April 24, 2007

Fine Homebuilding No. 187 – Annual Houses Issue - Review

Fine Homebuilding’s Annual Houses issue showed up in the mailbox the other day and, as always, it’s a pretty fun read. Each year, this issue showcases a number of houses of various styles and somehow makes you believe that, with just a few changes, your house will take on the appearance of one of these masterpieces.

Among the profiled houses are a 540 sq. ft. cottage, a hurricane resistant beach house, and a hilltop contemporary with a lap pool that doubles as an emergency water supply. There is also an article that shows how both the single-level and multi-level retirement home can be successful.

In addition to the house profiles, the issue has the standard fixtures and materials reviews (oil-based stain vs. water-based) and a number of other house building related articles, including a nice one on building codes.

It’s a good issue, and the eight bucks is worth the hour and a half of delusional fantasy you’ll have thinking how easy it would be to add a second story master-suite to allow your house to “realize its full potential.”

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