How To Build Your Dream Home Without Getting Nailed!: Save Your Time, Money, Sanity and Relationships Paperback – January 19, 2015

This book provides a tremendous amount of information for those who are unfamiliar with the building process or who are considering a custom build where you will be hiring a contractor. It is NOT a blueprint or guide for how to act as the general contractor of your own build. This is clearly stated in the book.You can read this book in a day, easily. The layout of information is well-organized and presented in adequate doses to give the reader a good understanding of the topic being covered. I found that several questions I had about the building process or standard procedures were addressed in the book. There were other pieces of information shared that I did not know and am thankful were covered. The glossary of terms in the rear of the book would be helpful through the building process.Some new-ish building processes are identified in certain sections and are noted as such. The checklists alone are worth the read--they give almost a step-by-step guide through the building process for a few different building methods.The novice will gain the most benefit from this book but it can also be helpful to those with some experience. It's thoroughly enriching and often funny (when he shares personal stories). I actually laughed out loud a few times.A couple of things that could enhance the work might be to provide some type of rule or way to gauge what is customary for what subs charge for specific work or services. It will vary for sure but would be helpful to have an idea. Several of the examples used in the book referenced builds with basements; it would be nice to have the 'slab' version. For some with experience, it might seem unnecessary, but for a novice, you can't take any knowledge for granted. Overall, I would totally buy this book again. If the author decides to write a book on the homeowner acting as the builder, project manager, or GC, I'd purchase that as well.

I am in the planning process of building our "move in alive and move out dead" home. My husband and I have renovated several old houses ( built 1934, 1898, 1942) doing much of the work ourselves - we both have a reasonable skill level, good tools, and the patience to research and do the work correctly. However we have NEVER build a house and as is typical I am reading several books on the topic to prepare for the process. Thus far I have read:The Complete Visual Guide to Building a House by John CarrollBuilding Your Own Home For Dummies, By Kevin Daum,Building Your Home: A Simple Guide to Making Good Decisions, By Kristina Leigh Wiggins andBeautifully Organized: A Guide to Function and Style in Your Home, by Nikki Boyd.This book is the best I have read to date. I feel that I received the most practical information. That thing about knowing what you don't know is REAL and is the root of most problems. From this book we developed a better understanding of the type of construction contract that best fits our needs and why. We also gained insight on several material considerations that we have been thinking on. I am only in the very early planning stages at this point but this book helped settle a question for me and my husband on how much prep work I should put in going into this. Like anything else I find what you put in is what you get out. No one should build or renovate without reading this book. I learned a great deal.

very informative book. author was humorous. didn't realize having a home was so complex. if you have a lot of patience, having a home built is very rewarding, and you get what you want. The author also warns his readers about unscrupulous contractors, & things that could go wrong or delay your house project.

To the Author!Thank you for writing The Chubby Builder!You probably are a really good builder but i must say you are a great story teller! I loved how you got under the hood on the emotional side of the building process. Kudos and thanks again.

Things I liked:- The book was cheap (only $3 on kindle)- It's intentionally concise. The author notes that he didn't want to pad the book with useless filler. I respect that. The paperback version is 256 pages, but the last 1/3 of the book is a glossary, so really it's more like ~170 pages.- The author has a very frank tone.- He is himself a builder and he knows the business. He covers lots of interesting topics: foundation, framing, siding, roofs, window positioning, the different kinds of contracts that exist for building a custom home, what kind of build issues are considered acceptable and what should definitely be fixed, what to expects from architects / lenders / etc.,- He is self-aware. He notes that the best kind of builder for a custom home is someone who listens well and has a lot of patience, and he is not that kind of person. He prefers to be a "spec home" builder, where he does as he pleases to build the home and then sells it.What I didn't like:- There are several "I told you so" anecdotes in the book, stories about homes he built where things didn't go smoothly. He gets pretty defensive. It's possible he's entirely right, but I don't love the way he blames former clients "in public" without giving them a chance to argue back. Sample quote: "To this day these folks still don't like me. I have to say there is no love lost. What a couple of dip wads."- He goes into detail about issues that may be relevant in the regions where he works (TN) but probably less so where I live (e.g. exposed rock, storms, etc).- Even though the book is concise, there's still some redundancy. One chapter has a very long checklist showing all the steps of building a home. But there are a few different way to build a home, so the checklist is copy-pasted a few times in the book.- There's relatively little about how to design the home. The are a few suggestions here and there, but for the most part this book assumes that you've figured out the design of the home and you're mostly concerned with how to get it built.