Prefabulous: Prefabulous Ways to Get the Home of Your Dreams

by Sheri Koones and Sarah Susanka

Book Overview

This is the only book that gives homeowners who are dreaming about building or planning to build a new home the good and the bad on all types of prefabricated houses. Shows that prefabricated can be mainstream traditional design and does not have to look like a mobile home or a modular "Dwell" box.
Prefabulous describes the many systems available for prefabricating all or parts of a new home, including timber frame and log, as well as modular,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156158844X
• ISBN13: 9781561588442
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Taunton Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.5" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

Prefabulous is Fab! Mark Nash Real Estate Author, Columnist & Writer

Sheri Koones latest book Prefabulous follows on the heels of her three previous shelter books, all considered home runs by those who are in the residential housing industry. Prefabricated homes of today offer features and benefits that place them on equal footing with stick or site built homes. Koones in her thorough and leave no stone unturned style, explores the options in rich from-the-trenches writing detail, coupled with relative photography. Prefabulous should be required reading for architecture students as it highlights an important coming trend in North American residential housing. Prefabricated homes are being embraced by builders, developers and designers coast-to-coast as starter, custom, primary and secondary residences. Before you sign a site-built new construction contract, read this book and you will discover an option that can dramatically decrease delays, expenses, stress, time and waste in building your dream home. Chapters cover: Modular, Panelized, Structural Insulated Panels, Timber Frame, Log Construction, Concrete and Steel. Additional features include a forward, an introduction, and a resource appendix. A must-have guide for prospective new-construction homeowners, manufacturers in the factory-built construction industry and those looking for a "green" alternative to site-built housing.

Excellent Guidebook

If you think the only way to construct a truly elegant home is by building it the old fashioned way, you are in for a pleasant surprise. In Prefabulous, Koones shows readers that prefabricated houses have come a long way, and are in fact, a much better way to build. Complete with detailed resources regarding architects, manufacturers and builders on each of the homes profiled, Prefabulous is an excellent guidebook. Filled with magnificent photographs, detailed sidebars, and helpful information throughout, Prefabulous will help homeowners understand the many choices available for systems built homes.

Useful and EyeOpening if You are Building/Adding to A Home

I always assumed that prefabricated and modular construction were ugly and cheap, but Sheri Koones's Prefabulous has changed my mind entirely. Prefabricated and modular home construction methods have grown up and gone elegant and Koones has produced a detailed book with lavish photographs that will make many homeowners eager to explore these options. It is truly difficult to believe that the homes pictured were not built conventionally. Prefabulous is more than just a pretty face. Koones is a leading home construction expert who has written several books on residential building and modular design and Prefabulous is in keeping with the detail and insightfulness of her previous work. Reading Prefabulous is well worth your while if you are building a new home or adding to an existing one, because prefabricated, modular and similar construction methods are typically more cost-effective than conventional techniques. But don't take my word for it-- consumer real estate expert Robert Bruss has rated Prefabulous as 12 stars on a 10 star scale.

Who Knew There Were So Many Options?

This is a beautiful, well-researched and wonderfully presented book by home construction expert Sheri Koones. We have been considering either the purchase or construction of a second home, and based on what I have seen in this book, I am convinced pre-fab is the way to go. The author explained the concept of modular housing in her previous book, Modular Mansions, but this latest work presents the amazing variety of pre-fabricated construction options available to the homeowner/homebuilder. The gorgeous photos will stun you!

Open the Door to New Ideas

As a reader who hopes one day to build a home, PREFABULOUS by Sheri Koones opens the door to ingenious, fresh ideas. After pouring over this book, you'll question why anyone would NOT build a home constructed of pre-fab materials, especially after learning that this sort of smart building isn't just faster and often cheaper, but far more environmentally responsible than conventional methods. I recommend this book to anyone intereted in contemeporary architecture and design.