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136 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Confidence booster and practical guide, 18 Nov 2005
A good DIY manual should do two things: it should take you, step by step, through a thousand tasks you're likely to encounter when maintaining or renovating a house and give you both clear instructions and the confidence to undertake them; and it should also enable you to identify those tasks which are beyond your skills and which you'll need a professional to undertake. You'll save money both ways!This Collins manual is an excellent, heavyweight tome - it's a solid, heavy volume, packed with information, thoroughly well-illustrated, accessible and easy to follow. It'll take you from changing a fuse to replacing a window and beyond. It looks at how houses are built, what can go wrong - brickwork, damp courses, wood, plumbing, electrics, infestations, etc., etc. It won't give you the sorts of skills you might learn doing an apprenticeship, but it will give you the confidence to try the simple things and progress to more difficult ones. Much DIY is down to confidence and experience. The first shelf I ever put up was a shambles and fell down within twenty minutes, but I was really proud of myself for those 20 minutes and I learned from my mistake. If I'd had the Collins manual to hand, I wouldn't have made the mistake in the first place. You can serve an apprenticeship doing DIY - as you gain in experience, you gain in confidence. You start to do things a little better, a little quicker. You start to get a bit more adventurous - but don't try to replace your roof until you're confident you can replace a plug. Do the simple things first. Build your skills on solid foundations. And that's what this manual offers. I've renovated two Victorian houses over the last few years - back-breaking at times, exciting, occasional disasters, some notable successes. I've infected my daughter with the bug, and this Collins manual is the book I bought her for her 21st birthday (along with a few other things … I'm not that cheap). It's an excellent volume and one you will use for years to come - it's an investment you'll recoup very quickly, and it will help you build your confidence whether you're an absolute beginner or already have a lot of experience in DIY trades.
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by Albert Jackson
by Readers Digest
