From buying equipment to mastering drywall to troubleshooting the causes of leaks, this useful book is the most compact, valuable tool one can stick in the toolbox. It includes offbeat cartoons, figures, easy-to-use bulleted lists, special warnings, tips, definitions sidebars, and advice from experts at a glance.

Extremely accessible, with over 300 photos and illustrations, this guide is geared for the true home improvement beginner, with a visual glossary included.

Detailed instructions, accompanied by hundreds of step-by-step illustrations, take readers through common repairs and maintenance tasks around the house, including repairing holes in drywall, unclogging drains, replacing light fixtures, repairing cracked tiles, screening gutters, and more. Original. 12,000 first printing.

You're no idiot, of course. You can stick a bucket underneath a dripping ceiling with breathtaking precision and tape cardboard over a broken window like you were born to the craft. But when it comes to real home repair challenges, your handiwork begins and ends with the call you make to your carpenter or plumber. Don't pack up your toolbox yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Trouble-Free Home Repair, Second Edition is your total guide to diagnosing and fixing the most basic home-repair problems yourself. In this completely revised and updated Complete Idiot's Guide, you get: Simple ways to do interior and exterior jobs, from choosing tools to avoiding safety hazards All new information on weatherproofing, roofing, siding, and masonry Clear instructions on what to do when electrical, heating, and plumbing systems go haywire

For home buyers and home sellers. Here is the first how-to that addresses the needs of both buyers and sellers, making it the perfect companion to the bestselling The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Buying and Selling a Home. The buyer will depend on this guide to determine whether a house is worth buying. The seller will need it to determine which repairs are necessary before listing or signing anything. Readers will learn to troubleshoot all areas of a home, including its structure and foundation, windows and doors, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, insulation, electrical systems, and the roof, just to name a few. In this Pocket Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • What to look for when inspecting the electrical system, the roof, and other parts of the home. • Simple advice on what to do if the results of your inspections aren’t good. • Expert explanation of what you can expect during and after the inspection. • Easy ways to tell if a home is worth buying—or if it will need extensive repairs before you put it on the market.

Put the brakes on costly car bills. The Complete Idiots Guide to Auto Repair Illustratedcovers everything readers need to know about their automobiles, from the tires up. Tailor-made for true novices, it shows them how to make some of the most basic repairs themselves nd teaches them enough to feel confident that theyll never be taken for a ride by a mechanic again. More than 300 easy-to-understand illustrations and a 50-page self-diagnosis guide organized for quick identification of what s wrong New- and used-car warranty information Step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to conduct routine maintenance An overview of how each system steering and suspension, cooling, electrical works