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Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies
Want to build responsibly, reduce waste, and help preserve the environment? "Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies" is your friendly, step-by-step guide to every facet of this Earth-friendly method of construction. Building a home--even a green home--uses plenty of resources and energy. This practical, hands-on book shows you how to build or remodel conscientiously, whether your dream home is a simple remodel or a brand-new multimillion-dollar mansion.You'll start by identifying green materials and sizing up potential systems and construction sites. You'll weigh the pros and cons of popular green building methods and identify opportunities for saving money in the long run. Need to find some green professionals to assist you in your venture? We'll help you do that, too. This book will also help you discover how to: Understand the lifecycle of building materialsChoose the right system for your green building projectPut together a green teamWork within your budgetUse green building methods and sustainable systemsSpeed construction and reduce energy use and wasteRefinish old fixtures and materialsBeware of asbestos and lead-paint hazardsAvoid costly mistakes
Complete with lists of ten green things to do on "every" project and ten things you can do right now in your home in order to go green, "Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies" is your one-stop guide to planning and building the home you've always wanted.
Complete with lists of ten green things to do on "every" project and ten things you can do right now in your home in order to go green, "Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies" is your one-stop guide to planning and building the home you've always wanted.
361 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2007
2 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 11, 2019
I had hoped that this book would've had more practical advice for someone renovating an older home. While there was a lot of good information in here, it was mainly geared towards people building a brand new home. I would say it was a 70/30 split between building and remodeling advice. I was hoping for more focus on remodeling, so maybe I just wasn't the right audience for this book.
On top of that, a lot of the information was repeated multiple times throughout the book. More than once, I found myself feeling deja vu as I read a particular passage, feeling sure that I had read the same passage in an earlier chapter. I understand the need to reinforce important ideas, but this book came just shy of copying and pasting the same paragraphs throughout the book.
Overall, I think this was a good introduction to the world of green building and remodeling, and it's a subject that I hope to learn more about. However, I would not point to this book as a practical example of how to go about incorporating green building practices when updating an older home.
On top of that, a lot of the information was repeated multiple times throughout the book. More than once, I found myself feeling deja vu as I read a particular passage, feeling sure that I had read the same passage in an earlier chapter. I understand the need to reinforce important ideas, but this book came just shy of copying and pasting the same paragraphs throughout the book.
Overall, I think this was a good introduction to the world of green building and remodeling, and it's a subject that I hope to learn more about. However, I would not point to this book as a practical example of how to go about incorporating green building practices when updating an older home.
October 7, 2016
Reviews are a great equalizer for the “every day” consumer that relies on a professional to do the job they were hired for. Yelp provides a place to post our experiences with businesses that provides amazing services that deserve a great shout out or share a difficult experience.
Eric Corey Freed is successful to the point of being able to orally sprout organic architecture mumbo jumbo and gain notoriety because of it. The sad thing, he is also incapable of getting a simple 1500 sq ft commercial tenant improvement through the City of Cathedral City in the Coachella Valley. This very simple project requires 4 mini-splits, a new ADA bathroom, insulation, additional electrical outlets, title 24 lights, 3 additional windows and an exit door; nothing complicated. We still did not get approved plans after multiple submissions.
Eric Corey Freed has demonstrated a lack of professional integrity, no professional work ethic, and he is petty and vindictive. I just got an email from the City of Cathedral City stating Eric called them this morning. Yesterday he told me he was going to file a lien against my business and call Cathedral City Planning Dept and submit a Stop Work Order against me. (got email from him). Here’s the thing…. WE HAVE NO APPROVED PLANS FOR ALMOST 4 MONTHS BECAUSE HE CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THEM APPROVED SO THERE IS NO WORK GOING ON. He called anyway. This is vindictive.
Eric Corey Freed had no idea what PME plans were (Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical) that are required by the city! Eric Corey Freed later told me they are the same thing and the City of Cathedral City is incorrectly calling PME, its MEP OMG!! The plans should have been approved the first time because the project is really simple; they suggested to take out the upstairs storage to simplify; we failed again. He did not do Title 24 or PME. Eric Corey Freed and draftsperson Michael (Travis) Crabtree submitted plans to City of Cathedral City 3 times and failed 3 times. We were about to submit for a fourth time.
To be clear, Eric took on the job as a professional favor; that was really nice of him. I sent Eric and Michael the first corrections list to work from. Most of the drawings were already done and just needed some additional work to meet code. I could have run my car into a wall because it would have been a lot less painful and less expensive. After the last failed set of plans, I emailed both of them to say I was not paying until we get approved. I never said they were NOT getting paid. I stick by that, I have email. I told Eric Corey Freed that we are very upset with the latest failure to get approval of the plans. He emailed me to calm down. I told Eric Corey Freed that I had an investor be very upset with me because of his incompetence and the huge carrying costs we have incurred because of his inability to get us approved for almost4 months. I told him the investor wants to post YELP reviews. He emailed me back and told me he did not like threats and quit. This shows a lack of professional integrity. He refuses to take responsibility for his shabby work instead he quits. Then his emails continued to be combative, flippant, and completely uncooperative. Much of the drawings were already completed from our first submission. They had very little to do but still an important piece; address the written corrections list. The bill due is only $1300. this should have been very quick and simple to do. It is now almost 4 months and we have nothing except Eric Corey Freed making excuses and not taking responsibility. So if you want to hear philosophical mumbo jumbo, hire him; If you have a real basic project, run away as fast as you can.
Eric Cory Freed has told my attorney I have no written contract so he can just leave me hanging despite confirming emails and his professional stamp on plans multiple times Today one of them deleted the DWG files from the cloud… petty. Do not make the same mistake I did.
Eric Corey Freed is successful to the point of being able to orally sprout organic architecture mumbo jumbo and gain notoriety because of it. The sad thing, he is also incapable of getting a simple 1500 sq ft commercial tenant improvement through the City of Cathedral City in the Coachella Valley. This very simple project requires 4 mini-splits, a new ADA bathroom, insulation, additional electrical outlets, title 24 lights, 3 additional windows and an exit door; nothing complicated. We still did not get approved plans after multiple submissions.
Eric Corey Freed has demonstrated a lack of professional integrity, no professional work ethic, and he is petty and vindictive. I just got an email from the City of Cathedral City stating Eric called them this morning. Yesterday he told me he was going to file a lien against my business and call Cathedral City Planning Dept and submit a Stop Work Order against me. (got email from him). Here’s the thing…. WE HAVE NO APPROVED PLANS FOR ALMOST 4 MONTHS BECAUSE HE CANT FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THEM APPROVED SO THERE IS NO WORK GOING ON. He called anyway. This is vindictive.
Eric Corey Freed had no idea what PME plans were (Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical) that are required by the city! Eric Corey Freed later told me they are the same thing and the City of Cathedral City is incorrectly calling PME, its MEP OMG!! The plans should have been approved the first time because the project is really simple; they suggested to take out the upstairs storage to simplify; we failed again. He did not do Title 24 or PME. Eric Corey Freed and draftsperson Michael (Travis) Crabtree submitted plans to City of Cathedral City 3 times and failed 3 times. We were about to submit for a fourth time.
To be clear, Eric took on the job as a professional favor; that was really nice of him. I sent Eric and Michael the first corrections list to work from. Most of the drawings were already done and just needed some additional work to meet code. I could have run my car into a wall because it would have been a lot less painful and less expensive. After the last failed set of plans, I emailed both of them to say I was not paying until we get approved. I never said they were NOT getting paid. I stick by that, I have email. I told Eric Corey Freed that we are very upset with the latest failure to get approval of the plans. He emailed me to calm down. I told Eric Corey Freed that I had an investor be very upset with me because of his incompetence and the huge carrying costs we have incurred because of his inability to get us approved for almost4 months. I told him the investor wants to post YELP reviews. He emailed me back and told me he did not like threats and quit. This shows a lack of professional integrity. He refuses to take responsibility for his shabby work instead he quits. Then his emails continued to be combative, flippant, and completely uncooperative. Much of the drawings were already completed from our first submission. They had very little to do but still an important piece; address the written corrections list. The bill due is only $1300. this should have been very quick and simple to do. It is now almost 4 months and we have nothing except Eric Corey Freed making excuses and not taking responsibility. So if you want to hear philosophical mumbo jumbo, hire him; If you have a real basic project, run away as fast as you can.
Eric Cory Freed has told my attorney I have no written contract so he can just leave me hanging despite confirming emails and his professional stamp on plans multiple times Today one of them deleted the DWG files from the cloud… petty. Do not make the same mistake I did.
April 20, 2012
More useful to me than the Building Your Own Home for Dummies was, but perhaps that had more to do with this book being a better philosophical match for me than its counterpart. The book provides a thorough, though by no means exhaustive, survey of green building materials in all aspects of the building process. It does a great job of evaluating all the pros and cons of different materials and techniques showing that there are many thoughtful choices to make in constructing a home with a minimal ecological impact. A great primer filled with lists of many great resources. Use it to get your foot in the door.
January 28, 2010
This book is useful for introducing you to ideas you hadn't considered in making a house more green. But if you're hoping for some practical criteria for deciding which ideas have merit, look elsewhere. The author seems to want to present every concept, from rammed earth houses to bioremediation ponds, as the Best Idea Ever.
This book sent me on a lot of investigations, but ultimately will have very little impact on the home we build. I'm now checking out Green from the Ground Up and it seems like a good alternative to this one.
This book sent me on a lot of investigations, but ultimately will have very little impact on the home we build. I'm now checking out Green from the Ground Up and it seems like a good alternative to this one.
August 6, 2008
This book had a concise, well organized review of different green techniques that go into building or remodeling a home. As someone who is already familiar with architecture, this book was a helpful overview for me, and I read through it and learned several new concepts that I will undoubtedly use in the future. For someone completely new to this stuff, it was simply enough that you could learn without getting frustrated.
All in all, an interesting, useful read.
All in all, an interesting, useful read.
March 17, 2010
Some useful information for those new to the idea of green building. As a construction manager/ business owner this book will not provide the details that one would need to know to have a successful business. A good beginner book
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews