Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America's Favorite Handyman [Paperback]

Richard Karn (Author), George Mair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2002

Former Home Improvement star and handyman extraordinaire Richard Karn provides easy solutions to your daily household tribulations in Handy at Home-- a practical and fun guide that will help you conquer any and all common problems with your house. Handy at Home provides easy, step by step solutions to everything from unclogging toilets to installing doors. From tips in the kitchen to tool use definitions, this helpful guide is perfect for all your household needs:

Want to paint your home, but abhor the noxious stench of fresh paint? Add some vanilla flavoring to the paint before applying to the walls.
Are your squeaking floor boards driving you crazy? Sprinkle talcum powder in the floor cracks and enjoy the reticence.
Want your house plants to grow big and strong? Pour a little tea in the pot from time to time.
Out of window cleaner? Try using a little vinegar and water to clean those nasty streaks.
Afraid of blowing a fuse with your profusion of Christmas lights? Plug ever third string into an extension cord plug.

Find these tips and many more all in the new Handy at Home.

Also included is a bonus section on home safety. Everything from home security, to childproofing , to detoxing your home can be found in this no-nonsense, to-the-point guide. Join Richard Karn and co-author George Mair, for a practical guide through common household problems.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For some reason, many publishers believe that with fame comes expertise; certainly, name recognition can result in sales and patron demand. That is the only reason libraries should consider this title by Karn, who played Al Borland on TV's Home Improvement. Karn (who stresses his experience as an apartment manager) and collaborator Mair (who has written a number of celebrity bios) offer a variety of household tips that sound as if they were gleaned directly from a company brochure. Although it is billed as a book on "improving your home," this title attempts to do it all: Karn offers advice on buying a car, assuring food safety, finding baby sitters, preparing a moist ham with cola, washing crystal, practicing feng shui, caring for pets, washing bras, and removing corns. Although there are undoubtedly some useful tips here, there is a greater amount of absurd ephemera. The last section, "Richard's Guide to Home Improvement Books," lists 90 works but provides no information about them other than author, title, publisher, and date. Public libraries should purchase only if patron demand requires it.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Richard Karn starred as Al Borland, the knowledgeable sidekick in the eight-year television phenomenon, Home Improvement with Tim Allen. Before that he was a building manager for years. He is the co-author of House Broken and a spokesperson for a number of home-improvement supply companies, including Orchard Supply Hardware and Wayne Dalton Garage.

George Mair is the co-author of House Broken as well as a number of celebrity biographies. At CBS he received thirty-two awards for radio, including the DuPont-Columbia University Silver Scroll for the best radio writing in America. Both authors reside in Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1 edition (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312306067
• ISBN-13: 978-0312306069
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,983,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical tips that have already saved me $$$, May 19, 2005

By 

Y. Eriksen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America's Favorite Handyman (Paperback)

"Handy at Home" is an easy and fun read. The tips are extremely useful and I find myself referring to the book often for things ranging from cleaning the coffee pot to troubleshooting my car battery. I recommend it a lot.

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Al., December 30, 2011

By 

R. Sarsten - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America's Favorite Handyman (Paperback)

What can I say it's Al Borland. I loved his role on Home Improvement, and his book goes right in line with his character.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very handy!!!, December 1, 2009

By 

A. Brongiel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handy at Home: Tips on Improving Your Home from America's Favorite Handyman (Paperback)

I am very happy I bought the book. Very informative and who better to hear it from but the Handyman!!