Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

By definition a guide helps show you the way, in this case to building your own house. Instead it is a gathering of topics related to building a home in a fairly orderly manner without any true guidance of how to get from an empty lot to moving. I also wasn't able to find any meaningful guidance on how or why to chose among the various construction materials and techniques. You would think that 700+ pages would provide a tome of knowledge of every topic, but it is woefully inadequate on all of them. I have a book on framing that provides more information on foundations and roofing than this book does! I give two stars because it has some pretty pictures and if you had zero knowledge on a topic at least you'd end up with slightly less than zero after reading this book. There are so many important details left out that you cannot possibly build a house from the information contained in it. Also, some suggestions like 1/2" to 5/8" subflooring over 16" OC floor joists are crazy talk. Talk about a bouncy floor! There are two topics in this book that I have experience with as a DIY homeowner. I have installed an electrical subpanel, added numerous branch circuits in the house and garage, including providing the wiring and disconnect for a central AC unit. All inspected and passed by the city inspectors. I have also installed about 800 sf. of site finished red oak flooring with all work done by myself except for sanding and finishing by a professional. On the topic of electrical wiring this book tries to scare you off with claims of how complex the planning of the electrical system is, the size of the NEC, and the numerous years of OJT and challenging tests that electricians must pass to do their work. They even try to scare you by saying that if you install wiring without a ground wire that the inspector will require you to replace it all. Can you even buy NM 12/2 and 14/2 without a ground wire?! Then what follows is a very short chapter with no helpful information on securing wiring, what wire size to use where, outlet spacing, outlet heights, kitchen requirements, bath requirements, outdoor outlets and lamps, and only a brief mention of cable fill requirements with an attitude of "you have to look it up in the NEC and you better get it right or else!" A friendly table of common outlet box sizes and uses in a home would have been easy and is in every other DIY book that I have with a topic on electricity. Oh, and I have a copy of the NEC and while it is a challenge to read, it is not beyond the grasp of a determined DIY home builder. In my home I have site finished wood flooring that runs about 50' continuously from one end of the house to the other. This book won't tell you how much the wood will move throughout the year or that you need to start laying the flooring at the center of the house and work to either end to cause movement to go to both ends of the house rather than all of it at one far end and none where you started. They don't tell you how to start this row without top nailing, that strips of loose tongue is used to place rows back to back, or that a special router bit is available to cut a groove in boards that had to be cut. Forget about and guidance about how to trim around doors, fireplaces, and what to do at stairs and in doorways. They don't tell you that you can get a tool to make 3/8" diameter plugs of wood to conceal screw heads in those places that you need them, or where you will need to use screws. They brush over the vapor barrier and don't waste any ink on other important issues of acclimation and how to install over different types of subfloors. Until I can find a book that lives up to the promise of this one my recommendation to you and myself is to skip this fluff and get a well written book on each of the topics. I'm thinking that I want a book on excavation and foundations, masonry, framing, doors and windows, roofing, plumbing, wiring, finish carpentry, kitchens and baths, and HVAC.