Building
Your Own Home
A comprehensive guide for owner-builders
by George Wilkie
(Australian Publication)
Softcover
210 x 285mm
153pp
Published by New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd.
R.R.P.$42.00
ISBN 1-86436-747-4
As reviewed in House & HOME Issue 58
While the number of Australians who physically build their own home, brick by brick, nail by nail, has decreased in recent decades, nonetheless a significant proportion of new homes are built by their owners, either partly or wholly through the use of subcontractors. Many take the plunge to save money, but the primary benefit is to take responsibility for the building process and have the personal satisfaction of turning dreams into reality.
The legal side of being your own builder is complex, but government departments in each State provide a plethora of literature on this subject. On the actual 'nuts and bolts' of building your own home, there is less information available, particularly if you're seeking publications written in layman’s language and written for Australian building codes and conditions. It is in this area that many owner builders come unstuck.
A new offering is Building Your Own Home, subtitled A comprehensive guide for owner builders. The book has been written by two architects/lecturers - George Wilkie from Sydney and Stuart Arden from Wellington, New Zealand.
Heavily illustrated (a picture is indeed worth a thousand words), the publication takes the reader through the entire home building process from design and concept, to painting, paving and surface finishes.
The language used is very concise, with the text reading more like a specification than a book. In this sense it is a difficult book for the novice to read cover to cover, but nonetheless it is essential to study the entire contents to fully understand the building process.
Reading a section at a time, reflecting on the full import of each sentence and paragraph, is probably the best way to tackle this publication. Once it has been read thoroughly, Building Your Own Home then becomes an invaluable reference during the building process, the concise layout and structured presentation of its contents proving to be a distinct advantage.
All common forms of construction are covered including timber and steel floor, wall and roof framing, clad frames, brick veneer, double brick, AAC block, Powerpanel (AAC panels), coated board cladding and slab-on-ground. There are additional sections on specifications, drawing, costings, schedules, retaining walls, draining, major appliances, kitchen and bathroom design, thermal comfort and fireplaces.
In addition to giving an overview of each aspect of building, the book provides a great deal of information on the small details that are so essential, yet can so easily be overlooked in both the design and construction stages. Building Your Own Home is highly recommended reading, not only for the novice, but also for the experienced owner builder.
Illustrations: Black & White
Units of Measurement: Metric
Contents
Preface
Introduction
A history of owner-building
Domestic architecture
A history of building materials
A history of building construction
Buy, build or extend?
Pre-design
Designing the home
Consultants
Authorities
Design drawings
Building drawings
Specifications
Schedules
Costing
Tendering, contracting and legal
Subcontractors
Suppliers
Administration
Achieving completion
Where to now?
Sites
The base
Site preparation
Footings
Sub-surface
or agricultural drainage
Retaining walls
Ground-to-floor systems
Timber floor frames
Steel flooring systems
Concrete slabs
Walls-introduction
Timber wall framing
Metal
wall framing
Brick veneer construction
Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC)
PowerpaneI
Sheet and board claddings
Sheet and board products
Solid masonry construction
Interior linings
Windows
Doors
Roofs
Conventional roof frames
Trussed roofs
Roofs - flat, skillion
and vaulted
Roof tiles
Roof sheets
Ceilings
Special roof details
Services
Drainer
Plumber
Electrician
Major appliances
(whitegoods)
Fixing out
Trims
Kitchens
Bathrooms
Robes
and presses
Fireplaces
Stairs and entry
Cabinet joints
Options
Double-storey construction
Car accommodation
Thermal comfort
Floor surface finishes
Painting
Building material properties and uses
Builders
City conditions
Glossary
Index