Tom interviews Sarah Susanka, author of Creating the Not So Big House and The Not So Big House. Ms. Susanka welcomes us to the NSBH philosophy encompassing her simple yet elegant notion that a house should be built to work with the lifestyle and values of its occupants. She introduces us to "thinking in the third dimension" and reflects on the soulful nature of good design, explaining "a home is an extension of the lives of the people who live there so you can feel what peoples' passions are."
Each search link is
unique depending on its sponsor's purpose and vision so your job is to adapt each
source to the requirements of your home building project.
R.S. Means is North America's leading
provider of construction cost information products and services.
Sweet's Group is the construction industry's
primary product information source needed in the various stages of the design
process.
Code Check is
the premiere site for help with building codes and building a safe house.
American National Standards Institute is a
nonprofit organization supported by a diverse constituency of private and public
sector organizations with the goal of standardizing products and services we purchase
as consumers. For instance, their publication ANSI Z765-1996 provides a national
standard for calculating the square footage of single-family residential buildings.
Visit these sites to support your home "construction" office:
NEBS is a leading supplier of printed products
such as invoices, purchase orders, check registers, and stationery geared toward
the construction industry.
Calculated
Industries is a well-known manufacturer of specialty calculators and measuring
tools created especially for the Design/Build process.
Kinko's
handles document reproduction, offers computer services, and provides free local
phone calls while you wait for them to finish your job.
Here's a collection
of hands-on links which you might find useful:
Here's a useful site you might want to visit if you're building in the greater
Seattle vicinity:
It's a Washington State web site where folks
can list and/or search for recycled building supplies. I don't think enough
Washingtonians know about it. Check it out !!!
Here's
a list of universal design links you might find useful:
But remember: the FIRST STEP is to know what to ask. There's nothing gained by
needlessly searching for solutions before you identify the critical path. What
a waste of time! Start your home building project by immediately heading in the
right direction rather than meandering around the marketplace.