Home Care

Provides step-by-step instructions, timeframe for completing plus skills and materials lists.

"Wisdom of the Aisles" on every page guarantees success.

Details how to design, layout, maintain, and work with a variety of materials in building patios and walkways.

Features walkways using soft set paths, hard bed paths, brick and paver patterns, and boardwalks.

Anyone who buys or sells a home knows that, when it comes to real estate, books are judged by their covers. Creating curb appeal is a key way to accomplish preserving and protecting the value of what is most likely to be a family's biggest single investment.

Unlike most books that focus on projects to enhance a home's backyard, Quick & Easy Curb Appeal focuses on projects that help make the front of the house more attractive.

Part inspiration and ideas, part resource guide, and part home maintenance reference, this book arms readers with everything they need to let their home give its guests a great first impression.

This new book is more than a simple engine repair manual. Designed for the beginner with little or no mechanical experience, Small Engines & Outdoor Power Equipment is a graphically appealing, step-by-step guide that covers all of the most important engine maintenance and repair skills you'll need to keep your equipment running at peak performance. It also shows exactly how to perform mechanical upkeep and repairs on the most common outdoor power implements, including lawn mowers, snow blowers, chain saws, power washers, generators, leaf blowers, rototillers, wood splitters, lawn edgers, and weed whips. With clear 'how-to' photos and detailed diagrams, you'll see exactly what needs to be done. A comprehensive troubleshooting guide helps you define problems and enact solutions. With Small Engines & Outdoor Power Equipment in your library, you won't need to haul the lawn mower off to the repair center and wait a few weeks just because a filter is plugged or the old gas needs to be replaced. Among the many skills you'll learn are seasonal tune-ups, changing oil, servicing spark plugs, cleaning filters, replacing muffler, servicing the fuel tank, overhauling the carburetor, servicing brakes, inspecting flywheels, replacing the fuel pump, and replacing a rewind cord.

The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores is an updated edition of the everyone's favorite hardware shopping guide and reference book.

There's nothing more frustrating than making multiple trips to the hardware store because you purchased the wrong item. Those double--or even triple-trips to the big box store are a thing of the past with The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores. You'll learn the difference between drywall screws and deck screws; between faucet washers and neoprene O-rings; and between red wire nuts and blue wire nuts. And that's before we even get to understanding nail gauges and drill bit sizes!

Looking through the range of products at home stores can be downright bewildering, but with this handy guide you'll know exactly what you're looking for and why. The next time you talk to a hardware store clerk, rather than asking for "screws about 2 inches long," you'll be able to ask for a #3 gauge 2-1/4-inch-long panhead screws with SAE 5/16" flat washers.

The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores is filled with color photos that let you see in lifesize scale what different screws and nails and washers and bolts are called, accompanied by brief descriptions of their recommended uses--so you'll be able to ask for them with accuracy and use them with precision.

Nothing beats the taste of vegetables from a home garden, and with Vegetable Gardening it's never been easier. With over 80 varieties of vegetables to choose from, eating delicious, just-picked produce is a snap. Learn every step of creating and maintaining a cornucopia of garden-fresh vegetables: from choosing and planning your plot, preparing the soil, selecting seeds or cultivating seedlings, proper watering, harvesting, and storing.

From composting and mulching to caring for and harvesting vegetables, it's clear that most gardeners want to use organic methods and avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But what happens when things go wrong and organic solutions don't seem to be working? The two authors of this book have different answers to this question.

Jane Courtier takes the view that organic methods are the "first, best choice," but she occasionally uses chemical fertilizer and will resort to chemical pesticides if a serious problem arises. Fern Marshall Bradley writes from the viewpoint of a longtime organic gardener who's chosen to never use any chemicals in her garden. Together they've created a book that looks at vegetable gardening from both points of view. There are substantive issues on both sides-and in the end, it's an individual choice. Let them help you make up your own mind!

Special-feature sidebars provide problem-solver tips, including:

Welding is a satisfying skill that will yield many rewards, Welding Complete shows you everything you need to know to become a competent and safe welder.

Welding is a fun and surprisingly affordable activity, with complete welding kits available at home-improvement stores for just a few hundred dollars. This book shows you everything you need to know to become a competent and safe welder of a wide variety of metal projects. Featured projects include a coffee table, magazine rack, wine rack, truck rack, firepit, and gate.

The time has never been better to learn to weld. New tools and equipment are lower in price and easier to use. Growing interest in metalworking has made supplies easier to come by, with most home-improvement stores now stocking a variety of metals and fuels. As interest in welding expands, the number of great plans and designs continues to grow. This updated edition of Welding Complete comes packed with fresh designs and up-to-date information, this new book is your personal metal shop teacher.