No comments about Practical Projects for the Yard and Garden: Attractive 2x4 Woodworking Projects Anyone Can Build (2x4 Projects Anyone Can Build series).

4 comments about Deck Planner: 120 Outstanding Decks You Can Build.

1. I purchased this book after finding out they were tied to a large company that provide detailed plans as well.
   
   Later, I find that the plans you are sent for the ADDITIONAL $75.00 are complete junk. The company the book also refers to, is out of business, and all the out of spec/code/date plans are from another company.
   
   The book is absolutely USELESS to anyone that wants to look and pick out building plans. It belongs in the recycle bucket.



2. This book is the BEST! My husband has read and reread several chapters. Even our city planner person wanted a copy of it. They wanted to know where to find it so they could tell others about it. This is the most comprehensive book of any I looked at - by far, with great drawings and pictures, and the "Pro Tips" are absolutely wonderful to end up with a beautifully finished project.



3. This book is completely useless. The renderings are basic, they don't offer anything interesting or imaginative. Then you have to pay more money to gets plans for decks you wouldn't build anyway.
   
   Totally Worthless!!!



4. I needed to see more options before accepting a professional landscape designer's proposal. It would have cost hundreds of dollars to have him draw up more ideas, but by consulting the Deck Planner I was able to suggest ideas I wanted him to persue.

No comments about Trellises & Arbors: Over 35 Step-By-Step Projects you can Build.

5 comments about Building Garden & Patio Furniture (Building...).

1. Wish I had this book last year when I wanted to make a simple table and chairs for the patio.

   The drawings and photos are easy to follow, and as my skills increase, I can work up to some of the more difficult projects. Peters is right on the money about the small folding chair: I made one, and now everybody's asking me to make them one, too.

   Not too complicated, not over-simplified...a great "how-to" handbook.




2. Overall, the projects are really nicely designed. The photos are clear and instructions fairly complete. But they should have divided them into several books, arranged by skill level. The simplest projects are simple, but the advanced projects are very advanced, requiring special tools, many, many steps, and high skill level. I would say 1/3 of the projects are out of reach for the beginner/weekender (at least me!). The other 2/3 are great.



3. Got some good ideas. The plans could be better. The detales on some are not clear. Over all good.



4. This book is a rehash of products from other sources. The plans don't really transulate to a form usable by the average home workshop carpenter. The master carpenter and creative craftsman should be able to proceed.



5. The furniture in this book was disapointing. Simple and ugly.

No comments about Outdoor Stonework: The Timeless, Practical, and Aesthetic Value of Stone.

No comments about Building Outdoor Structures (Build Like A Pro).

No comments about Pools and Spas.

5 comments about Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties.

1. This book is geared towards building structures that were used by outdoorsmen from years past. It covers how to make a bed from natural materials, a log cabin, Native American log house, and how to work an axe just to name a few topics covered in this book. The drawings of the dwellings in the book are simple (but not in depth plans or charts). The author does a great job of explaining how to construct these devices, but as I said a drawn picture is all your going to get if your a visual learner. Over all the book does what it says it will do, gives the reader good information, and I personally wouldn't be caught dead without it if I was trapped in the middle of nowhere by myself.



2. I know that most people will find this book to be anything but "green" however, I found this concept to be perfect in a world that sometimes forgets what it is like to be young at heart. Some of the shelters are not safe and one should always supervise young children who if left alone will build forts and such, yet there is a certain allure about thinking you are back in time and surviving on your own wits. Great ideas for survival campouts or if you like getting out "there" and just might once or twice get too far out "there" and find yourself in the need of an overnight shelter. Loved the book and will use or adapt many of the detailed plans.



3. This book is great! I would recommend this to anyone 12+, because the shelters are quite hard to build. It is excellent for boy scouts. I got this for Christmas and in my troop were starting on plans already! Great for any wilderness lover and I recommend all the related books!
   1/16/08



4. This book is great! I would recommend this to anyone 12+, because the shelters are quite hard to build. It is excellent for boy scouts. I got this for Christmas and in my troop were starting on plans already! Great for any wilderness lover and I recommend all the related books!
   1/16/08



5. I was looking for ideas on simple structures for the homestead. The book is a bit dated, but you have to go back to find simple, uncomplicated ideas. We have grown so accustomed to specialized fasteners, tools and other hardware. Building a simple shed can be expensive when you have to buy materials. We have an abundance of raw materials and this book provided some ideas towards cost effective structures.

5 comments about The Art And Craft of Stonescaping: Setting & Stacking Stone.

1. When I started a stone-project at our farm in the Catskills -- re-cycling some old, fallen-down stone walls into a new retaining wall -- I bought a half-dozen books, including David Reed's Stonescaping. Although Reed's book was not the best one for my particular project, as a good how-to book, it is very good and as an idea book, it is excellent.

   On the plus side, Reed provides details and plenty of full-color pictures for everything from tools to stone varieties to uses for stone. He expands far beyond free-standing and retaining walls to benches, paving stones, terraces and even sculpture. After reading this book, I realized that I can use the stone I have at hand in quite a few ways besides walls.

   The main negative is the book is just too pretty to drag outdoor where I'm working. Of course, the easy solution to that is to photocopy the appropriate pages and take them to my worksite.

   It is a great book for anyone interested in adding stone texture to the garden, lawn, or general landscape.




2. A good book for anyone interested in landscaping their yard with dry stacked stones. It teaches you much more than just making retaining walls. Learn how to make paths, steps, benches, pools, and how to integrate plants into the stonework. It could have used some more photos of finished projects, but overall it should be enough to help you finish any stonescaping project you take on.



3. This book is full of beautiful photos and ideas for stonescaping. It includes stone paths, patios, steps, retaining walls, and even how to make an impressive stone waterfall. However, it's not only the wonderful photography that makes this book great, but it also includes information about how to accomplish these things. I would have to say this is a great "how-to" book that disguises itself as a beautiful coffee table book.



4. This is a decent book for the novice to overcome any initial trepidation about building drystone features. It is well illustrated, and comprehensive enough to get you started. However, with a few exceptions, the stonework illustrated is of average quality. For a true photo reference on the art of drystone, I would recommend Dan Snow's "In the Company of Stone" over Reed's book any day. Combine it with John Vivians "Building Stone Walls", and you will have everything you need to enter the world of drystone work: quality pictures of excellent stonework for reference, and solid, no nonesense text to guide you.



5. Very pleased with this book, it covers many aspects of stonework. Nice photos, lots of step by step projects with stone such as paths, walls, steps, waterfalls, pools, etc. Good early section on types of stone and the tools needed to work with stone.

2 comments about Pools and Spas: New Designs for Gracious Living.

1. POOLS and SPAS

   A coffee table book! If , like me, you want to learn more about the technical side of swimming pools, give this one a pass. In spite of the promise hinted in the promotional text of giving insights to "design details" this book doesn't even come close. Most of the pools are out of reach except to those whom money is no object starting with a pool costing $700,000. If for instance, you want to be educated on the pros and cons of vanishing edge pools, the Author tells us, "they have been overused and misused"-no clarification, no explanation, no examples. Of course none of the beautiful pools pictured in this section fall into either category. Design details? Each very beautifully photographed pool describes the multi-million dollar surroundings, the size of the pool pictured, construction i.e. Gunite, finish-Plaster. This scant, mostly irrelative information hardly qualifies as "design details".

   If you want to show your pool contractor the kind of pool you have in mind and hand over a blank check, then this is the book for you. You'll get no feel for the typical cost of the pools depicted (except the one for $3/4M) nor will you be guided as to any of the unseen but extremely important mechanical components required.

   I'd keep this book if there was just one piece of information that I could consider valuable advice. Thankfully, Amazon will take it back.




2. The projects in this book are out of the reach of most budgets, but the ideas are incredibly inspirational. It's like looking through Architectural Digest for pool designers. I found incredible ideas for my new pool and spa installation -- many things I never new existed and that the contractors I talked with never mentioned. A pool and spa is a major investment. For me, this book was insurance that guaranteed I would get the aquatic paradise and related amenities me and my family wanted. Plus, it's looks great on the coffee table in our new pool house!