Editorial Review:

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.

As I am planning to build a huge home,and will probably be my own contractor, I have bought dozens of books so that I am well informed. This book is one of the best and has been extremely helpful to me in understanding the details of foundations, framing, roofing etc.The book is a great value providing over 700 pages of clear and useful information. Although you may not need to read every one of the 35 chapters, you will surely get your money's worth and learn very important things you need to know. Highly recommended to anyone building a house. This book is not full of hype and presents tons of information in a no-nonsense manner that is appreciated. It also has many good diagrams and illustrations which help to clarify the text for the beginner trying to understand the basics. Whether you are building yourself or hiring a builder, you will have the necessary knowledge to make sure your home is one of high quality.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Excellent Resource
As I am planning to build a huge home,and will probably be my own contractor, I have bought dozens of books so that I am well informed. This book is one of the best and has been extremely helpful to me in understanding the details of foundations, framing, roofing etc.The book is a great value providing over 700 pages of clear and useful information. Although you may not need to read every one of the 35 chapters, you will surely get your money's worth and learn very important things you need to know. Highly recommended to anyone building a house. This book is not full of hype and presents tons of information in a no-nonsense manner that is appreciated. It also has many good diagrams and illustrations which help to clarify the text for the beginner trying to understand the basics. Whether you are building yourself or hiring a builder, you will have the necessary knowledge to make sure your home is one of high quality.

Rating: - Omissions in 4th ed. - Wrong back cover, editorial
FIrst, it should be noted that the editorial review and back cover both note, "Know when you'll move in with a helpful calendar-style checklist" and "Select the right mortgage". Neither of those are covered, at least not in this 4th edition. I see the number of pages were reduced from 824 pages in the 3rd ed. to 791 in this edition. Part of the mystery may be that the index does have an entry that says, "moving in timeline, 783-803". Well, not only does it NOT have 803 pages, the index is on pages 775 - 791! Finally, the back cover also says "Evaluate doing it yourself vs. subcontracting". This my be presented in a round-about way, but it really goes right into using a builder - never presenting the "do-it-yourself" versus contractor analysis.

With that said, the book DOES provide a lot of great information. Every part of the building process seems to be covered. The pros/cons of the various construction methods (such as foundation types, wall construction, etc.) is very useful.

The bottom line is this is a very good book that I would recommend for anyone building a home, but just keep in mind things noted in the editorial info, back cover, etc. are missing. I can't believe the editorial staff at McGraw-Hill were so negligent in this matter, and it makes me wonder what other inconsistencies can be found throughout the book.

---

Rating: - I built my house using this! My builder was impressed!!
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.

---

Rating: - Good Introduction to the Building Concepts
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.

---

Rating: - A quick education . . .
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.


see more

Related Items:

So... You Want To Build a House: A Complete Workbook for Building Your Own Home

Be Your Own House Contractor

Tips & Traps When Building Your Home

What Your Contractor Can't Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating

The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home