Homeowner maintenance reference manual including 380 residential workmanship guidelines covering conditions and maintenance for topics including: floors and ceilings; roofs and gutters; foundations and basements; interior/exterior components; grounds; utility systems; and walls. Homeowner and builder maintenance responsibilities are stated along with the performance guideline and additional information for each topic. Green home construction is also covered.

Major home remodeling isn’t for the faint of heart; there is huge potential for design problems, cost overruns, or just unsatisfactory workmanship. Here, a professional construction manager who masterminded the redesign at New York’s famed Avery Fisher Hall as well as a massive institute-wide renovation of St. Luke’s Hospital, offers an indispensable guide for homeowners who need to manage a large-scale renovation. There’s advice on how to articulate your thoughts clearly to designers, architects, and contractors; tips on negotiating contracts; suggestions for protecting yourself from legal and financial threats; and help understanding warranty claims. Each step--from initial planning through the completed project--is covered in layman’s terms, and sample contracts, floor plans, cost estimating worksheets and other forms are provided.

The updated and highly illustrated guide to understanding how just about everything in your house works! The revised and updated third edition of How Your House Works is a hands-on guide that gives you the low-down on why your faucet is leaking, your dishwasher is overflowing, or your furnace is on the fritz. This comprehensive book is your reference to virtually everything in your house with richly illustrated explanations of electrical systems, heating and air conditioning, plumbing, major household appliances, foundation, framing, doors, and windows. This must-have book answers most questions homeowners face when repairs are needed or when a new house or addition is in your future. How Your House Works is filled with easy-to-understand illustrations that show how things should be put together and how they function. The book also highlights issues outside the house as well as clock thermostats, ventless gas heaters, moisture and mold, and passive solar heating. Using the illustrations and the author’s clear explanations might save you the expense of calling a professional. This invaluable guide: Offers a colorful resource to home electrical systems, HVAC, plumbing, major household appliances, foundation, framing, doors and windows, sustainability, and much more Includes easy-to-follow information for troubleshooting problems Contains dozens of new full-color illustrations Presents new chapters on solar power and smart home technologies Helps homeowners save money on many common household repairs Written for homeowners with little or no knowledge of home maintenance or repair, How Your House Works is your illustrated and updated guide to understanding how appliances, electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and more work!

The one book that shows you how to fix anything anywhere in your home! There are a million things that can go wrong in your home. Faucets leak. Floorboards creak. Paint flakes. Chairs break. With How to Fix Absolutely Anything, you’ll have step-by-step instructions to tackle even the most confounding repairs in your home, including: • Installing a toilet • Replacing the belts on your washer and dryer • Patching up a hole in the wall • Bringing a power adapter back to life • Re-covering chairs • Getting wax out of your carpet • And many more! From changing lightbulbs to fixing a kitchen cabinet hinge, How to Fix Absolutely Anything is a collection of the most indispensible advice and tips from people across the world who face the same problems you do. Hundreds of color photographs and easy-to-follow instructions make this book perfect for all levels of experience. It’s a no-brainer for any homeowner, and the one gift to get any friend, family member, or loved one living on their own for the first time. Broke the microwave handle and don’t know what to do? With How to Fix Absolutely Anything, the solution is only a few pages away.

The most complete home improvement manual on the market, this newly updated edition of Ultimate Guide to Home Repair and Improvement offers thousands of how-to photos, 800 drawings, and understandable text on plumbing and electrical repairs, heating and cooling, remodeling, and more. With 325 step-by-step DIY projects, build basic skills and learn to complete home projects and repairs yourself! New edition includes current code updates and changes, as well as information on USB outlets, AFCI/GFCI breakers, and tankless water heaters.

Contains helpful hints over food, drink, cleaning, laundry, household, painting, repairs, home sewing, child care, pet care, health and safety.