 | How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding & Maintaining Your Home |
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(31 customer reviews)
Product Description
Why is my faucet leaking, my toilet running, or my dishwasher refusing to start? Can I fix it myself? What's causing the heating system to smell bad or the foundation to crack? Do I need an air filtration system? Is the new "engineered lumber" as good as conventional wood? These are just a few examples of questions homeowners face when repairs are needed, or when a new house or addition is being planned.
There's no question that it pays to be an informed consumer. Knowledge of your home's systems helps you control repair and construction costs and make sure the correct elements are being installed or replaced.
This book uncovers the mysteries behind just about every major appliance and building element in your house. Clear, "exploded" drawings show you exactly how these things should be put together and how they function – what to check if they don't work, and what you can do that might save you having to call in a professional.
The easy-to-understand pictures and explanations on every page get right to the point, helping you understand how things work, what can go wrong, and how to trouble-shoot a problem.
FEATURES:
Virtually everything in your house is included:
- Electrical – circuit breakers and grounding, service, outlets, lamps and fixtures.
- Heating and air conditioning – gas, electrical and oil - ductwork and piping, thermostats, central and window AC units, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and air filtering systems.
- Plumbing – kitchen and bath fixtures, piping, water heaters, traps and vents, septic tanks, pumps and water softener systems – even sprinkler systems and swimming pool filters/heaters.
- Major household appliances – from kitchen to laundry.
- Foundation, framing, doors and windows – including issues like drainage and radon, types of framing and how it supports the house, and all types of doors and windows.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #7973 in Books
- Published on: 2007-06-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .43" h x 8.50" w x 10.76" l, 1.38 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 152 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780876290156
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
"Crystal-clear illustrations and explanations... It will quickly become the operator's manual for your house." -- SmartHomeowner magazine, 2007
"From toilet tanks to table lamps, this text tells you how it all works." -- This Old House magazine, December 2007, "Gifts for the New Homeowner"
"Crystal-clear illustrations and explanations... It will quickly become the operator's manual for your house." -- SmartHomeowner magazine, 2007
"From toilet tanks to table lamps, this text tells you how it all works." -- This Old House magazine, December 2007, "Gifts for the New Homeowner"
"Crystal-clear illustrations and explanations... It will quickly become the operator's manual for your house." -- SmartHomeowner magazine, 2007
"From toilet tanks to table lamps, this text tells you how it all works" -- "Gifts for the New Homeowner" This Old House Magazine, December 2007
From the Publisher
A must-have reference for every homeowner, handyman, and contractor - for repair, remodeling, and new construction.
From the Author
After observing neighbors, friends, and family through decades of home ownership, I'm convinced that most of today's homeowners live in a perpetual state of anxiety. The log cabin with a privy, a fireplace, and a bucket for hauling water has been replaced by homes with sophisticated wiring, plumbing, and appliances. What happens if something goes wrong? No wonder we live in a state of fear. While school has taught math, foreign languages, and computer sciences, we don't have a clue how our furnace, refrigerator, or even kitchen faucet works. This is an expensive omission in our education. In metropolitan areas, the minimum charge for a plumber or repair person to come to your home is about $150. In fact, repair services are now so expensive that the leading consumer magazine recommends replacing, rather than repairing, appliances over five years old!
Repair requires understanding how things work. Many repairs are surprisingly simple. These two principles are what led me to create this book. I hope that it saves you many times $150 and relieves some of your homeowner anxiety.
Most helpful customer reviews
91 of 93 people found the following review helpful.
By Architect
I bought this and two other "visual guide to your home" books from Amazon. This book is by far the best of the lot. I can't say enough good things about it. Here's why:
1. CURRENCY AND COVERAGE. Published in 2007, it's the most current title, and covers modern home fixtures better than the others. It's also very comprehensive in it's coverage
2. QUALITY. The diagrams and cutaways are highly detailed, and the best that I've seen - they're also full color, compared to the black and white in other books.
3. CLARITY AND ORGANIZATION. The explanations are straightforward and insight, with just enough detail to understand home systems.
4. TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS. Every topic includes a sidebar containing "Before hiring a professional" troubleshooting tips. They explain the 2 to 3 most likely problems with the system, along with the solutions. I just used this book to troubleshoot our malfunctioning garbage disposal. The troubleshooting tip was 100% right. I made the fix in 2 minutes and saved $180+ on the cost of replacing the disposal. The book just paid for itself 10 times over.
I have 30+ books on home building. This one has a special place on my bookshelf. If you own a house, buy this book. You'll thank me the first time you have the satisfaction of fixing something that goes wrong!
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
By Barbara Fairfield
What a great book! The fantastic detailed color illustrations are clearer than looking at the object itself. The very first day I had the book, I was able to repair a broken flush handle on my toilet. In my area a plumber charges $100 just to come to the house, so the book has already paid for itself four times. I'm giving the book as Christmas presents to all of my homeowning friends.
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
By David Inman
I have numerous reference books but this is the first one to actually describe to me how the device functions. The "Before calling the...(technician)" feature was a brilliant idea and a potential money saver for most homeowners.
My son-in-law teaches middle school science and will be using this book for its wonderful schematics. My other reference books are stashed away on a bookshelf - this one stays on my desk where it is good and handy!
http://astore.amazon.com/amazon-book-books-20/detail/0876290152
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