Book excerpt: The most comprehensive guide to material selection & installation It takes a wise choice of building materials and details to create durable, attractive, and affordable custom homes and remodeling projects. Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction provides up-to-date, field-tested recommendations that help professionals balance cost and performance when designing and building residential projects. Steven Bliss, former editorial director of The Journal of Light Construction and founding editor of Progressive Builder, draws on his extensive knowledge as a practicing builder, designer, and construction editor to help building professionals select the right materials for every job and install them with confidence. This one-stop resource covers the real-world challenges of material selection and installation so designers, contractors, and building owners can make informed decisions for all major building components. Useful to architects, designers, and specifiers--as well as contractors, builders, and developers--Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction features: * More than 200 photos and illustrations of critical residential construction details * Installation tips and cautions that help prevent costly product failures * Descriptions of the latest composites and synthetics that are changing the way we build * Easy-to-use charts for making quick product comparisons * An authoritative guide to indoor air quality and healthy house construction