****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Whether it's from a plan in a magazine or from a builder with their own plans, there's so much good practical advice in this book that it more than pays itself. I had checked it out of the library and found so much information in it that I decided to buy my own copy. In the rush to make the sale on a house there are a ton of tiny details that you easily overlook until it's too late in the process (or too expensive) to add them in. Reading through this before you start the new construction process will help you think through the practicalities of actually living in your house, so you can make changes to the plan before breaking dirt.When we built our house, there were two simple things we discovered--one caught just in time, the other too late. Even if it means a couple steps up from the garage into the house, it's always better to have a flatter driveway, ask the builder to dig deeper in the garage and flatten the driveway (we caught that just in time!) And garage space is cheap, add on as much as your lot and budget allow (we didn't and now wish we had). This book will help you think through examples like that. Another example is kitchen design. On paper, many designs look great but aren't practical in real life. Stock plans or plans designed by people who don't spend much time in the kitchen won't catch optimal placement for appliances, plumbing and electrical. All of which are difficult to correct later on.As mentioned, this book will more than pay itself back, whether you're building new or remodeling an existing home.
