Some of the ideas are not explained or pursued, which leads me to suspect that portion of the text was lifted as-is from a magazine article. The book is only 200 pages (light-weight pages considering so many extraneous pictures.)
Sorry for so much griping, but I have come to expect more from Taunton Press, and it is sad to see their quality slipping.
HAVING SAID all that, I still liked the book and highly recommend it. It is refreshing to have such forward-thinking ideas presented all together in one place and compared. I appreciated especially the chapter on insulation for its side-by-side analysis of several alternatives to the "standard" fiberglass batts.
Examples:
p. 102 picture does not relate to caption
p. 107 caption identifies Vanguard PEX but Wirsbo is pictured
p. 117 caption mentions gas water heater flue, but an electric unit is pictured
p. 119 & 131 have identical pictures & captions.
66 of 67 found the following review helpful:
Fresh information from experienced builderMar 12, 2005
By misterbeets
"misterbeets"
This book is for builders, not homeowners, and assumes you already know know to build a house. It provides a foundation-to-finish review of the homebuilding process, showing where to save money at every step. Sometimes this means finding areas that are overbuilt--here you'll have to carefully consider which suggestions to use--but often it means using the latest technological advances, and this is what makes the book unique. It presents the most up-to-date products available from your local ready-mix supplier alongside the newest framing connectors or plumbing fixtures. The author explains things well, and his years of hands-on experience are evident throughout.
36 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 Not just for home owners!Aug 02, 2005
By J. Paul Dunbar
I always take a risk buying construction books on line. Half the time they are written for the first timer, or home owner, and I get a bunch of info that I already know. This book, however, was labeled for the home owner type, but turned out to be on a builders level! I learned several new techniqes that I did not know, this has saved me untold thousands of dollars on my up coming projects. I would like to see a book from the same guy that would go into even more detail, like an advanced level of the same. The author had to do this first one to appeal to the most people, but I know he has tons of more detail he could put in a book twice as thick as this one. Still, this is a great help in building a good house cheep!
62 of 67 found the following review helpful:
Author defends premiseAug 10, 2006
By Fernando Pages Ruiz
I have read the critical reviews, and they state in general terms that the advice given in my book helps builders save building costs at the expense of energy efficiency and durability. This puzzles me, given the emphasis I place stressing the difference between cheap housing and housing that achieves a high value in relationship to its cost. This book was not written by a journalist, but a builder. A builder in a small community where a people know you by name, and can find you at home. If I built low quality homes, my business would end within a year. Instead, I win awards, municipal contracts to build high profile projects and enjoy an excellent reputation. All my houses qualify for Energy Star certification. Because of my reputation and track record, HUD chose my company to build the 2006 Concept House--a house that showcases the best in modern construction methods. In fact, I live in one of my own homes and in one of my own neighborhoods. How many developers can face their buyers on a daily basis? Having practiced the trade of affordable homebuilding for most of my life, my book simply offers a trade memoir of my experience along with information gathered among the best builders in the nation--the kind that set the standards. The approach I outline in the book certainly applies to affordable housing, but it works at any price point. It is a method to achieve the best value for each dollar spent. You, the reader, set the "value" standard. For example, as a homeowner, I used the methods prescribed build my house at a cost of about 75-percent of its value, allowing me to afford a much nicer home than my income would suggest--affordable to me. And in an extreme climate, my utility costs remain negligible. My book will not help you build a cheap house, but it will help you save money while building an energy efficient, durable home.
Fernando Pagés
Brighton Construction Company
1941 K Street
Lincoln, NE 68510
402-434-2456
Fax-434-2458
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Best construction book on the marketApr 09, 2005
By Quickdraw
As a residential designer of green homes I am always struggling with showing my clients how building green is a good investment. This book gives you the information you need to make a strong resource efficient home that saves the client money.
I will be using the information in this book for the rest of my career. Everyone in the building trades owes it to themselves, their clients and the planet to read this book and implement its techniques. With any luck this book will also help to change the archaic building codes which infest the building department of every county and city in the US.
Buy it and encourage your building associates to buy it too! You will be so glad you did.
See all 26 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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