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Product Description
Product Description
Fully revised and updated in a new illustrated full colour format, packed with insider tips and knowledge covering everything from boilers and builders to condensation, central heating, dry rot, damp-proofing, plumbing and woodworm, complete with inspirational and practical photographs and using Telegraph readers' stories as case studies, it is a practical, accessible, easy-to-use godsend to the many who can't or don't want to do their own maintenance, but who want to know how to maintain their homes properly by employing the right professionals at the right time.
About the Author
Jeff Howell is a former bricklayer, construction lecturer and surveyor. He has written a weekly national press building column since 1997 - initially for the Independent on Sunday, and since April 1999 for the Sunday Telegraph. He lives in east London and Suffolk.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Distilled common sense,
By MR B. CATHCART (CLYDEBANK, West Dunbartonshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The "Sunday Telegraph" Guide to Looking After Your Property 2004: Everything You Need to Know About Maintaining Your Home (Paperback)
If you are not a reader of Jeff Howell's weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph Homes section,this is your chance to catch up.Written in a straightforward style in logical sections,it is packed with information not easily found elsewhere.Drawing on his considerable knowledge of the building trade he takes the reader through many of the pitfalls of home improvement and maintenance.Cowboy tactics are revealed and many myths examined.Next time you have any trades in for an estimate,tuck a copy of this book under your arm with the relevant section tagged and watch the reaction.This should be compulsory reading for all home owners faced with the often difficult task of dealing with tradesmen.A welcome change from the usual DIY manuals.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best wedding present anyone could get!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The "Sunday Telegraph" Guide to Looking After Your Property 2004: Everything You Need to Know About Maintaining Your Home (Paperback)
The title of this book doesn't really do it justice. This is no ordinary DIY book. Jeff Howell really knows what he is talking about, and the book is full of inside information from the building industry that I just haven't seen anywhere else. For example, I had no idea that cheap double-glazing is bound to mist up between the panes after a few years, or that PVC window frames are supposed to be reinforced with metal bars inside them, but hardly ever are. Or that "rising damp" is just a sales gimmick. The stuff on central heating is also amazing - did you know the reason British Gas engineers always tell you that your boiler needs replacing is because they get paid extra cash if you buy one? This kind of information simply does not feature in any other book. It has honestly saved me thousands of pounds.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revised and updated version,
By Rae West (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The "Sunday Telegraph" Guide to Looking After Your Property 2004: Everything You Need to Know About Maintaining Your Home (Paperback)
Very good book; well written. The author has a degree in nuclear engineering and can handle technical ideas. The format is readers' letters -- they could be you -- introduced with Howell's commentaries. The revised version is overdesigned for my taste - many colours, larger format, thinner. It's indexed. The earlier drawings reappear, but smaller. There are some photos.He emphatically continues his pro-lime mortar & anti-condenser boiler & dislike of PVC-U campaigns -- house owners should know about these things! Good on assessing beam strengths, removing walls, and other structural matters -- he also refers to and recommends organisations. Good material in passing on wood -- e.g. getting your own floorboards cut and drawbacks of chipboard. Individual chapters on soundproofing, hazards [e.g. asbestos], conservatories, self-build etc. Some interesting points are left undecided or unmentioned; is it easy to move radiators? Are lightning conductors needed? What about wallpaper? He slags off surveyors & trade organisations & legal weaknesses in a satisfying way. For me, an annoyance is the removal of the entire section on cellars, perhaps because some accountant noticed that not many people have them. However, many old houses do. Howell is pro-drained membranes [he mentioned Triton & Newlath] as opposed to concrete floor on plastic, which often traps water. The only reason I heard of Howell is a chance chat with a man in B&Q who reads the Sunday Telegraph. It's exasperating to think people may wreck their cellars because this is now omitted. I would have liked information on for example ways to wire [or radio] a house for computers or entertainment, on LED lighting, and humble things like effective doormats to minimise dirt & carpet cleaning. Anyone who's puzzled over creaking boards, wall cracks, whether chimneys are usable, misted double glazing, damp patches, too much [or too little] heating, whether to extend ... should read this book.
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