Home Maintenance for Dummies [Paperback]

James Carey (Author), Morris Carey (Author)

Book Description

Series: For Dummies (Computer/Tech) | Publication Date: March 27, 2000

Having a house can be a hassle. But thanks to timesaving, trouble-preventing strategies from these nationally recognized experts, now anyone can keep his or her palace in regal repair and have plenty of time left over for the fox hunts. This friendly book covers everything from plumbing to painting, with handy calendars to ensure nothing falls through the cracks -- including the cracks!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In Home Maintenance For Dummies, readers will find out how to prevent costly repairs and safety hazards with handy calendars and checklists that will ensure nothing falls through the cracks -- including the cracks! Home Maintenance For Dummies covers everything from plumbing to painting with special tips on preparing for freezing winter conditions and sizzling summer days.

From the Back Cover

Keep up with upkeep using the seasonal maintenance schedule Praise for Home Remodeling For Dummies^® "[One of] the ten best real estate books of 1998…. The wise advice … cover virtually all aspects of home improvements." — Robert Bruss, San Francisco Examiner "Whether you do it yourself or contract it out, you'll find useful advice for fixing up in Home Remodeling For Dummies." — Associated Press

Let the Carey Brothers give you the scoop on home maintenance Your home is probably your biggest single asset. This friendly guide shows you step-by-step how to preserve its value — and prevent costly catastrophes. Room-by-room, system-by-system, and season-by-season, the Carey Brothers explain and illustrate the routine tasks that'll keep your home looking great and running smoothly.

Discover how to: Perform seasonal upkeep Maintain the roof, foundation, and exterior Keep major home systems and appliances running smoothly Care for stone, masonry, and wood

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Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (March 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764552155
• ISBN-13: 978-0764552151
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

164 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source for "the rest of us", March 31, 2000

By 

J. W. Elkhouri (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Maintenance for Dummies (Paperback)

This is a GREAT book for first-time buyers or for people who never learned what should be done to your home to keep it in good shape.

The book is well organized and has two main sections, indoor maintenance and outdoor maintenance. The book also includes nice graphical guides for those of us (me!) that need more than your basic instructions. Another great feature of the book are montly to-do's, to keep you on track throughout the year.

However, by far, the best thing about the book is it has saved me money! There are things outlined in the book that I thought I would have to pay someone to do, but realized how simple they really were and was able to do them myself!

118 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat helpful, yet still disappointing, October 20, 2003

By 

Matthew Clark (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Maintenance for Dummies (Paperback)

Having purchased my first house last year, I thought this book would be great with dealing with the problems that arise when living in a house. I'm very disappointed with it though.

Some examples:
It has a whole section on plumbing fixtures, going in to detail about how to clean a faucet. But it doesn't mention a word about how to deal with a dripping faucet! I'd think this would be a pretty basic thing to add to a book... you can't expect that people buying this book would automatically know how to replace a washer.

It goes into detail about fireplaces and how to maintain a fireplace. Except it fails to mention gas fireplaces at all. As far as the book is concerned, they don't even exist. Am I supposed to clean it the same way as a normal fireplace? Do I have to worry about cleaning the chimney if its a vented fireplace? What yearly maintainance and safety precautions must I consider? Help me out a bit here people...

Yet the book seems to have plenty of time to go over landscape irrigation and swimming pool maintainance, which, although perhaps useful, seem to be more appropriate in one of their other books; e.g. "Landscaping for Dummies".

Overall, the book could be considered "a good start". But given what the book is lacking, I think most customers would be better off borrowing it from the library for free...

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Home Maintenance for Dummies, August 22, 2000

By 

M. Kelly (Manhattan Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Maintenance for Dummies (Paperback)

WOW! Who knew all the maintenance a house needs? The cleaning solution recipes are great, safe, and really do the best job. I have been slowly implementing a home maintenance program based solely on this book. It is easy to read and understand. Whether you are a novice or expert in taking care of your home and its appliances, you will learn alot from this book. It is not just about proper cleaning. It is about keeping your house and appliances looking their best and in working order for as long as possible. I give this book as a housewarming gift to all my friends who own a home.