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 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 Code Check Complete: An Illustrated Guide to Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Electrical Codes (Code Check).

1. It is a good book but, it frequently refers you back to the main code check book for the service you are working on e.g. in plumbing it will refer you to the code check plumbing book for complete information. had I to do over again I would buy the individual books.



2. This book is well made, obviously for field use, more importantly the information is very well organized and presentation is easy to understand. I own all the code check series and this just ties in with the rest. Illustrations are excellent and documentation and references are great. A definite positive addition to my library.



3. good source book for those who are making their way through the permit and inspection process. Seems to be complete, but misses a few things such as smoke alarm requirements. An index would have been really helpful.



4. Code Check Complete should be on every job site. A comprehensive book with illustrations on the latest building codes



5. This is a handy composite easy-to-use reference book of the four major building codes covering building, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. It is for residential buildings.
   
   Previously, the Code Check series was (and still is) issued for each of the individual codes noted above. This guide combines all four into a condensed and smaller spiral bound hard cover book. It is easier to carry and use if you need to take a quick peek at more than one of the various building code references.
   
   It is an easy guide for contractors, home inspectors, and others interested in the current rules and regulations as they pertain on a national basis. It is not meant as a substitute for your local code regs however.
   
   I believe both formats have a use and am glad they came out with this newer composite or complete version of all residential codes into one small book.
   
   An individual contractor or tradesperson might appreciate the individual CODE CHECK flip chart style guide better. As they cover one of the 4 various building codes, they are slightly larger and much more durable than the composite book. They are published on damage-resistant plastic coated card stock and impervious to moisture damage. They are also larger, yet thinner and are quicker to use as they flip open with their sections all summarized on the cover.
   
   The composite book is smaller, yet thicker. While it is also spiral bound, the paper it is printed on is not tear or moisture-resistant. The value for the composite is superior in that it provides most, if not all of the same information as the individual Code Checks. It is also much less expensive buying the composite compared to buying the four code checks separately. The pages are smaller and more difficult to read if one relies upon glasses in order to read.
   
   The other glaring detraction is the information for the Electrical section. Perhaps the book came out a few months too early. Everything in the Building, HVAC, and Plumbing sections is up-to-date. The Electrical section still contains the information from the 2002/2005 National Electrical Code. Not the newest 2008 version. I would imagine however, that the next edition of the composite "Complete" Code Check book would contain the latest info. Many, if not most local jurisdictions tend to operate off the older NEC, so it may be of little consequence at this point anyway.
   
   One other small observation, is that if you lend out your code check "complete", then you lend all of it out together. Unlike the individual publications. Also, it is not as durable, so if one does lend it out, it may not hold up in the long run, unlike the other larger plastic-coated booklets.
   
   It is still a wise investment for the money. And a great way to have all the major code R&Rs in your hand for a quick and easy reference.
   
   One other note, the publisher on their website also offers several downloads free of charge. One is the "California" Building Code. Another is changes or errors and ommissions in the Code Check Complete. It is after all in its first edition. However the mistakes are kept to a minimum.

5 comments about Design Directory of Window Treatments, The.

1. Fast and simple, my title says it all. The book is well worth the cost, with wonderful sketches and terrific organization.



2. Fabulous! Most comprhensive in the window covering industry. Which does make it large and heavy. Highly recommend this book



3. I am an interior designer with a start up company. The Design Directory of Window Treatments is an absolute much- this is an invaluable tool to someone who really needs assistance with window treatments. The CD is also a great tool. I could not be happier with my purchase!



4. Clear illustrations. I think about every type of window treatment is covered. Can help maximize sales with customers. A must have for all Drapery Professionals and Designers. No more misunderstandings between customer and designers. Can hardly wait for Jackie's NEW bedcovering book to come out next year. I will be one of the first to buy it.



5. I've been making window treatments for about 6 yrs and I have to say that this is my favorite book by far of all the window treatments books that I have purchased. Not only does it give all sorts of great information its sketches are sooo creative. I find designs in this book that I have not seen anywhere before. A must have for all workrooms!!!

5 comments about Just in Case.

1. DON'T BE SCARED, BE PREPARED, A Review Of Kathy Harrison's "Just In Case"
   
   [...]
   
   As we mark the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the horrors of a ravaged New Orleans and Gulf Coast and as the residents of those areas again wait breathlessly to see where the volatile Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna are headed, a review of Harrison's third book, Just In Case: How To Be Self-Sufficient When The Unexpected Happens is especially timely.
   
   
   Kathy Harrison and her husband Bruce live in Western Massachusetts and have spent many years parenting hundreds of foster kids, and in fact, in 1996 were named by their state as Foster Parents of the Year. Kathy has devoted her life to caring for homeless, abused, and neglected children, and has written two other books before Just In Case entitled Another Place At The Table and One Small Boat. That's why, unlike most preparedness books, this one is supremely family-oriented, born in the heart of an ordinary mom who simply cares about the safety and well being of her family.
   
   
   As we mark the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the horrors of a ravaged New Orleans and Gulf Coast and as the residents of those areas again wait breathlessly to see where the volatile Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna are headed, a review of Harrison's third book, Just In Case: How To Be Self-Sufficient When The Unexpected Happens is especially timely.
   
   
   Harrison notes that this book is not about long-term survival and emphasizes that her "objective with this book is to offer access to the kind of crisis information that will be helpful to ordinary families in extraordinary situations." Therefore, she hasn't offered directions for making shoes or clothing or hunting and skinning game animals for food. Consequently, her introduction asks some exceedingly practical but tough questions:
   
   
   **Can you provide your family with sufficient food if the grocery stores are closed?
   **Do you have access to safe, clean water if the municipal water system or you well is compromised?
   **Can you keep your home warm if fuel supplies are disrupted?
   **Do you have a source of light if the power grid goes down during a storm?
   **Can you evacuate your home with three days' worth of supplies for each family member in five minutes?
   **Can you shut down your home systems in ten minutes?
   
   Many Truth To Power readers are also familiar with Sharon Astyk's Causabon's Book site and the Simply Living website which offer an abundance of suggestions for food storage and rotation and which I cannot recommend highly enough. Their emphasis, however, is a bit more long-term whereas Just In Case is specifically a family disaster prep tool intended to prepare folks for an acute crisis situation.
   
   
   The book's first section uses the acronym "OAR" which stands for "Organize, Acquire, and Rotate". As we organize what we already have, we get clear on what we need to acquire, and then after acquiring it, we need to rotate those materials so that they do not become antiquated and therefore useless in an emergency.
   
   
   In Harrison's Preparedness section, her "Personal Preparedness" chapter, addresses health, skills, bookkeeping and financial preparedness, and how to conduct "trial run" drills with the family once a month to practice for a quick evacuation of the home. Also addressed are: preparedness with children, pets, and preparing your car.
   
   
   A section dealing specifically with disaster instructs the reader about what to do in an emergencies such as the loss of power, fire in the home, natural disasters, toxic hazards, pandemics, and terrorism.
   
   
   Although Just In Case, as stated above, does not focus on long-term preparation, its last section offers skills for independence which indeed are useful for a more protracted descent away from the status quo as energy depletion, infrastructure, financial, and climate change collapses intensify. The skills section addresses water purification, cold storage, heating with wood, and gathering and harvesting wild foods. In addition, Harrison has included a section on wilderness survival.
   
   
   Her "Food From Scratch" section offers in-depth instructions regarding canning and dehydrating food, as well as pickling and making yogurt and cheese. And for those wondering how they might actually prepare stored foods that would produce tasty, tantalizing meals from them, Harrison gives us an entire chapter entitled "The Stored Food Cookbook."
   
   
   I must confess that Kathy Harrison not only captured my mind in this book but also won my heart. I feel her compassion and protectiveness of her readers and their families in every page. Here's one exemplary paragraph from her introduction:
   
   
   We live in precarious times, with a looming specter of global warming and climate change, pandemics, terrorism, and food insecurity assaulting us every day. Many families live only a paycheck away from homelessness. Our fragile and interdependent system of transportation, communication, and finance leaves most Americans only a few days away from hunger. My intention is to encourage all families to become familiar with the basic goods and skills necessary for self-reliance should the worst happen.
   
   
   While as Harrison notes, the world has always been a scary place, this is the first generation that has fallen into total dependence on a fragile network of vulnerable independent systems. Food, for example, as became so blatantly obvious this year, is inextricably connected to transportation and fuel. Those who occasionally shop at big box or chain stores have certainly noticed sections of shelves or entire shelves that are empty these days. When one inquires about where these items are, the usual response is, "Well, the trucks haven't delivered them yet" or "we were out of that item for weeks, and finally the trucks came and brought a shipment, but customers have cleaned them out already." All of these systems depend on the others, and as Harrison succinctly summarizes: "...the whole system will collapse in a domino effect that could bring our usual lives to a screeching halt. The shelves will be empty, the money will dry up, the lights will go out, the cars won't run, and people will stay at home."
   
   
   The other possibility is that people won't stay home because they will no longer have a home to go to as a result of foreclosure or natural disaster. In that case, we would see massive homelessness, wandering, and migration, and then it would be crucial to have a variety of wilderness survival skills.
   
   
   I haven't been able to put Kathy Harrison's book down and move on to another. I highly recommend your purchasing it sooner rather than later as an indispensable investment in your own and your family's survival.



2. Kathy Harrison has written the definitive guide for family preparedness. This book is not only chock full of useful information, it is also a great read. She not only gives you information, she actually reveals a quality of thinking defensively which is often missing in similar books. A great read from a great writer. Buy this book now before you need it!



3. I bought this book and thought it was well worth it. I have been doing emergency preparedness for years as each new weather emergency showed me something I needed or wished I had on hand. Some web sources are heavy on the wilderness survival end, but I found this to be a very good basic book for how to prepare for sheltering-in-place or evacuation, and to begin a lifestyle of preparedness.
   
   Teacher/Photographer's point was well taken about a lack of sources. I wonder if that was the publisher not wanting to imply endorsement? I could just about guarantee the author gets a lot of her food storage items from "Emergency Essentials," and a source for non-electric items is "Lehmans." Or, google (when did that become a verb?) "Emergency preparedness," and it will take you to any number of sources, including blogs and message boards that will be glad to offer advice about quality.



4. ...just when we need it. No fear mongering, no need to build a bomb shelter in the back yard. Just good old common sense. Reminds me of what my grandparents used to tell us. Well written and easy to read with clearly marked sections that allow the reader to tune into what pertains to them and leave the rest for another time. No matter WHERE you are or WHO you are there is something aimed directly at you in this book.



5. A neat reference book for we mildly paranoid types by a cheerful OCD housewife who compiles lists of THINGS TO HAVE IN CASE!and has a well equipped home to prove her case. Is it useful? Well, consider what a collapse of the world economy might entail....

5 comments about Clean House Clean Planet.

1. I like this book a lot. I have used some of the recipes, but vinegar and plain baking soda alone are my preferred cleaning ingredients. It's very motivating and a great rescource for various 'green' cleaning needs
   However, her website, no longer exists. The 818 telephone number has also been disconnected. I wanted to check out some of her products. Does any one know where I can find her company?



2. I've read just about all of the "natural cleaning" books out nowadays, and I feel this one is still the best. Not only are these recipes safe, but they WORK. From one who hates cleaning and tries to avoid it as much as possible, I actually have found myself enjoying working with peppermint-scented bathroom cleaners, just as an example.
   
   Oh, and finding the various bottles needed isn't all that hard using the internet. :)



3. I love this little book. I have tried several of the recipes for cleaners and find that they work very well. It is unfortunate that the author can't be reached. She made a point of stating in the book that she was available ..had special bottles for the products etc. But , as it has been several years since the book was written, she seems to have dropped out of sight. I have been able to find adequate containers...and have begun to switch to using mostly these products for cleaning. I purchased a few basic essential oils...the price for them was quite reasonable..and Dr Bronners soaps are wonderful. It is pleasure to clean with products that don't make you gasp for breath...and knowing that I am doing something to help save the earth is a really good thing.



4. While the writer has great ideas of cleaning products that are harmful to use in the house and what they have in them, she uses old concepts that my grandmother used 50 years ago. This book is not really all that useful in my opinion when just basic baking soda and white vinegar have been a cleaning substance for many years. This book is not original at all.



5. Clean Your House for Pennies a Day THE SAFE NON-TOXIC WAY
   
   From the back of the book:
   
   Save Your Health, Your Money, Your Planet
   
   How many times have you said you're killing yourself trying to keep your house clean? You might have been joking, but you're closer to the truth than you think if you're using expensive commercial cleansers. Karen Logan, an environmentalist with years of experience developing and selling her own line of eco-friendly cleaning products, reveals the secret of using simple, ordinary ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, soap, lemon juice, and salt to make safe, inexpensive cleaners.
   
   For instance, did you know:
   * Olive oil is not only good as a salad dressing but also as a furniture polish
   * Plain club soda works great as a window cleaner
   * You can make your copper-bottomed pots sparkle with just lemon juice and salt
   * And ordinary liquid soap and water will clean up those ants marching through your kitchen?
   
   Happy, healthy cleaning!

5 comments about Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living.

1. It's amazing all the products you can clean with that are already in your kitchen and, more importantly, not toxic.



2. This is a great book. I got it not really thinking I would use it as much as I have. I use it for body creams, cleansers and moisturizers AND I use if for household cleaning, furniture polish, sachets, and more. And her explanations of how different ingredients work is also very helpful. I now buy very few commercial cleaners (Bon Ami, Ecover laundry detergent) mostly because I can't find washing soda anywhere locally.



3. This book is filled with natural and non-toxic cleaning products, personal care products and more. I have made a number of cleaning potions from Better Basics and am loving the way my house smells when I clean it! Meaning...instead of the old days using harsh chemicals, my home smells like almost nothing--just clean!
   
   I was going to post a review for Annie Bond's Home Enlightenment: Practical, Earth-Friendly Advice for Creating a Nurturing, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Home and Lifestyle, but noticed it is no longer in print. Too bad, because it was good. However, if you want similar information, check out Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your PlanetBoth of these books deal with the next steps to take once your home is non-toxic, including ways to make your home your sanctuary.



4. This is an absolutely great book for anyone interested in "greening" their home. Their recommendations are great for the enviornment, for your health, home and save you money!



5. This book is full of practical recipes for almost anything you need, and safe for the environment as well. I use it like a recipe book, whenever I need to mix a cleaner or make a product, I look up the thing that I need, and the variations of it, and make it with the basic supplies that I bought. I am really enjoying it, and feel like I'm making a small difference for the environment, and a big difference for detoxifying my home.

5 comments about Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home.

1. This is the most comprehensive, easy to use, guide for eco-friendly living that I have seen in years. I strongly recommend that you consider purchasing this book and using it as a handy reference for everything from personal care products to paint to household items. I have purchased several of these from Amazon after reading it cover to cover from the local library and I will be giving them as Christmas gifts this year. The book will quite simply change your life for the better.



2. EASY GREEN LIVING arrived before expected and brand new as promised. I loved it, it was a real blessing for me and my family as we try to green our lives. Thanks



3. With all the five star ratings previously, I had high expectations for this book. Sadly, it did not live up to those expectations and for one reason only: this book includes way too much information about chemicals and the harm they cause. Don't get me wrong, I want to know 'generally' about these things such as parabens, etc. but I don't need a complete list of every chemical manufactured on the planet and what they do. I did not find that positive or motivating. Having said that, YOU may want to know! And, I would actually buy this book again. It is a great reference book that you could go back to over and over again. And, because it is so detailed, it would really help you find anything you could possible ever need. For example, later today I will be checking a website that she mentioned that sells eco-friendly lightbulbs that can be used with a dimmer switch! And I may take a look at a company that sells reclaimed wood for replacing my floors...It really is a great book, I just felt that I was skipping over the parts which I didn't have such an interest in.



4. This is a great book. Lots of good info on ingredients found in cleaning and beauty items. Have recommended this book to several of my friends. Would definitely buy it again.
   The only drawback to this book is that the pages started comming loose from the binding within a few days of flipping through it. No problem, though. Just took it down to the office supply store and had a spiral binding put on it for a few dollars.



5. I bought Easy Green Living for the recipes (like the air freshener containing vodka and essential oil - very nice) inside because I'd just read another book on being green, so I thought I had enough information. Then I started reading Loux's take on the environment, and I couldn't stop. She detailed reasons from personal health to protecting the earth's resources for becoming environmentally friendly. Loux writes well and breaks the topic down with ease without lecturing. She often injects personal stories as examples. And, she's budget conscious. She is quick to point out which options are budget friendly and which aren't necessarily. Easy Green Living is a valuable resource for anyone wishing to understand the current movement toward being environmentally friendly.

5 comments about Solar Water Heating: A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water and Space Heating Systems (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series).

1. Content wise this is an excellent book. The level is just right for individuals that need to make the right choices to provide renewable Domistic Hot Water and Space Heating for their homes without having to sift through many non insightful therory and math. It has good collection of rules of thumb for a quick design. I have one criticism for this book. In my copy pages 113-144 are printed twice. The book is really only 240 pages and not 288 as stated in Amazon by the publisher. Not that the 40 extra pages would have completed the book. The book is fairly well written and complete as it is. I am just for saving paper/trees.



2. This book is practical and written in a very easy to understand manner. The author has extensive experience in the area of solar heating of water and conveys that knowledge to the reader very effectively. This book goes beyond hot water for household use and into radiant heating with the use of a heat storage system using a large sand bed which is the GEM of the book! I am planning on building a cabin in the Colorado Mtns and wanted this retreat to be self-sustaining and not a warm cabin that was sucking power or energy while not in use. This book has inspired me to design into the cabin solar hot water for household and radiant use. Now if I could just find a decent book about radiant heating for less than $100...........



3. Very good and useful book if you want to understand/evaluate offers/tenders of companies that will construct your solar water heating system. Contains all the rules of thumbs and all the subjects really you need to know (system components, scaling of the system, types of solar water heating systems, system maintenance, system installation, cost calculations, etc.). My only real disappointment is the pervasive use of non-metric units (btu/therms, feet, gallons) throughout the book. This makes it hard to read for non-American readers. There is a unit conversion table, but it would have been better to include the second unit system between brackets or just to use the international metric system. Also a decision diagram/tree for helping to decide what type of solar heating system you would best go for depending on your climate/freezing conditions or not, etc. would have been a useful addition. This information, though, is in the text, but you just have to read it all.



4. This is a very well written book. Bob Ramlow has done a lot of work on the subject of solar heating and makes the subject fun to read. I highly recommend that if you are interested in solar heating you also read "Build Your Own Solar Heating System" by Kenneth Clive. Build Your Own Solar Heating System



5. After reading reviews for this book I made the purchase hoping to have the basics of solar water heating covered. The book does that very well. Like most of us I'd love to see a book covering a detailed step by step installation with tools, equipment, costs, etc. But people with a handy man ability or a bit more like myself (builder)can figure things out pretty easily. Over All an excellent resource!

5 comments about Little House on a Small Planet: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities.

1. I am a developer in Dubai and want to address the problem of the middle class that can't afford to even rent a house. I bouhgt this (and other) books to help me in undersdtanding how to go about it. Unfortunately this book is totally useless for what I need with no floor plans, and no description on how and what I can do to help. Tee discussion on reducing the space is fine but not suitable for me.



2. This book is totally well prepared. And if a person is looking to modify their life to lessen the effects of the "rat race", this book will suggest excellent options that will save a person YEARS of labor and savings and costs, which can then be devoted to ???? making a better life all around !
   HikerBOB



3. Although most of the homes in this book take "simple," "cozy" and "energy efficient" to the extreme, I find it inspiring in terms of what's possible. I wish the photos (most are clumped together in the middle of the book) were printed alongside the story of the home they represent. It's confusing and frustrating trying to match the pictures with the correct home.
   
   But I appreciate the imagination of the people featured in the book. If you have an interest in real-life examples of energy efficient living, this one's worth the purchase price.



4. This book is really great! Very enlightening. Only sorry I didn't purchase it a lot earlier!



5. I thought the book would be more contemporary. (supposedly published in 2006) The quality of the photographs throughout look like the 70's. If these pictures aren't thirty years old, then everyone included in this book is living is some kind of time warp. It's certainly more of an alternative lifestyle book, than in interesting architecture book. Think Mother Earth News not Dwell. Think people raising ducks and building aluminum can structures, not Tumbleweed homes with modern lifestyles in tiny spaces. Low quality, uninspired black and white photography. Eight pages of color photos in the center of the book, equally uninspired. It does include a lot of text to give you food for thought about what do we really need in a structure. Might be okay for some, but I was highly disappointed.