Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction


Book Description

The most comprehensive guide to material selection & installation It takes a wise choice of building materials and details to create durable, attractive, and affordable custom homes and remodeling projects. Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction provides up-to-date, field-tested recommendations that help professionals balance cost and performance when designing and building residential projects. Steven Bliss, former editorial director of The Journal of Light Construction and founding editor of Progressive Builder, draws on his extensive knowledge as a practicing builder, designer, and construction editor to help building professionals select the right materials for every job and install them with confidence. This one-stop resource covers the real-world challenges of material selection and installation so designers, contractors, and building owners can make informed decisions for all major building components. Useful to architects, designers, and specifiers--as well as contractors, builders, and developers--Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction features: * More than 200 photos and illustrations of critical residential construction details * Installation tips and cautions that help prevent costly product failures * Descriptions of the latest composites and synthetics that are changing the way we build * Easy-to-use charts for making quick product comparisons * An authoritative guide to indoor air quality and healthy house construction




The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling


Book Description

This treasure of indispensable information for anyone in home improvement, building, remodeling, or design has been completely revised and expanded to include more than 1,000 detailed illustrations, plus tools, checklists, and formulas.




Handbook of Thermal Analysis of Construction Materials


Book Description

This comprehensive book containing essential information on the applicability of thermal analysis techniques to evaluate inorganic and organic materials in construction technology should serve as a useful reference for the scientist, engineer, construction technologist, architect, manufacturer, and user of construction materials, standard-writing bodies, and analytical chemists. The material scientists at the National Research Council of Canada have established one of the best thermal analysis laboratories in the world. Various types of thermal analysis techniques have been applied successfully to the investigation of inorganic and organic construction materials. These studies have provided important information on the characterization of raw as well as finished materials, quality control, quantitative estimation, interrelationships between physical, chemical, mechanical, and durability characteristics. Information on the application of thermal analysis to construction materials is dispersed in literature and hence the IRC scientists embarked on producing a handbook, the first of its kind, incorporating the latest knowledge available in this field of activity. Almost all important construction materials have been included.




Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling


Book Description

Building a home is a complicated, precise, and labor-intensive process. From drawing a design to selecting the site to laying the foundation, building the frame, installing the plumbing, wiring, HVAC, and everything in between, there are countless opportunities for something to go wrong. So how does a homeowner, builder, or remodeler make sure that their project stays on track every step of the way? Having a copy of The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling, th Edition on hand is a great place to start. This new edition has the mist up to date information on solar power and best-practice insulating--as well as the latest code information and updated sections on framing, sheathing, air sealing, and heating and cooling, enabling the reader to visualize exactly how to tackle any building project or problem. With 25 chapters, 688 pages, and a whopping 1,700 full-color illustrations and 300 quick-reference charts covering all aspects of home design and construction, this tome is the quintessential resource for home builders. As an added bonus, you can use it to hammer a nail if you leave your toolbelt at home.




Materials and Finishings


Book Description

The growing variety of materials available for interior applications makes the process of selecting and sampling them ever more complex and time consuming. This manual from the Construction and Design series provides concise information on the subject alongside a wealth of inspiration. It offers an overview of materials suited to particular components of a building - including walls, ceiling, and floors - and objects. Both traditional and new materials are described in a knowledgeable and practical manner. It is not only a material itself that determines the appearance of a surface, but also the design and arrangement of the joins. After a material's surface, the chosen laying pattern is the next key aspect that influences its spatial effect. The book, therefore, includes a wide range of different laying patterns. It conveys fundamental knowledge of materials and their application, and thus serves as a reference book, a sampling guide, and a compendium for students.




Green Building Materials


Book Description

GREEN BUILDING MATERIALS THE ULTIMATE USER’S MANUAL TO GREEN BUILDING MATERIALS To properly select and specify green building materials, successful architects need authoritative, real-world advice on how to select and use nontoxic, recycled, and recyclable products, and how to integrate these products into the design process in order to capitalize on the many practical and economic advantages of “going green.” Green Building Materials, Third Edition is the most reliable, up-to-date resource to meet today’s green building challenges—from reducing waste and improving energy efficiency to promoting proper code compliance and safeguarding against liability claims. Written by two nationally known experts on green building methods and materials, Green Building Materials, Third Edition offers in-depth, practical information on the product selection, product specification, and construction process. This new Third Edition is an excellent hands-on guide to today’s newest range of green building materials: what they are, where to find them, how to use them effectively, and how to address LEED requirements. Organized by CSI MasterFormat® category for fast access to specific information, it features: A new chapter on eco-labels, green standards, and product certification A new appendix providing reference information for sustainability standards and standards development organizations New sample specifications, including green power requirements, vegetated green roof systems, rainwater harvesting, and water reuse systems Revised and updated review of trends affecting the future of green building materials Updated approach and reference information for the product selection process Green Building Materials, Third Edition is an essential tool for designing environmentally friendly buildings—ones made from materials that preserve the Earth’s natural legacy for future generations.




The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Building and Remodeling


Book Description

A guide to home building, renovation, and remodeling for environmentally conscientious readers or home owners looking to promote energy efficiency explains how to reduce one's personal carbon footprint, lower costs, and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle while creating one's dream home. Original.




Conserving Buildings


Book Description

The updated paperback edition of Weaver's landmark work--the essential manual on materials and procedures for restoring buildings Conserving Buildings, Revised Edition, is the ideal resource for anyone involved in the maintenance, restoration, or rehabilitation of historic buildings. The book combines practical information on the characteristics, composition, and deterioration of building materials with detailed coverage of state-of-the-art conservation methods, fully updated in this edition with current developments in research and practice. The book contains: * Systematic treatment of all major building materials--stone, ceramics, masonry, cement-based materials, metal, glass, synthetic resins, and polymers * Valuable instruction on the restoration and renewal of foundations and footings, slate roofing systems, materials, and other structural details * Easy-to-follow procedures for conducting structural building surveys * Over 150 photographs and line drawings, plus case studies from Columbia University's acclaimed Center for Preservation Research * Newly expanded references, with accessible sources of further information Whether used as a hands-on sourcebook or a technical desktop reference, Conserving Buildings, Revised Edition, is the manual of choice for architects, engineers, preservation professionals, historic building owners, and students.




Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Room Additions


Book Description

Building a major addition to your house can take over your life or drain your bank account if you aren’t fully prepared with top-notch information. The Complete Guide to Room Additions is both an insurance policy for dealing with contractors and a planning guide that arms homeowners with vital information about the remodeling process. But it also is much more than that: it’s a hardworking how-to manual filled with hundreds of photos that show you the hammer-and-nail details that go into these major projects. From garage conversions to kitchen bump-pout expansions, dormer additions and more, this book will be an indispensable tool for any project that adds new square footage to your home’s footprint.