5 comments about Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy.

1. This book, "Off the Grid", and Lori Ryker's other book, "Off the Grid Homes", are just mildly interesting. I regret having ordered them both at the same time. Had I seen one, I would not have bothered with a second. In fact, had I seen one before before purchasing, I would not have purchased either. Kemp's book, "The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-grid And Sustainable Living", is what most people will find interesting and useful.



2. This is a tremendous book that provides great food-for-thought for those interested in both quality design and off- or nearly-off grid living. Even if some of the houses might be out of range as noted by one commenter, there are still boat-loads of ideas around every corner.
   
   Great photos, too!



3. My husband and I are looking into building an off-the-grid cabin, and Lori Ryker's book was really helpful for putting all the options in perspective. It is not a technical, in-depth how-to book; it is more of an overview of the different possibilities. The author, a working architect and a professor of architecture at Montana State University, looks at ten different homes that range from grid tied to completely independent for their energy needs. After reading Ryker's book we decided we could build a house that is entirely off the grid; in particular, I was inspired by the four entirely off the grid homes featured in the book, one of which was designed by the author. The homes were built for different environments and living situations--from a full-time 2620 square foot residence in a remote part of Australia, to a 620 square foot vacation cabin on an island in Minnesota, to a 2620 square foot vacation home that is open to the elements of the Texas Hill Country. Some of the energy solutions surveyed are relatively simple and inexpensive (collecting water in cisterns) and others are more high tech and expensive (solar electric panels). This book is a great starting place for someone who wants to see what the possibilities are.



4. Although I liked this book, it is not necessarily helpful. Most of the featured homes are much too expensive for your average middle income homeowners. I was looking for housing solutions for the Southeastern US and like almost every other publication out there, this book completely ignores our region. I suspect it is because our hot, muggy conditions are not as conducive to off the grid living as the other areas featured.



5. If you are looking for practical solutions for alternative energy sources this is not the book for you. This book is a "coffee table" book and provides no information on implementing alternative energy sources whatsoever.
   
   The author displays no knowledge of any scientific principles. I suspect that she has no such knowledge since she actually refers to the four elements (i.e. that asinine Aristotelean concept: earth, wind, fire, water) and comes across as "pointy-haired golf" type with a degree from Harvard (yawn...), and a die hard member of the parasitic class of life (i.e those people who don't know anything about the universe other than how to operate their iPods and order coffee at Starbucks). She comes across as if she has never connected a single electrical device other than her hair dryer in her lifetime. I don't think she could state a single equation in physics or electrical engineering if her life depended on it. The only information in this book really is her vague generalizations about Edison, Ford, and the history of the energy which consists of only a few sentances.
   
   This book is essentially a book full of pictures of houses. It does not even show photographs of the alternative energy sources used in the houses, just the houses themselves. If you have never heard of or seen a house before you may learn something from this book but otherwise you aren't going to get any knowledge out of it. If you have heard of a house before and would like to learn how houses can use alternative energy sources, I suggest you read "The Renewable Energy Hanbook."

No comments about The L.A. House.

2 comments about The Art & Craft of Stonework: Dry-Stacking, Mortaring, Paving, Carving, Gardenscaping.

1. Probably the best book I own on stone masonry. I bought a lot of stone-masonry/stone-scaping books over the past 5 years and most of them do not come anywhere close. These books have a good chapter or two, or maybe some good photography, but most of them fail in one respect or another. Reed's book is very good throughout and is very suitable for both beginners and pros. An excellent section on tools and basic techniques. Detailed chapters on free-standing walls, retaining walls, single/two-faced walls, dry-stack/mortared, hidden-joint/visible-joint, dry/wet paving. The author could probably improve the book (for the beginners) by adding a chapter on stone types with good pictures illustrating the various types of stone as well as examples of walls with different stone/technique combinations.
   Anyway, I own most of the other books listed on the "Customers who bought this book also bought..." page and this is the one to get. Overall, if you plan on getting involved with stone you should own this book.



2. As a landscaper and stoneworker I have found this book inspirational and informative. Full of new ideas and the full color photos present works of art that can be followed just by viewing their example.

3 comments about Housebuilding: A Do-It-Yourself Guide, Revised & Expanded.

1. Will this book teach you everything you need to know to build a house? Yeah, pretty much.



2. Put 'House Building' into Amazon Advance Search and you'll end up with over eight thousand titles, make it one word and you'll get a more manageable fifty plus. This book is one of the fifty and at the Amazon price for 702 pages I think this is an impressive buy. Luckily for the family I'm not going to attempt to build my own. I bought the book essentially for reference: I wanted something that explains (and reveals through Tom Webster's brilliant illustrations) how a home is constructed.
   
   The twenty-nine chapters cover it all in what appears to be the basics for each area. If I was to built it myself though I reckon I would have a look at books covering some specific tasks like: framing, drywalls, flooring, plumbing or electrics. The author wisely recommends that for plumbing and electrics professionals are hired.
   
   Other books I've seen about house building and DIY use photos to explain things. This book uses very attractive illustrations (nearly 800) which visually do a better job than photos and with the two column format all the information is very accessible. Perhaps it would have been better to include some sidebars about specific things: an illustration showing the range of nails and screws used, types of sandpaper and tapes etc.
   
   For my reference needs I'm very impressed with this book. I'll be keeping it next to Francis Ching's classic Building Construction Illustrated.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



3. After contracted builders let me down and stole my deposit, I decided to build an extension to my house myself. Having never built anything more than a kids playhouse, I went in seach of books to help. I'd taken out many from my local library, but they only gave brief explanations on various items--nothing from the ground-up. Then I bought this Housebuilding book--it is absolutely wonderful! It covers everything from footings and foundations, walls and sheathing, to the cupola on the rooftop in clear, concise grammer and very easy-to-follow illustrations. It gave me enough confidence to go ahead with my project and it turned out beautiful! Even though my extension is done, I've kept the book handy to help me with my next project--a new shed/workshop. Bottomline--if you want an all-in-one guide and straight forward instruction in quality building, this is definitely the best reference manual you could get.

5 comments about The Portland Cement Association's Guide to Concrete Homebuilding Systems.

1. I purchased this book in 1995. It was and still is the only book of it's kind. It provides data such as time, cost, quality for a wide range of concrete construction methods. Yes there have been changes since 1994 but actual very little. I have built 12 concrete homes including my personal home of 10 years, using serveral systems covered in this excelent book



2. This is as another reviewer stated, "Advertising." Completely unpractical from either an engineer or buildler's point of view. Steer clear.



3. As we may note upon reading this tome, it is written primarily for one who is articulate with the construction trade. However it is onomonopoetic in its scope. As you read you find yourself absorbing and understanding far more than seems possible. One gets it quickly and is allowed to dream of design possibilities. I love a good book. Learning at an exponential rate is exhilerating.



4. Remember, this book is almost TEN years old because it is based on research done in 1993 and published in '95. So there have been advances and experience that go well beyond this book. Dwell magazine has often tickled me with various new building techniques and I wanted to learn more about what might be appropriate for me and the Midwestern climate. This book will give you an overview of SOME of the styles (mortarless, poured-in-place, etc.), and also indicate what might be appropriate for your situation. I'm not a builder or an architect but I wanted to design my own house, so this book did help me to recognize and comprehend the different catagories of techniques. At the same time, this topic could really use an update that you won't find from the Portland Cement Association. My advice to people like me is to keep looking and seek out small-scale builders who will familiarize you with their technique that they know best. There are dozens, and the most difficult thing is getting a crew that doesn't have to be trained for a new technique but has already completed several homes using a proven method.

   This book, even though it is somewhat old will give you a good sense of what to expect from building codes and prices, but it's just not enough, and there are no pretty pictures.




5. This book is an Ugly Duckling for now. Hopefully in the future they will put out a new edition with lots of colour photo's to show us what a finished project can look like. It does seem to cover most systems for building concrete structures. It is written for contractors, but with a little work it could be just as well suited for the potential home owner.

1 comments about Sunset Patio Roofs & Gazebos.

1. This book was good for simple, basic overheads for patios and/or decks. It gave some limited plans and recommendations for lumber. It also listed a variety of roofing materials but was somewhat unspecific on the pros and cons of each.
   We liked what the book did offer, but finished it feeling rather unsatisfied.

3 comments about The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses.

1. Nice photography, nice text but too US-centric to deserve the title "Ultimate book" knowing that the worlds most interesting lighthouses are in Europe and this book only shows you US lighthouses (I have to admit, they are kinda nice too).
   
   If you are looking for a more comprehensive book there are other options.



2. The cover picture of the West Point Lighthouse on Prince Edward Island, Canada was of particular interest to me since my Grandfather Capt Michael Howard sailed his schooners out of Brae Harbor and used the light as his guide. The lighthouse is now a hotel and restaurant and reservations are a year in advance. I stay nearby several times yearly and have breakfast there regularly. it is a beautiful spot ad you have to be there to appreciate it. When I first saw the text I was so pleasantly surprised that of all the lighthouses in USA & Canada they picked the home area of my Mom & Dad!!



3. The cover picture of the West Point Lighthouse on Prince Edward Island, Canada was of particular interest to me since my Grandfather Capt Michael Howard sailed his schooners out of Brae Harbor and used the light as his guide. The lighthouse is now a hotel and restaurant and reservations are a year in advance. I stay nearby several times yearly and have breakfast there regularly. it is a beautiful spot ad you have to be there to appreciate it. When I first saw the text I was so pleasantly surprised that of all the lighthouses in USA & Canada they picked the home area of my Mom & Dad!!

3 comments about Alberto Pinto: Classics.

1. For those who enjoy new opulent traditional interiors, this book showing residential projects designed by the Moroccan-born interior designer now based in Paris will no doubt delight. As a director for a photography agency specializing in architecture and interior for major shelter magazines, Alberto Pinto developed a rich, eclectic, and very photogenic style, becoming a "full-fledged decorator in the seventies". While careful scutiny might find the schemes less than fully developed, it is tasty eye-candy none-the-less and the general intent strong even if some of the details are off-kilter. The stylist in him often mixes the unexpected with the traditional, and the common with the fine to favorable results. In many cases, his work is a refreshing take on the "Style Rothschild" with more gilt, ormolu, and passementerie one might think possible, but with an eye towards controlled decoration rather than just piling it on.
   
   Featured are a lavish mansion on the Champ de Mars, two sumptuous Left Bank apartments, a substantial duplex apartment in New York City referred to as a "pied a terre", a seven story Manhattan townhouse of grand proportions, a Geneva apartment, two haciendas in Mexico, a seaside house presumed to be in the Hamptons, an airy house in Marbella, a chalet in Courchevel, the dining room and indoor swimming pool of a Left Bank mansion, a duplex apartment in a modern Cairo building, an English manor house, and the designer's own apartment on the Quai d'Orsay. This apartment, formerly the home of shoe designer Roger Vivier, is as grand as a neo-classical Russian palace. One of the more intimate spaces, a sitting room, is featured on the front dust cover, its walls upholstered in red-on-yellow toile de jouy dramatically criss-crossed with green velvet braid and a suite of 19th century chairs upholstered to match, whimsically contrasting with the serious Boulle furniture.
   
   The text is translated and therefore stilted; only basic information is provided anyway. More is learned of Pinto's style from the glossy photos and panoramic color renderings. While many would find it much too much, more ridiculous than sublime, this reviewer enjoyed the drama of the grand decorating theatre. Not the best, but better than most of this genre.



2. I also do own a lot of books on interior design, and when it comes to looking in to the opulent french style, this is a book to own. Even if you are not going to do a room like the ones he does (which I suppose is extremely rare) his ways which objects, placement of furniture, various kind of traditional pieces, combination of textures and colors will give very good direction for working with this kind of inspiration, rather than the usual more country/cotteny feel so often done by others. His illustrations are very detailed, leaves you wondering if they were done before (as a service to his clients) or after the room was finished. (For himself, I suppose). A book to own.



3. I have an extraordinarily large library of books on interior design books and this one equals or surpasses the very best. The number and quality of the photos are without parallel. The book represents the very best in haute European design. Pinto's work now is rivaled only by Peter Marino's, others of this genre having died. The average homemaker looking for ideas to freshen up the family room will not find them here. But for anyone interested in seeing what perfection of detail looks like -- in upholstery, curtains, garniture, and the like -- every page of this book will show them. It is worth every penny of the price and should be in every interior designer's collection, if only to inform them and their clients of what superior upholstery design and lush color can do for a room.

4 comments about Office Feng Shui: Creating Harmony in Your Work Space.

1. This book seemed pretty minimal, without much information after reading several other feng shui books. If you haven't read any other feng shui books, it would probably seem more interesting. This is a very light, very simple read, possibly a good gift.



2. Feng Shui has always confused me until reading this book. Office Feng Shui has simplified the mystery of it all, down to the simple basics to create a clear workspace. And it's easy and fun to read! The changes I made to my office after reading this book have been tremendously helpful, and I was able to implement them so quickly. In my busy schedule, I don't have time to study up on Feng Shui, so this book was perfect.



3. Aphoristic, not grounded in any theory, and unhelpful for my purposes. I was looking for something more than a statement or two about a topic per page. Written to showcase the illustrations, not the content.



4. This book turned out to be a little gem.
   My employees keep borrowing it from my desk.
   I struggle with clutter, stress and remembering the 'Big Picture' at work.
   This book actually presents Feng Shui in a way that is understandable,
   practical and has ideas that can be implemented immediately.
   I loved the beauty of design, hip illustrations, inspirational quotes and
   page after page of Feng Shui ideas that I can use around the Office.
   Chapter titles include: Feng Shui for you Desk, Stress Relief, Prosperity, Around the Office and on the Go.
   Keep it on your Desk and Enjoy!
   Monique J.

No comments about Residential Design Using Revit Architecture 2009.