Review of The House You Build: Making Real-World Choices to Get the Home You Want (American Institute Architects) (Hardcover)

Most houses that you see come in two choices: First is the standard sub-division spec house, designed to not offend any possible purchaser and to not exactly fit any family; Second you might call the houses of the rich and famous, where the houses are spectactular, but they don't talk about how many hundreds of thousands they cost.

This book takes a different view. It discusses houses in the $150,000 to $200,000 range that have been customed designed to fit the needs and desires of the owners. It covers some 20 houses in detail. The special conditions caused by legal restrictions, difficult building lots, everything is discussed. Of special interest is the discussion and illustration of using standard stock components, many of them industrial in intent in innovative ways to reduce the cost of the house by thousands of dollars. While doing so, the designers have been careful to integrate these components with standard structures to produce a home both inexpensive yet customized to the needs of the owner both functionally and in appearance.

Product Description
Until now, homeowners have had to choose between the twin worlds of budget-friendly mediocrity and unaffordable fantasy. Responding to this gap, acclaimed architect Duo Dickinson demonstrates that a customhouse doesn't depend on a fabulous price tag. The House You Build offers a third way of building that is grounded in the realities of time and money, but focuses on your fondest hopes and dreams. Here are 20 real-world situations where unique and imaginative homes were built on real-life budgets. When you build on a budget, there are no right answers, only careful choices. There are 20 dreams in this book, and these dreams came true. The House You Build is the first book of architect-designed homes that presents the real costs of their construction including design fees, the Six Rules on Getting What You Want (and can afford), a broad range of house styles from all over the country, and homes that accommodate a wide variety of lifestyles.

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Review of If I Had a Hammer: More Than 100 Easy Fixes and Weekend Projects (Paperback)

This is a must have for any homeowner that is all thumbs when it comes to home repair and home improvement. Designed for the novice, the book tells you exactly what tools and materials plus step by step instructions for the projects that anyone can understand. There are great tips, tricks and home maintenance information any homeowner can use. This book would make a great housewarming gift, especially to the first time homeowner.

Product Description

Have fun, save money, and improve your home with these easy step-by-step projects

Are you looking for a way to make your bathroom a little more beautiful? Or maybe you'd like to give your tired furniture a face-lift, improve your home's air quality, or fix a toilet. No matter your DIY needs and no matter whether you're a DIY novice or expert, home improvement guru Andrea Ridout, host of the nationally syndicated radio show Ask Andrea, has ideas, expertise, and advice to share with you.

If I Had a Hammer offers easy-to-follow instructions and illustrations designed to make home improvement simpler than ever. With a little help from Andrea, you'll be able to tackle repairs, painting and decorating, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, wood care for furniture and floors, and much more with projects that often take as little as an hour. Also, you can try a few of Andrea's energy-conserving projects that can dramatically improve your utility bill-Andrea's projects are friendly on the environment and on your wallet! With If I Had a Hammer, you'll have the tools to keep your home functioning and looking as good as-or even better than-new.

About the Author

Andrea Ridout is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show Ask Andrea and is a frequent renovation expert on national and regional television programs. Her articles and advice have appeared in Reader's Digest, Woman's Day Home Remodeling, and Country Home, among many other publications. She lives near Dallas, Texas.

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Review of Clean Your Clothes with Cheez Whiz: And Hundreds of Offbeat Uses for Dozens More Brand-Name Products (Paperback)

Joey Green details alternative uses for almost three dozen common products, available at a store near you.He also gives a brief history of each product, ingredients and their web addresses.He also has "strange facts" about the products.

Did you know that Cheez Whiz of Cool Whip are also substitute shaving creams?How about cleaning your toilet with Gatorade, Country Time Lemonade or Dr. Pepper?It's amazing how many things we eat are also effective for house cleaning.Scope and Baby Oil will keep the flies off your horses, too.M&M's are apparently great bass bait, as well as a tasty snack.Cheez Whiz can also prevent "split ends" in your hair.

Some of the uses will crack you up, other make you say "yuch!"But, this is an amusing read that you will find educational, as well.If you want a good laugh and get new insights of the items you have under the sink, in the fridge or on the can shelf, get this book.You can even play "guess what product I'm talking about" with your wife on a long car ride.

No, I don't think I'll shave with Cheez Whiz anytime soon.Cool Whip, maybe......



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Review of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet--One Room at a Time (Paperback)

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and heard someone complain about the expense of an organic food?You might run into them a few minutes later in the meat department selecting a 12-ounce T-bone steak with a price tag well over $10.00.Obviously, they aren't thinking about what they are getting for their money or they'd toss that steak back and buy the organic spinach.

Most of us have grown up making the wrong choices . . . water in plastic bottles, packaged foods with long lists of unidentifiable ingredients, and cleaning supplies strong enough to take the paint off the wall.

If you care about your health and the health of those you love, you will want to buy this book and then read it cover to cover.Inside this book is well-founded information which can help us avoid many of the toxic chemicals we can't see or taste, which are putting our health at risk for diseases and even death.If you're over 40, you probably have noticed (like I have) that you know many more people who are dying of cancer than when you were younger.There is a reason for that, my friends, and the toxic chemicals in our food and home is a definite contributor to our demise.

Beth Greer has become a well-known expert in this topic, and every page of her book tells us something we didn't already know.Would you have imagined that most of our garlic comes from China, and that it is whitened with bleach and injected with growth inhibitors to prevent sprouting?Don't look the other way . . . buy this book, get smart, and get healthy!

Lynette Fleming, Coauthor of Lunch Buddies: Buddy Up for a Better Diet


Product Description
Beth Greer had been living what she considered a healthy lifestyle when a medical crisis prompted her to reevaluate everything-from the food she ate to the personal-care products she used and the environment she lived in. Now, in Super Natural Home, she shows the alarming extent of the dangerous chemicals we unwittingly expose ourselves to every day. As she did in her own life, she invites readers to put their lives under a microscope-to scrutinize what Americans put in and on their bodies and bring into their homes-and to make personal choices that will enable them to "live clean" in a toxic world. The straightforward, solutions-based approach of Super Natural Home-complete with quizzes to help identify and correct potential toxic hot zones-speaks directly to what environment-conscious consumers really need: ultra-practical advice on what they can do right now to limit exposure to the poisons that are endangering them and their children. At a time when impeccable scientific research points to an alarming correlation between common chemical compounds and cancers, allergies, psychiatric disorders, and birth defects, among other serious health concerns, Super Natural Home gives consumers the tools to start protecting themselves and their families.



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