Family Handyman Magazine editors

Originally borrowed from the local library, there were so many useful projects and storage ideas, that I simply bought the book. Laid out in a simple and easy to use format with well set-out exploded diagrams and plans this is a great book to build from directly, as well as an ideas book from which to design your own versions of the projects that fit your needs.

Highly recommended.

Grabbed Organize Your Whole House at the library thinking it would simply be a visual reference and/or inspiration for my upcoming organizing projects (kitchen, garage, bedroom closets). Once I began reading from page one I quickly realized it not only provided color photos but step-by-step DIY instructions for building the storage /organization systems. Yeehaw!! Not only that, the money I will save by doing it myself, especially for my garage and closets, will be between $1,000-$2,000. Now show more I can't wait to get started on my projects.

Another observation, a few of the projects might require (be safer with) two people and about five of them will require an intermediate knowledge of carpentry. Not brain surgery, though, and the instructions were concise yet detailed so I could follow along just reading them without my eyes glazing over. (I usually don't "get" these types of projects until I'm actually doing them.) It was also helpful to know at the beginning of the project description exactly which tools would be needed, a materials list AND a cut list.

Side note: It was encouraging that almost all of the photos were women working the projects. show less

I could see myself undertaking some of these projects, but more than a how-to guide, I like this book because it gives me an idea of what is possible and what isn't, and what questions I should be asking when I inevitably call my handyma'am to come make the repairs for me. No surprises here, and certainly not a complete guide to improving your home, but worth reading and keeping around as a reference.

[full review here: show more target="_top">http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-family-handyman-home-improvement.html ] show less

Now that I am a homeowner (one whole year, whoop!), I have a good excuse to read this kind of book, although I'll admit that I've always had a fascination for checking out "how to" and "helpful hint" books even when I didn't have anything to which I could apply my new found knowledge. This book is well organized with a broad coverage of common repairs taken from the pages of Family Handyman magazine. Each repair is nicely illustrated and gives you a good idea of the tools, skills, and time show more needed to complete it. While all of this information is also available for free on the old internet, I like having a reference book like this to refer to, especially if I need to use it for a project away from the computer. There are a lot of books like this out there, but this one did the trick for me.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-family-handyman-whole-house-repair.htm... ] show less