Home Improvement All-in-One For Dummies [Paperback]

Roy Barnhart (Author), James Carey (Author), Morris Carey (Author), Gene Hamilton (Author), Katie Hamilton (Author), Donald R. Prestly (Author), Jeff Strong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2004

Put on your grubbies, get out your tools, and get ready to tackle home repairs and improvements with the goof-proof instructions in this guide that combines the best of nine For Dummies home improvement books in one comprehensive volume. Whether you’re an accomplished do-it-yourselfer or a novice, the easy-to-follow instructions, complete with photos and illustrations, will guide you through:

• Basic home maintenance and improvement projects from the foundation to the roof, including windows, doors, and electrical repairs and replacements
• Painting and wallpapering
• Bathroom and kitchen remodeling, including installing cabinets, countertops, fixtures, and appliances
• Carpentry, woodworking and flooring
• Plumbing, including unclogging fixtures and fixing leaky faucets

Want to spruce up bedroom? Spiff up the kitchen? Shore up the porch? Build stairs? Replace creaky doors and drafty windows? Make the most of your space? Inside or out, major renovation or minor repair, the how-to is all right here. Think about it—if you do just one project yourself instead of calling a plumber, electrician, painter, handyman, or other service person, you’ve saved far more than the cost of this book! And you’ll have it on hand to guide you through the next project!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Eight books in one open the door to whole-house improvement

Your one-stop guide to affordable home repair and renovation

Dust off your toolbox and get ready to tackle simple home repairs and improvements with the goof-proof instructions in this hands-on guide. Packed with up-to-the-minute solutions from an impressive lineup of For Dummies authors – including Katie and Gene Hamilton, The Carey Brothers, Robert Beckstrom, and Jeff Strong – this fun, easy-to-understand book covers everything from remodeling a kitchen or bathroom and fixing a leaky faucet to installing new windows and doors, building stairways, making better use of space, and much more, all without breaking the bank.

The Dummies Way

• Coverage of the essentials and beyond
• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Thumbtabs and other navigation aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Perform basic home maintenance
• Work with hardwood floors and carpet
• Fix a roof or siding
• Paint (or wallpaper) like a pro
• Handle plumbing problems
• Hire professional help

About the Author

Roy Barnhart is a lifelong do-it-yourselfer and former professional building and remodeling contractor. He enjoyed eight years as Senior Building and Remodeling Editor for two national home improvement magazines. As a freelance writer, editor, and consultant, Roy has contributed articles to more than a dozen home improvement magazines, including Family Handyman and House Beautiful. He has also contributed to four books.

James and Morris Carey, known as the Carey Brothers, are nationally recognized experts on home building and renovation. They share their 20-plus years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions nationwide through a weekly radio program, daily radio vignette, syndicated newspaper column, and comprehensive Web site (www.onthehouse.com), all titled “On the House.” Morris and James continue to own and operate a successful home remodeling and construction firm, Carey Bros., and have been named to Remodeling magazine’s Hall of Fame Big 50, which recognizes top achievers in the industry. They’ve also been honored as one of the nation’s top 500 companies by Qualified Remodeler magazine.

Gene and Katie Hamilton have been working on houses and writing about home improvements for over 30 years. They’ve remodeled 14 houses and write a weekly newspaper column entitled “Do It Yourself . . . Or Not?” which appears in newspapers across the country and on Web sites. The Hamiltons are authors of 16 home improvement books, including Home Improvement For Dummies, Carpentry For Dummies, Painting and Wallpapering For Dummies, and Plumbing For Dummies. They’re the founders of www.HouseNet.com, the first home improvement site on the Internet and America Online. You’ve seen these veteran do-it-yourselfers appear as home improvement experts on CNN, Dateline, the Today show, Home Matters, Today at Home, and Our Home.

Don R. Prestly is a former senior editor for HANDY Magazine for The Handyman Club of America, as well as a former associate editor for Family Handyman magazine. In addition to his nearly 20 years of writing and doing home improvement projects, he spent several years as a manager for one of the Midwest’s largest home centers. Throw in the everyday upkeep needs of being a homeowner, dealing with the same problems and repairs as other homeowners, and it’s obvious that he has the background and experience to help you make your kitchen dreams come true.

Jeff Strong began creating sawdust at a very young age while helping his father, a master craftsman, build fine furniture. An accomplished woodworker, Jeff has designed and built countless pieces of furniture and currently accepts commissions to build his creations. His woodworking style marries Arts and Crafts, Southwestern, and Asian influences. Woodworking For Dummies is his third book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (May 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764556800
• ISBN-13: 978-0764556807
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buy the Black and decker Home improvement book instead, June 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Home Improvement All-in-One For Dummies (Paperback)

I was expecting this book to "speak" to dummies. But unfortunately through out the book they kept bringing up stuff that had not been explained before. There is too much verbage and not enough step by steps or pictures. As for humor, all you have are the cartoons.

The Black and decker book starts from the basics, shows each and every tool that is required to do the job, shows plenty of pictures that give the best idea as to what is involved and what is requried.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Better than nothing..., May 8, 2006

By 

Renaissance Girl (Ventura, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Improvement All-in-One For Dummies (Paperback)

I was hoping that this book would give me a solid introduction to home improvement but it really didn't deliver. The information presented tended to be either too brief or assumed a lot of proir knowledge, which is inappropriate in a book with "for Dummies!" in the title. There were some good tips but I never had enough info to embark on a project with only this book as a reference. One exception was the info on painting, which was helpful and detailed. Also, a lot of the material seemed a little dated - there was tons of info about wallpapering and installing laminate countertops (I think these options are not as popular as they once were) but not much on installing granite counters or laminate flooring. So, in short, having this book is better than nothing but if you really want to be well versed in home improvement, look elsewhere.

5.0 out of 5 stars home improvement, August 7, 2010

By 

Lana Floyd (Fort Payne, AL, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Improvement All-in-One For Dummies (Paperback)

good quality paperback, ok price, donated to a non-profit building group on Lakota Reservation, satisfied with service/delivery