Black & Decker Finishing Basements & Attics: Ideas & Projects for Expanding Your Living Space [Paperback]

The editors of Creative Publishing international (Author)

Book Description

Series: Black & Decker | Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Learn how to add new rooms to your home without adding on. This book takes you through the entire remodeling process, from assessing the unfinished space and planning the project to framing new walls and installing trim. You’ll find dozens of building projects that show, step-by-step, how to convert unused square footage into comfortable living space.

 

Including plumbing a basement bathroom, adding forced-air ducts and installing a window in a gable wall. This book is aimed at consumer trends toward cocooning and working from home offices.

 

Ideas and Projects for Expanding Your Living Space:

 

·   Ideas. 20 pages of design tips and color photos of successful finishing projects.

·   Advice. Professional guidance for do-it-yourselfers of all skill levels.

·   How-to. Step-by-step instructions for completing popular construction and remodeling projects.

·   Projects. Including building a custom wet bar and installing a gas fireplace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The editors of Creative Publishing international have created dozens of best-selling titles in the fields of home repair, home improvement, home decor, and landscaping.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Creative Publishing international (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865735832
• ISBN-13: 978-0865735835
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #636,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Remodeling & Renovation > Basements & Attics

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I learned a lot from this book, April 15, 2003

By 

AR - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black & Decker Finishing Basements & Attics: Ideas & Projects for Expanding Your Living Space (Paperback)

I am a complete home improvement dummy who is trying to build out her basement. This book was great at teaching me the basics & forcing me to think in a logical step by step manner - heating first, earthquake proofing next, etc. It also helped me understand drywalling techniques & effective insulation. Further, it helped me focus on building codes & regulations (I hadn't thought of that & as I said, i'm a home improvement dummy). Plus the pictures gave me great ideas. On the whole, a worthwhile investment. This book does assume that you'll want to *do* your own basement so there are tons of pictures showing you how to effectively insulate etc...

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Place to Start, March 19, 2003

By 

C. Hickman (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black & Decker Finishing Basements & Attics: Ideas & Projects for Expanding Your Living Space (Paperback)

My wife brought this book and 5 others home from the library for us to review as we are just starting to finish our basement. This book is the best of the six by far. It's drawback is that it is not comprehensive - if you don't have some basic knowledge/experience and you want to do the work yourself, then you will want more detail. For the few pages that are there, however, the book does an excellent job showing the work at hand and gives some good ideas. I'll likely buy the book to have it on hand as we progress. Enjoy your project!

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, November 7, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black & Decker Finishing Basements & Attics: Ideas & Projects for Expanding Your Living Space (Paperback)

This is a great place to start with if you're a do-it-yourselfer planning to finish your basement. The only drawback I found is that it leaves you wanting more. I ended up buying more books on plumbing, flooring, and building in general. I managed to find several good used books. I'll probably end up buying a book on electrical work too (I'm still working on my basement). I also did a lot of research on the internet. Also, there's a lot of variation on local building codes, so you need to talk to your governing authority to get specifics. In the end, you might decide to do some parts of the job yourself and leave other parts for professionals. In any case, reading through this book will give you a lot of ideas to get started.