Today’s regulations, combined with consumer culture make affordable building more difficult than ever. Not only do codes require expensive construction (for noble reasons like safety and energy efficiency). Homeowners consider luxuries standard amenities. “The new refrigerator isn’t wifi enabled – what’s wrong with you?” Continue reading 8 Timeless Rules of Affordable Building
What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating, could be called “What Your Contractor Should Tell You”. This paperback is full of valuable advice for everyone building or remodeling. Written by a construction manager, the focus isn’t about self-building or self-contracting. Instead, the reader will learn to reduce risk and increase success when hiring building pros. Thorough discussions about working well with others, budgets, contract types and avoiding common pitfalls are included. Also covered are tips for using budget as a management tool and understanding the pro’s perspective. Continue reading Review: What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You
From the Buildwise Unauthorized Dictionary
Common Definition: A manufactured fireplace appliance. These units are made of lightweight insulated metal and don’t require a foundation. Gas units with sealed glass doors are vented “directly” through an exterior wall. Since no chimney is required, they can be placed almost anywhere.
Unauthorized Definition: A cheap metal box that doesn’t look like a real fireplace. A fake fire, only slightly better than hanging a photo of a burning log on the wall. Continue reading Featured Term: 0-Clearance Fireplace
Can Homes be too Clean for Health?
Yes, a growing body of evidence suggests hyper-clean homes aren’t always healthy. Not only are today’s homes dirt free, energy codes encourage tight building, effectively sealing the environment like Tupperware. Together these trends reveal Westerners live in sterile bubbles. Yet the research is clear, this lifestyle choice is causing a public health crisis. Continue reading The Not So Clean Home
Home Improvement Projects for the Busy & Broke: How To Get Your $h!t Together and Live Like An Adult, is a book geared towards the young professional finally living in that first apartment or house. If you don’t mind the occasional swearing for emphasis, the text is entertaining and edgy. A writing style undoubtedly appealing to millennials who read sentences between texts and tweets. Chapters begin with the basics of how to live like an adult: Stop partying every night, get motivated, make your bed and clean your room. Advice my teenagers hear daily, usually at high volume. Apparently many kids don’t. Continue reading Review: Home Improvements for the Busy & Broke
Can Homeowners & Pros Prevent Mold?
Homeowners often wonder if mold can be entirely eliminated from their home. Sadly, the answer is no. Don’t panic, mold naturally occurs in every environment. Humans have evolved to coexist with small amounts of this tiny microbe. Many foods humans love, including cheese and soy sauce, contain mold. Antibiotics like penicillin, which transformed modern medicine, are derived from mold. Continue reading Mold Resistant Home Design
From the Buildwise Unauthorized Dictionary
Common Definition: The way a door opens and closes.
Unauthorized Definition: Doors operate in a variety of ways. But architects and builders prefer some types over others. Pros can be quite opinionated about door types. Disdain is universal for doors that are hard to install or need constant maintenance. Topping the evil door list is the pocket door!
Sound Like a Pro: Below is a list of door operation types. Also included is a short description and industry perception. Continue reading Featured Term: Door Operation
Carter’s Way: A No-Nonsense Method for Designing Your Own Super Stylish Home is an interior design book based on Carter Oosterhouse’s HGTV program. Sadly I’ve never seen his show. But I have read this book. Switching between images of well decorated rooms and Carter pretending to cut boards, at first worried me. Employing a ghost writer furthered suspicion. And suggesting his method leads to “super stylish” homes didn’t help either. Yet buried within these pages are loads of practical advice that may help homeowners take charge of their interior design projects. Continue reading Review: Carter’s Way
What is Self Contracting?
Self contracting is the audacious idea that homeowners can manage their own construction projects. By eliminating the general contractor (GC), homeowners accept responsibility for hiring subcontractors, ordering materials, permits and warranty issues – in hopes of big cost savings.
Several popular books on the subject fan the flames, claiming homeowners can save between 25% and 42% while achieving a better project. Are these claims true? Can self contracting dramatically increase both savings and quality? Continue reading Is Self Contracting Reasonable?
With a name like, SoulSpace: Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life, written by a Los Angeles based interior designer. I naturally assumed this text was “new age” babble. I was wrong. Nor is it your typical photo filled portfolio showcasing the latest, soon to be forgotten, trends. Don’t expect a single image, not one. When opening this cover, you’ll find a refreshing alternative to the consumer oriented interior design industry. A book that’s as much self-help guide as design manual. Continue reading Review: SoulSpace