Building An Affordable House: A Smart Guide to High-Value, Low-Cost Construction
by Fernando Pages Ruiz
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Book Summary Information
Author: Fernando Pages RuizEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-02-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Taunton
Book Reviews of Building An Affordable House: A Smart Guide to High-Value, Low-Cost Construction
Book Review: How to build a ticking time bomb of dilapidation...
Summary: 3 Stars
"Building An Affordable House: A Smart Guide to High-Value, Low-Cost Construction" is a well written and concise primer on the ways, some of long standing practice in the building trade and others involving advances in technology, to build a house using as little material as possible, and the cheapest components available for each assembly, that will be superficially attractive to price sensitive buyers while still passing local building codes.
The houses that result from this approach will be so precisely honed for the benefit of the developer, and so finely balanced on the knife edge of legally acceptable practices, material strengths, engineering tolerances and worker competence that, it is almost a foregone conclusion, the houses will be ticking time bombs of dilapidation. The question will not be "if" he houses will last, but how soon they will start falling apart from wear and tear and a vulnerability to any given part of the system falling off the edge of tolerances as closely figured as this book suggests. The author is of the school that building codes are the maximum that one should have to do, not the minimum that one should accept. The author feels that the margins for error and structural redundancies built into many code requirements and traditional engineering conventions are needless wastes and money foolishly taken from the builder's bottom line.
The book is a wonderful step by step road map to all the things that you would not want in any house that you wanted to buy or live in yourself, and all the details that one should keep an eye out for in assessing a house that one might purchase. As such, it allows a potential home buyer to sort of reverse engineer a finished house and look for telltale practices that the builder, or a remodeller, may have used to cut corners in construction and finish.
The author feels, strongly, that by using computer based calculations and looking at the engineering tolerances of the building as an entire system that must pass code, rather than as discreet segments that must be strong enough to stand alone, that a house can be pared down to the barest number of studs, sacks of concrete, nails, fasteners, lengths of pipe, diameters of drains, number of fixtures, drywall, spacing of structural members and runs of wiring possible. Time and again code regulations meant to protect home buyers from shoddy construction are derided as archaic, obsolete, out of touch and needlessly expensive. The author explains in lucid detail how to build the housing version of a Chevy Cavalier, a Dodge Neon or a Ford Pinto.
Page after page is filled with completely rational sounding and soothingly expert explanations of how to save $50 here, a $100 there and so forth, that all add up to profit for the builder and all of which will have long lasting implications for the house and the house owner, while still passing the bare minimum code requirements.
A great guidebook to what the building trade does, surely every day, to build and sell housing that conforms to superficial buyer expectations at the highest price with the least real content. A three star *** book based on the quality of its writing and presentation, that is otherwise a primer on cheapness that sends the wrong message to builders, and a warning to buyers.
Summary of Building An Affordable House: A Smart Guide to High-Value, Low-Cost Construction
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.
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