FineHomebuilding Vs. JLC

Southern Build

Which mag. do yall guys prefer, they are both sorta pricey so I am thinking of just getting one of them.

From what I can tell, JLC is more mid-range in its scope, and FHB is very high end, in the projects / techniques covered. Is this how yall have found it to be? And which one is the best in your option?

If there is another good general popurse magizen out there which you like let me know.

SLSTech

I'm not going to be a big help - get both (there both great resources)

If you do remodeling / need help with numbers, planning & running a business - get Remodeling mag (same company that does the Cost vs Value report yearly & its free)

Coastal Contractor - online now only & also free

Do you do mainlt resi, comm, newcon, remodels, speciality, ???

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EricTheHandyman

I get both, and you should too. I guarantee that what you'll learn will more than pay for the subscription.

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WarriorWithWood

I also get both. They're well worth it.

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-Dennis
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Five Star

I also get both

But im leaning more towards fine homebuilding,JLC for the last 6-8 Months has been shrinking in size. i can read the whole mag cover to cover twice in one visit to the SH$%$ER!

Fine home building takes a few visits! MUCH BETTER INFO IMO!

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WarriorWithWood

Yeah, but JLC is 20 bucks a year. Pretty cheap.

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-Dennis
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Five Star

I pay more than $20 for jlc, im pretty sure its 39.95 a yr

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mickey69125

For me, JLC is a better choice. Fits my business better, but Fine Home Building is an excellent magazine also. At one time I subscribed to both but now it's just JLC.

WarriorWithWood

Really? They just sent me my re-subscription notice and it was 19.99 for the year. I just checked on their site and it says 34.95 (professional rate), but my snail mail flier said 19.99. That's weird.

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-Dennis
www.bowmanch.com

Five Star

yes 34.95 is what i just paid.! 19.99 is more reasonable for the size it is today..they really shrunk big time!

i gotta say im alittle disappionted,even in this mounths issue on subscriber wrote back asking how come there was no lental used in the basement egress storry a few months back, and the editor replied that the picture didnt make the cut!

thats such a bullsh#T excuse, the whole mag is 10-12 pages they could of printed the whole story!

and there advertisers such as advanta credit card,as soon as economy started to fall they raised all contractors apr to 27%. im glad i didnt carry a balance but i canceled the card right away!

if they drop the price to $20 i will renew if not jlc is lame and i will cancel!

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WarriorWithWood

I don't know the size of the magazine, I always order the on-line subscription for both JLC and FH. I save the articles to my hard drive and just search the folder for whatever I need. I've found it to be a lot easier than looking through the stack of mags for a particular article. I believe JLC is gearing themselves toward an on-line preferred type of deal and from what you're saying they seem to be doing it faster then I thought.

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-Dennis
www.bowmanch.com

Five Star

maybe your right, i never tried the online version..how much is that..?

is it the same price..?

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RizzoMaryland

I get both.

Whatever they cost $20, $30, $40...It doesn't matter. If you learn 1 thing from either, you've gotten your moneys worth.

Don't "cheap" on your education.

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Dan V.

I kinda like "Juggs". Of course, I get it just for the articles.

j/k, JLC for me. It's a better fit for my everyday biz.

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WarriorWithWood

Nope it's 50 bucks to start and 40 a year. It's worth it because you get access to all the back articles and issues. Both of them have an insane amount of articles on their site.

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-Dennis
www.bowmanch.com

orson

If you're only going to get one get JLC imo.

FineHomebuilding is kind of half geared towards DIYers.

JLC is a serious construction mag, although I do agree it's lack of dearth leaves me hungry for more every issue. Quality over quanitity I guess.

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Bob Kovacs

Depends on what you're looking for. JLC's articles are more technically oriented, as their reader base is contractors- FHB is appealing to a larger market (contractors and DIY'ers), so the articles tend to be a blend of technical stuff as well as foo-foo pieces. JLC has more business-related articles as well, which you won't find in FHB.

Regarding the size of the magazine, it's a sign of the times. Like many industries, their advertising revenues are down, which does two things- it reduces the number of pages (less ad revenue = less ads to print), and it reduces the amount of $$ they have available to pay for articles and columns. I write for JLC as well as their sister publication Professional Deck Builder, and had an article that was planned for an upcoming issue cut because their author budget had been cut. As the economy improves, I'm sure you'll see the magazine start to swell again- with both ads and articles.

MikeReynolds

Hey Bob.

Fancy seeing you here. I am Bambam over at BT and JLC. How have you been?

MikeReynolds

If both arent in the budget then JLC but I prefer both. As someone pointed out Remodeling Mag is a necessity and its free too.

OGStilts

I like both JLC and FHB but I can also suggest you get Qualified Remodeler. It's one of those free publications so it's bogged down with ads and some nonsense but there's at least one article in there every month that is worth reading and what more could you ask for...IT'S FREE.

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