Pretty Good House: A Guide to Creating Better Homes

By Dan Kolbert, Emily Mottram, Michael Maines and Christopher Briley

Taunton Press © 2022

Review by Julia Bassett Schwerin

A pair of architects, a residential designer and a contractor walk into a building supply store. The shop owner asks, “What’ll you have?” Everyone calls for beers.

Then the contractor adds, “And a world where people understand what a Pretty Good House really is—and expect to get it.” Everyone drinks to that. One decade and dozens of Pretty Good Houses later, they write the definitive book on the subject, and we are the very fortunate recipients of it.

And what an exquisite book it is. Pretty Good House is written with one goal in mind: to transfer the four Maine-based authors’ knowledge and experience with high-performance building to the public. Wow, talk about generous because they have a treasure trove of valuable material to convey.

Co-author and contractor Dan Kolbert defines a Pretty Good House as “a well thought-out, carefully crafted house, designed to maximize performance and comfort within a budget.” Performance can mean many things, which is why a Pretty Good House is not a standard sanctioned by an organization requiring a prescriptive list of quantifiable benchmarks but a “does this get a good result?” thumbs up or down.

Pretty Good House is designed along the same principles as a high-performance building: form follows function. It’s clearly written, covers all the bases and liberally quotes from many Green Building Gurus including timber-framing advocate Tedd Benson and indoor air quality expert Joe Lstiburek.

The book is part science, part logistics, part aesthetics, part encyclopedic. On your bookshelf or your coffee table, it will inspire endless conversations and contemplation. There are lessons on wall and roof assemblies, window and door ratings, embodied carbon, avoiding toxic materials, selecting HVAC equipment, choosing good lighting, adding solar power and–as a green realtor, my hands down biggest smile upon turning the page–verification (if you want to monetize your efficiency upgrades, you must document them as they are often invisible and add no curb appeal).

The most careful thought went into hundreds of photographs, charts, tables, floor plans, and illustrated building parts. Every turn of the page is a delight. While homeowners will find this book indispensable for creating their dream house, the trades will equally eat it up, turning over every well-communicated concept.  Kudos to the authors and their publisher for this essential guide to where we all want to live.

This article appeared in the Fall 2022 edition of Green & Healthy Maine HOMES. Subscribe today!

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