Updated manual worth the wait

Chicago Sun-Times February 16, 1992 | Les Hausner Since it first arrived in bookstores in 1973, Reader’s Digest’s popular Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual has sold 10.5 million copies. go to site how to install a dishwasher

This is the manual I normally check first when seeking help on a project around the house.

After 23 revisions, the book has been completely rewritten and illustrated and retitled New Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual. The cover price is $30 – actually a bargain for any homeowner interested in keeping the house or making improvements without having to call in a professional.

Of course, no manual ever deserves the word “complete” in its title, but this book comes close to achieving that end.

There are some new chapters, including emergency repairs, which offers immediate stopgap solutions for power outages, clogged drains and leaky roofs. “Your House” is a new chapter dealing with the house structure, hiring a contractor, building codes and financing repairs.

The book’s updating reflects our changing lifestyles. For example, the chapter on plumbing gives well-illustrated instructions for installing whirlpool baths. The electricity section tells us how to install home security systems, telephone wiring and smoke detectors.

The chapter on woodworking should be helpful to anyone trying to solve the mysteries of cutting joints, grooves and miters.

There is much that is new in New Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual, and the book is an excellent primer for one wanting to learn how to paint or wallpaper, repair and install floors, and make plumbing and electrical repairs and installations.

No doubt a revision of this manual already is in the planning stage. I have a suggestion for at least one addition: How to install a dishwasher. This should have accompanied the instructions on installing a garbage disposal. here how to install a dishwasher

About seven years ago, I installed a dishwasher in less than two hours and with the aid of simple tools after a craftsman quoted me a price of $210 for labor alone. I wonder what it would cost today?

I am not certain what Charles H. Self had in mind when he compiled Making Pet Houses, Carriers & Other Projects (Sterling Publishing, $9.95 paperback).

I presumed such a book would present a wide assortment of original plans for pet structures and would be accompanied by clear illustrations. That is what the do-it-yourself book trade is about.

Instead, I discovered that half the 128-page book is devoted to woodworking and refinishing techniques.

Many of the photos are of tools with the brand names prominently displayed. A snapshot of a bottle of (I won’t name the brand) hide glue does nothing to help anyone complete a proejct. The same goes for a photo of a set of chisels, which does not explain the particular use of any of them.

Plans for building two dog houses were obtained from the American Plywood Association, which also supplied color photos of their finished projects. We have to guess how the other products will look after completion.

Save your money. You can write to the American Plywood Association, Box 11700, Tacoma, Wash. 98411, for a free catalog of plywood products, including pet products.

There is a charge, probably $2, for an individual pattern. If you want a videotape explaining how to do it, the charge is $15.95.

Les Hausner