Reviews (3)

Larry Haun and friends at it again.
Although Amazon does not have any in stock at the moment, this book is readily available at your local bookseller. I got mine for the cover price of $17.95.
not a good choice at all
not well written or well detailed. Try Graphic Guide to Framing for a much better refrence.

Framing Floors,Walls,Ceilings:The Best Of Fine Homebuilding
A friend has a copy of this helpful book.. once I read it, it was the most helpful books I've read onbasic framing.. I learned things I didnt know how to do..this book has been a great help in the planning and constructionof my home..I cant wait to order the rest of the Best of Homebuildingseries.. dont pass this one up.. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Building Construction    2. Design & Construction    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Do-It-Yourself - General    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Home Maintenance And Repair    7. House & Home    8. House framing    9. Remodeling & Renovation - General    10. Carpentry    11. House & Home / Design & Construction   

Reviews (3)

Excellent Book! We use this to train our home inspectors.
I own a very successful home inspection business in California. We use all of this authors products to train my staff since they are the by far the best products for real estate training on the market. We originally found out about these products through excellent book reviews in the local real estate publications. From that we learned the following details and decided to purchase the whole "Real Estate From A to Z" series by this author:
I learned a great deal of home improvement information
The other books I have purchased by this author were excellent so I bought this one also and am very happy with my purchase. Renovating our home has been a MAJOR expense and project so we wanted to make sure that we did everything in the most energy efficient and cost effective way. There were countless tips and methods to greatly reduce our utility bills with the renovation work that we learned in this book. We had a house builder do the renovation work we couldn't do ourselves but we still used this book to in a way give advice to the builder to do the renovations so they will cut our electric, heating and air-conditioning bills. Our builder was quite surprised at how much we knew about energy efficient renovations. But we can't take the credit since it was all learned from this book. Highly recommended book if you're want to learn how to greatly reduce your utility bills.

Learn from the experts how to make home repairs, improvement
When my wife and I wanted to make a lot of repairs and upgrading to our home we read many books on the subject before starting the work or hiring contractors. This book was a great help since it contains a ton of expert advice, research, and information about the best ways to make repairs and improvements (both minor and major upgrading) in the most cost effective manner. The added bonus of the information in this book is that we learned how to reduce our utility consumption by about half! The topics show you how to make all the updating with energy efficiency in mind at no extra cost to do the work. That we a great bonus to the instructions. Some of the work opn our house were major updates and had to be done by professional builders and contractors. With what we learned from this book my wife and I were able to double check the estimates and work performed by the pro contractors to make sure they did everything the correct and most energy and cost efficient manner. We did detect some aspects of the job that we told the contractors to do differently from what we learned in the book(instead of them cutting corners to increase their own profits). All in all - great book and great choice for any home owner serious about make energy saving home improvements! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. House & Home / Do-It-Yourself    2. House & Home / Remodeling & Renovation    3. Remodeling & Renovation - Energy Efficient    4. Do-It-Yourself - General    5. Dwellings    6. Energy conservation    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Home Improvement / Construction    9. House & Home    10. Insulation (Heat)    11. Maintenance and repair    12. Remodeling & Renovation   

Reviews (1)

Organize and Plan for Your Kitchen or Bath Project
The major part of any project is being organized. And what better way to organize a kitchen or bath redesign than to practice effective time management skills? That's right: delegate to a professional who deals withthis sort of undertaking every single day: a designer. Utilizing the skillsof a talented kitchen or bath designer will decrease stress, improveproductivity, and create more time for you to enjoy the task at hand:redesigning or remodeling the kitchen or bathroom in your home.Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Bathrooms    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Do-It-Yourself - General    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Home Maintenance And Repair    7. House & Home    8. Kitchens    9. Remodeling    10. Remodeling & Renovation - Bathrooms    11. Remodeling & Renovation - Kitchens    12. DIY    13. Home furnishing & decoration    14. House & Home / Remodeling & Renovation    15. kitchen; bathroom   

Editorial Review

The origins of the word "mortgage" are Old French and translate roughly to "death pledge." Rob Roy takes a radical approach here to help the reader understand how mortgages work; explains clearly how, if you have a mortgage already, you can maximize your equity sooner and save tons of money; and how, if just starting the process of acquiring a home for yourself, there are clear alternatives to a standard bank mortgage that will save you massive amounts of money, time, and financial headaches.Read more

Reviews (19)

Excellent resource for those who want to live debt free!
Very encouraging to know that it can be done. Rob gives a lot of useful info on how live mortgage free. My husband and I are going to do it!

I'm halfway through - and already I can tell this book's a keeper!
So I was reading today our of "Mortgage-free, radical strategies for home ownership."I like the book, the author gives a pretty round view on ways you can get away with doing exactly what the title tells you.Almost all of his ideas start out with you gathering up a grubstake and buying a piece of land - which is okay, but I can't even afford the land I want, so that's a bit of a problem for me.Perhaps I should think more modularly and buy a small piece and acquire more adjacent to it when I have more cash.
Good General Overview limited in detail
Mr. Roy's book is a great primer on thinking about different strategies for owning a home that don't involve the normal process.The book is primarily based on the idea that if one can or wants to live a life outside of the consumerist norm then it is possible to own a home.Primarily, he advocates that the person who wants to own a home and not spend the next thirty years of their lives as an indentured servent to the bank that they should do as much work as they can themselves.Anyone who is interested or willing to do the work in building or renovating a home, has a low income, wants to maintain a simple life but doesn't know where to start will find this book has useful ideas to get you started.Those who desire to live in the best neighborhoods, are uninterested or unwilling to do the work on their own home, or not likely to accept a simple lifestyle will likely scoff at the notions this book presents.
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Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Dwellings    5. Energy conservation    6. Finance    7. House & Home    8. House construction    9. Housing    10. Real Estate - Buying/Selling Homes    11. Reference   

Reviews (2)

Great Book!
If you're interested in being the contractor to build your own home using subs, this book is for you.The book has great examples, tips and tricks, pitfalls, and even templates are included.It's a quick read yet it's very comprehensive.

Highly Recommend
This book is excellent because it shows a simple home building method that breaks down the many steps of home building into small, manageable pieces.The monthly and weekly schedule forms were easy to use and to fill out; all you had to do was follow the examples in the book.This book has given me the confidence to go forward and start building my home, and I know I can save about $90,000 by doing it myself.I highly recommend this book to anyone that is thinking about building their own home. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. House & Home / Design & Construction    2. House & Home / Do-It-Yourself    3. Technology / Construction & Construction Trades    4. Amateurs' manuals    5. Building    6. Contractors    7. House construction    8. Superintendence    9. House & Home    10. Design & Construction    11. Do-It-Yourself - General    12. Technology    13. Construction - General   

Reviews (1)

beautiful coffee table book
this book is just lovely- the photos are so beautiful! the homes are elegant but not too overdone. i have lots of decorating books for my coffee table but this is my favorite. i also highly recommend rooms by mariette gomez. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Campbell, Nina    3. Decorating    4. Decorating - General    5. Decoration & Ornament    6. Do-It-Yourself - General    7. History    8. Home Improvement / Construction    9. House & Home    10. Interior decoration    11. Themes, motives    12. House & Home / Decorating   

Reviews (4)

Catalog of plans for sale
This book is basically a list of plans for sale by the Hanley Wood Company.Most of the designs look rather dated to me, I would guess many of these were designed in the 1960's and 70's.I didn't find any particularly interesting or useful ideas here, most designs were either very simple or much too ornate & contrived for my taste.It's rather misleading to call this a "book" and say it was "wriitten by" and author, it is really more of a large sales brochure dressed up as a paperback book.

Great ideas!
This book gives you a large variety of designs and styles to consider.It was just what we were looking for!We were able to combine a couple of ideas to build the perfect garage/guest house!Our builder had no problem just using the pictures and diagrams from the book.If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can order the plans.(Everyone in the neighborhood compliments our new guest house/garage!

not too helpful unless you'er looking gigantic
if you're looking for the basic garage or outbuilding book this is not it....too big , too contemporary.... also it should be called the garage plan sourcebook. as there are no actual plans...just sources ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Designs and plans    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Domestic    5. Garages    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Outbuildings    9. Outdoor & Recreational Areas - General    10. Reference    11. Sheds    12. United States    13. Housing & property for the individual    14. Residential buildings, domestic buildings    15. Woodworking   

Subjects:  1. Decorating    2. Decorating - General    3. Design and construction    4. Do-It-Yourself - General    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. Interior Design - General    8. Kitchens    9. Remodeling & Renovation - Kitchens    10. HUMOR - HUMOR GENERL TRD PB    11. House & Home / Decorating    12. Sale Books   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (3)

Fabulous
Well worth the money.If you ever get a chance to see her in person, do it.Very Knowledgeable, very practical.

No stone unturned!
This book takes you through every step you will need to landscape your yard and garden.The format is somewhat like a workbook but with a ton of useful information presented in a way that makes it easy for even a "brown-thumb" like me to understand. I especially like how the author left room for notes and grids for designing the garden.Pair this with "The Encyclopedia for Organic Gardening" and you will need no other gardening literature.

The One With the Answers
Since moving into a new house, I've been devouring every landscape book on the market, in hopes of acquiring information that will enable me to transform the weed patch and ugly bush that are the only features of my front yard into something beautiful.This is absolutely the best of the "how-to" landscape books!A real laboratory manual of landscape design, this book avoids the two major failures of many others on the market.First, unlike those that offer page after page of photos of beautifully manicured lawns from which I am expected to magically intuit the rudiments of landscape design, this book assumes rightly that I know absolutely nothing about landscaping.Then, the author uses clear diagrams and graphs to gently but methodically guide me through all stages of a design and implementation process that will enable a previously clueless me to transform my ugly view into a photo-worthy scene.Second, this book avoids the weaknesses of landscape books that so overwhelm me with the theoretical intricacies of landscape design that I am tempted to throw in the trowel and hire the work out (perhaps the authors of those books wanted me to do that all along?).By contrast, this book sequences in clear and concrete language the questions requiring decision that I will confront, lays out a range of possible actions, and then offers specific suggestions (with diagrams and graphs) for implementation.This book is sturdy and it needs to be.Rather than grace your coffee table, it will be with you as you get down and dirty in your yard with tape measure, string, and clipboard to work through the pages of this book on your way to something beautiful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Design    2. Do-It-Yourself - General    3. Garden Design    4. Gardening    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Gardening/Plants    7. Gardens    8. Landscape    9. ARCHITECTURE / Landscape    10. Garden design & planning    11. Gardening / Garden Design    12. Landscape gardening   

Reviews (2)

Pure tile eye candy!
This book is chock full of gorgeous tile applications in a variety of styles.I especially love the mosaics.Pure eye candy!

One of the BEST!
I have always been an avid DIY'er and a passionate lover of tile, so I have just about every book on the subject. I've been waiting for the release this newest book TILE STYLE and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. Truly an all inclusive book, it covers in great detail everything tile including natural stone, glass, metal, mosaics, terra cotta, brick, porcelain, ceramic, cork and numerous decorative tiles. Not only will you learn the qualities of each, but how to chose, design with, install and care for them as well. The book is filled with beautiful photos of tiled rooms (even the installation sections are full color). And when it comes to the installation sections, this has to be one of the most detailed, yet simply presented of my entire collection. Plus, the projects incorporate the newest setting methods and materials in conjunction with the most current trends in kitchens, baths and flooring such as a granite tile countertop, a glass and metal backsplash and setting a travertine tile floor! Beautiful, extremely informative and cutting edge - a must have tile book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Decorating - General    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Do-It-Yourself - Masonry    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Home Maintenance And Repair    7. House & Home    8. Interior Design    9. Tile laying    10. Tiles    11. Tiles in interior decoration    12. Architecture / Methods & Materials    13. Home furnishing & decoration    14. House & Home / Do-It-Yourself   

Reviews (9)

Mostly the same as the other reviews.
Old info cut in with some monster garage stuff.It was damn near nothing new.

Gives you search engine ammunition
Ok this is the first book I have purchased on welding and I have never welded before.Figured this book would be on the same track as me since I wanted to learn about automotive welding.So if you're like me and you buy this book expecting to learn the ropes on that stick welder in your garage than this book is more like a gateway.Trying to read about welding from square one with this book made me feel like I lied on a job application and was in over my head.After reading the sections that pertained to what I would be doing a couple of times, staring at my welder, and scratching my head for a while I started to form some questions as if I knew what I was talking about.So after much searching and reading from other sources I finally bought a small box of welding rods and some scrap metal to play with.
Very good
Very good coverage of tube welding , motorcycle/bicycle/aeroplane type tubing including some on vacuumchamberweldingtitanium.
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Subjects:  1. Automotive - General    2. Do-It-Yourself - General    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. Power Tools    5. Transportation    6. Motor cars: general interest    7. Transportation / Automotive / General   

Reviews (9)

Preparation Chapter best part of the book
Debbie Travis' books are a mixed bag. Some of them I really like and some are scarce on steps and details. This book falls into the latter category. The best part of the book to me were the two chapters, "Preparing your Project for Decoration" and "The Professional Touch". These chapters cover repairs of pieces, sanding, stripping, glazes and how to tint glazes, plaster, varnishes, stains, etc. and the best way to apply them for a professional finish.
Just not enough
I agree with other reviewers that this book has some great projects, some of which I plan to do, and it gave me some very good ideas. The problem for me is too few pictures and, in some cases, incomplete instructions.
Better books on the market than this one.
This book looks good at first glance, but then it falls apart. The nice colored pictures cannot compensate for the poor hints and guidelines in creating the same effects.Also, many of the finished projects were downright ugly.
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Subjects:  1. Decorating - General    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Handicraft    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. House furnishings    8. Interior decoration    9. Interior design    10. Reference    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. House & Home / Do-It-Yourself   

Reviews (1)

Just a bunch of pictures
and none i haven't seen elsewhere in my other DIY garden project books. I was NOT inspired. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Design and construction    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Do-it-yourself work    5. Garden ornaments and furniture    6. Garden structures    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. Landscape    10. Landscape gardening    11. Outdoor & Recreational Areas - General    12. Garden design & planning   

Reviews (15)

A little disappointed
I read all the good reviews and bought this book. I have to say I am disappointed. There are not a lot of content in the book, as you can tell that the author intentionally increase the margin of each page to greatly increase the total page number. The diagrams are sketchy, of low quality.
Definitive Guide To Shed Building
Out of all the shed books I have read, this book stays by my side while I hammer in the yard.The book is well written by what appears to be a non professional book writer (A Good Thing).It reads as if you are getting advise in laymans terms from your neighbor "The Craftsman", a welcome change from the DIY books, that assume a level of expertese.The level of detail is high and discusses gotcha's, advise, and trade "secrets" that could have only come from years of personal experience building sheds.
A great help and great read
This book was great, fun to read too.It gave plenty of ideas and advice.It wasn't the only book I used when building my shed but, certainly was the one I used the most.I recommend this book for anyone who's never built a shed before. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Construction - Carpentry    3. Design and construction    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Do-It-Yourself - General    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Outbuildings    9. Outdoor & Recreational Areas - General    10. Outdoor Structure Construction    11. Reference    12. House & Home / Design & Construction    13. Woodworking   

Editorial Review

This is a big, 448-page, comprehensive and detailed guide to hundreds of repairs around the house, with emergency and safety instructions, repairs to large and small appliances, and instructions on how to fix plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling systems. Instructions include tools needed and how to use them. Well-diagrammed and illustrated, with meticulous step-by-step instructions, this is a great addition to any home repair library. Don't bother trying to borrow my copy. I need it. Get your own. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

You CAN fix it yourself
I was about to junk a 10-year old dryer that wouldn't heat, because the repairman warned me that his visit was going to cost a minimum of $169 for diagnosis, repair time, and parts.Using this book I got out my $15 Sears multi-tester and unscrewed the back panel of my dryer. (The book even shows you how to use testing tools). Within a minute I found the bad part. I looked up the part number, found one on Ebay for $8.99 plus shipping... It came two days later and I had it installed in 3 minutes.My husband thinks I should start a new career as an appliance repairwoman.If I did, I'd use this book.

worth every penny; wish it were updated
This is an EXCELLENT book.Very concise and easy to understand.I really wish Time-Life would update it.

Best book I ever bought
This is the best book a own. I use it for around the house fix ups and it is great it has saved me a lot of money in repair bills. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Dwellings    5. Electrical Appliance Repair    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. Household appliances    10. Houses    11. Maintenance and repair    12. Repair   

Reviews (5)

WASTE of time and money
This book was a very big disappointment!
It's ok, but.......
The best that I have found, I can truly say, are books by Kevin O'Connor, such as: The Best Beginners Tube Amp Service Book
For the person with little or no electronics background, and an interest in tube amps, this book is an excellent place to start. Basic electricity and magnetic theory are explained thoroughly. Individual components within an amp are described, and their function within circuits is explained. It includes troubleshooting flow charts to help isolate problems, and testing procedures for many parts. Also included is handy reference material (tube pin charts and voltage charts) for many tubes and common amplifiers. The book is not perfect, but it is VERY good, and by far the most complete book I've seen for beginners. So... if you're looking for a place to start learning about electronics, and tube amps, this is the book you want. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Do-It-Yourself   

Reviews (1)

Practical energy savings
I found this book beneficial. I believe that people doing either new construction or remodelling will find it helpful. It covers new ideas as well some often overlooked but simple, inexpensive methods that should be used in all construction.Read more

Subjects:  1. Design & Construction    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Dwellings    5. Energy conservation    6. Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. Remodeling & Renovation - Energy Efficient    10. Remodeling & Renovation - General    11. Building construction & materials    12. Home & House Maintenance    13. House & Home / Design & Construction    14. Sustainability   

Reviews (1)

Much too basic and does not cover much on inspection
This checklist book has some photographs of homes that were OK but the checklist and text part of the book was much too basic. None of the parts of a home inspection were revealed or included in this book. So it is NOT a worksheet with 111 checklists but only a very basic and simple guide. I could not recommend this to anyone. Get another book that has a more complete checklist that you can use and that is helpful. You will never be able to do a home inspection from using this checklist book. If you did then you will be risking a lot since you will not know what to check out and inspect if this book is your guide!!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Building Inspection    3. Business / Economics / Finance    4. Construction - General    5. Design & Construction    6. Do-It-Yourself    7. Do-It-Yourself - General    8. Dwellings    9. House & Home    10. Inspection    11. Lists    12. Miscellanea    13. Real Estate - Buying/Selling Homes    14. Reference    15. House & Home / Design & Construction    16. Housing & property for the individual   

Reviews (1)

The heart of KIT HOMES are its pages of details on getting the most from what's available throughout the industry.
Other books on kit homes provide building specs for all levels of newcomer, but KIT HOMES: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME-BUILDING OPTIONS, FROM CATALOGS TO FACTORIES is different. It offers a look at low-cost options and designs, pairing these to a homeowner's specific wants and needs and showing how parts of the kit can be tweaked for budget and aesthetics. Directories of kit home publishers and suppliers are included, but the heart of KIT HOMES are its pages of details on getting the most from what's available throughout the industry.
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Subjects:  1. Design & Construction    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Domestic    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. House construction    8. Popular works    9. Residential Buildings Architecture    10. Residential Construction    11. House & Home / Design & Construction   

Reviews (1)

Practical primer on roofing
Lots of practical 'job' descriptions: replacing shingles, repairing leaks, finding leaks, etc.Many useful cartoons describing the process.Good advice on assessing the condition of the roof to determine how much needs to be replaced.Nice suggestions for preparing flashing to chimneys.
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Subjects:  1. Design & Construction    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. House & Home    5. Reference    6. Roofing    7. House & Home / Do-It-Yourself