Ultimate Guide to Home Repair & Improvement (ISBN 1580113168)

Book Description:
This is the most complete home improvement book on the market- 608 pages packed with over 2,300 photos, 800 drawings, and an understandable, practical text that covers your home top to bottom, inside and out. In its chapters, readers will find out plumbing and electrical repairs, heating and cooling, roofing and siding, cabinets, countertops, and more. There is information about tools, materials, and basic skills, and 325 step-by-step projects with how-to photo sequences. The Ultimate Guide to Home Repair & Improvement also includes a Remodeling Guide, a Resource Guide, and expanded sections of plumbing and wiring. Top to bottom, inside and out, this is the single, ultimate resource book for home projects and repairs.

This is a good book. Here are some others.:
This is a good book, but not very detailed. However, no one book can cover all the intricacies of home improvement and construction. So it's best to try to look at the book you're thinking of buying before you purchase it. Try a bookstore or library or home improvement store, if possible. I have purchased the following books that are available at Amazon and found them to be very helpful to me: Ultimate Guide to Home Repair & Improvement (Ultimate Guide); Do It Yourself Home Improvement: Step by Step Guide to Home Improvement; New Complete Guide to Home Repair & Improvement (Better Homes & Gardens); Encyclopedia of Home Maintenance & Repair (Wm. P. Spence) - This is a black & white book, but has very good explanations, especially of electrical. Popular Mechanics When Duct Tape Just Isn't Enough: Quick Fixes for Everyday Disasters (Popular Mechanics) - This is kind of a "Hints from Heloise" for the home fix'r up'r.

Our homeowner's Bible:
Take a geniune interest in home improvement, add a basic understanding of projects and then this book - the result is many more finished projects around the house. Easy to understand, thorough, and great marriage of text and photo. Since purchasing, my husband and I have plumbed in a new kitchen and laundry room, replaced our knob-and-tube wiring with updated wiring and numerous other improvements to our 120-year-old house.

Very helpful book:
This is a very helpful book for new home owners and gives great tips for everything from painting to doing electrical and plumbing work!

An outstanding book for any novice home owner.:
"The Ultimate Guide to Home Improvement", is an outstanding general reference, and will imbue any novice or intermediately skilled DIYer with a general understanding of, how and why, virtually any home repair or home improvement project is to be executed. My wife surprised me with this book for Christmas. I already own the "Home Depot: 1-2-3 Home Improvement" book, which I like. However, the Ultimate Guide is much better and covers a wider range of topics from: Home Emergencies, Wiring, Dry Wall, to Decks and Patios. I disagree with the other reviewers for knocking this book for being too general. It is an excellent general reference, and of course, does not cover every topic in complete detail. Readers needing or wanting more detail on a particular topic will be best served by procuring an additional book covering the specifics of the project they are undertaking, i.e. for details on plumbing projects, get a book that deals specifically with plumbing. I highly recommend this book, it makes a great gift and a fine addition to any beginning or moderately experienced Do It Yourself weekend warrior's library. PROS: 1. Covers the whys, and not just the how to. 2. Up to date and fully illustrated, covering the complete gamut of home improvement and repair topics. 4. Many excellent tips and tricks, e.g. 'To kill bacteria buildup in and under the toilet bowel rim, pour a bleach solution directly into the toilet tank overflow tube.' 5. In addition to the standard TOC, it also has a Table of Projects so you can quickly look things up by project i.e. Insulation: Insulating Existing Walls. 6. Includes a Glossary and List of Resources & Suppliers for the various projects CONS: 1. Only general topic coverage, no one topic is fully covered in depth 1. A some what weak index 2. Virtually no mention of US Building codes, though oddly there is a section devoted specifically to Canadian Building Codes, go figure.

A fine pair of books for Christmas!:
This was a Christmas gift for our daughter and son-in-law. They seem very pleased with their new copies of "Ultimate Guide to Home Repair" and "Working with Tile (Taunton's Build Like a Pro.)" They will use them as they go about remodeling their new home.