5 comments about Build Your Own Solar Heating System.

1. With gas and oil prices at record highs and more price hikes looming on the near horizon, Kenneth Clive's step-by-step, do-it-yourself construction manual, "Build Your Own Solar Heating System" is timely and critically important for homeowners wanting to lower their monthly utility bills. Using readily available materials, "Build Your Own Solar Heating System" deftly and methodically guides the reader through the process of constructing and installing a solar heating system from choosing the right materials to assembling them in good working order. Nicely illustrated throughout with detailed diagrams and photos, the reader is given instructions for each phase of their solar heating system installation project, including a wealth of practical tips for getting the task accomplished safely and effectively. Instructions are organized for building one section at a time. Of special note is the 'how to' information to sweat copper plumbing joints and the electronic diagrams to building solar heating system controls. A very highly recommended addition to personal and community library Home Technology & Improvement reference collections, "Build Your Own Solar Heating System" provides everything the non-specialist general reader needs to know to get the job done with the competence of a professional.



2. This book provides exellent detail for the one type of installation that the author chose for his situation. Pieces and parts of the book will provide good reference and construction details for my final project (I especially like the colletor design). However, no other options were discussed other than the author's particular preference (hot air/rock heat exhange in a 6 foot deep, underground, insulated chamber). I recommend this book as a good additional resource for you to determine your own particular installation.



3. The contents of the book are as the title says, for building yourself your own solar heating system. The book elaborates a lot on how exactly do the plumbing and building work but fails to explains some basics. These basics/rules of thumb are however well explained in another book I bought "Solar Water Heating".
   
   I plan to get various offers from companies, select the best offer, based on what I have learned by means of solar heating books, not to build the system myself, so the book was not the right choice for my needs. I would not buy it again.



4. A thorough cronicle of one DIY project. Good construction details. Weakness is lack of anything approaching engineering or sizing basis. If you want to construct "something" this is adequate. If you want a specific heat output to match a house size this doesn't have it.



5. I will be using the information from only a portion of this book. I am handy and could build the system but is a much bigger project than I want to get into at this time. The system requires digging a huge pit for a storage tank. I will be using solar panel design for my water heating system, though I will be changing it to meet my needs.

2 comments about Treehouses and other Cool Stuff.

1. I'm not one to write reviews of books, but this time I feel compelled to do so. The Stiles books on building are really quite unique and I particularly like their new one on Tree Houses and Other Cool Stuff. It is filled with inventive projects that parents can do with children.
   
   The instructions are just wordy enough and the illustrations look quite easy to follow. I'm going to give this book as gifts. It would make a good gift for a Mom or Dad with young children, or for active grandparents, come to think of it.



2. 't was great fun! We already built two of the projects described with detailed directions and plans in this wonderful book: the downhill racer ... and what fun do the kids have with it! and the lemonade stand on wheels, which we take sometimes to the beach. We are looking forward to build a tree house next spring. If experience is any guide, it should be ready for the summer.

5 comments about Furniture Factory Outlet Guide 2006 (Furniture Factory Outlet Guide).

1. Have not actually travelled to NC yet, but plan to in October. This book is very helpful in planning the trip and deciding where to go. It's exactly what the description is and I'm sure will be very useful.



2. The author details many stores, their policies, pricing, shipping and product selection.



3. I've bought this book twice - it's a must have before you shop for furniture. You save so much money the book really doesn't cost you anything. It will make you an informed shopper when buying furniture. Kimberly tells you what brands are sold where, and the discount you can expect. Information on stores to visit, stores to just call in your order, or stores to avoid are given - saving both time and money. Four years ago I wanted a sofa from a not so well known manufacturer and this book gave the info on the one place that carried that brand. I saved so much time and money, and knew what to expect when buying.
   
   She also has a website referenced in the book that provides the lastest updates to the book, as well as comparing some prices, and lots of other great information. There is also very helpful information regarding purchasing fabrics for decorating.
   
   Don't shop without it!



4. With this guide, we were able to save 40% over the price at a local Flexsteel dealer for some custom ordered furniture. We wouldn't have known where to order from without the guide. We saved several hundred dollars, offsetting the investment in the book many times over.



5. Good book, if your looking for furniture deals. Some of the information is not as updated especially websites addresses but there is a lot of great sources in the book.

5 comments about How the Queen Cleans Everything : Handy Advice for a Clean House, Cleaner Laundry, and a Year of Timely Tips.

1. I got this book as a gift and it got lost when I moved. I missed it so much, that I had to buy a replacement. If there's (almost) any kind of stain, this lady knows how to remove it. The only one that I can't find a "cure" for is ORANGE DRINK, UGH! Highly recommended for the cleaning challenged (as I seem to be).



2. I have used this book over and over again. It contains not only suggestions for areas where I had questions but also for areas I did not realize there were alternatives. For example, I now have an effective and cheap alternative for stain removal on clothes. Highly recommended.



3. This is a wonderful book. I can't believe how many suggestions are in here. I'm very glad I bought it



4. What a fun and useful book this is !! It is written and illustrated in an amusing and easy to understand style and has an index which makes it simple to locate the information you are looking for. I have used it on many occassions and it has saved the day ! I have often given it as gifts to new home owners, friends and family who have just gotten married, as a fun present at Bridal showers and engagement parties,and to young men and women going off to College or starting out in their first apartment. ..... A must for every household !!



5. This book is jam packed with lots of information for cleaning things from tile an grout (which is the reason I bought the book) to carpets with various stains, as well as what to do to get clean/organized each month. I recommend this book over the other one I bought "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean" because it contains much of the same information, but more of it.

5 comments about Uncle Fred In The Springtime.

1. A complete Wodehouse fanatic, I would have trouble giving less that five stars to anything I have read so far. Uncle Fred is a particularly good one to add to the guest room bookshelf----incredibly funny and nice light reading for a few days away from home.



2. This is my very favorite book, and I have been reading it about once a year for the past 15 years or so. I still laugh out loud at every reading. The very complex plot deals with Pongo Twistleton and his Uncle Fred, who visit Blandings Castle as imposters (Sir Roderick Glossip and his secretary, to be exact) in an effort to prevent the Duke of Dunstable from stealing the Empress of Blandings, Lord Emsworth's prize pig, and to keep him from smashing the drawing room furniture with the fireplace poker. Polly Pott (daughter of private investigator Mustard Pott) is also in attendance, pretending to be Sir Roderick's daughter. The story also involves the Duke's two nephews and their romantic problems: It seems Horace Davenport has hired a private investigator (none other than Mustard Pott) to tail his fiancee Valerie (Pongo's sister) and she has called off the engagement as a result, and Ricky's jealousy of his fiancee's attention to cousin Horace has landed him in the onion soup. Money won and lost at Persian Monarchs, the slipping of mickey's into people's drinks, and a Duke who throws eggs at people who whistle The Bonny Bonny Banks of Lock Lomand outside his window add to the hilarity. Of course, Mr. Wodehouse's unique turn-of-phrase doesn't disappoint in this delightful novel. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks diversion from reality. A must-read.



3. Professors of literature are fond of writing that the three greatest novelists of the twentieth century are Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, and James Joyce. In this, they could hardly be more in error. The only contender for the title of the greatest novelist of the twentieth or any other century is P.G. Wodehouse, farceur supreme, or, in plain English, an extraordinarily funny writer.
   
   Wodehouse wrote novels and stories that can be easily classified into several series: there are the Bertie and Jeeves novels and stories, the Blandings Castle novels and stories, the Mr. Mulliner stories, the Uncle Fred novels, etc. The characters from one series rarely appear in another. This novel is an exception. Uncle Fred appears at Blandings Castle, where he poses as Sir Roderick Glossop, normally seen in the Bertie and Jeeves novels (and one story); indeed, he encounters Sir Roderick while traveling to Blandings Castle. Uncle Fred, properly, Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, fifth Earl of Ickenham, is a man who "together with a juvenile waistline, . . . still retained the bright enthusiasms and the fresh, unspoiled outlook of a slightly inebriated undergraduate" at the age of sixty or so. It is he who sets in motion the events that enable young lovers to marry and his nephew Pongo to settle his gambling debts. In general, his role is that normally played by Lord Emsworth's younger brother Galahad.
   
   Of course, any reader of Wodehouse novels knows at the start that things will turn out all right for any sundered hearts or frustrated lovers, as he knows that, any time the efficient Baxter appears, he will be discredited despite being thoroughly correct. The fun is in discovering just how it happens.
   
   And what fun it is. Wodehouse's mastery of the English language is unrivaled. He succeeds in producing prose that not only is enjoyable in its own right but also moves events ahead at a pace that is nigh exhausting. In the Bertie and Jeeves novels and stories, it is Bertie's narration that does this. In this novel, it is the dialogue as much as the narration that moves events ahead, establishes the characters, and gives the reader immense pleasure.



4. I loved the Jeeves & Wooster books so I was sad when I read the last one. Then I decided to move on to other Wodehouse books and have read a few since. I have to say this is one of my favorites! It definitely compares to the hilarity of the Jeeves/Wooster books. Uncle Fred or the Fifth Earl of Ickenham is one of my favorite Wodehouse characters. He always seems to be dragging his nephew Pongo Twistleton (occasionally mentioned as a fellow Drones club member in the Wooster books) into trouble but always seems to get through it as is typical in the Wodehouse books. Anyway, it is a great read, a good laugh, and a lot of fun. On a side note, if you like Wodehouse, the dvd series of Jeeves and Wooster (starring Hugh Laurie from the tv show House) is also very funny. You will see many of your favorite Jeeves story lines in them and they are very true to Wodehouse.



5. What is there to say? The guy is funny. He cannot write a bad sentance or a bad book. This is a favorite of mine dealing with Uncle Fred. Let the car note be a little shy this month and enjoy a true master at his art.

5 comments about Sea-Steading: A Life of Hope and Freedom on the Last Viable Frontier.

1. This is the first book that I have read from this author. I enjoyed the book, but was left with the feeling that my time spent reading was for a relatively little gain. That is my reasoning for a score of three instead of four stars. The author is knowledgable and has the ability to share it, but I felt that he was just "dribbling" the good stuff out, while I dutifully followed. Your are forewarned by the author, and by me, that the reader will need to slog through his philosophical "rants". I didn't mind it to much, it was interesting, and thought provoking at times. I believe this author has much authentic knowledge to share on sailing, I will consider his other books.



2. While peppering the book with philosophical tidbits, the author imparts his immense knowledge about sailing. Every sailor should read this.



3. If you like being preached at, this is the book for you. FitzGerald is an atheist and I'm not, but that's not the issue. The issue for me is that he presents the basic fundamentalist position: "If you don't agree with me you're an idiot." And presents it. And presents it again. And some more. OK, I got your point, move on. He can't. I don't like it from people I ostensibly agree with, and I don't like it from people I disagree with either.
   
   Somewhere in here there is some information about sailing, but even that is continally interrupted by his self-titled "Diatribes," and is strongly based on the "My way or the highway" view of living.
   
   He's as fundamentalist about his boats and his ways as he is about his fundamentalist non-religion.
   
   If FitzGerald's chosen life is making him happy you can't tell it by reading his book. If you want to get anything out of the book you'll have to be willing to wade through a lot of opinionated wastepaper.
   
   I had high hopes, and he could have fulfilled them. We agree about many things. I was severely disappointed.



4. The author is exquisitely sane, and far from being rants or asides, the philosophical underpinnings are sound and very much in context. Even though my boat has a diesel auxiliary and lots of interconnected systems, this book has strengthened my resolve to save the iron genny for true emergencies and work to develop the skills of self reliance under sail.
   
   The long out-of-print "Sailing the Farm" is another good reference for aquatic self-sufficiency, but Sea-Steading is more focused on developing competent sailing skills. There is a wealth of good knowledge here, and the writing is full of gems (even though, as he readily admits, it could have used a bit of copy-editing). I've already quoted the author twice and referred back to a passage once, and it has only been two days since I spent a very satisfying Saturday immersed in the book.
   
   I highly recommended this for those who understand its intent. Jerome truly knows his stuff, and makes a very good case for casting off from the consumer lifestyle... not just adding a yacht to one's stable of toys. And even if you don't care about the broader philosophical context, the knowledge herein might keep you off a lee shore some dark and stormy night.
   
   This one's a keeper.



5. I'm pretty easy going until you go out of your way to insult me. I have a sailboat and over 100 books on sailing; how to, historical, anecdotal, and horrible. This one is the worst. There is nothing in this book that you cannot find in dozens of places. The author is condescending, obnoxious, arrogant, and boasts of his contempt for editing (bee fourwarnd). He seems to think he has the inside track on this troubled world and would like us to finance his mediocrity and self-indulgence with the purchase of this tripe. He claims to be an off-the-grid kind of guy; as do most hucksters.

No comments about Classic Kitchens.

2 comments about The Cottage Rules: An Owner's Guide to the Rights & Responsibilities of Sharing Recreational Property.

1. WOW! This book is a family saver! Our family ownership of a cottage is similar to one of the sitations described in the book. We were having trouble making decisions, getting agreement, coordinating, getting work done, scheduling etc. This book is beginning to change everything and make owning a cottage with our family enjoyable again. Now we will be able to refer back to the neutral 'rules' to which we all have agreed, rather than getting upset when we don't get our own way!! Plus, the book has given us ideas on things to do and introduces new ways of doing things. Thank you so much Nikki Koski, for writing and publishing this book!!



2. We have a family cottage and ae having challenges with costs and useage. This book provides solutions that can be easily modified to your families circumstances. Easy read but very good info.

2 comments about Kit Homes: Your Guide to Home-Building Options, from Catalogs to Factories.

1. Other books on kit homes provide building specs for all levels of newcomer, but KIT HOMES: YOUR GUIDE TO HOME-BUILDING OPTIONS, FROM CATALOGS TO FACTORIES is different. It offers a look at low-cost options and designs, pairing these to a homeowner's specific wants and needs and showing how parts of the kit can be tweaked for budget and aesthetics. Directories of kit home publishers and suppliers are included, but the heart of KIT HOMES are its pages of details on getting the most from what's available throughout the industry.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. My favorite part of this book is the first chapter, which gives a thorough and accurate history of Sears kit homes in particular and America's kit homes in general. And I'm delighted to report that the publisher allowed me to provide some input, factual date and photos, too.
   
   The rest of the book is also well done with good quality photos, bright colors, handy layout and a writing style that makes the book easy-to-read and comprehend. The text is well written and makes reading both interesting and informational.
   
   I can highly recommend this book, however...DON'T FORGET that it all started back in the early 1900s with Sears, Aladdin and Gordon Van Tine. Those were the first kit homes that swept America by storm.
   
   Rose Thornton

5 comments about The Homeowner's Guide to Mold.

1. If you are looking for an authoritative guidebook on mold, this is it. I wish we had read this book before we bought our house, but I'm grateful we read it afterwards. We bought our "dream home" on 5 acres, only to find after living there a few days that it had a nightmare mold infestation that made my family ill. Michael Pugliese's Homeowners' Guide to Mold is an outstanding practical guide to dealing with a mold problem--from small, do it yourself fix-ups to professional remediation (like we had)!
   
   It helped us understand just what we were facing and recommended steps we needed to take to fix the problem. This guide is thorough, easy to read, and goes beyond "just mold." It addresses what questions to ask, water problems, testing and cleanup, finding remediators, insurance, and prevention of mold recurrence. In addition, the guide is generously illustrated with color photos, and concludes with a resources section that deals with companies, products, and government agencies, so you know where to look for materials, laboratories, remediator qualifications, or further information.
   
   The author also includes an informative website for additional questions and information. This is really an impressive, educational guidebook. It reflects a lot of experience and knowledge put into a clear and concise format that anyone can understand. Michael Pugliese has helped us tremendously.



2. I bought this book looking for info specificaly to avoid building mistakes that could lead to mold. There is really no info on building techniques, this book is written for what to do after mold is already there. It's a disapointment for me as I have two old stone structures to renovate and 'prevent' mold. This book will be helpful to you, however, if you have a mold situation already.



3. I bought this book at Home Depot. I am a certified microbial Consultant (glorified mold-inspector) by the American Indoor Air Quality Council.
   
   I thought the book was well written and contains sound advice as far as removing and cleaning mold. It's nice to finally see someone tell people that bleach is not effective for mold remediation.
   
   I can tell the author has a lot experience as a mold remediator. There are some things I disagree with in the section on testing for mold. Petri dishes (self test kits) are useless for the homeowner. They are very inaccurate. They may tell you have mold problem when you don't and miss a mold problem that exists.
   
   Reading test reports is not always that simple either. The author has done a better job of explaining testing than most other books on the market.
   
   The other disagreement I have is with the EPA guidelines on quantifying "how big is your mold problem". The problem with these guidelines is that they are based on the amount of mold you can see. Most mold is hidden. The EPA adapted them from the state of New York in the beginning when there were not other guidelines around.
   
   Very interesting appendix on estimating how much it cost to have a professional do the mold remediation for you. It's nice to see some numbers. Usually the estimates from remediators vary greatly. Maybe this can be used a baseline to do a reality check on the estimates you get.
   
   I (Dan Stih) am the author of Healthy Living Spaces: Top 10 Hazards Affecting Your Health.



4. This is a terrific book, and the best investment on MOLD that I could ever have made. I found it while searching for information on the hazards and identification of mold and how to safely remove it. It is an easy read that provides a wealth of information and guidance. I had a small mold problem and after reading the book, going to the author's website and a couple of phone calls to Mr. Pugliese, I successfully removed the mold at a mere fraction of the cost of professional remediation. I highly recommend this book to every do-it-yourself homeowner who may encounter a mold issue.



5. This book is clear and direct with just the right amount of necessary information if you are buying a house or need to remediate a mold problem.
   Unfortunately I read this book after having an inadquate remediation. He emphasizes that the contractor who is doing the remediation should never be the same firm that is doing the pre and post-testing--a clear conflict of interest. I found it helpful that the real magic humidity number is 47% or less in order to discourage mold growth. And yes, he actually did spend time on the phone with us regarding our particular situation!