Home Improvement For Dummies [Paperback]

This is a great general fix-it book for the do-it-yourselfer. The authors have packed a lot of helpful information into this comprehensive guide to home improvements, from winterizing windows to unclogging stopped drains, painting, repairing furniture, installing flooring, weather-stripping doors and windows, making basic plumbing and electrical repairs and improvements, and completing indoor and outdoor projects. Like all the books in the Dummies series, special icons highlight "Great Gadgets," tools and specialty devices to make projects go faster; "Safety First," with tips on potential dangers and how to avoid them; and "Remember," indicating special points to remember during projects. Well organized and indexed for easy reference, the book is filled with hundreds of helpful diagrams and illustrations. This is a great gift book for the new homeowner or anyone off to a new house or apartment for the first time. Even if you have no tools and little experience, you'll find which tools you must have for any project. By simply following the straightforward instructions, this book will have you looking like a pro in no time. --Mark A. Hetts

All home improvements don’t require a contractor. Installing a smoke detector, painting a room, and unclogging a sink are all home improvements. In fact, doing the job yourself is often cheaper and always more rewarding. There’s no mystery to home repair. The most important tool you need to make home repairs is know-how—to fix the problem at hand and to buy the other tools and hardware you’ll need!

Home Improvement For Dummies is a whole-house repair manual for everyone from fledgling do-it-yourselfers to seasoned handymen and women. This anybody-can-do-it approach will help you with a repair that needs fixing right away or get you started on a project you’ve been planning. This book is for you if you need advice on these topics and more:

• Painting and decorating
• Carpentry
• Plumbing and electrical
• Outside repairs
• Building shelves
• Tiling
• Insulating

Calculate how much a repair will cost you, and know when to hire a pro. With clear illustrations that walk you, step by step, through projects, Home Improvement For Dummies helps you:

• Refinish and stain wood
• Repair squeaky stairs
• Install floor tiles
• Improve your home’s energy efficiency
• Maintain and upgrade plumbing
• Install an outdoor sprinkler system
• Install a ceiling fan
• Maintain central air conditioning and heating

Whether you just have a few pesky projects you want to fix quickly or you want to become a home-improvement expert, this easy-to-follow guide gives you everything you will ever need to know. A helpful appendix is packed with online resources that let you network with other do-it-yourselfers.

"The most comprehensive guide available for those of us who are ‘home improvement challenged.’"
—Susan Powell, Host of Discovery Channel’s Home Matters

Over 300 step-by-step illustrations show you how

"Gene and Katie Hamilton . . . offer lots of do-it-yourself know-how."
—USA Today

Make your own house calls with this handy guide to home improvement. From fixing leaky faucets and replacing faded wallpaper to installing light fixtures and repairing broken furniture, Home Improvement For Dummies® shows you how to save time, save money, and save your sanity!

Praise for Gene and Katie Hamilton’s HouseNet.com

"For home renovators looking for tips . . . HouseNet is the place to go."
—Newsweek

"Voted the best place on the Web for fixing up your home."
—Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine

"Think of . . . Gene and Katie Hamilton as your helpful neighbors."
—Chicago Tribune

Discover how to:

• Tackle basic home improvement projects
• Paint, refinish, and wallpaper like a pro
• Fix or replace all kinds of flooring
• Maintain and weatherproof windows and doors
• Troubleshoot plumbing and electrical problems

Gene and Katie Hamilton write the syndicated "Do it Yourself . . . or Not?" newspaper column and are authors of For Dummies guides to carpentry, painting & wallpapering, and plumbing.