Fernando Pages Ruiz

Homebuilder, developer and author Fernando Pagés Ruiz speaks, writes and consults internationally on how to build high-quality, affordable and energy-efficient homes. A builder with 30 years of experience and an expert on how to cut costs and keep quality when building or remodeling, Pagés is the author of two books published by the Taunton Press: Building an Affordable House: A high-value, low-cost approach to building (2005) and Affordable Remodel: How to get custom results on any budget (2007).  As a builder, his projects have numerous awards, including the 2008 “Green Building Single Family House of the Year” and the 2007 “Workforce Housing Award” from the National Association of Home Builders. He currently works with architect Andrés Duany at No-Nonsense Housing developing affordable, mid-century modern homes for manufacture.

Recent Articles

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  Product Guide

  Eco-Panels Review: Promise and Pitfalls

  A pump house project provided a low-risk opportunity to try a new take on structural insulated panels

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  Product Guide

  Introducing the InSoFast X-Bracket System

  This method of installing continuous exterior insulation uses either spray foam or blown-in material over a patented bracketing system for a streamlined approach

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  Building Matters

  The Path Forward for Offsite Construction

  Considering the failure of past prefab manufacturers’ ventures, it stands to reason that slow and steady growth is the name of the game

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  Building Matters

  Prefab Bathrooms and Kitchens

  Modular construction applied to the two hardest-working rooms in a house

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  Building Matters

  Residential Bee Remediation

  A builder’s storied experience demonstrates best practices for ridding a house of a massive honeybee colony

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  Building Matters

  Prefabrication for Retrofits

  Modular construction’s path forward includes retrofitting older buildings with high-efficiency facades

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  Best Practices

  Build a Hurricane-Resistant Home Without Breaking the Bank

  Five things that can be done to strengthen the average home against hurricane-force winds

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  Building Matters

  Achieving Affordable High-Performance Homes

  Using small-house design principles, prefabrication construction technologies, and strategically chosen high-performance building elements, a small neighborhood developer keeps costs below the median in his market

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  Building Matters

  New Experimental Building Technologies

  The annual Innovative Housing Showcase on the National Mall highlights potential problem solvers

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  Building Matters

  Book Review: ‘Designing the Forest and Other Mass Timber Futures’

  A synopsis of salient points made in favor of forest biodiversity and mass timber development