Find Success in the Real Estate Market "Tracy has nailed all the critical check-offs for successful buying or selling. It's a game changer for our industry." -Mauricio Umansky, founder/CEO of The Agency #1 Bestseller in Moving & Relocation Top residential real estate agent Tracy McLaughlin reveals how buyers and sellers can get the best price possible-by understanding how the real estate market really works. Buying and selling houses. Because most people only enter the real estate market once a decade or less, few really know how it works. The housing market elicits a lot of emotions, from excitement to anxiety. Oftentimes, this blinds us to the realities of how the market actually works. Tracy McLaughlin is here to help. From those buying their first home to sellers with some experience, this book is packed with essential advice. A roadmap for buyers and sellers. In nearly all real estate sales, buyers and sellers leave behind thousands or even hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on the table. As frightening as this reality is, it continually happens because one simple decision, among the countless made during the entire process, can greatly impact the outcome of the transaction. Bridging the gap between information and expertise. Buyers and sellers have greater access to information and even the ability to direct the sales process, but most people still lack a key aspect: expertise. By presenting an inside view on sales, McLaughlin provides a guide for optimizing the sale and purchase of homes. Inside find: Detailed guidelines for how to save money and make money Advice for finding the right real estate agent The real estate for dummies book every home buyer or seller needs If you've looked for guidance in books such as Dream Home, Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, or Home Buying Kit For Dummies, then you'll find more of what you're looking for in Real Estate Rescue by Tracy McLaughlin.

Master the old-fashioned craft of whittling with this easy-to-learn beginner's guide. Even if you've never carved a piece of wood before, Old Time Whittling will show you how to create iconic whittling classics like the wooden chain, ball-in-a-cage, arrow-through-the-heart and more. Woodcarving instructor and author Keith Randich takes you step-by-step through 10 projects, with concise instructions and more than 50 photographs and diagrams.

This book is a clear, lively and fun introduction to sculpting in wire. Very much aimed at beginners, there are 6 projects of increasing difficulty, aiming to teach the beginner how to sculpt in wire from the most basic starting point up through to soldering. The projects start off by learning about wire and using simply pliers, and then how to incorporate other materials such as tin, feathers and material. Finally the last project includes the use of some simple silver soldering. Clear step-by-step images show the processes involved in every project. Images of fantastic sculptures in wire by contemporary artists are scattered throughout, showing everything from hats and shoes, to life-size figures, sheep and even elephants.

Since its original publication in 1969 by Yankee, Inc., Vrest Orton's classic book on fireplace design has gone through numerous printings and has brought about a revival of the Rumford fireplace. The basic principles that Count Rumford set forth in 1795 describe the construction of a large shallow fireplace which does not smoke and which throws out much more heat than many of today's fireplaces which send too much of the heat up the chimney. This new edition contains some practical notes by Wally Leeds, a mason in Tunbridge, Vermont who builds Rumford fireplaces today.

Make, mend, and customise your own wardrobe with this highly photographic beginner's guide to machine sewing. A sewing book for beginners that's actually helpful. It's love at first stitch! This highly photographic, easy-to-use guide to machine sewing features more than 200 step-by-step techniques to help you master every stitch in the book! Inside the pages of this sewing reference book, you will find: - More than 200 sewing techniques, all clearly and closely photographed and explained in sharp detail - Discover how to read a pattern, use a sewing machine, and sew basic stitches, seams, and hems - Explore how to put your new-found skills to use to create, personalise, up-cycle, and re-purpose your clothes and soft furnishings. - Photographs and explanations of essential sewing equipment and materials - for both hand and machine sewing - A guide to sewing jargon and terminology that describes when, where, and how to use each tool and technique - Techniques to create something new or to customise things you already have Whether you're a seasoned sewer or just starting to learn how to sew, a fashion design student or sewing for yourself at home, Sew Step by Step will guide you through every hand stitch, machine stitch, and sewing technique you will ever need. With fully updated text and a refreshed design, this is an essential sewing handbook that you will want to keep next to your sewing machine to come back to time and time again. Close-up photographs accompanied by crystal clear instructions take you through everything from cutting out patterns to inserting collars, sleeves and pockets into garments. Explore how to put those skills to use to make, mend and customise your clothes and home furnishings. You will also learn how to find a suitable fabric for every project with an easy-to-use guide to different materials. It also makes a wonderful gift for beginner sewers and expert stitchers alike.

A retro-fit offers many benefits: cutting electricity and heating bills, increasing the resale value of homes, slashing carbon emissions and creating a healthier place to live. This book is the guide to making it happen. It looks at: - draught-proofing, insulation and damp - ventilation, heating and cooling - electrical efficiency and renewable energy - water use and re-use - materials' life cycles and incorporating nature - protection from climate change impacts - modelling energy flows and embodied energy - how we can meet the need to cut carbon emissions from dwellings by 80% by 2050. Projects can apply to apartment blocks, recent builds and older, solid-walled properties. Enlivened with helpful diagrams and photographs, plus plenty of pointers for further information, it provides a comprehensive resource handbook for any building professional and contractor, students - or any homeowner serious about efficiency (cash and carbon) savings.

David Ellsworth is the grandfather of the wood art movement and Ellsworth on Woodturning is the book woodturners worldwide have been waiting for. With this first-ever book from the grandmaster of woodturning, woodworkers and artists can learn to replicate his highly evolved techniques and signature style. Step-by-step directions and crisp, absorbing photos show exactly how Ellsworth creates an open bowl, a natural-edged bowl, and an astounding hollow vessel featuring a tiny opening and coin-thin walls. In sharing his vision, Ellsworth reveals not only his techniques, but the power of the creative process-the feeling of direct engagement with the wood that develops an artist from each project to the next. For anyone new to the lathe, Ellsworth on Woodturning provides expert tips for getting started. Intermediate and advanced turners will appreciate advice on everything from working with green wood to design to tool making and sharpening. Best of all, stunning color photographs of Ellsworth's work will inspire artists to unlock the natural beauty in wood. "His work overturned all the deeply held traditions of functionality that had defined turning. For the first time, woodturners were seeing themselves as artists." - Terry Martin & Kevin Wallace, New Masters of Woodturning "A brilliant exposition of the art of woodturning by the premier writer, teacher, and practitioner of the art. It's clear complete, and superbly illustrated." - Jane and Arthur Mason, wood art collectors

Most of us don't live in a dream home that was custom built to suit our tastes. We have to work with a house that brings its own style, quirks, and personality to the table. But imagine walking into this house, but it's perfectly designed and decorated with your style in mind-a home that fits you like a well-tailored outfit and yet is as comfy as your favorite pair of pajamas. What would that home look like exactly? How would it feel to live in a home styled specifically for you? The truth is, every home should feel like a custom home and not have to break the bank. In Feels Like Home, DIY makeover queen Marian Parsons (a.k.a. Miss Mustard Seed) teaches you what she's learned over the years, sharing budget-friendly practical tips that will inspire you to change your space from "blah" to beautiful, from a builder-grade to character-rich home. Each chapter will guide you through detailed, easy-to-implement tutorials for projects, makeovers, decorating ideas, and tips for handling common challenges. Special note-taking spaces are also included for recording your own design ideas. Room by room, you will be empowered to transform your house into the home of your dreams!

Whether you're pouring a concrete walkway or staking out the excavation for a basement foundation, doing the job right demands a thorough knowledge of concrete construction techniques. In Working with Concrete, veteran builder Rick Arnold explains everything from mix characteristics and formwork options to waterproofing details and repair procedures. You'll benefit from Arnold's years as a general contractor, framer, and foundation contractor as he offers time- and money-saving advice that comes from understanding the subject from all angles. Get the rock-solid results youre after with this comprehensive guide to building with concrete. This book will enable you to: prepare a site for excavation evaluate soil conditions lay out footings and foundation walls use site-made and manufactured forms install proper reinforcement in footings, walls, and flat work estimate and order ready-mix concrete test and evaluate concrete quality before the pour build walkways, patios, steps, and slabs from start to finish

This is the great book of the woodcraft movement of the early twentieth century, glorifying the outdoor life and respect for the environment. The first principle of woodcraft was not just to be outdoors but to interact with it, and thus build life skills. The role model was the heroic Indian of Fenimore Cooper and Longfellow; the ideal, the Spartan-like Indian creed of courage, honor, reverence, and discipline. Chapters are devoted to Woodland Songs, Dances and Ceremonies; Scouting Indoors and Outdoors including star lore; Signalling and Indian Signs; Craft and Games of the Summer Camp; Health and Woodland Medicine; Natural History; Forestry; Indian Ways and Campfire Stories, all with profuse illustrations.

An informative book designed for beginning and intermediate turners. Bill Bowers leads this step-by-step workshop for constructing the classic cylinder box, cylinder box variants with embellishments, the classic capsule box, and capsule box variants with chatter tool work. With over 300 color photos, each step is clearly described and illustrated, from mounting the blank on the lathe to finishing. Projects include a Raffan box, a pagoda box, the clam shell box, the gourd box, and small hollow form boxes with bottle top and finial top lids. A photo gallery helps give more ideas for new turned box styles.

Owners of old houses are often baffled by the confusing advice they receive from their builders, architects or surveyors who may be more familiar with repairing modern buildings than dealing with the issues associated with traditional houses. Old houses generally require a different approach, one, for instance, which takes account of their need to 'breathe'. Modern solutions do not always recognise that need. This book will help owners, builders and all construction professionals make the decisions that are right for old buildings. It illustrates the long term benefits of using more traditional solutions on older houses rather than modern materials like cement based mortars, sealants or impervious paints. It offers practical guidance on: How to get the right professional advice; Legal requirements for listed buildings; Problems with damp and rot; Use of lime mortars, plasters and renders; Why old buildings need to breathe; Planning applications; and, Trees, outbuildings and gardens.

A beautifully presented, practical gift guide to the age-old art of whittling. There are 50 projects featured in the book, ranging from quick makes to more elaborate projects, and even a chapter on creating things from cork. The 8 main themes are: Quick Things - including a doorstop, a bookmark and a gift-box book; Into The Woods - including a willow whistle, walking stick, fish hook and slingshot; Around The House - including chopsticks, coat and crochet hooks; Cork Creations - including a succulent pot, stamp, and earphones spool; Ornamental Carving - including a boat, a deer and a spinning top; Kitchen Carving - including a carrot flute, apple candle and onion flower; The Natural World - including a bird feeder and instructions to prepare a fish for cooking, a graft an apple tree. The projects cater for a range of skill levels and the instructions are complemented by smart step-by-step illustrations, which highlight the tactile quality of the material in hand. The book also includes an introduction with advice on selecting a penknife, maintaining your blade, choosing your caving material, and carving techniques. Featuring the ultimate crossover of cool craftsmanship and savvy survival-skill projects, this book is the perfect gift for creative adventurers.

Architectural solutions & designs to optimize the spaces in your home without spending a fortune. Architect Laura Jane Clark, from the BBC and Netflix smash-hit series Your Home Made Perfect, has spent over 15 years designing, remodelling, and building homes with budgets that range from modest to enormous. THE HANDBOOK OF HOME DESIGN distils Laura's wealth of experience and enthusiasm giving you an accessible yet detailed guide to design, empowering you with the tools and knowledge to shape your home how you want. Throughout your home design journey, whether large or small, Laura takes you each step of the way from understanding your home, reading a plan and writing a brief, right through to sketching your own design and having the confidence to get what you want on the building site. Packed full of tips and tricks, inspiration and technical know-how, THE HANDBOOK OF HOME DESIGN is like having Laura by your side, showing you how to design practical yet beautiful spaces, get more storage into your life and create the home of your dreams. Laura Jane Clark wants to democratize the whole concept of residential architectural design and empower you to redesign your spaces by giving you the language and ability to confidently communicate your vision, get the most out of your design and ultimately love your finished home. Whether you are a long-term homeowner, first-time buyer or simply visualising your dream space, no matter what your budget is, this unique insight into Laura's process allows you to achieve both the design you want and the home you need. www.lamparchitects.co.uk Instagram: @laurajaneclark_

This is a colourful gallery of finished work provides further inspiration for green crafting. Wood Pallet Projects shows how anyone can upcycle salvaged pallet wood to create truly one-of-a-kind projects. Maverick craftsman Chris Gleason combines sound woodworking techniques with a hip designer's sensibility to unleash the limitless possibilities of the common skid. Inside you'll find 15 of his inspired projects for rescuing and repurposing pallets. He shows how to construct both indoor and outdoor furniture in a variety of styles, along with other useful items such as a birdhouse, a toolbox and even a ukulele. The author provides important advice on how to make sure that your pallets are safe and not sprayed with harmful chemicals. A colourful gallery of finished work provides further inspiration for green crafting.

Protect your health, reduce waste, and be a better steward of the Earth by making the switch to natural cleaning products with these 43 easy recipes!A clean house should not come at the expense of your health. Common household cleaners are not kid-friendly or pet-friendly-or lung-friendly, or skin-friendly. Store-bought cleaners that contain bleach and ammonia, drain cleaners, toilet cleaners, and more are the cause of thousands of household emergencies each year. These harsh cleaners and artificial fragrances can irritate your eyes and lungs, and exacerbate allergies and asthma. Not to mention how all these chemicals and packaging materials are affecting the environment. Bottom line, your home-and the planet-are simply safer without them. Most people think natural cleaners either: don't work are difficult / annoying to make involve a lot of exotic, expensive ingredients that are too hard to find all of the above! The truth is, you can clean every room in your house-curtains, carpet, toilet, tile grout, whatever-without ever touching another bottle of Clorox. In this book, you'll learn why these cleaners work, how to stock your home with a few basic ingredients you can grab as needed-and why you shouldn't use some of the DIY cleaning recipes you see online. You'll also learn: How to safely and naturally clean every surface in your home, from stainless steel appliances to moldy showers Which natural cleaning ingredients should never be mixed (and why) How to customize your cleaners with essential oils Why you should use distilled water instead of tap water There's even a recipe for cleaning dog toys! Make the switch to non-toxic DIY cleaning solutions now!

All of the techniques necessary for capturing the sleek beauty and strength of dolphins and whales in wood are presented here. In direct and basic language and color photographs Dale Power takes the carver through each step in the process of creating a dolphin from basswood with a combination of hand and power tools. Once the dolphin is carved, woodburning and painting techniques are explored in detail to add life to the work. Helpful hints for mounting the finished work are included as well. Patterns for three dolphins and two whales are provided as well as a color gallery showing a variety of dolphins and whales in groupings which are sure to inspire. With full color illustrations and explicit directions, this book is invaluable to both the novice and the experienced carver.

E-Myth \ 'e-,'mith\ n 1: the entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work

In The E-Myth Contractor, bestselling author Michael Gerber reveals a radical mind-set that will free contractors from the tyranny of the unprofitable, unproductive, and perpetual routine -- doing everything that needs to get done, themselves.

The E-Myth Contractor will teach you how to:

• implement the ingenious turn-key system, a means of creating a business model that produces consistent, predictable results
• recognize, understand, and manage the four factors of money -- income, profit, flow, and equity -- and understand the impact of each in your business
• transform your company and your people while enabling the firm to grow exponentially without your having to be there all the time.

Drawing on thirty years of experience working with tens of thousands of small-business owners, Gerber provides revolutionary, practical, and enlightening insights on how to produce the best real-world results on the job, in the field, and in a contractor's life.

Practical and fully illustrated, this updated reference is indispensable for woodworkers who want to master bending techniques, learn to increase the elasticity of wood, and recognize the woods best-suited for bending. Topics covered include hand bending, machine bending, moisture content, selecting and preparing wood, steaming and other softening treatments, and working with laminates and adhesives. A new color gallery provides craftspeople easy reference to finished projects, and the tips offer advice on how to avoid costly errors, such as weakening or cracking the wood. An essential resource for any wood bender, this how-to guide helps with any rounded construction.

Wood is one of the oldest known natural resources, and its universal appeal remains timeless. As every woodworker will testify, to work with this material is to appreciate its amazing versatility. This practical book demonstrates the basic techniques of woodworking, providing the foundation on which to build your skills. It begins with an introduction to timber and a guide to tools. Advice on getting started is given, as well as in-depth guides to fixings and fastening, joints, and advanced techniques. There are 20 step-by-step projects, from basic tasks such as a wine rack and picture frame, to complex ventures for experts such as a bedside cabinet and dining table.

'No one knows sheds like Joel Bird. The creativity and knowledge which won him shed of the year is echoed throughout this brilliant book.' - George Clarke Have you ever wanted to design your very own garden shed? The Book of Shed will show you how: traditional or contemporary, large or small, private rooms to entertaining spaces, guest houses to beach huts - this book is here to teach you how to make your vision a reality, from the very first design brief, to costing your new venture, to sourcing builders and suppliers, to how to structure and maintain your garden shed. Written by designer-builder, TV personality and all-round shed-progressive Joel Bird, The Book of Shed combines imaginative ideas and beautiful design with practical thinking and building knowledge. This wonderful tome is split into four comprehensive sections - on the history and basics of the shed; shed inspiration and style; the shed build; and some of Joel's most distinctive shed case studies - and is the perfect fireside read whether you're a seasoned shed-head or completely new to the joys of your own purpose-built haven, wherever and whatever that may be.

Illustrated with full-color photographs accompanying easy-to-follow instructions, this unique collection utilizes the best that the online community has to offer, a mammoth database churning out ideas to make life better, easier, and, in this case, greener. Here are fun, useful projects designed to get you thinking creatively about going green. Let the Instructables team illustrate just how simple it can be to make your own backyard chicken coop or turn a wine barrel into a rainwater collector. Here, you will learn to: Clip a chicken's wings Power your lawn mower with solar power Create a chicken tractor for the city Water your garden with solar power Build a thermoelectric lamp Create an algae bioreactor from water bottles And much more! Get started today-making your life greener. Get off the grid!

This title presents professional techniques to bring your furniture back to life. It offers complete instructions for dismantling and rebuilding chests, polishing, waxing and staining, how to repair tops and feet, and how to rebuild drawers and doors. It includes a fascinating history describing how chests and cabinets have evolved over time, as well as advice on buying and using tools, equipment and materials. Projects include repairing a split top, replacing a bracket foot, repairing a glazed door, correcting a minor twist, restoring desk drawers, and repairing a grandfather clock. Chests and cabinets often endure a hard life, and over the years the working parts can be damaged through wear and tear. This book provides complete instructions for repairing chests, drawers, doors and desks, all photographed at a leading antique restoration workshop. Projects include replacing drawer runners, cutting a dovetail joint, repairing a sliding tambour, refitting a door, and polishing a 19th-century desk. Detailed information is given on how each piece of furniture is constructed, and how it can be dismantled and reassembled. Illustrated with over 400 beautiful photographs, the book will enable any restorer to learn how to mend antique furniture.