Today's commercially available yurts largely are flexible wall units, with lattice forming the "frame" of the walls, and studs resting on an aircraft cable strung along the top of the lattice. They are lightweight, but, by that definition, are vulnerable to the elements and to wildlife. Although defined as portable, they require a full day to set up, using three or more people. Their insulation (optional) generally is Mylar bubble insulation and windows are heavy plastic. The yurt concept in this set of plans calls for rigid insulation walls, readily available materials, glass windows, standard-sized door, and a very lightweight, truly portable design. Although the yurt plan is sized for a 16-foot diameter unit, size can be scaled up or down quite readily. Total material cost generally is less than $1,500. Typically, one person can cut all the pieces needed to size in less than 40 hours. To assemble the unit requires one person and three or four hours. To disassemble takes two hours. The guide includes numerous photographs of a sample yurt being built. Also included are discussions of problems with many yurts (and solutions), ideas on plumbing, heating, interior finish and power.

What's so tough about building a rain barrel? You could put a bucket under a downspout but if you want to do more than that, this guide is for you. Most people think it's time they tried to do their part at lowering their monthly utility bills or curbing climate change, but they suspect that their dream of building a large rain barrel is more than they can handle. In some cases, this may be true. However, if you have already accomplished other own do-it-yourself projects, this one may not be as difficult as and more affordable than you imagine. This down-to-earth guide can show you just how possible such a project can be. With simple step-by-step instructions, seventy-eight clear illustrations, and tips on lowering your water usage, you may fulfill your dream of harvesting rain water sooner than you think. Both simple rain barrels and expandable cisterns are covered so you can start small and grow your system to meet your changing needs. Don't let your valuable rain water go down the drain Harvest it now and your plants will love you for doing so. Simple and straight forward. Nothing very technical. The calculations were presented well. I realized that the average rain that fell on my 1000sf roof was 2000 gallons per month. Now I'm looking for barrels.

Ask the Pool Guy, Allan Curtis, is a lifelong member of the swimming pool industry. This book is a compilation of his tips for swimming pool owners everywhere. Your pool is an investment that you and your family can enjoy for many years. We have put together some information to help you maximize your enjoyment, and answer many of the common pool service and maintenance questions. Several topics are also great troubleshooting guides and will serve as a valuable reference for you as you enjoy your pool. The swimming pool season in Michigan, where Ask the Pool Guy is located, typically runs from mid-April to mid-September. If you live in parts of the country where your season is longer, or even in the area where you don't winterize your pool, there is still plenty of information for you in this guide. If you have any additional questions or problems, you can contact our team via the website (www.askthepoolguy.com). We happily take calls and questions, and even pool design and build requests from around the country. We are prepared to help you troubleshoot, solve problems, and create the best swimming pool owner experience possible. Happy Swimming

One of the biggest reasons to act as your own general contractor is the money you can save by investing your time and energy, also known as 'Sweat Equity, ' into your home-building experience. Another consideration that you need to keep in mind is the mental and emotional involvement, also known as 'Intellectual Effort, ' in building your own home. Whether you are having your home built for you, or you decide to act as your own general contractor, you need to keep in mind that both avenues have some stress involved because this is your home that is being built. While you may have heard some horror stories from people who have undertaken such a project, you will also feel a great sense of satisfaction, pride and fulfillment when your home is complete. How can I make that claim you ask? Simple. I have 40+ years of building experience. The key to acting as your own general contractor with the least amount of stress possible is being aware of the steps and procedures. This will make the process more enjoyable and it will save you 10's of thousands of dollars.

Detailed guide on making cheap yet quality PVC solar water heaters for the purpose of harvesting sun power for free summer-time hot water in use your home or cabin. This book is a guide to making one and the best type of homemade solar water heater. It is cheap, quality and will reduce your electricity or gas bill significantly.

American Scissors and Shears provides an historical overview of more than 100 companies and individuals involved in producing scissors and shears in the United States from the mid-1800s to approximately 1930. Accompanying and enhancing the text are hundreds of photographs, advertisements, and patents of the many varieties of antique and vintage scissors produced during this time period. The book will prove invaluable to tool collectors, cutlery collectors (including knives and scissors), sewing enthusiasts, history buffs in general, and to those interested in early American industries. Some books have provided broad overviews of the history of scissors; others have investigated sewing implements, including scissors. None to date have provided the in-depth survey of American-made scissors presented in American Scissors and Shears.

What's so tough about building a solar collector? Most people think it's time they tried to do their part at lowering their monthly utility bills or curbing climate change, but they suspect that their dream of building a solar hot water heater is more than they can handle. In some cases, this may be true. However, if you have already performed your own plumbing repairs, this project may not be as difficult as and more affordable than you imagine. This down-to-earth guide can show you just how possible such a project can be. With simple step-by-step instructions, fifty-six clear illustrations, and a complete parts list from a major hardware store, you may fulfill your dream of going solar sooner than you think. This is an excellent book with clear and well thought out plans. With a little investment of time and the parts listed, you will have a worthy product that will save money and provide satisfaction. A. J. Shea I am very impressed with the plans for this solar hot water system. I think it was easy to understand and complete with material lists and where to get them. I am looking forward to building one soon. Dean Cardin For anyone wanting to build their own solar collector, this is a great tool. Like others have said, follow the directions with respect to the materials specified. BigBear

Save Money-or Make Money-by Doing It Yourself With the simple, step-by-step methods in Drain Cleaning 101, you will be able to save money-or even make money-by learning how to properly diagnose, unclog, and prevent common drain line blockages like a pro. Are you a handy homeowner who likes do-it-yourself projects? Maybe you're a property management company interested in minimizing cost and maximizing productivity by having your superintendents or handyman unclog ordinary drain line blockages in your rental units. Are you already a professional in the trade and looking for a helpful reference guide for your employees? Are you interested in starting your own drain cleaning business? If so, Drain Cleaning 101 is for you Learn how to unclog the most common drain line blockage-without depending on your local plumbing or drain cleaning provider. Once you've mastered the basics, your opportunities are endless...so why not do it yourself?

This book, written by a licensed contractor, is filled with several simple solutions to save you money on your manufactured home maintenance issues. In my experience, I've discovered that there are several differences between manufactured and site built homes. This book will guide you through the basic maintenance needs, as well as some home improvement ideas. It will save you time and money if you are " do it yourselfer" and send you in the right direction as far as locating parts and hiring the proper contractors unique to manufactured homes.

A self-help reference book, 'Maybe You CAN do it Yourself' covers a few basic things the average person can do on their own to keep their computers running, what you should not attempt yourself and what to look for in a computer company. If you have a computer and you feel intimidated by it; this book is for you. With easy to understand steps, this book will help make your computing environment less scary. But watch out After reading this book you may have to call yourself a geek too.

If you're handy with a few tools and love working on your own projects, because you get real satisfaction from doing things like this on your own, but need a little more information about laying tile floors, this book and the helpful video links inside of it, will provide you with practically everything you need to know. The author has simplified the process and will even reveal a few" treasured secrets," tile setting professionals have gone to great lengths to protect over the years. We Will Teach You How to Select the Right Tile. How to Lay out One Bedroom or the Entire House. How to Mix the Thin Set Properly. How to Start Your First Row of Tile and Where to Start It. How to Install the Tile Effectively. How to Avoid Working Yourself into a Corner. How to Eliminate Tile Setting Nightmares. How to Grout the Tile and Finish the Floor.

Take a journey through your home from top to bottom. You'll be surprised by all the dirt you discover

Richard A. Slinde, a longtime domestic cleaner, has seen how messy homes can become during his more than thirty years of cleaning houses and apartments, both big and small. In "Domestic Olympics: The Ultimate Housecleaning Guide," Slinde provides step-by-step, room-by-room guidance for cleaning your home in fun and easy ways.

Each room is fair game for cleaning-your kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and every nook and cranny in between. You'll learn time-saving cleaning routines specifically created for each room in your house. Along the way, you'll also discover how to evaluate cleaning products, wash your walls, shampoo your furniture, eliminate roaches and other pests, and engage in a top-to-bottom spring cleaning that will ensure you haven't missed a thing.

It doesn't matter whether you rent or own, whether you have a big family or live by yourself, "Domestic Olympics" provides practical tools and strategies that can make your life easier and your living quarters cleaner.

Whether you're looking for help to hook up a cable box, troubleshoot a TV or Internet problem, or rewire your whole house for cable TV service, phone or Internet, look no further the "Cable TV Wiring" book can help you. Written with the "do-it-yourself" homeowner in mind, the following chapters break down the components that make up the cable TV system in your home. One secret every professional technician knows is, when it comes to years of trouble free service, forget all the technical jargon, sticking to the "basic fundamentals" is key. With help from name brands like IDEAL, NETGEAR, LEVITON, MONSTER, HDMI and EXTREME-BROADBAND, the Cable TV Wiring book offers plenty of pictures and easy to read text. It's a well-known fact that some stores are selling sub-standard wire and consumers are buying and installing sub-standard wire in their homes. Many times this poor wiring leads to poor service on your TV, phone and Internet. With the Cable TV Wiring book you will learn about differences in wiring, connectors and signal amplifiers, as well as how to make proper connections, which splitters to use, and the ones to avoid, plus much more. Many cable companies are charging customers to send a truck out to repair simple problems inside the home or problems caused by the customer. With a little know-how you can perform the most common repairs on you own. If this book saves you the cost of one service call, it will have paid for itself.

Ron Kamrowski has written this book to share the experiences of using a metal detector. Most writings of this nature deal with the workings of a metal detector, this work contains actual events to explain that there are literally millions of places to search. Untouched areas abound in the United States where history, although only dating a few centuries, can be discovered in your own backyard.

A comprehensive step by step diagnosis and fix it guide for DIY homeowners who have no heat on the second floor, or cold radiators. A must have for DIY homeowners.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This book details the extraordinary uses of many ordinary household products found in any home. It is destined to become the "Master" of hints books and will likely become a staple of the American home. It comes highly recommended as an ALL OCCASIONS gift choice.

How To...'Make It Mine' is not just a book about home decorating; but it does provide a wonderful, lighthearted approach to decorating your home It creates an awareness of how our state of mind affects the world we live in, confirming the old adage that while "You may never reach the summit and for that you will be forgiven. But if you don't make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line you will always regret it " 'Make It Mine' delves into the psyche so subtly that one barely notices they have been given a 'checkup from the neck up' about why we live the way we do in our own homes The book is filled with funny stories, sad stories and a million tips, tricks and ideas to help you navigate from a house to a home It is full of ideas and solutions for everyone from the college student to retirees. The ideas are bold, not old stuff. For motivating, inspiring ideas that teach you how to prevent becoming a victim as you locate and improve your home in today's economy; this is a must read This book is funny and happy, and is a worthwhile, down to earth endeavor that will bear wonderful fruit. It is filled with profound thoughts, inspiration and practical ideas for successful living.

This book should prove helpful as a "how to" guide for a man working alone to build a strong, yet simple log cabin made to last. It can be a log cabin that a man can be proud to call his home or for a getaway home away from home on the weekend. I built the 13 by 41 foot cabin shell, including cutting down the trees and peeling off the bark, in three months while camping out in a tent. Cutting down the trees and peeling off the bark took more than half of the time in completing the shell of the cabin. It was hard work, but by using the trees on my property I saved money and it gave me a more satisfying feeling of accomplishment as I lived my dream. After about three months work the cabin was up and we moved from our tents into the cabin, however, the electrical wiring, well and plumbing, septic system, interior walls, chimney, and 8 by 28 foot add-on, which are covered in varying details (less on the wiring and plumbing) in this book, were worked on as I got the time and money. Overall, to complete the cabin, it took about four to five months time. The 757 square foot cabin was completed in about four months by working long hours, six days a week. The long camping experience was an ordeal for my wife, but my son and I enjoyed it. The plans contained in this book are designed to allow a man working alone to build a cabin in a short time that will last a life time. I give the basic plans for building the "shell" of the cabin. An additional chapter about building a pergola type patio cover out of red cedar is included at the end. 48 pictures are included. My first trip to Alaska was in 1981 when I went there looking for adventure and prospecting for gold. I wrote about that experience in the book: The Wild Still Calls To Alaska.

One of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, Beard provides a hand-on guide for building a variety of habitable structures in the wilderness and other difficult environments. Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties provides easy-to-follow instructions on building everything from tents to teepees to log cabins.

Bad things happen to good people. If you feel like there is no hope, then this book is for you. There is plenty you can do. You have rights as the homeowner regardless of what your lender has led you to believe. This book will show you step by step what you need to know and how to do it. This is a guide for everyone facing possible foreclosure and what can be done to avoid it.

The difference between FINE Homebuilding and just Homebuilding is "Getting What You Want at a Price You Can Afford." Learn How AVERAGE People All Over The Country Are thinking "Out-Of-The-Box" and discovering That They CAN Actually Build Their Dream HouseTHEMSELVES They are stepping out and taking charge of their future in a way they NEVER knew they could . . . By becoming their OWN BUILDER Learn how any "average" person with LITTLE or NO building experience can successfully BUILD THEIR OWN HOME BY SUBCONTRACTING Let me show you how YOU can follow a straight-forward, step-by-step process subcontracting the building of your home as an "Owner-Builder" and potentially SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS by being your OWN BUILDER and coordinating the building process YOURSELF Thousands of people have done it, and SO CAN YOU And rather that paying a "service" a lot of money to show you how to do it, I'll give you the steps that explain the process of building a home from beginning to end. This is a 114-page book that is a step-by-step guide explaining how the "average person" can BUILD THEIR OWN HOME. NO LICENSE NECESSARY It includes detailed checklists and steps that will guide you . This is a guide MEANT for the "average person," WRITTEN by an "average person." BEST OF ALL . . . I want to make it clear that you can actually PAY YOURSELF what you would otherwise pay a building contractor to do for the same thing Even if you've ever just been curious to know IF you could possibly BUILD YOUR OWN HOUSE . . . and you'd like to just look into doing it someday, this is a great resource to get started

This easy-to-understand, straight-forward, approachable book, which is based upon important engineering concepts is intended to advance knowledge on the subject of shelter, one of man's basic needs. The reader can glean standardized information about the field of pre-purchase home inspections. This information will assist people in determining the condition of a home and in living a safer and happier life. The book includes a multitude of house plumbing, electrical, roofing, heating, foundation, and structural problems commonly encountered when scouring a home for potential purchase. Some building code and safety items have been presented as well. Many illustrations assist the reader to understand home inspection concepts. Additionally, it is THE guidebook for both professionals and novices alike, which serves to integrate the sound, relevant context of the issues oftentimes identified when purchasing a home. Practical Guide to Home Inspection will act as an invaluable resource to utilize when in the midst of the often challenging home buying process.