This Old House Guide to Building and Remodeling Materials

Vila, host of the PBS series This Old House, which features home improvement and repair projects, here makes recommendations for assembling a properly equipped workshop that includes a range of common and special-purpose tools. He follows with exhaustive listings and analyses of many wood species and the characteristics and suitability of specific types of lumber for particular construction jobs. There are also equally detailed sections on masonry, roofing, exterior siding, doors, windows, flooring, walls and ceilings as well as plumbing and electrical systems and equipment. Like some other guides compiled by professionals, this book occasionally assumes reader knowledge of certain procedures and materials. (In the masonry section, for example, ""pointing'' is discussed without explanation.) Overall, however, tables, charts and line drawings help make this an unusual and well-organized encyclopedic manual. (November)