Home Improvement All-In-One for Dummies

Put on your grubbies, get out your tools, and get ready to tackle home repairs and improvements with the goof-proof instructions in this guide that combines the best of nine For Dummies home improvement books in one comprehensive volume. Whether you’re an accomplished do-it-yourselfer or a novice, the easy-to-follow instructions, complete with photos and illustrations, will guide you through:
Basic home maintenance and improvement projects from the foundation to the roof, including windows, doors, and electrical repairs and replacements
Painting and wallpapering
Bathroom and kitchen remodeling, including installing cabinets, countertops, fixtures, and appliances
Carpentry, woodworking and flooring
Plumbing, including unclogging fixtures and fixing leaky faucets
Want to spruce up bedroom? Spiff up the kitchen? Shore up the porch? Build stairs? Replace creaky doors and drafty windows? Make the most of your space? Inside or out, major renovation or minor repair, the how-to is all right here. Think about it—if you do just one project yourself instead of calling a plumber, electrician, painter, handyman, or other service person, you’ve saved far more than the cost of this book! And you’ll have it on hand to guide you through the next project!

Roy Barnhart is a lifelong do-it-yourselfer and former professional building and remodeling contractor. He enjoyed eight years as Senior Building and Remodeling Editor for two national home improvement magazines. As a freelance writer, editor, and consultant, Roy has contributed articles to more than a dozen home improvement magazines, including Family Handyman and House Beautiful. He has also contributed to four books.
James and Morris Carey, known as the Carey Brothers, are nationally recognized experts on home building and renovation. They share their 20-plus years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions nationwide through a weekly radio program, daily radio vignette, syndicated newspaper column, and comprehensive Web site (www.onthehouse.com), all titled “On the House.” Morris and James continue to own and operate a successful home remodeling and construction firm, Carey Bros., and have been named to Remodeling magazine’s Hall of Fame Big 50, which recognizes top achievers in the industry. They’ve also been honored as one of the nation’s top 500 companies by Qualified Remodeler magazine.
Gene and Katie Hamilton have been working on houses and writing about home improvements for over 30 years. They’ve remodeled 14 houses and write a weekly newspaper column entitled “Do It Yourself . . . Or Not?” which appears in newspapers across the country and on Web sites. The Hamiltons are authors of 16 home improvement books, including Home Improvement For Dummies, Carpentry For Dummies, Painting and Wallpapering For Dummies, and Plumbing For Dummies. They’re the founders of www.HouseNet.com, the first home improvement site on the Internet and America Online. You’ve seen these veteran do-it-yourselfers appear as home improvement experts on CNN, Dateline, the Today show, Home Matters, Today at Home, and Our Home.
Don R. Prestly is a former senior editor for HANDY Magazine for The Handyman Club of America, as well as a former associate editor for Family Handyman magazine. In addition to his nearly 20 years of writing and doing home improvement projects, he spent several years as a manager for one of the Midwest’s largest home centers. Throw in the everyday upkeep needs of being a homeowner, dealing with the same problems and repairs as other homeowners, and it’s obvious that he has the background and experience to help you make your kitchen dreams come true.
Jeff Strong began creating sawdust at a very young age while helping his father, a master craftsman, build fine furniture. An accomplished woodworker, Jeff has designed and built countless pieces of furniture and currently accepts commissions to build his creations. His woodworking style marries Arts and Crafts, Southwestern, and Asian influences. Woodworking For Dummies is his third book.

Introduction.
Book I: Planning Your Home Improvement Projects.
Chapter 1: Do It Yourself or Hire a Pro?
Chapter 2: Gearing Up for Your Home Improvement Adventures.
Chapter 3: Safety and Preparedness.
Chapter 4: Working with (and within) a Budget.
Book II: Basic Home Maintenance and Improvement.
Chapter 1: Making Inside Repairs and Improvements.
Chapter 2: Windows Don’t Have to Be a Pane.
Chapter 3: Doors: An Open-and-Shut Case.
Chapter 4: Heating, Ventilating, and Cooling Systems.
Chapter 5: Attending to Appliances.
Chapter 6: Foundation Fundamentals.
Chapter 7: Roofing and Siding.
Chapter 8: Light Up Your Life with Electrical Repairs and Replacements.
Book III: Painting and Wallpapering.
Chapter 1: Planning Your Project.
Chapter 2: Preparing Surfaces for Painting.
Chapter 3: Painting, Finishing, and Cleaning Up.
Chapter 4: Wallpapering Basics.
Chapter 5: Preparing Surfaces for Wallpapering.
Chapter 6: Hanging Wallpaper.
Book IV: Bathroom and Kitchen Remodeling.
Chapter 1: An Overview of the Remodeling Process.
Chapter 2: Installing Cabinets.
Chapter 3: Installing Countertops and Sinks.
Chapter 4: Fridges, Ranges, Disposals, and More: Installing Appliances.
Chapter 5: Go Flush! Selecting and Installing a Toilet.
Chapter 6: Rub a Dub Dub! Replacing a Tub.
Chapter 7: Showered with Possibilities.
Chapter 8: Bowled Over: Basins, Vanities, Medicine Cabinets, and Faucets.
Book V: Carpentry, Woodworking, and Flooring.
Chapter 1: Flooring: Keeping a Leg Up on Foot Traffic.
Chapter 2: Using Adhesives and Glues in Woodworking.
Chapter 3: Drilling, Driving, and Fastening.
Chapter 4: Understanding the Building Process.
Chapter 5: Finishing Wood.
Book VI: Plumbing.
Chapter 1: The Plumbing Do-It-Yourselfer.
Chapter 2: The Plumbing System in Your Home.
Chapter 3: Materials and Tools.
Chapter 4: Unclogging a Kitchen Sink.
Chapter 5: Unclogging a Tub or Shower Drain.
Chapter 6: Unclogging a Toilet.
Chapter 7: Fixing a Leaky or Run-On Toilet.
Chapter 8: Fixing a Leaky Faucet.
Index.