Constructing your own small barn, shed, or utility structure will improve the value and appearance of your property whether you have one acre or a hundred. Plus, building it yourself can save as much as half the cost. Now expert help for the do-it-yourselfer arrives with How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings, the long-awaited sequel to the classic Garden Way Publishing bestseller Building Small Barns, Sheds & Shelters (more than 200,000 copies sold). In his new book, Monte Burch begins by taking the reader through all the basics of construction, from planning to finishing--both inside and out. This is followed with more than 20 new designs and projects appropriate for both rural and suburban homeowners, including a livestock shelter, add-on garage, small guest house, and home workshop. How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings offers projects with multi-use flexibility, so you can tailor your project to your specific needs. For example, there is an all-purpose barn design that can be adapted to serve multiple functions, as well as a combination greenhouse/woodshed and a home office/garage/guest-house.

The definitive guide to the design of environmental control systems for buildings--now updated in its 13th Edition Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings is the most widely used text on the design of environmental control systems for buildings--helping students of architecture, architectural engineering, and construction understand what they need to know about building systems and controlling a building's environment. With over 2,200 drawings and photographs, this 13th Edition covers basic theory, preliminary building design guidelines, and detailed design procedure for buildings of all sizes. It also provides information on the latest technologies, emerging design trends, and updated codes. Presented in nine parts, Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, Thirteenth Edition offers readers comprehensive coverage of: environmental resources; air quality; thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort; passive heating and cooling; water design and supply; daylighting and electric lighting; liquid and solid waste; and building noise control. This book also presents the latest information on fire protection, electrical systems; and elevator and escalator systems. This Thirteenth Edition features: Over 2,200 illustrations, with 200 new photographs and illustrations All-new coverage of high-performance building design Thoroughly revised references to codes and standards: ASHRAE, IES, USGBC (LEED), Living Building Challenge, WELL Building Standard, and more Updated offering of best-in-class ancillary materials for students and instructors available via the book's companion website Architect Registration Examination(R) (ARE(R)) style study questions available in the instructor's manual and student guide Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, has been the industry standard reference that comprehensively covers all aspects of building systems for over 80 years. This Thirteenth Edition has evolved to reflect the ever-growing complexities of building design, and has maintained its relevance by allowing for the conversation to include "why" as well as "how to."

From hand-forged axes of the Viking conquests to the American homesteader's felling axe, this is a tool that has shaped human history like few others. American Axe pays tribute to this iconic instrument of settlement and industry, with rich history, stunning photography, and profiles of the most collectible vintage axes such as The Woodslasher, Keen Cutter, and True Temper Perfect. Combining his experiences as a forester, axe collector, and former competitive lumberjack, author Brett McLeod conveys the allure of this deceptively simple woodcutting implement and celebrates the resurging interest in its story and use.

Wiring repairs, replacements, and upgrades are among the most popular projects for home DIYers--and, potentially, the most fraught with risk. With an unerring emphasis on safety, wiring expert Steve Cory prepares homeowners for the most common situations they are likely to encounter and gives them the confidence to tackle their own home wiring projects. After introductory sections on understanding the residential electrical system and basic wiring techniques, projects include: replacing switches and receptacles installing lights and fans retrofitting under-cabinet lighting running cable and installing electrical boxes and more With quick tips throughout, this handy reference provides all you need to know to tackle any home wiring repair project.

The Sunday Times bestseller, Making It is an inspirational memoir about beating the odds and turning things around even when it all seems hopeless, by Jay Blades, the beloved star of hit BBC One show The Repair Shop. We had our hardships, and there were times that we didn't have a lot of food and didn't have a lot of money. But that didn't stop me having the time of my life. In his book, Jay shares the details of his life, from his childhood growing up sheltered and innocent on a council estate in Hackney, to his adolescence when he was introduced to violent racism at secondary school, to being brutalized by police as a teen, to finally becoming the presenter of the hit primetime show The Repair Shop. Jay reflects on strength, weakness and what it means to be a man. He questions the boundaries society places on male vulnerability and how letting himself be nurtured helped him flourish into the person he is today. An expert at giving a second life to cherished items, Jay's positivity, pragmatism and kindness shine through these pages and show that with care and love, anything can be mended.

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

Learn how to make beautiful, bespoke candles for you and your home in this easy-to-follow guide. Sarah Ditchfield, founder of Candle by Events, shares her secrets for crafting 20 of her best-selling candle designs, so that you too can make both modern and traditional waxed creations at home - from elegantly simple taper candles to show-stopping ice pillars. Invaluable advice is included on the essential materials and tools you'll need to get started, along with handy measuring and heating charts. Every candle project is accompanied by simple instructions, step-by-step photographs and a gorgeous finished picture. There's even a chapter on how to decorate and package your candles if you'd like to give them away as thoughtful, hand-crafted gifts. If you are looking for a craft that you can truly immerse yourself in, and one that's perfect for the beginner candlemaker looking for professional results, this is the book for you. This is a revitalized edition of Making Candles: Create 20 decorative candles to keep or to give (2017).

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!

Since the times of ancient Egypt, humans have had a passion for style, decor, and architecture. Amazingly, styles from many of these bygone eras are still enjoyed and are often implemented into our modern decor and architecture. Past + Present is a collection of 24 pairs of essays and craft projects that explore this connection between decorative arts history and present day design trends. The projects have been contributed by some of the best known modern designers of today, such as Todd Oldham, Jonathan Adler, Erica Domesek, Grace Bonney, and David Stark, adding extra allure to an already fascinating topic. The book, which is based on Azzarito's successful Past + Present column for Design*Sponge, takes the academic subject of decorative arts history and makes it accessible, approachable, and engaging to the average design and craft enthusiast. Included here are not just dates and events, but also the stories, passions, and quirky facts behind many great decorative arts movements. Each essay is accompanied by whimsical illustrations by beloved illustrator Julia Rothman, as well as a few representative historical photos when relevant. Each project has been beautifully photographed in a modern home setting, and the instructions are clear and accessible, even to novice DIYers.

A treehouse is a wonderful idea, but how in the name of creation do you actually build one? In this delightfully illustrated handbook, David Stiles, the unofficial world grandmaster of the treehouse, shows how. Not assuming anything about the treehouse builder, Stiles starts with the basics: how to nail, how to buy wood, what kind of screws and nails to use. Then it's on to an A-frame design so simple that it can be built in a weekend out of four sheets of plywood, followed by lean-tos, a tree hut, and a Tarzan-style jungle hideaway. There are also forts of every description, including a 21-foot-tall lookout tower modeled on one George Washington built to keep an eye on the redcoats. Stiles also adds a design for a snowball catapult, an igloo and even a Nerf-loaded cannon. Written for children, with an adult peeking over their shoulder, Stiles's TREEHOUSES, HUTS, & FORTS is a dreamer's handbook, offering practical results.

The Renewable Energy Home Handbook is biased towards the practical, and covers the installation of all leading types of alternative domestic energy sources - from ground- and air-source heat pumps, PV solar electricity generation and solar water heating, to bio-mass domestic heating systems and wind turbines. Discussing the pros and cons of each technology, it also provides you with a clear overview of what's genuinely required and the benefits to be gained from each system. The author, Lindsay Porter, is best known for his books on motor vehicle technology, making car mechanics and body repairs easy to understand and carry out. But alternative energy and conservation have long been a passion for him and his wife, Shan, so this manual is very much a labour of love. Here, Lindsay applies his commitment to making difficult subjects easy for everyone to understand to the money-saving - planet-saving - systems we can apply to our homes.

How to achieve beautiful paint finishes, including sponging, dragging, stippling, distressing and lacquering? It explains the ways to master patterned effects and faux finishes, from simple stamping to imitating the appearance of oak, mahogany, beech, marble and even a trompe l'oeil sky. This title helps you learn how to create a tiled look and to stamp panels with gold leaf for a luxurious effect. It offers an expert guide to the paints, varnishes, brushes, rollers and specialist tools you will need to achieve decorative paint effects. It includes ways to remove old paint and prepare different surfaces for new finishes. It is suitable for anyone who wants to give their home a facelift, creative paint finishes can alter a room easily and cheaply. Many effects are possible, from paint finishes that imitate wood and marble and stamped gilded panels, to trompe l'oeil, which tricks the eye into seeing a three-dimensional surface that is in fact, flat. This practical book shows you step-by-step how to transform your home.

Creating the perfect loaf of bread--a challenge that has captivated bakers for centuries--is now the rage in the hippest places, from Waitsfield, Vermont, to Point Reyes Station, California. Like the new generation of beer drinkers who consciously seek out distinctive craft-brewed beers, many people find that their palates have been reawakened and re-educated by the taste of locally baked, whole-grain breads. Today's village bakers are finding an important new role--linking tradition with a sophisticated new understanding of natural levens, baking science and oven construction. Daniel Wing, a lover of all things artisinal, had long enjoyed baking his own sourdough bread. His quest for the perfect loaf began with serious study of the history and chemistry of bread baking, and eventually led to an apprenticeship with Alan Scott, the most influential builder of masonry ovens in America. Alan and Daniel have teamed up to write this thoughtful, entertaining, and authoritative book that shows you how to bake superb healthful bread and build your own masonry oven. The authors profile more than a dozen small-scale bakers around the U.S. whose practices embody the holistic principles of community-oriented baking based on whole grains and natural leavens. The Bread Builders will appeal to a broad range of readers, including: Connoisseurs of good bread and good food. Home bakers interested in taking their bread and pizza to the next level of excellence. Passionate bakers who fantasize about making a living by starting their own small bakery. Do-it-yourselfers looking for the next small construction project. Small-scale commercial bakers seeking inspiration, the most up-to-date knowledge about the entire bread-baking process, and a marketing edge.

The fun and easy way to repair anything and everything around the house
For anyone who's ever been frustrated by repair shop rip-offs, this guide shows how to troubleshoot and fix a wide range of household appliances-lamps, vacuum cleaners, washers, dryers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, blenders, radios, televisions, and even computers. Packed with step-by-step illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions, it's a must-have money-saver for the half of all homeowners who undertake do-it-yourself projects.

Handmade Tile is a contemporary guide for ceramic artists and anyone interested in custom tile installations-from making, designing, and decorating to designing your space and installation. No matter how many years of experience you have as a ceramic artist or how many home-improvement projects you've tackled, nothing prepares you for the unique world of ceramic tile. From concept and design, through firing and installation, ceramic tiling is one of the few places in a home where art is permanently installed as a feature of a room. In Handmade Tile, Forrest Lesch-Middelton shares everything he's learned as the founder and owner of the custom tile business FLM Ceramics and Tile. From his years as a one-man operation to his current production facility, Forrest has seen it all and helps you every step of the way. Whether you want to make your own tile, or want to use artistic and custom-made tile in your home, this book has everything you need. Key features of the book include: Making Tile: key tools, rolling, cutting, extruding Decorating: glazes, image transfer, cuerda seca, underglaze, slip Designing Your Space: tile in context, choosing your tile, codes and standards Installation: removing old tile, backing, preparing surfaces, setting, grouting Galleries and interviews with today's top workings artists in tile round out the package. Featured artists include Allison Bloom, Boris Aldridge, Disc Interiors, PV Tile, and more.

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.

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!