How to Plan, Contract, and Build Your Own Home, 5E: Green Edition |  | Authors: Richard Scutella, Dave Heberle
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 608
ISBN: 0071603301
Dewey Decimal Number: 690
EAN: 9780071603300
ASIN: 0071603301
Publication Date: November 2, 2009 (In 349 Days)
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Product Description
Step-by-step blueprint for do-it-yourself home builders. From locating an architect, to hiring workers, to selecting features and fixtures, and more, here's how to build or expand your own home from start to finish--and save! Richard M. Scutella and Dave Heberle's soup-to-nuts guide, How to Plan, Contract and Build Your Own Home, Third Edition, leads you through the perils of homebuilding to make sure you end up with exactly what you want. You get point-by-point tips on choosing a site and style, keeping home traffic patterns sensible, deciding on the right size for rooms, preparing plans, getting permits and more. Unique "quality control" insights into each stage of construction highlight problems to watch out for--foundation, roof, floors, walls, stairs, walkways and driveways, heating and cooling, electrical capacity and wiring, even computer wiring and alarm sensors. From turning the first shovel of earth to the final inspection, this homeowner's construction manual makes sure your dream house will be a dream come true.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 I built my house using this! My builder was impressed!! September 5, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book gives excellent strategic advice. It is not a tactical manual on how to build a house with your own hands, but rather informs a buyer on how to get the job done and which decisions are critical (e.g. site selection, architecture design selection, and builder selection). If you want to learn how to install drywall, then this is not the book for you. If you want to get a general idea of how it is done, but want to learn more about specifications from an owner's perspective, then this is the book for you. Some of the best advice in the book is really in the chapters on builders (how to select them, and how to work with them). This 'soft sceince' is the critical knowledge that I needed to build my own home that I would not have obtained otherwise. The sample specifications list using a HUD form proved to be invaluable to me. I didn't need an architect after that.
Good Introduction to the Building Concepts September 1, 2005
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
I have a slight problem with the title of this book. Will it enable you to build your own home? Yes, if by build your own home you mean hiring carpenters, plumbers, electricians and the like. But no if you mean grabbing a hammer, pipe wrench and a roll of wire.
This book is a general introduction to the concept of building a house. Here's what to think of when you are planning a house. Here are some of the basic concepts of plumbing. Think about wiring like this. It's a general introduction to nearly every aspect of building a house from footers to roofing.
Could you use this book to act as your own contractor. Probably if you study it really carefully, have some experience yourself or someone you trust to spend a lot of time talking to you.
The orientation of the book is for you to really get a contractor. But by reading the book, you know a lot more than most people, you'll save a lot of time, and you'll understand the jargon that they use to describe parts of the house.
A quick education . . . April 15, 2005
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
We bought a house to be built, but had no experience or background in construction. This book was a tremendous help in getting us up to speed and it allowed us to be conversant, and more importantly watchful, of the developer and contractor. I was able to intelligently review plans and specs after reading through this book. It did not make me an expert, but I am light years ahead of where I was before I picked it up. Essential for anyone planning to build or buying new construction that is yet to be built/completed. Highly recommended.
How To Plan, Design & Contract Your Own Home January 10, 2005
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book is very helpful for you to work with and speak the language of your contractor. It is not designed for you to be your own contractor, but to work with one that you select. In Part II "How to Build It", the book shows how a house is put together. If you never lift a hammer throughout the entire construction process, it still pays to know how a house can and should be put together. The difference between mediocre and excellent construction involves a ridiculously small materials cost. Knowing construction methods and materials will also assist you in your dealings with whichever contractor you choose.
 Good book for information but not instruction January 6, 2005
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I bought the book with the intention of using it as a guide as I built my new home. I found it more of a research guide to use in the process of preparing to build or purchase a new home. The "how to" portion is absolutely not there. It is a good book and well worth the money, but not what I was looking for. I was looking for something to "knock the cobwebs off my brain", since it has been over 20 years since I was involved in home construction in my late teens. I just bought another book on line, "How to design, build, remodel and maintain your home", hopefully this will meet my needs.
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