5 comments about Insulate and Weatherize: Expert Advice from Start to Finish (Build Like A Pro).

1. same great features of other books in the series (pro tips, what can go wrong...). these books are thorough and informative.



2. This book gives credible (not just a repeat of info on manufacturer websites) coverage of insulation, air leakage, ventilation, moisture problems, etc. and handles each subject with respect to different climates. I learned a lot and it helped me make decisions in the renovation of a 60 year old house.



3. This book was exactly what i was looking for! It tells you how to properly insulate and seal an existing house. Great illustrations, clear and easy to read. I read the whole thing the day i got it!
   
   I found major air leaks right where it predicted and sealed them using methods suggested.
   
   A MUST HAVE BOOK FOR ANYONE LOOKING TO IMPROVE THEIR HOME'S INSULATION.



4. I'm a general contractor doing energy efficient remodeling. I found this Taunton publication really valuable because it covers not only the basic techniques on insulation, including pricing guidelines, but also has an excellent of heating systems including PV and solar. Given the cost of energy today, this book helped me make good suggestions to my clients. The technology is changing rapidly, though, and the information here will have relatively short shelf-life.



5. Book number 1 in my library on insulation. If I only had one book that covered a lot of information in a concise manner this would be the one.

5 comments about The Prop Builders Molding & Casting Handbook.

1. The most detailed, informative, and educational book for any prop builders in the industry. A "gotta have" book in your library...just EXCELLENT.



2. This book gives great detail about most aspects of molding with good illustrations and step by step instruction that can be followed be a novice, covers various material used in the processes and describes the pro and cons of each.
   I think it would be usable in many projects beside prop building.



3. I have no experience in casting, and don't want to make any more costly mistakes than necessary. This was a very informative book that has given me much more confidence and knowledge to start.
   It is the best book I have found so far for my needs, which is actually for casting miniature (1:20.3 scale) details for an outdoor train layout. However, the methods explained are very widespread, and would suit most needs, I would think.



4. This is the best book for learning about prop making. I learned so much and found that prop making is relatively easy, but time consuming. Yet it is the joy of making something with your own two hands that makes prop making so much fun. This book is a must have for every prop maker and those who want to learn prop making.



5. "The Prop Builders Molding & Casting Handbook" is by the far the best book on mold making and casting I have found (and I have quite a few :)
   
   Not just for prop builders, this well laid out work covers many different types of mold making materials, uses, benefits, and TONS of tips. The casting and finishing sections are also very strong, providing great advice for reproducing realistic looking props.
   
   HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!

5 comments about Working Alone: Tips & Techniques for Solo Building.

1. If you have never done any type of construction, buy this book. Even if you have only visited a construction site once in your life this book is below your expectations. The majority of the book is showing that taking two pieces of wood nailed at 90 degrees with a triangle placed perpendicular to the joint in different jobs. I thought I would learn something new but I was wrong. I would have returned it but it would cost just as much to ship it back as it cost in the first place.



2. This is a book I saw on store shelves for a while, then couldn't find it anywhere. So, I was very pleased to find it online. It is everything I was expecting, very informative. Lots of useful information for doing carpentry work, that may need a helper for a short time. A great deal of help if you don't need the helper longer than a few minutes.



3. Dobra ksiaka dla pracujacych samotnie lub dla tych, ktorych pracownicy zostawili "na lodzie". Zawiera sporo przykaldow jak dac s obie rad samemu. Autor zwraca te uwag na to, e niektóre prace powinny zostac wykonane przez podwykonawców ze wzgledu na wymagane doswiadczenie lub regulacje prawne. Polecam. Wydane pieniadze nie beda zmarnowane. Jest to dobra inwestycja.



4. I have no read the entire book, however at a glance, I can see that there are many helpful ideas. Surely worth the $



5. If you use just one or two tips from this book (and you will) it is worth the investment in time and money. It is well written with simple concise instructions and advice. A little humor goes a long way toward making this an easy enjoyable read.

5 comments about Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual: Completely Revised and Updated.

1. This is an excellent "fix it yourself" book that includes many fixes you can find only in The Handyman Magazine. The magazine is a top-notch periodical, in my opinion, for guys like me - mediocre at making everyday fixes to common problems around the home. This is the latest upadate I could find, and for the price, it was an excellent deal. For all you do-it-yourselfers who have two left hands, and for indepent women who need to economize, this is an a very good book. Covers most every day maintenance and repair stuff that comes up when you least expect and need a fairl quick, but easy and inexpensive fix. I'd buy this one again.



2. So glad I upgraded my copy. It really is a must have for the homeowner, even if you have to understand the jobs you contract to others.



3. I purchased this book as a gift for my husband. Being new homeowners, we're often frustrated not knowing how to take care of issues around the house. This book has EVERYTHING you need to know to do almost any project around the house. Great illustrations, photos and directions. I know we'll be reaching for this book again and again! Would make a great housewarming gift!



4. I remember reading the first edition in the mid '70s, and this new edition has all the information I was hoping it would have. It is perfect for me, someone who is somewhat handy when a problem presents itself. I need a reference to give me the correct information about solving problems involving home repair or DIY. I would suggest that you get this out of the library first to see if it is helpful to you. You just might get a copy because it is so useful.



5. Gift for my son-in-law who's a landlord for the first time. He says it's really helpful, complete and easy to use instructions.

2 comments about Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide.

1. Wow! I just got this amazing new book written by members of Austin's Rhizome Collective. It's full of highly practical, affordable, and simple designs that can be used by anyone to achieve sustainability in their home, neighborhood or community. There are a number of books on sustainable living, but this one stands apart from the rest - the systems described in it are innovative and unique, many of which I've never come across in any other book. The author's approach to sustainability and permaculture is especially important as they emphasize the interconnectedness between sustainability and social justice, a perspective that is sorely lacking in the movement. Many books sell sustainability as a product, and lead us to believe that our problems can be bought away. Not this one, it cuts away at all that greenwashing propaganda and promotes a genuine, radical sustainability that is accessible to the majority of the people in the world. The introductions to each section are very interesting, giving a general overview of each of its five main sections: Food, Water, Waste, Energy, and Bioremediation (a topic I've never seen covered in anything other than dense,academic texts). The writing is highly informed and intelligent, yet down to earth and accessible.
   One of the most standout features of the book is its incredible artwork - done masterfully by Juan Martinez of the Beehive Collective - the book's many vivid illustrations and helpful diagrams make it a joy to read and look through. Highly recommended!



2. When searching for books on sustainability its easy to find books heavy on opinion while practical application books are few and far between. This is one of the latter, a very accessible project oriented guide to making changes in the way we act. This book is filled with small scale systems that provides a great starting point for people who want to make actual change in their lives and not just read environmental theory, as great as that may be. The real gem in this book is the well organized bibliography, as many of the projects I would feel more comfortable completing with more detailed background knowledge of the processes going on, which is of course beyond the scope of this publication. Not to downplay the information contained in the book itself, which is awesome.
   The key to making change is to make small changes, baby steps, slowly building your new lifestyle. I started with the vermicompostig, which is pretty tame, and moved on from there. Good Luck!

5 comments about New Fix-It-Yourself Manual: How to Repair, Clean, and Maintain Anything and Everything In and Around Your Home.

1. I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I was expecting some good how-to pointers on fixing things around the house. I received a book that is very outdated. It gave instructions on fixing cassette decks and turntables. And who fixes broken toasters? I did find a few good pointers, but not like I expected.



2. Good book for the first time home buyer or anyone that is interested in doing some basic fix-it-up or simple repairs. There are good illustrations and explanations. Some of the book is outdated, but there is plenty here to recommend it.



3. I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my son. I started to leaf through it prior to wraping it and I am glad I did. This book was published in 1977 and although there is a lot of information - much of it is outdated - how many people do you know who own electric typewriters or bonnet style dryers in 2007??? I would have been very embarassed to give this gift. It has been returned and we purchased another book from the local home improvement store which contains all of the newest technology with regards to home repairs, etc. Sorry I was not happy with my Amazon purchase!!



4. I had one once before but was lost.But the new ones cover more and they are real handy when you need info about working onthings and tells you what tools you will need.



5. This was purchased as a gift for my son-in-law. As I told him, it is by far the best do-it-yourself home repair manual I have ever seen or used. It is clearly and logically laid out. Illustrations are in full color and large enough to easily identify the part(s) to be worked on. Diagnostics are systematic without being wordy, and very accurate. It also tells you when you have exhausted all do-it-yourself op;tions and need to call in a professional -- something some repair manuals don't do. It's the first and usually final place I look go to for information on home repairs, major appliances, electrical repairs, and plumbing repairs.
   
   My only complaint is that the binding on my copy eventually broke after several years of heavy use. I guess I'll just have to buy another copy.

5 comments about Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies (For Dummies (Home & Garden)).

1. I have a number of the Dummies books on various topics, and had an interest in how one might "green" an existing home, or build a new one. One thing I learned recently is that 50% of the energy lost from a typical house is due to poor building insulation, and that's one area in which most houses, depending on where in the U.S. they're built, could be improved. Since we wanted to beef up our house's insulation, we had a type of insulation installed that was more green than the other choices, and that is equally effective. If you're building a house from scratch, this book has a lot more information on many other topics relating to green building, including materials, construction, design ideas, energy saving tips and ideas, and many more topics on the subject.



2. This book has a lot of great ideas, however it has a very strong bias in certain areas such as wind energy being very poor cost efficient method of energy production. It goes in to depth about solar panels and offers alot of great ideas for cheap energy efficient housing ideas way above and beyond the average methods.



3. A comprehensive run over all the options when building new or remodelling a house and wanting to be "greener". Provides most of the sustainable info you need, and would help for future house rating schemes as much of the content structure seems to be geared around LEED. A possible fault is too much detail on alternative technologies (e.g. straw houses) which the vast majority of even green obesssives will never use. Good for reference or just dipping. As a non-American I found it a bit US-centric but not so as to effect its relevance.



4. A great book to have in your library if you are interested in sustainable building. Excellent overview of all of the different aspects to consider. It did leave out any discussion of log construction.



5. We are planning to build a house sometime in the next 2 years and we just wantedto get a little info on how we could "green it up" a little. Well this book was full of valuable info! There were so many things that were listed in this book that we had no clue about. Before we thought that we would just try to do a few easy little things to help the enivironment, but now we are thinkng of building a almost completely Green home. We found out from reading this book that it will save us lots of $$$$ in the future and that a lot of things aren't too expensive. Plus saving the earth is at the top of the list. If you just want to get some basic ideas about how to get started then this is the book for you. If you already know about the basics and you want more detailed info on how to do things like solar pannels and such, then you should go for the "dummies" books on each individual subject. That will help you a lot more. Go Green and save the earth!

5 comments about The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens.

1. This is a fantastic book for anyone who really enjoys fresh bread. I wore out a bread machine and learned to knead all my favorites by hand. This not only explains every part and ingredient's role in making bread, it also has all the description and scientific explanation to build an outdoor bread oven. We're planning on building an outdoor kitchen and the bread oven in this book will be a part of it.



2. I was looking for a book that would help me understand how to build a masonry oven. This book provides that along with much much more. The detail in the book regarding bread making is excellent and I am certain I will read this book many times as my experience grows. I consider it an excellent book for anyone interested in breadmaking.



3. One of the authors has a German cultural background and the conclusions of the book are somehow biased. It tries to justify with scientific and health arguments, that sour bread tastes better than non sour bread because it is the old natural method of making bread. From an unjustified a 'priory' argument, that is, the flavor of sour and acid bread has to be better, comes out an elaborate collection of scientific facts to describe the incubation and fermentation process of homegrown yeast so that you can get a more potent flavored bread, German style. Give a piece of rye bread to children and you will see that they reject it because it tastes nasty. Instead, give them bread made with available yeast from a supermarket and they will eat it gladly. Most of the everyday bread made in Europe is made with supermarket yeast instead of homegrown sour and acid sourdough. This is so because they don't like the flavor and acidity of sour bread, not because of a shortcoming of mass production, like the author suggests. The bread is to be eaten with other foods, not to be eaten alone, and a very potent flavor of bread would take away the flavor of the other foods.



4. This book is enormous, far larger and more complete than I had imagined. As others have said, it is not exactly a step-by-step "how to" for baking break or for building an oven, but it comes close. I like the word "treatise"
   
   If you are have been thinking about building your own masonry oven, this book has enough information to make that possible. Don't believe a word of what the whiner from Japan with absolutely no literacy or mechanical skills has said: this book does indeed contain outlines, guidelines, drawings, and more that will go a long way towards making a DIY masonry oven possible. however, if you have to be led by the hand the entire way, and given exact specifications for every board and every brick, then I guess this book isn't good enough for you...



5. This book is wonderful. This was the most highly recommended book on building and cooking with a fire brick oven and rightfully so. If you are interested in building a fire brick oven, this book is definitely for you. It has good readable instructions with detailed illustrations and plenty of variations from which you can customize your own oven.

3 comments about Black & Decker Complete Home Repair (Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide).

1. My husband loves this book..a friend had one and he too just had to have it.



2. I have had this book for over a year now. It has helped me with small projects like changing a light fixture and unclogging the drain to painting and hanging large pictures and an LCD TV, and to remove and plane down my door that always sticks. I have never been particularly "handy" but the pictures and step by step instructions are actually really good. The only real downside is that sometimes they expect me to follow from one step to the next with minimal instruction, and I cannot based on my lack of experience. This is far and away the exception, and most times I could figure it out anyway. It has inspired me to take on bigger and more complicated projects and I refer to it often.



3. Excellent for reference. Haven't get anything to work on at the moment, but definitely love it.

5 comments about Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life.

1. Ed Begley Jr. really walks the walk! I really like the way he sets up the book. He tells you how to do the easy things and the more expensive things too. There is something everyone can do and Yes, everything does make a difference. It will save your energy bill, and help to save our planet.



2. I read this book in about two days and have already started applying much of the suggestions given. I liked how Ed organizes his advice by the cost and ease of applying his recommendations. Most are free, ie, vacuuming your refrigerator coils, some are low-cost buying organic cotton, few are big ticket like getting solar panels. Most are just equal trade-offs such as buying energy efficient light bulbs instead of incandescents. I was able to put many into effect right away and some are on the back burner for when I need to replace things I already have. There is even a checklist at the back which allows you to monitor your changes to compare your gas bills, electric bills etc., which I will really like to see. Overall, the book is an easy-read; no-pressure, just great advice that is easy to apply.



3. This book is a pretty decent reference guide. Begley breaks his book up in six areas that he (as well as we) can do to make our lives greener (in the home, transportation, recycling, energy, garden and kitchen, and clothing/hair/skin care). You can get as much or as little as you need from the guide. Basically each area is an essay by Begley that has the main points highlighted throughout with a legend of a tree plant that shows it's significance (price and impact wise) environmentally. He also allows some companies, that he does business with, to give the reader a pitch about the products or services they provide. Even his wife throws in her "two cents" throughout the book (which is basically what it's worth because she only made herself sound like a shallow bimbo with a smug sense of self-satisfaction.)
   Now don't get me wrong, I've watched Living with Ed and found it entertaining and informative. And for the most part, I like Ed Begley, Jr. I can appreciate a guy who can make fun of himself from time to time (ex. Cameo'd on the Simpsons driving a go-cart powered by his own "sense of self satisfaction"), but I found the essays a little preachy. Maybe the guy has to get defensive because he's probably had to be that way for the last 30 years or so, but I don't feel like he has to be that way to readers. If you pick this up, you're basically looking to "green up" your living, but Begley talks to the reader like he's expecting a fight. Chill, man, you're in good company. He uses alot of scare tactics that made me feel guilty about the life I've been leading, not positive of the way I'm changing my life. He also had a tendency to rant on and on, and that was off-putting. Okay Ed, I got it. Solar is good, let's move on, shall we?
   This book is mainly written by Begley based on what Begley knows, so he often makes references to services offered mostly in California (or NYC) so if you're not in those areas, that just means you may have to do more research. At least he gives the reader a starting off point.
   And in terms of ways to "green up" your life, this book isn't as insulting as some (you mean turn out a light when I leave a room saves energy!? And I paid $16 for you to tell me that?! Doy!) but not as wacky as others (I just can't save up used bath water to water my lawn. Maybe someday, but not today). And the ways range from uber cheap to long shot expensive. So I think a multitude of readers can get something out of it. It had a nice reference key for those recycling numbers on the bottom of plastics. It also has a small "workbook" to use if you implement his suggestions so you can see the progress you make.
   And if you're interested in this book because you're a fan of the show, it makes lots of references to it. Begley and his wife play off each other throughout, and some of the companies that are featured in the book are some of the products on his show. He also provides us with a few recipes that he's used on the show (Birthday episode Lentil soup and tofu brownies, etc).
   Overall, it was informative, but the writing just wasn't for me. At least you can skip the rants if you want.



4. This book is great. It's very easy to read, helpful, and interesting. Ed & his wife explain a variety of home improvements one can make and provide logical explanations for all of them. This book makes me want to do everything i can to live an eco-friendly life.



5. This book will explain what you can do to help the environment as one person or family.I thought it was time to make a difference in this world and this book helps with that. It gave me many idea's.
   
   His book looks at 6 area's in our lives we can be more efficient.The Home,transportation,energy;garden and kitchen;clothing and hair;skin care. He has also included a workbook of questions that you can answer with your own life styles and how to improve it, helping the earth.