Across the Reference Desk
Home repair information can take on a wide range of forms. From a simple "how do I fix a leaky faucet" to complete plans for an addition, the library is here to help.From the basic Home-Owners Survival Manual edited by Alex Markovich (call number 643.7 Hom) to the very specific Making Elegant Gifts from Wood by Kerry Pierce (call number 648.08 Pie) fundamentals to fine points are equally available. Other titles worth checking is Renovation: A Complete Guide by Michael Litchfield (call number 643.7 Lit) and Popular Science's Complete Book of Power Tools by DeCristoforo (call number 684.083 Dec). The breadth of information contained in both these titles is impressive.
Family Handman, Old House Journal, and Popular Mechanics are periodicals which give specific advice on repairs and renovations. Better Homes and Gardens, House Beautiful, as well as a number of other more specialized home decorating periodicals often include home renovation articles as well.
On the web many retailers of home repair products, such as Home Depot and Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, have sites that are excellent. Typing homedepot.com or lowes.com will bring up these sites. Another site worth visiting is todayshomeowner.com, which provides in addition to the usual advice, full text of articles from back issues of its magazine. Other good sites are Better Homes and Gardens Home Improvement Encyclopedia (bhglive.com/homeimp) or PBS' Hometime (hometime.com). Of course there's Bob Villa's American Home (homearts.com/bvah/00bvahc1.htm) which is great. And About.com's home repair section is also very good, as are all the sections in About.com.
The full extent of coverage on this topic must be experienced firsthand to be truly appreciated. So, as always, check it out at the library.