Housebirth was created by Sara Lamia to help new-home builders think through the choices necessary for building a home. It might also be useful to buyers of existing homes who are planning to remodel after they buy.
I should say that I haven't used the book for its intended purpose—but it appears to be very thorough in the information it provides, covering everything from choosing the professionals you work with, "green choices", and potential fire code considerations. It is aimed at a mainstream audience—Earth-friendly tips consist of items like which types of windows save energy and considering a tankless water heater. This is not the book to buy if you want to read up on cutting edge alternative energy strategies.
That said, Housebirth there are plenty of green choices noted throughout the book, and this looks like a good starting point for anyone who is building a home for the first time. It is chock-full of checklists and worksheets, starting with exercises that are designed to help you identify your core priorities so that you can be sure you know what you really want in a home before you start to build. The book is interspersed with personal stories of choices the author made (including some last-minute decisions made after she realized her choices had not been thought through properly). My main complaint is its lack of an index. As it is, this is a well-organized workbook. WIth an index, it would be a useful reference tool as well.
If you've never built (or remodeled) a home, this book will help you identify your wants and needs, and then give you a good framework for understanding the process and many of the choices that are available to you. Even if you want to go further in greening your home than this book will take you, I recommend it as a good starting point to provide you with a framework for thinking through the many basic decisions and hires a new home builder will need to make.
This book was provided for review from the author.
