INTRODUCTION

The Book of Home How-To is not just another big book of home improvement and repair subjects. The world is full of these already and they are all more or less the same: You’ll find a chapter on wiring, a chapter on plumbing, another chapter on flooring, one on trim carpentry, and on and on. And that’s fine—it’s the way these books have always been done. But we’ve realized that this approach no longer fits with the way we search for information today. So we have done away with the traditional “drop-down menu” way of searching and gotten back to basics: alphabetical listings.

Need to know how to replace a shingle? You’ll find the information you need under “S” for “Shingles.” Need to install a toilet? You can go the Table of Contents and look for the toilet listing among the Plumbing entries. Or, you can simply flip through to the “T” section of the book and there you’ll find “Toilets,” located right between “Tile” and “Trim.” If you’re not sure what to call your project (is it “Installing carpet” or “Carpet installation”?) you can find a direct page reference to either (and many more) in our handy list of Keywords starting on page 584.

We’re very excited about this new way of organizing and presenting home improvement information. We believe you will find it to be intuitive and extremely easy to use, especially in those situations where you simply want to get to the point as quickly as possible. But here’s the real reason you’ll be glad to have this book in your home: once you find the material you’re looking for, you will be amazed by the quality and depth of the information. We may have based our organization of the book on how most of us search for information online, but luckily we did not base our information on what you’ll find online. With crystal-clear how-to photos and complete step-by-step instructions. The Book of Home How-To is as reliably instructive as it is heavy. From plumbing to wiring to home repair, every DIY project in this book has been produced by experts under the watchful eye of BLACK+DECKER, the most trusted name in home DIY. That’s why, for over 25 years, BLACK+DECKER has been the most trusted name in DIY books, too.