Book FAQs
Before Purchase
1. UK Books
The following books are based on UK construction methods and standards. All drawings are in metric units.
Understanding Architectural Details Residential
Published June 2022
Understanding Architectural Details Commercial
Published Feb 2015
Understanding Architectural Details Basements
Published Sept 2015
Understanding Passivhaus
Published Sept 2020
Understanding Loft Conversions
Published July 2022
2. North American Books
The following book is based on North American construction methods and standards. All drawings are in imperial units.
Residential Construction Details
Published Sept 2016
3. About the Bundles
Bundle 1
Bundle 1 of any package includes the PDF only of the book. This is a digital order, there are no physical books associated with any of the digital books.
Bundle 2
Bundle 2 contains the PDF from bundle 1, plus the cad details of all the details shown in the book.
The cad details are in .dwg format which is a file format for AutoCAD by AutoDesk.
We cannot guarantee compatibility with any other software apart from AutoCAD.
Bundle 3
Bundle 3 contains the PDF and the cad details from Bundle 2, plus 3D SketchUp files of all the details shown in the book.
The SketchUp files are in .skp format.
We cannot guarantee compatibility with any other software apart from SketchUp.
Bundle 4
Bundle 4 (Understanding Passivhaus only) contains all of the files from Bundle 3, plus the companion Details:Calculated book and associated Flixo files.
Flixo is a software used for thermal bridge analysis. You can get a free 30 ay trial of the software from the Flixo website.
Full Packages
Any of the Full Package bundles contain all of the digital files for each book (PDF, dwg, SketchUp).
4. Digital Files and Softwares
If you are purchasing a book or digital download such as cad block or template, please check what the download will include and confirm compatibility with your own software.
CAD (dwg)
The cad blocks are in .dwg format which is a file format for AutoCAD by AutoDesk.
We cannot guarantee compatibility with any other software apart from AutoCAD.
Photoshop (.psd)
The photoshop files are in .psd format.
We cannot guarantee compatibility with any other software apart from Adobe Photoshop.
Revit
The Revit files are in .rfa format.
We cannot guarantee compatibility with any other software apart from AutoDesk Revit.
ArchiCAD
The ArchiCAD files are in .gsm format.
We cannot guarantee compatibility with any other software apart from ArchiCAD.
5. Paperback Books
All physical copy books are Paperback unless stated otherwise.
Paperback books do not include any digital files.
Our paperback books can also be found on Amazon, Book Depository, Blackwells and other major booksellers.
6. After Purchase
Downloads
Issues with Downloads:
Prior to download please could you ensure the following:
- Make sure you have a good internet connection as some of the files are large and take a while to download.
- Download the files individually rather than clicking download all.
- Please download onto a desktop or laptop computer and not a tablet or mobile device.
Issues with Google Chrome:
Chrome has increased 'security' in their browsers and are marking some downloads as dangerous, this is happening everywhere and not just for our files. It appears to be only Google Chrome that are blocking downloads and not other browsers such as Safari or Firefox. There are numerous articles online explaining how to disable this feature in order to access your downloads.
Here are a couple:
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-stop-chrome-from-blocking-downloads?r=US&IR=T
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/bim-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/This-file-is-dangerous-so-Chrome-has-blocked-it-message-received-when-downloading-ZIP-files-from-BIM-360-Team.html
Other FAQs
Still have a question - get in touch. Head over to our contact page to access our contact information.