5 comments about PreFab Home.

1. "PreFab Home" is an interesting read for anyone considering building a home, prefab or not. In it, designer and author Michael Buchanan follows one modular house through the design, building, and decorating processes. However, if you know little to nothing about modular homes, you might be disappointed with the scope of "PreFab Home."
   
   "PreFab Home" is divided into five chapters: History of Modular Construction; The Language of Modular Construction; Design Recipe for a Modular Bungalow; Updating Arts and Crafts Detail; and Creating the Look for Less. As you can see from the chapter headings, the book is as much about designing and decorating a home in general as it is about prefabricated/modular homes specifically. Personally, this came as a bit of a disappointment to me - when I borrowed "Prefab Home" from my library, I expected to find a guide that focused on modular homes: how to choose a dealer and a model, how the construction and installation processes progress, how to shop for a contractor and finishing crew, etc. Decorating a modular home is the same as decorating a stick-built home, so I didn't anticipate much design advice. I wanted to learn about prefab homes, and the title of the book IS "PreFab Home," so I didn't think that my expectations were unreasonable!
   
   Buchanan does touch upon the issues unique to modular homes, including the ones mentioned above. But be warned: his discussion is usually superficial. This is certainly helpful for the merely curious, but if you're really serious about building a modular home, you'll definitely need to purchase additional books to guide you through the process. In many ways, "PreFab Home" is like a glossy brochure for the modular home industry: Buchanan spends more time trying to convince readers that prefab homes can indeed be Fabulous, and less time explaining how exactly you should go about designing, choosing, and building one. A noble cause, yes, but kind of pointless, since anyone who buys a book about modular homes is probably considering buying or building one already!
   
   Also, because the book follows one home from start to finish, Buchanan focuses on one style ad nauseam: the Arts and Crafts bungalow. While he does offer some practical decorating tips that anyone can utilize, in many ways, "PreFab Home" reads (and looks) like an Arts and Crafts tribute album. This is great for fans of the period; not so great if you're less than crazy about frilly, cluttered interior design.
   
   Overall, "PreFab Home" offers a decent introduction to modular homes for newbies. If you know nothing about modular homes and are curious, "PreFab Home" is a nice, light read. If you know nothing about modular homes but are considering building one, "PreFab Home" may or may not be helpful; there are some great photos, but not a lot of practical, hands-on, how-to advice. If you already know the prefab home basics and/or aren't an Arts and Crafts fan, pass this one up.
   
   - Kelly Garbato



2. I am not happy with the purchase. It is a chronical of his journey in doing a Prefab home. Not much else. Not much help in my understanding the overall pluses and minuses of going the prefab direction and what is available.



3. The book was too specific to add significant value to my decision making process. It is not a stand-alone book for people weighing the burden/benefit of prefab homes. In fairness to the writer, I may have been looking for something that this book wasn't meant to deliver.



4. About half of this book (from page 97 on) is devoted to decorating advice, which just isn't what I wanted. In fact, there's very little information here at all...the type is huge and there are many photos (though often the same thing shown from several different angles -- how many photos of room shells being lowered in to place do I need to see to understand how it works?).
   
   The book starts with an intro to prefab housing, which is fine, but better covered, IMHO, in the book Prefab Modern. The next section deals with the actual house construction, which was more useful, but still lacking in helpful detail: for example, the book talks about how they decided to "extend this roofline" but nowhere does it show you the floorplan for the house! There's a sentence that said "Other design alterations had to be made due to building codes, wind velocity, shipping and factory capabilities" -- like what? If I'm thinking about building a prefab home those are the questions I'd like detailed in more specific.
   
   The bottom line, to me, is that if you know anything about how a prefab home works (because you've done online research or read another book like Prefab Modern) there will be little in this book that is new.



5. I've known of moduler homes for a long time and have basically rejected them as sort of a house trailer without wheels. Then a few years ago I regularly passed by a lot on which a house was being build. It followed the traditional pattern: earth work, foundation, and so on. One day as I drove by, I noticed a lot of trucks with big house components parked by the site, and a big crane. I was busy so I didn't stop. The next day the whole house was there and it didn't look like a house trailer at all.
   
   I stopped by to talk to them. The contractor, a specialist in this type of construction asked me: "Do you notice what you don't see around here." "No," I had to answer. "A big dumpster - Modular houses don't produce the waste of a stick built house." "And all this stuff just fits together," I asked. "Yup! It's all built inside a factory where they have jigs and fittings to hold everything to square angles and exact dimensions." Then you look at buying in bulk rather than just a few sticks at a time, and it's substantially lest costly.
   
   This is the first book I've seen that goes into this kind of construction from start to finish. It covers every question I could think of to ask from start to finish. Anybody thinking of building or buying a house of any size should start with this book

No comments about Concrete Design to EN 1992, Second Edition.

No comments about Solar Design: Photovoltaics for Old Buildings, Urban Space, Landscapes.

1 comments about Create A Co-op City.

1. This book has excellent step-by-step instructions for how-to, materials, and how to adapt for students of various grade levels. A very valuable feature is many ready made enrichment activities for math, science, social studies, and language arts. We are using it for a summer session with 9th through 11th grade students!

No comments about Traditional Buildings: A Global Survey of Structural Forms and Cultural Functions (International Library of Human Geography).

No comments about Architectural Acoustics: Blending Sound Sources, Sound Fields, and Listeners (Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing).

No comments about Bambusa Guadua (La Cultura del Cafe).

No comments about Designing With Solar Power (Designing with).

5 comments about Be a Successful Building Contractor.

1. I am extremely disappointed in this book. After all the hype (the author proclaimed he was very successful, building 60 homes a year at his peak), this book appears to be written by someone who has never set foot on a building site.
   
   It is virtually all written in generalities, with very little useful or valid information pertaining to contracting. This book really lacks SPECIFICS!! A lot of what the author does is just write "fluff," or "filler." In other words, much of his writing is just wasted space.
   
   I believe that the positive reviews on this book were either written by morons, people who think "fluff" is good writing, or most probably, friends of the author who are trying to increase sales of his book.
   
   It's really a shame, because I have the feeling that the author really does know about the building business. Too bad that he didn't choose to impart any specific knowledge to the people who forked over $25-30 for his book.
   
   The author should be ashamed of this piece of work. It's really a ripoff. If you are a budding young contractor like me,
   
   DO NOT waste your money on this book! Or, your valuable time.



2. While I am only about 85% of the way through this book let me say that I have found some very informative material. I have also found some VERY VERY wrong information. As a financial advisor turned contractor I am currently in the "Planning for your future" chapter and have found some terrible advice. It leads me to believe that although he was a succesful builder and did well that he doesn't know when to shut-up about things he really has no idea about.
   I have enjoyed the book so far but it really is outdated and needs to be revised or pulled off the shelf so that inexperienced builders do not use his "past there prime" ideas in todays market.
   If you are in the market for industry books then you can do better. There are books out there that are much more current than this one. Buy a specialty book and stay away from the guys that think they know it all.



3. Book lacks detail, and content. Book is misleading and is simple over priced toilet paper



4. If you are new to the building business - this is definitely NOT the book to buy or read. I found the book to be very general speaking on all 26 topics being discussed. E.g. topics on computers - why to use them or not - are completely outdated.

   This book lacks a lot of detail. It scans over most items and I really find it difficult to highlight facts that I would re-read later. This book will NOT make me a successful Builder - just a frustrated reader.




5. Good book. A solid value. This is a very versatile book, as it applies to all types of construction business. Its really about solid business practices(not strictly pertaining to building, although theres plenty about that in here). This book is very business oriented and covers quite a bit in the legal aspect as well. Good book with good templates. Finally i got some decent info on lein waivers. To those who arent computer savvy, chapter 17 is for you.

3 comments about Iron: Erecting the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

1. Michael Webb is arcitectural critic for a magazine owned by the publisher of Garcetti's book. Fair's fair.
   This is a nice book, but the photography is well, mediocre. The building is astounding.



2. In his foreword, Frank Gehry calls ironworkers "the forgotten heroes of architecture," and this book celebrates their courage and skill. Nobody who saw the structural frame going up on Grand Avenue will forget its raw beauty, but most of the bones were covered in a shimmering skin a year before the hall opened. Garcetti, better known as the former DA of Los Angeles County, has captured the physicality of the work in his photos, and in the words of the people who did it. Their pride and solidarity are inspiring. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)



3. There were only a few architectural drawings of The Disney in the back of the book: most of this photographic tour de force deals with the iron works, the skeleton of the building. After paging through this entire book, which is on display for sale at the historic Lummis Home off the Avenue 43 exit of the Pasadena Freeway, I had a new appreciation of the new Disney Concert Hall, which I had photographed under contruction against the backdrop of a thunderstorm.

   Garcetti takes you close to the massive lattice of ironwork that underlies the curvaceous and apparently delicate hall. "Lattice" , "Skeleton", "frame", none of these words capture in their sense of mere adumbration the massiveness of the iron underneath. Can I say it simply? There's really a lot. Just what you're looking for in a book entitled "Iron."

   Garcetti does a great job of capturing the workers, too, with many closeup shots of them as people that really bring out their essential happiness. There's a sign of their union hall, and the wonderful holiday shot of the christmas tree being lifted up to the top on a huge steel beam.

   Also shown are some huge ironworking tools.

   If you're fascinated with the state of the art in iron-based construction today, I'd say this book is for you.

   Something else to remember -- once a building is built, you'll never be able to take photographs of it under construction again. It may sound trivial to say it that way, but after reading this book you probably won't think so.