MBR: The Architecture Shelf

The Architecture Shelf

Adobe Houses For Today
Laura Sanchez & Alex Sanchez
Sunstone Press
239 Johnson Street, Santa Fe, NM 875042321
9780865346628, $29.95, www (dot) sunstonepress (dot) com

Adobe houses have experienced a renewal of interest with
environmentally concerned home owners because of its inherent energy
efficiency and adaptability to diverse budgets, family sizes, style
preferences, and building site considerations. Adobe building
construction experts Laura and Alex Sanchez showcase twelve
architectural plans for building compact, beautifully proportioned
adobe homes in both modern and traditional styles. In addition to
detailing the individual plans and utilizing them as examples of
design techniques for controlling construction costs and enhancing
livability, "Adobe Houses For Today" also provides basic information
on adobe as a building material and is appropriate as a resource
reference for projects that would expand or upgrade existing adobe
structures. As informed and informative as it is inspired and
inspiring, "Adobe Houses For Today" is a welcome and enthusiastically
recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and
community library Architectural Studies reference collections and
supplemental reading lists.

Crafting Log Homes Solar Style
Rex A. Ewing & LaVonne Ewing
PixyJack Press
PO Box 149, Masonville, CO 80541
9780977372447, $25.00, www (dot) pixyjackpress

How does one build a new home and help the environment at the same
time? "Crafting Log Homes Solar Style: An Inspiring Guide to Self-
Sufficiency" is a complete guide to someone who wants to build an
environmentally conscious home whether to live in or for a vacation
home. The solar panels will also pay for themselves eventually with
all of the money one is bound to save on electricity bills with the
constant stream of renewable energy from the Earth's greatest source,
it's own Sun. Highly recommended for anyone who is pondering building
a log cabin, and a must have for community library environmental
collections.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes Through American History
Melissa Wells Duffes, William Burns, & Olivia Graf, authors
Thomas W. Paradis, general editor
Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313337475, $399.95 www (dot) greenwood (dot) com 1-800-225-5800

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Homes Through American History is a four-
volume encyclopedia set that lives up to its title, offering an in-
depth tour of domestic architecture in America from 1492 to the
present day. It should be noted that colonial homes onward are the
prime focus; early Native American architecture is left for other
books to cover. Chapters discuss the available building materials and
manufacturing techniques from era to era, historical innovations in
architecture, home layouts and designs common to each era, furniture
and decoration motifs typical of the time, landscaping and
outbuildings that complemented the homes, and much more. Black-and-
white photographs and a handful of color plates enhance this
thoughtful text, accessible to students, lay readers, and architecture
historians alike. Enthusiastically recommended for college library
collections due to its winning combination of extensive research, fine
detail, and immersive narrative flow, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of
Homes Through American History is a "must-read" for anyone researching
its subject, regardless of professional background.

McGraw-Hill's Construction Codes & Inspection Handbook
Gil L. Taylor
Craftsman Book Company
6058 Corte del Cedro, Carlsbad, CA 92009
9780071468251, $59.95 www (dot) craftsman-book (dot) com
1-800-829-8123

Every building from the simplest shack to the grandest home to the
most complex of office buildings must be built according to applicable
municipal codes and pass municipal code inspectors. "McGraw-Hill's
Construction Codes & Inspection Handbook" by construction expert and
ICC-certified inspector Gil Taylor is a complete, single-volume
textbook that will enable every building project to be in full
compliance with all relevant building codes. Enhanced with more than
500 charts, tables, calculations, and checklists, "McGraw-Hill's
Construction Codes & Inspection Handbook" offers clear, concise
explanations that demystify and explain often complex building codes.
Also provided are procedures and job-critical tools for every phase
and aspect of construction to insure design quality and code compliant
sitework, concrete, masonry, carpentry, structural steel, doors and
windows, finishes, thermal and moisture protection, piping systems,
mechanics, electrical, and OSHA requirements. "McGraw-Hill's
Construction Codes & Inspection Handbook" covers the International
Building Code; National Electrical Code; International Plumbing Code;
International Zoning Code; and so much more. Of special note is the
practical commentary and attention given to issues of safety,
contractor payment, claims, inspectors' daily reports, labor
enforcement; storage of materials, and project turnover. "McGraw-
Hill's Construction Codes & Inspection Handbook" is an indispensable
and confidently recommended addition to professional, technical
college, and academic library Architectural Studies and Construction
reference collections.

Defensive Estimating
William Asdal
National Association of Home Builders
1201 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005-2800
9780867186208, $29.95, www (dot) builderbooks (dot) com

It's happened before - a builder puts out an estimate to add a new
addition to a home. The buyer agrees, and the builder gets to work.
The money set aside from the estimate drains quickly, and the builder
soon is faced with either talking to the customer and telling him the
estimate was wrong- making the builder seem like he's greedy and
potentially killing the chance of a return client - or sucking it up
and taking the hit out of their money to keep the customer happy.
"Defensive Estimating: Protecting Your Profits" is a guide to help
residential builders and remodelers avoid this situation by being
better at estimating their costs so it doesn't eat into their profits
and the customer remains happy. It contains tips on examining your
business's finances, on bewaring of carelessness, and defending your
estimate to your customers. "Defensive Estimating: Protecting Your
Profits" is highly recommended for community library collections on
business with a especial recommendation to carpenters.

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