A Consumer's Guide to Home Improvement, Renovation, and Repair

Completely updated to reflect changes in the cost of materials and labor, this is the book that will save you money, worry, and headaches, whether you're reshingling a roof, remodeling your kitchen, rewiring the basement, or adding a new wing to your house. Whether you do the job yourself, hire tradespeople, or work with a contractor, this comprehensive guide enables you to compare and select the smartest solution for virtually any home improvement or repair project.

The Enterprise Foundation (of which this book's authors are members), as part of its "mission" to promote affordable housing, consulted with renovation experts from across the country in compiling this guide. The result is a mostly conventional run-down of repairs, renovations, and remodeling projects likely to face the average homeowner. As a cost guide, this fails to measure up to something as detailed as the Means Home Improvement Cost Guide , edited by William D. Mahoney & others (LJ 12/1/85). What it does well, however, is lay out cost options in an easy-to-follow format that summarizes the cost/value trade-offs related to choice of materials. The book also compares the contracted cost to the cost of the do-it-yourself approach (some of the latter costs are sometimes unrealistically low). Still, because of its cost comparisons, this will be a worthwhile selection for public libraries. BOMC alternate selection.
-Bill Demo, Tompkins Cortland Community Coll., Dryden,
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.