Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
rmverb

Home building books?

rmverb
9 years ago

Can anyone recommend any good books on the process of building a new home? We have just purchased a 2 acre lot and won t be building for a while but I want to prepare myself the best I can by doing some research. I'm also interested in any other resources you can recommend as well.

Comments (13)

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    What type of information are you looking for?

    If you need help on how to select a style of house, I would suggest "What Not to Build" if you are interested in typical current architectural styles.

    If you want a really classical house I would suggest "Get Your House Right" by Marianne Cusato.

    "Designing your Dream Home" by Susan Lang discusses the process.

    The Sarah Susanka books are nice smaller, or thoughtfully, efficiently designed houses.

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    Get a job on a costruction site. There is no better education. Seriously.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Or volunteer with habitat for humanity.

    "Building your own home for dummies."

  • mushcreek
    9 years ago

    I have a number of books on home building, that is, actually building the house. I can look up the titles if you're interested.

    I recommend greenbuildingtalk.com if you want to learn about energy efficiency in building. There have been a lot of advances in recent years, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune to build a reasonably efficient home.

  • renovator8
    9 years ago

    I have about a hundred books on this rather large subject. Tell me who will design it and who will build it. Also the climate, size, important site features and rough budget.

  • rmverb
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm not looking for "how to" books. Just looking for some literature that talks about the process in general, common problems, tips on what's important, what to avoid, etc. Tne house will be built in Eastern Pa on mostly flat, but very slightly sloping 2 acre lot. Budget for the house in 500-600k.

  • Kjerstin Boorstein
    9 years ago

    Good suggestions, so far. I have many of the books mentioned. For info on the process of building, I would just add 'What Your Contractor Can't Tell You' by Amy Johnston.

    Here is a link that might be useful: What Your Contractor Can't Tell You

  • energy_rater_la
    9 years ago

    www.buildingscience.com

    you can order book specific to your location/climate.

    if you've got 500K to spend, start out with efficiency
    & performance in mind.

    the site has excellent info in fact sheets & pdf's also.

    best of luck

  • renovator8
    9 years ago

    There are many ways to design and build a house and therefore there are many books about them but the decisions to be made first are who will design the house and who will build it.

    This post was edited by Renovator8 on Tue, Jun 24, 14 at 12:10

  • violetwest
    9 years ago

    First stop: the library. Tons and tons of free info there, and you can narrow down the books that seem most useful for you and your situation.

    As one of the above posters said, Sarah Susanka of the "Not So Big House" series of books--fabulous for thinking about what you really need and modern home layouts. I put a link to her site.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Not So Big House

  • renovator8
    9 years ago

    Just be aware that Sarah Susanka is selling house plans and they are expensive for houses that were not designed for your family or your site. There is nothing unusual about designing a house just large enough for your needs. IMO there are many better architects to hire or inspire.

  • ontariomom
    9 years ago

    I also like the Sarah Susanka books. Another book I found useful was The Difference is in the Details which was an ebook that covered what not to forget when designing and building a home. The ideas in this ebook overlap somewhat with the GW thread "Things that got forgotten. I have linked it below as the author also has free newsletters. Btw, have no association with the book.

    Carol

    Here is a link that might be useful: Difference is in the detail

  • amberm145_gw
    9 years ago

    I like Sarah Susanka. Her ideas aren't necessarily unique. But she explains them well.