Customer Reviews
Excellent Housewarming Gift! 
2004-01-18
Someone recommended this book to me when I bought my house. I got a copy and found it an extremely usefl reference. It doesn't cover everything, but it gives you a great place to start looking when you have a project to do or something to fix. I've gotten copies for many friends when they bought their first houses and they have found it useful as well.
Excellent reference 
2002-07-25
This book is a great reference for the "Do it yourself" crowd. The one thing I think it lacks is great illustrations, but what they do have is adequate. I'd honestly suggest getting another book, like the one by Black & Decker, to supplement this one, but this will help you quite a bit with any projects, even by itself.
IF YOU AREN'T AN EXPERT OR CAN'T AFFORD ONE, BUY THE BOOK! 2001-12-11
If you are not the most adept person at home repair, or are living on a modest budget which does not allow for expensive home repairs, then this book may be the solution. It is extremely well organized and covers every part of home repair from electrical to plumbing to tools. Even those who do not own their own home but rent, and perhaps have a landlord who only does maintence when the roof falls through (and, believe me, there are more than a few of those around,) you will find this book extremely helpful. The illustrations are clear and the wording straight forward and easy to follow. If it's a Reader's Digest book, it sure to be worth every penny...and this book is. For the home handy-man, or woman (single woman will love this book,) this manual is a "must-have reference guide" to a ton of problems that could cost a fortune if you had to hire a professional to make the repairs. Go for it, be adventurous, the problem might be easier to fix than you think!
Great book 2001-02-08
I love this book. It's extensive, easy to follow and copiously illustrated. With it, I can tackle most small-and-medium jobs around the home (even plumbing, my personal bugaboo. New faucet? No problem!) Without it, I'd be stuck having to call someone in and paying good money to have the work done. This book is a great resource for homeowners (or even renters) and is all the home repair and improvement manual that many people would ever need.
The book is broken into sections, organized by the type of work they cover. There's a chapter on Electrical, one on Plumbing, one on Power Tools, etc. The Emergency Repairs section at the beginning of the book could be invaluable in making your home safe and habitable if necessary until a professional can come in to make permanent repairs.
Wow! 2000-12-28
I am a new homeowner. A co-worker let me use his book to do a plumbing project. It seemed like a big and time consuming project! But when I read and followed the instructions, it took me less time than I anticipated. This book is easy to understand and the drawings are clear to follow. I am ordering my own copy.
New Home Owers Handbook 2007-09-02
A great book for the new homeowner. It gives you all the basics you need to know in order to make those little repairs or remodel projects that seem to pop up around the home.
A must have for any home owner or do-it-yourselfer 2007-05-20
I received the first edition of this book as a gift back in 1975 and I have been attached to it ever since. This newly updated version is an absolute blessing. Great illustrations, easy-to-read-and-follow instructions and well organized. I reach for this book any time I am about to tackle to new do-it-yourself project. This book will more than pay for itself...and save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in labor and materials costs. My only wish is that RD had included some project plans like they had in the first edition. I built a beautiful floating platform bed from the plans in that book.
Great detail (US) 2006-06-09
I've had this book since 1991 and it is still the BEST in its class. I own and have read many other "do-it-yourself" manuals on home improvment and thia one is hands down the best. It's simple to read, yet each new section give lots of details and great illustrations.
Buy the new edition 2005-04-08
This is an excellent book for the novice do-it-yourselfer. I was intimidated with a lot of the work needed to be done on my new home, but this book made it all seem possible. It was clear what things I could tackle myself, and what things are best left to a pro. I particularly liked the section on fasteners - it was something I didn't understand, although I thought I should!, and it gave a detailed description of what to use where, and why. I had a lot of lightbulb moments reading this book.
One note - be sure to pick up the new edition, which I hear is much improved (hard to believe)-it just came out feb 05 and is not the first one amazon brings up - the new edition is actually cheaper as I write this.
Lots of information 2004-12-07
If you like to read and do home repairs this book is for you.
