A total book of the house. It applies equally to do-it-yourselffers and to those who intend only to plan or oversee their projects. Even if you never intend to pick up a hammer and saw, you can save time and money-and find inspiration-by using this book for reference. The manual opens with a chapter on American house styles. Then comes an illustrated introduction to the subject of building codes that tells why and how a house must comply with established standards. Secitons follow on architectural drawings, drawing your own plans, estimating costs, ordering materials, obtaining building permits, and dealing with contractors. Collections of color photographs show finished renovations-everything fro new kitchens to solar retrofits-from all across the nation, in city, suburban, and rural homes. All of the necessary how-to-instruction is here, in the customary Reader's Digest clarity of presentaiotn. We also tell the do-it-yourselfer what he can do-as, for instance, hwen a project involves extreme physical exertion. Chapters on restoring older houses will be significant to bargain hunters who long to transform a "fixer upper" into a dream house. There are pages on vacation houses and building houses for kids. There are also pages for the reader whose immediate needs are simpler-a well-designed closet or an innovative design for a bunk bed. An extensive chapter on electrical wiring is not only up-to-date, it is illustrated down to the last terimain screw to assure clarity and safety. Plumbing instructions are covered; so, too, are bearing walls, roofing, siding, flooring, tiling, skylights, pre-assembled windows, pre-hung doors, decks, patios, home security systems-and much more. In a single winter the chapter on energy efficiency and solar design could pay back the price of the book many times over. Here, then, is a concise reference library on your house and its possibilities, within one set of covers.
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.
The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.