The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair: With 350 Projects and Over 2,000 Photos (Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide)

A must have for any homeowner.

There are certain skills that are "wasted" on no one. Home repair is one such skill. I believe that 5 weeks after purchasing this book - the book has already paid for itself. My parents moved back into my grandmother's 1960-era house after she passed away last year. The house was in need of a few repairs, but money was a limiting factor. I had to find a way to teach myself (and my dad) how to weatherproof the basement, replacing an ancient water heater & dishwasher, replace several outlets with new GFCI (p. 397!) outlets, and finally, how to update the upstair's faucets and fixtures. I logged onto Amazon.com and typed-in HOME REPAIR. To be honest, I chose this book because it had 500+ pages and two 5-star reviews. When this book arrived, I instantly felt the weight and quality of the binding.(think college textbook material) I quickly found DETAILED descriptions of the tasks I would soon have to perform. I called my father and said "Get ready we're going to Home Depot!" On the phone, my father expressed concern over our lack of experience. When my father got in my truck, I handed him the the Black&Decker text. I had put PostIt's on the pages with our projects. He slipped on his glasses and peered through his bi-focals and didn't say a word on the way to purchase tools & supplies. Once in the parking lot, I could hardly turn-off the engine before he was pointing to pictures saying "Ours looks just like this! I want some gloves like that!" And he was making a bee-line for the door!(the old man can move!) He was excited and so was I. Now, it has beeen 5 weeks since that first trip to Home Depot. Both my father and I have the cuts and scrapes and the ever present sore backs to prove that we have done our own home repairs. My father now keeps the Black&Decker text at his house "for safe keeping." He cleans the text with a moist cloth after each project. The projects don't seem to have an end in sight, which I believe is a direct result of my dad reading the text for "suggestions." My suggestion....don't let anyone "borrow" this text, unless of course - you love him!

I'm reading the other reviews here, so I thought I'd weigh in, hoping it will help the prospective buyer. This book is about as good as it gets for do-it-yourself home repair. Lots of home repairs are far easier than you think, and just take time and maybe some new tools. Even with the cost of new tools, it will often be cheaper than calling a professional. Yes--there are really complicated repairs I would leave to a professional, but this book helps with the simple things that you just need basic instruction on.Case in point--my toilet was leaking from the base. I have never installed a toilet or taken one apart. I had no clue why it was leaking. I turned to the leaky toilet page and saw that there is something called the "closet" where the toilet connects to the floor and there is a wax seal that may have leaked. A plumber could cost $50-$100 just to come out and look at the toilet. Maybe more for his labor.I went to Home Depot and bought a new wax seal for $3.50, and a mini-shop vac for $40 (new tool--yay!). Turned off the water valve, flushed the toilet, used the shop-vac to suck out the residual water, disconnected the water line, removed the 2 bolts connecting the tank to the bowl and removed the tank, removed the 2 bolts connecting the bowl to the floor and removed the bowl. Scrape off the old wax, put on the new wax, bolt bowl to floor, bolt tank to bowl, reconnect water. Yes--I may have figured this out on my own, but one is always hesitant to go in to a job not knowing what to expect. This book holds your hand a bit and has great photos. Now, if I had removed the toilet and found the closet flange overly corroded, I may have called a plumber. But I fixed the whole thing for $43.50, an hour of time, and I got a new shop-vac!If you don't know a screwdriver from a hammer, then no book in the world, including this one, will help you. But if you have basic tool knowledge and a bit of courage, this book is the perfect and only companion you need. And when all else fails, you can always call a professional to fix it up. Armed with lingo from this book, you will be able to describe the problem better and perhaps avoid being ripped off as well.

I was looking for some technical help on fixing old lamps my girl friend brought to my house. They were antiques, and worth repairing, but my knowledge of electrical parts was limited. Although married to a man who was an electrical engineer, sometimes he got a little too technical for my brain. So I went to the library and found some books to help me get to the bottom line. I picked up several books, some like the dummy book for home repair, but that didn't turn on any light bulbs in my head. Then I found this book ASIN:1589235371 Black & Decker The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair: With 350 Projects and Over 2,000 Photos (Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide) and yelled, "Eureka!" It talked to me in plain English and in baby steps until I found the answers--answers I could understand. So I have ordered three books. First I got one for myself, and the other two are for gifts to my family and friends. The book is a gold mine on so many household questions for DIY people who just need a little more understanding on how to do this and that, plus it gives tons of safety tips when necessary. I was kind of scared at first, but I replaced a burned out socket that's been useless for a couple years within one week of owning my own book. I've found several valuable tips on projects that I need to do around the house already, and know there are sections I haven't even touched on yet.Buy one. No, buy several. Your family and friends will appreciate you after they read their own copies.

Great addition.

Its really good for people who want to do more around the house, clarifies what you will need to do, what tools you will need and you can decide if its something you want to tackle yourself. It has most jobs that come to mind and some that hadn't even occurred to me: cut roof peak vents?? Great book.

I learned maybe two things from this for a specific job and never looked at it again. think again about buying

Just buy this book and save money on paying other people to do your lazy stuff.Every time there is a problem at home?Pick up the book and problem solve.Thank you!

gift