This book is packed with DIY techniques and technology. It gives hundreds of ideas for renovating your home and shows you how with step by step descriptions.

This edition includes material on energy-saving DIY, information on assessing and improving your home's energy efficiency rating, government grants available for energy-saving improvements, and much more.

On cover: How to repair, clean, and maintain anything and everything in and around your home.

With step-by-step instructions this DIY manual guides the novice through the tasks they are most likely to tackle, from adding your own decorative touches to fixing a dripping tap or broken plug. It also looks at DIY tasks such as decorating, making fixings and basic electrics and plumbing.

What keeps houses from falling down? How can electrical safety be achieved at bargain prices? What can be done to keep basement floors from cracking? How can homeowners act as their own contractors? Popular columnist Duane Johnson answers these questions and more in this complete guide covering all aspects of home design. 200 illustrations.

An updated edition of the one DIY book that no home should be without. The first part of the book contains 9 sections of practical suggestions for improving your home. These pages are packed with inspirational ideas for up-to-date stylish ways to transform your house and garden, from colour schemes and storage ideas to conservatories and other garden features, and are lavishly illustrated with glorious full-colour photographs. The second part of the book consists of 410 pages of techniques, tools and materials for use in a vast range of different DIY jobs. All the latest information and developments have been incorporated in this update, from new forms of insulation and modern fuseboxes to the latest security devices for the home. The book has been thoroughly checked and brought up-to-date by the Reader's Digest team of experts and consultants, and now includes a brand-new 16-page section. Order of Work offers preparation and planning advice for jobs around your home, including how to spot structural problems, such as subsidence and woodworm. This section also offers guidance on undertaking structural alterations, and safety tips to ensure your DIY is danger-free.