Introduction

W elcome to Home Improvement All-in-One For Dummies,

This book contains a combination of need-to-know techniques on topics from routine home maintenance to remodeling to plumbing. Basic steps and illustrations throughout the book walk you through the key points of maintaining and improving your home. These are tried-and-true solutions to everyday home repair and improvement questions.

Foolish Assumptions

You know what they say about the word assume. In any event, we do assume that you care about the appearance and condition of your home, and hence its value. We don’t have this vision that you’re a home improvement fanatic or that you’re particularly handy — you don’t need to be. All you need is a song in your heart, a smile on your face, and an insatiable desire to see your home be the best that it can be.

A few tools are of infinite value when it comes to home improvement. However, the most complicated tool you’ll need is a cordless driver/drill for sinking a screw here and there. The tools that you’ll find yourself needing most often are a scrub brush, a paintbrush, and plenty of patience.

Most important, we assume that you’ll always seek help when needed, and that you’ll always put safety first when attempting a home improvement project.

How to Use This Book

You can use this book in two ways:

If you want information about a specific topic, such as plugging up cold drafts with weather-stripping or cleaning out gutters, flip to that section and get your answer pronto. (We promise to have you back on the couch in no time.) If you need help finding a particular piece of information, use the Table of Contents at the front of the book or the comprehensive Index at the back.

If you want to be a home improvement guru, read the whole book from cover to cover, and a wealth of knowledge will spill forth from your lips whenever the word house comes up in conversation. You’ll know so much that Bob Vila will be calling you for advice.

How This Book Is Organized

The book is actually six books in one. The chapters within each of those books cover specific topics in detail. You can read each chapter or book without reading what came before, so you don’t have to waste time reading what doesn’t apply to your situation. Occasionally, we refer you to another area in the book where you find more details on a particular subject.

Book I: Planning Your Home Improvement Projects

Undertaking a home improvement project without planning is a recipe for disaster. This book walks you through the decision of whether to take on a task yourself or hire a professional, helps you gather the tools you need to do most home improvement projects, and gives you important tips for staying safe.

Book II: Basic Home Maintenance and Improvement

This section walks you through the various parts of a home, from the foundation to the roof, and tells you how to make common repairs. You find information about your home’s heating and cooling systems, its electrical system, and even its appliances.

Book III: Painting and Wallpapering

A simple coat of paint or layer of wallpaper can have an amazing impact on how a home looks. This book helps you choose the best materials for your situation and get them up onto your walls like a pro. The chapters on painting cover both the interior and the exterior of a house.

Book IV: Bathroom and Kitchen Remodeling

Although bathroom and kitchen remodels can be among the most costly home repairs to undertake, they also have been proven to add the most value to a home. This book walks you through the process of remodeling either type of room, from budgeting to choosing fixtures to putting in cabinets, sinks, and showers and tubs.

Book V: Carpentry, Woodworking, and Flooring

Working with wood is a sensual experience — it’s addictive. And really, it isn’t too difficult. This book talks about the basics of carpentry and woodworking, from affixing pieces together to sanding and finishing wood projects. It also walks you through the processes of repairing and installing new hardwood and other types of flooring.

Book VI: Plumbing

Plumbing may be an area that you’ve always found a little bit intimidating — many homeowners do. But when you understand how everything fits together, plumbing repairs aren’t any more difficult than other home maintenance projects. In this book, you find information about two major, vexing plumbing problems: leaks and clogs. Before you call a plumber in a panic, check these chapters — you may be able to make a simple fix and save yourself a hundred bucks or more.

Icons Used in This Book

We use the familiar For Dummies icons to help guide you through the material in this book. Read on to find out what each icon means:

Get on target with these great time-saving, money-saving, and sanity-saving tips.

Commit to memory these key tidbits of information that come into play in various aspects of your home improvement adventures.

We don’t want to scare you off, but some of the projects discussed in this book can be dangerous, even deadly, if approached improperly. This icon alerts you to potential hazards and signals information about how to steer clear of them. We also use this symbol to mark advice for making your home a safer place.

Some fixer-upper mistakes are so common that you can see them coming from a mile away. Let this icon serve as a warning that you’re treading in trouble-prone waters. Why should you have to learn from your own mistakes when you can learn just as well from others’?

Some projects and repairs require the skills, experience, and know-how that only a professional can offer. Novices and weekend handymen (or women) just can’t handle them. When we discuss these kinds of projects in the book, you’ll see this icon.

Most people want their toilets to flush, but some folks aren’t happy until they know how the toilet flushes. This book doesn’t bombard you with a bunch of technical trivia, but some background tidbits are too good to leave out. If you’re an engineer-type who craves obscure details that most normal people don’t care about, seek out these icons. If you’d rather live in ignorant bliss, by all means, skip these little diversions.

Where to Go from Here

We don’t care whether you start with the Table of Contents, the Index, Book V, or even Chapter 1 (what a novel idea!). What’s important is that you get going. A better home is just around the corner!