Most of us would love to design and build our own home. In fact, more people than ever are doing precisely this. But how exactly do you go about it? How much of the building work should you do yourself? This manual explains the entire process in plain English, backed up with hundreds of colour photos showing real self-build projects taking shape. Each chapter is devoted to a key stage of the build from the foundations right through to snagging and completion. Whether you tackle some of the works yourself, or employ architects and contractors, this step-by-step guide will show you how to stay firmly in control, get to grips with the latest planning and building regulations, and complete your project on time and within budget.

Retrofitting expresses, in a traditional approach, the process of improving something after it has been manufactured, constructed, or assembled. These systems integrate new technologies, new functions, and new services that increase the energy performance in existing private, public, and commercial buildings. Retrofitting for Optimal Energy Performance is a comprehensive reference source that examines environmentally conscious technologies and their applications in advancing retrofitting practices. Providing relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the area, it highlights an array of topics such as climate change, energy management, and optimization modeling, and is essential for academicians, students, researchers, engineers, architects, entrepreneurs, managers, policymakers, and building owners.