So many home repair books offer project tips and advice, but most fall into the rather dry reading category. There are few that you actually want to take up and read, and for the most part, these books fall into the reference only category. Judy Ostrow’s latest book, The Complete Idiots Guide to Simple Home Repair is definitely an exception to this rule. She manages to provide very sound home repair advice, mixed with humor, and chances are you may find yourself putting this one on your bed table instead of tucking it away in a shelf for future reference.
The book contains more than 300 absolute step by step illustrations that walk the reader through fixing just about anything in the home. While this is not the book for those that are looking to completely remodel their home, or tackle complex projects, it is ideal for all those little things that go wrong around a house. Thanks to the advice and illustrations in this book, anyone, even those with minimal experience, should be able to fix nearly everything in their own homes.
The first section is incredibly valuable and covers all the tools you will need to have on hand. You can literally take the book shopping with you to be sure that you don’t miss anything. Also discussed is the supply closet and what little extras everyone should have ready at their disposal should trouble strike. Each following part discusses each part of the home and what is in it logically.
For example, finishes and exteriors are grouped together, and then everything with plumbing is grouped into its own part. This makes it very easy to find exactly what you are looking for, especially if you are in a hurry and to implement an emergency fix. Part five should be read by all homeowners and covers safety, preventing home fix-it emergencies and preventative maintenance that can greatly reduce the amount of time you spend fixing things around your house.
We highly recommend this book to those that want to save money by doing their own home repairs and aren’t quite sure where to get started. There is a lot than can be learned in these pages and the author has done a fabulous job of making everything easy to understand and implement. While complete DIY professionals may find it overly simplistic, this is the perfect book for those that are new to owning a home, and completely new to how to fix the stuff that it is in it.
This is the perfect gift for anyone that is trying to cut costs, learn more about their home, or just have the ability to say, I can fix that. While it is designed for mainly beginners, there are a few great tips in there that even we didn’t know, so it’s safe to say that even home repair professionals would enjoy this book – and they may even be able to learn something from it.
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