The five volume series, Barry's Construction of Buildings,has been established as a standard text on building technology formany years. However, a substantial update has long been required,and while doing this the opportunity has been taken to reduce fivevolumes to two in a more user-friendly format. The introductory volume covers domestic construction and bringstogether material from volumes 1, 2 and part of 5. The extensiverevision includes modern concepts on site assembly, environmentalissues and safety, and features further reading.