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This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials
 
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This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials [Paperback]

Bob Vila (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

November 1, 1986
The host of the highly acclaimed and widely viewed PBS series provides reassuring, expert advice for homeowners on all sorts of home improvement projects.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vila, host of the PBS series This Old House, which features home improvement and repair projects, here makes recommendations for assembling a properly equipped workshop that includes a range of common and special-purpose tools. He follows with exhaustive listings and analyses of many wood species and the characteristics and suitability of specific types of lumber for particular construction jobs. There are also equally detailed sections on masonry, roofing, exterior siding, doors, windows, flooring, walls and ceilings as well as plumbing and electrical systems and equipment. Like some other guides compiled by professionals, this book occasionally assumes reader knowledge of certain procedures and materials. (In the masonry section, for example, "pointing" is discussed without explanation.) Overall, however, tables, charts and line drawings help make this an unusual and well-organized encyclopedic manual.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is yet another spin-off of the popular PBS series. There's precious little in the way of tools and building materials for the home that isn't covered here. Among the questions it answers: What are the reflectance values of typical paint colors? Which construction woods have the best nail-holding ability? What are the synthetic fiber brand names for Polypropylene olefin carpeting? Which of the eight types of plastic pipe have the greatest impact resistance? You get the idea. It does more than list and describe materials, however, explaining as well how best to use them in given applications. For all public library how-to collections, whether for reference, circulation, or both.Bill Demo, Tompkins Cortland Comm. Coll. Lib., Dryden, N.Y.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 486 pages
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Edition Unstated edition (November 1, 1986)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0446382469
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446382465
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,234,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information on home construction materials., October 31, 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials (Paperback)
This book provides lots of information on common and less common tools, materials, and supplies for doing anything to or around your home. It was an invaluable reference as I was planning a large addition to my home. Anybody who owns a home should have this book. Not only does he give tons of illustrations, but he also provide text on a lot of home subjects giving hints about how to do many tasks and tradeoffs between using one thing over another. I hope he has a new one in the works.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, January 25, 2012
By 
Mark Hack (Longview, WA United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials (Paperback)
Not super precise, but a great reference to start you off in the right direction with some intelligent questions to ask. Its getting a bit dated on some items. I wish there was something similar that is updated with current new materials.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to date for 2008 or the last 20 years., October 31, 2008
This review is from: This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials (Paperback)
This was a pretty good source when it was first published in 1986 ($16.95). Of course, it is totally out of date now with regard to new materials and hardware. It makes me wonder why there was never an updated edition. It still has practical value about those things that never change, and is probably worth the penny (+ shipping) it's going for now.
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