6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what it looks like., July 27, 2010
When I peeked into this book, I opened to the page about replacing screens (which is something I'm doing!) I expected similar projects throughout the rest of the book. I bought it. I read the whole thing on a trip this past weekend.
The first section (about tools!) was pretty good! It had great (basic) information about which tools are important to have. The author suggests painting all of the house tools a certain color so they always end up where they belong. That's fantastic! As I kept reading, I don't know why the author even bothered describing tools--most of the book is not about "fixes" or "projects" at all! Of 55 "projects" and "one-hour wonders", I counted 16 projects that needed real tools, 22 projects that were useful 'fix-it' things and the rest were all 'organize this, plan that' projects. But get this--of all 55 tasks, only THREE actually called for a hammer among the necessary tools! (They were "Install a Dead-Bold Lock", "Replace a Prewoven Cane Chair Seat or Back", and "Mud Pies and Brick Joints"--which is actually a section about touching up mortar joints in bricks, and it actually calls for a "bricklayer's hammer".)
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Here is MY SHORT REVIEW:
This book is probably EXACTLY what you want if you are 50-60+ years old (like, old enough to be really attached to wallpaper), you are new to do-it-yourself stuff, and you have always wanted to try your hand at decorating, but you think home improvement projects may be a good place for you to start. If you have an older home that you would like to restore, you will like even more of this.
If you want to use tools like the ones on the front cover, or you want to fix things, this is probably not the book for you. The organization (and content) of this book make it best-suited for people who just kind of have some extra time they want to spend doing something nice. If you want to find projects that you hadn't thought of, this book offers some new ideas.
If you actually want to do home improvement or give a useful housewarming book, look for a well-organized book that has pictures, diagrams, and instructions! The books that I would probably recommend are "How Your House Works"(to understand how the systems work) and the Black and Decker "Home Repair" books (for projects).
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Here is the LONGER REVIEW:
[I think it's okay to write a very long review for this because there isn't much information about it in the product description or the other reviews, and maybe someone actually wants to know.]
ABOUT THE BOOK:
You can kind of see from the pictures Amazon provides, but basically there is a "contents" page, a foreword and introduction, and then ten chapters.
Throughout the book, there are margins on the sides; the margins have related blips of information in sections called "Andrea's Choice" (things the author recommends); "Quick Tip" (tips related to the section); "Caution" (related safety advice); and "Andrea's Expert Says" (things experts have taught the author--these are usually pretty helpful, I thought.) The margins also sometimes have pictures of items, or pictures of the steps for projects--but the pictures are really tiny.
Chapters typically start with a cute title, a cute subtitle, a quote, a little introduction with a story, and a list of the things included in the chapter. The first section and project of each section are usually about planning and organization for the chapter topic. Each chapter has sections about maintaining things, info about different options for the chapter subject, and it has things to do; some are called PROJECT[s] and others are called ONE-HOUR WONDER[s].
Each project has a title, a level of difficulty (projects with 1 hammer are the easiest, and they range up to 5 hammers. I think most are 1-3 hammers of difficulty.), and an introduction. After the project intro, the author lists the supplies needed (in very vague terms), and then the author lists steps for completing the project. The steps go into varying amounts of detail. Sometimes there are tips to go along with different steps.
THE PROJECTS:
Since the Table of Contents is so lacking, here is a list of the included projects for the first few chapters:
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Chapter 1 (tool chapter)
- Household Tools 101
- Project: Assembling an Everyday Home Repair Kit
- One-Hour Wonder: Create an Instructional-Booklet Binder
- Safety First
- Ladder Safety
- Learning to Use Glues and Adhesives
- Stain-Removing Solutions
- The Cost vs. the Value of Home Improvements
- Do's and Don'ts for Restoring Older Homes
- Tips for Do-It-Yourselfers
- If You Decide to Hire a Contractor
Chapter 2 (kitchen chapter)
- Planning a Kitchen Remodel
- Options for Older Homes
- Choosing New Appliances
- One-Hour Wonder: Faux Stainless Steel
- Appliance Tune-up Tips
- Garbage Disposals
- Project: Garbage Disposal Repair
- Quick Kitchen Pick-me-ups
- Project: Weekend Farmhouse Kitchen
- Don't Take Clean Water for Granted
- Project: Organizing the Pantry
- Kitchen Cleaning Made Easy
Chapter 3 (bathroom chapter)
- Add Some Zing to a Boring Bath
- Planning a Major Bathroom Remodel
- One-Hour Wonder: Add Some Fun with Wallpaper Cutouts
- Project: Organizing Bathroom Clutter
- Project: Choosing and Replacing Towel Bars and Accessories
- Choosing a New Faucet
- Project: Repairing a Leaky Toilet--Water Out of Balance
- Project: Replacing or Cleaning a Leaky Toilet Flapper Valve
- Project: Repairing the Lazy Toilet
- Grout-Cleaning Solutions
- Project: Regrouting a Tile Shower, Countertop, or Floor
- Project: Refinishing a Bathtub, Sink, or Tile with Epoxy
Chapter 4 (paint/decorating chapter)
- Get Started with "MTM": Money, Time, and Methods
- Project: Create a Design Inspiration File
- One-Hour Wonder: Quick Transformations
- Choosing a New Paint Color
- Project: Drywall Repair: The Bullet Patch
- Project: Let's Get Painting
- Decorative Paint Ideas: Color Blocking and Sheen Striping
- Project: Create a Faux Leather Wall
- Project: Painting Concrete Floors
- Project: Removing Wallpaper
- Tips for Measuring for New Wallpaper
- Project: Hanging Wallpaper
- Project: A Wallpapered Room Divider
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Here are some of my notes that I took as I was reading:
- POOR TABLE OF CONTENTS: It doesn't even list the projects. If you want to see the actual projects included, they are listed at the beginning of each chapter, but not in a way that they grab your attention. The index looks pretty decent, but why not just list the projects all in one place?
- PROJECT TITLES ARE CUTE/VAGUE INSTEAD OF USEFUL: "Weekend Farmhouse Kitchen." What is that, exactly? (Sanding cabinets and stuff.) "Luxurious Lawns." Is that planting them? Watering them? (It's patching them.) "Tip-top Tips." Try to even guess! It's upgrading your attic insulation.
- CHEESY INTROS for every section and sub-section. ("Does a ghost seem to inhabit your toilet?" is the start of a section on leaky toilet valves. (p. 70)) There are also little stories at the beginning of each chapter; these introductions seem totally irrelevant, and they are kind of a waste of space. Who cares that the bathroom is "an escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life" (p. 57).
- FOCUS ON VINTAGE: The author is especially interested in 'vintage' homes (sometimes pre-1950, sometimes pre-1970). To me, this stuff was completely irrelevant, and it seemed like it belonged in a book specific to that niche. [If you are interested in sections on older homes, check out pages: 20-22, 31-32, 117, 119, 147, 181, and 194-195. There are probably other sections, too, but those were the ones that I noted.]
- SOME GOOD GENERAL TIPS: Many of the sections had good general suggestions that had nothing (or little) to do with do-it-yourself. Some of it was still helpful. For example, the first chapter (about tools) was pretty useful, I thought. There were also sections on foundations, pruning trees, caulking and weather stripping, glues and epoxies, and a section on the 'work triangle' in the kitchen. Although these sections were not part of official projects, they included information that would still be relevant if you wanted to do projects. I thought the author did a great job of including a combination of 'real' projects and 'maintenance' work.
- SOME RANDOM TOPICS that seem out of place. There is a section all about sorting your bathroom things and getting rid of old makeup, etc. Okay, in a book called "If I had a Hammer" which is supposed to be about projects and fixes, I just really didn't expect tips about how to pack my makeup bag (p.64). Other things that seemed out of place were: a big section on how precious water is (p.173-177), and another section on why we should all buy home water-filtration systems (p.51-52). Pages and pages about different plants and garden things.
- MORE FOR DECORATORS: Each chapter had big sections on planning, and many of the comments and suggestions were design-based. In the bathroom section it mentions adding paint, and the author suggests, "For instance, if you have 1950s green tiles, try pale yellow as a wall paint. Or if you have a black or white motif, highlight it by painting the walls sage green or pink. If you don't want to go too bold, update your color with tone-on-tone neutrals such as ecro, oyster, almond, or biscuit. Then you can add colorful touches with towels, soaps, and candles,"...
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