DIY (Do it yourself): general guides and advice Books

Book SynopsisCost-effective and adaptable, pole buildings are the perfect solution for tool sheds, barns, or even summer homes. Low-Cost Pole Building Construction focuses on designs that provide good wind resistance with minimal grading and no need to excavate for a foundation. With full plans for a number of sample buildings that include a solar cottage, garage, and woodshed, you'll be able to quickly and effectively build the structure you need while saving both money and time.

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Book SynopsisBuild your own outbuildings and enjoy the space to do more of what you love. From simple toolsheds and animal shelters to smokehouses and low-cost barns, Monte Burch guides you through everything you need to know to make your small building projects a reality. Detailed blueprints, easy-to-follow instructions, and expert advice are suited to even the first-time builder. Discover how easy it is to create your own customized spaces that will allow your passions to grow.

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Book SynopsisIf you manage your own water supply, you've likely had, are having, or will have water problems. Whether it's an issue of access, contamination, or taste, Stu Campbell has a clever solution, often enlivened by a charming anecdote. Campbell offers techniques for locating water on your property, as well as how to purify, store, and distribute it throughout your home. With an approachable style, expert advice, and money-saving strategies, The Home Water Supply has all of your water issues covered.

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Book SynopsisProvides step-by-step instructions and detailed plans for building a moderate-sized, two-story log home from a pre-cut manufacturer's kit or from freshly cut logs, proceeding from site selection to finishing work and maintenance tips.

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Book SynopsisWhether you're trying to protect your garden from wildlife predators or want to keep your livestock from wandering too far, effective fencing can bring welcome peace of mind. Covering the pros and cons of a variety of fencing types, Gail Damerow shows you how to build a fence that works for your needs. With clearly illustrated instructions for building wire fences, rail fences, electric fences, woven fences, and more, you'll soon be creating effective enclosures that are guaranteed to save you time, money, and worry.

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Book SynopsisBuild a classic, enduring, and affordable home. With Jack A. Sobon's careful guidance, you can construct your own timber-framed house in the traditional hall-and-parlor style. From felling trees to cutting timbers, and frame construction to door selection, you'll find Sobon's professional advice and hand-drawn illustrations invaluable. Whether you're a first-time builder or a seasoned contractor looking to expand your repertoire, you'll find answers to all your timber-frame questions. Open the front door and walk into the home of your dreams.

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Book SynopsisThe long-awaited home décor bible by the beloved design blogger“Thank you,” wrote a reader to Design*Sponge creator Grace Bonney, “for teaching me that houses don’t have to be frumpy and formal. They don’t have to be matchy-matchy or rigidly modern.” They can just be comfy and unique and reflect who you are, no matter how small your budget or space.That reader is one of the 75,000 unique daily visitors to Design*Sponge, who make it the most popular design site on the web. The site receives 250,000 pageviews every day and has 150,000 RSS subscribers and 280,000 followers on Twitter. Design*Sponge fans have been yearning for the ultimate design manual from their guru, Grace, and she has finally delivered with this definitive guide, which includes:• Home tours of 70 real-life interiors featuring artists and designers• Fifty DIY projects, with detailed instructions for personalizing your space• Step-by-step tutorials on everything from stripping and painting furniture to hanging wallpaper and doing your own upholstery• Fifty Before & After makeovers submitted by readers of Design*Sponge—real people with limited time and realistic budgets• Essential tips on modern flower arranging, with 20 arrangementsWith over 700 color photos and illustrations and projects that are customizable, relatable, and affordable, this is the democratizing design book everyone has been waiting for—and all for only $35.00!Trade Review“Design Sponge at Home is about to become your next obsession. It’s a 400-page, gold foil-covered bible of hip homes, easy chic projects, and smart decorating ideas. Bonus: a handy resource guide in the back tells you where to score everything from antiques to bath tile.” —Coastal Living “If you’re not already a fan of designsponge.com, Grace Bonney’s style-saturated website, you’ll fall in love with her book.” —Better Homes Gardens “Bonney’s book is a ‘how-to’ guide for great design. Not only is it beautiful to look at, there are tons of design ideas on every page.”—Austin American-Statesman “Part beauty, part inspiration, part resource, Bonney’s book . . . serves as both a wonderful coffee table tome to page through and a resource to guide you through a variety of home decor projects.”—Portland Oregonian “Chic cleverness, in book form. . . . Accessible decor inspiration.”—Dallas Morning News “A one-stop book for inspiration and practical guidance.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer “Design Sponge at Home is about to become your next obsession. It’s a 400-page, gold foil-covered bible of hip homes, easy chic projects, and smart decorating ideas. Bonus: a handy resource guide in the back tells you where to score everything from antiques to bath tile.” —Coastal Living “If you’re not already a fan of designsponge.com, Grace Bonney’s style-saturated website, you’ll fall in love with her book.” —Better Homes Gardens “Bonney’s book is a ‘how-to’ guide for great design. Not only is it beautiful to look at, there are tons of design ideas on every page.”—Austin American-Statesman “Part beauty, part inspiration, part resource, Bonney’s book . . . serves as both a wonderful coffee table tome to page through and a resource to guide you through a variety of home decor projects.”—Portland Oregonian “Chic cleverness, in book form. . . . Accessible decor inspiration.”—Dallas Morning News “A one-stop book for inspiration and practical guidance.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

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Book SynopsisThis homeowner’s guide shows you how to build 35 useful and attractive outdoor features to enhance your garden. Complete Book of Outdoor DIY Projects is the ultimate resource for constructing a wide variety of professional-looking, stylish structures, using stone, brick, wood or water. With step-by-step instructions and clear colour photographs, all you need is basic equipment and easy-to-learn skills. Projects include stone paths, garden archways, Japanese stone gardens and bamboo fountains, raised and free-standing brick planters, pavers, decorative screen walls, rustic benches and much more. Each project is accompanied by detailed information on which tools to use, exactly what materials are required, how long it will take to make, and the level of difficulty involved, along with handy tips and time-saving techniques.

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Book SynopsisCook colorful, whimsical, eye-catching soaps right in your microwave! It’s easy and fun with C. Kaila Westerman’s guide to creative soap making. Westerman’s recipes are free of harsh chemicals and she encourages you to play with colors, scents, and shapes that the whole family will enjoy — from rubber duckies to sailboats, stars, and gemstones. With an inexpensive soap base, some food coloring, and a bit of imagination, you can quickly create handy bars for kid-friendly cleaning and hours of bath time fun.

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Book SynopsisWith dozens of adaptable plans for sheds, coops, hutches, multipurpose barns, windbreaks, and shade structures, this guide covers everything you need to know to build safe and sturdy housing for your animals. Stressing the importance of evaluating your goals, planning ahead, and budgeting accordingly, Carol Ekarius helps you determine the best structure for your particular situation and offers expert advice on tools and construction techniques. Build a functional and comfortable house for your animals that they’ll be proud to call home.

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Book SynopsisA classic of early American architecture, the hewn-log house has a unique rustic charm and character. In this engaging and informative guide, Charles McRaven provides illustrated step-by-step instructions that cover every aspect of building your own log house, from selecting the site and hewing the first log to laying the final chimney stone. Whether you’re building a new house or restoring an old one, McRaven offers proven techniques and time-tested advice that will help you successfully create a warm and inviting hewn-log home.

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Book SynopsisGet that metal hot and start hammering! Setting up your own forge and crafting everyday items is easier than you might think. With simple methods, easy-to-follow photographs, and insightful tips, you’ll soon be creating items of lasting beauty and durability from iron and steel.

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Book SynopsisClean smarter, not harder. Donna Smallin shows you how to quickly and effectively clear clutter, destroy dirt, and restore order. With 500 plain and simple strategies for efficiently eliminating the mess in every room, you’ll discover how easy it can be to maintain a clean home without devoting hours on end to housework. Learn how to use a spare minute here and there to shorten chores and free up more time to do the things you love.

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Book SynopsisYou don’t need to depend on (or pay) a general contractor to manage your construction project. Whether you’re building a new home or renovating an existing one, you can manage the job yourself. Carl Heldmann outlines how to purchase your own land, set a reasonable budget and schedule, describe your needs and vision to an architect, and hire subcontractors to do the actual building. Cut out the middleman and save as much as 25 percent on your beautiful new home!

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Book SynopsisBuild a stylishly modern home for your poultry. Backyard chickens meet contemporary design in this inventive compilation from authors Matthew Wolpe and Kevin McElroy. Reinventing the Chicken Coop presents 14 complete building plans for chicken houses that range from the purely functional to outrageously fabulous, with designs that include water-capturing roofs, built-in composting systems, and modernist architectural details.

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Book SynopsisBuild your own unique backyard playhouse. In this inspiring guide, Lee Mothes shows you how easy it is to construct the hideout of your kids’ dreams. With simple step-by-step instructions and plenty of innovative ideas to engage kids throughout the building process, the whole family can get involved in the fun. You’ll love constructing a personalized clubhouse with your kids, and your kids will enjoy playing in it for years to come. Just don’t forget the secret password.

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Book SynopsisSave the earth’s most precious resource while also saving yourself money. Laura Allen provides expert strategies for using water smartly and efficiently while fulfilling all of your home and garden needs. Learn how to create a water-wise landscape, reuse greywater, harvest rainwater, and even set up a waterless composting toilet. Offering proven techniques in clear and accessible language, The Water-Wise Home makes it easy to help the environment and lower your household operating costs through conserving water.

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Book SynopsisUse electric fencing to protect your livestock, poultry, beehives, and garden. Portable electric fencing is key to successful rotational grazing, while permanent electric fencing effectively protects gardens and orchards and secures large pastures. Through clear instructions accessible to everyone, you’ll learn when to use these methods or a combination of the two, plus how to plan for, build, and maintain your electric fencing. This crucial tool is cost effective and versatile, but veteran farmer and author Ann Larkin Hansen also explains what not to do with an electric fence.

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Book SynopsisSchool buses that have been converted into mobile living spaces — known as skoolies — are a natural extension of the tiny house craze. Buses are not only easier and safer to drive than an RV, they provide a jump-start on the conversion process with frame, roof, and floor already in place. Experienced builder Will Sutherland, whose creative school bus conversions have been featured in Road and Track and Popular Mechanics, is behind the wheel of this alluring look at life on the road. In addition to profiles of eight fellow skoolie fans and stunning photos of bus interiors designed for simple living, Skoolie! does what no other book on the subject has — it offers a complete, step-by-step guide to the conversion process, from seat removal to planning layout and installing insulation, flooring, and furnishings that meet your needs.

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Book SynopsisImagine a world where Wellington boots come with a 24-page instruction manual, or council carers who are prohibited from making tea for OAPs in case they scald themselves on the job. Welcome to Britain in the 21st century, where the Jobsworths now lords it large, issuing edicts of mind-boggling stupidity that ruin the quality of people's lives all in the name of 'elf n safety'. Journalist Alan Pearce has compiled the most outrageous and hilarious (and unfortunately all true) examples. They will make you cringe whilst crying with laughter. Read about the author who was banned from selling his book in case it caused paper cuts; the swings removed from a playground in case children were blinded by the sun while playing on them; an international cycle race banned after worries about urinating cyclists; the risk assessment needed before a local village hall could sell mince pies. You couldn't make it up!Trade Review'Very entertaining', Jeffrey Podger, CEO Health & Safety Executive; 'Crazy' Daily Mail;

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Book SynopsisThis title includes timely topic for families trying to accommodate ageing parents or returning adult children. It provides a wide range of options and covers every eventuality for creating a second living space. This is a complete guide to everything involved in creating a second living unit in your home to accommodate ageing parents or adult children. Carving out in-law (or other) quarters from an existing home is a win-win any way you look at it; financially, practically and emotionally. Especially given today's economic climate, the audience for this book is broad; from the baby boomer caring for elderly parents, or returning kids, to the homeowner who is simply in search of a smart way to help pay the mortgage. It puts a wide range of options out there, including attic conversions, bump-out additions and even freestanding structures. This book covers every eventuality involved in creating a secondary living space in your home or on your property, from planning and soundproofing to safety and security, even how to deal with damp basements.

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Book SynopsisThis completely revised and updated edition of the bestselling Bathroom Idea Book features inspirational and practical design solutions for the number one choice for a remodel indoors. A virtual designer's notebook of ideas, inspiration and information, without the high designer price tag, this will be a homeowner's first step in turning a dream bath into a real one, whether it's new construction or a remodel.

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Book SynopsisRe-using and re-inventing vintage castoffs as home furnishings take center stage in today's home decor, as these one-of-a-kind treasures create uniquely personal spaces. Best-selling author and junking maven Sue Whitney unleashes her JUNKMARKET Style on furniture and accessories that make a statement, add a little flair, and tell a story. These pieces are coming from many places--the flea market, antique shop, vintage fair, grandmother's attic, and Goodwill store--and all are getting a new lease on life with a little DIY creativity. In Junk Beautiful Furniture Re(Freshed), Sue Whitney, heralded as the Queen of Junk and founder of the wilkdly successful JUNKMARKET Style community, provides inspiration for reimagining and refashioning furniture and accessory pieces. Each of the 30 projects is presented with clear, concise step-by-step text and photographs, requires little to no skill, and can be completed in a weekend or less. AUTHOR: Sue Whitney founded JUNKMARKET in 2000 in response to a need in the marketplace for utilizing vintage finds stylishly in your home. Her company's vision was pretty and practical design through affordable re-use. JUNKMARKET is now the national leader in the industry and has a large online community of about 42,000 loyal members. Sue has authored three successful titles and produced columns for 'Country Home' and 'Country Garden' magazines as well as her own special interest magazine issue. Sue is a veteran public speaker and has been on the Today show multiple times and appeared regularly on HGTV's Country Style. She is also a paid speaker and consultant to vintage shows around the country. In spring of 2015, Sue launched her own show, Uncorked JUNKMARKET Style. 250 full colour photographs

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