What do you think?
Rate this book
How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding & Maintaining Your Home
Why is my faucet leaking, my toilet running, or my dishwasher refusing to start? Can I fix it myself? What's causing the heating system to smell bad or the foundation to crack? Do I need an air filtration system? Is the new "engineered lumber" as good as conventional wood? These are just a few examples of questions homeowners face when repairs are needed, or when a new house or addition is being planned. There's no question that it pays to be an informed consumer. Knowledge of your home's systems helps you control repair and construction costs and make sure the correct elements are being installed or replaced. This book uncovers the mysteries behind just about every major appliance and building element in your house. Clear, "exploded" drawings show you exactly how these things should be put together and how they function – what to check if they don't work, and what you can do that might save you having to call in a professional. The easy-to-understand pictures and explanations on every page get right to the point, helping you understand how things work, what can go wrong, and how to trouble-shoot a problem. FEATURES: Virtually everything in your house is included:
152 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2007
364 people are currently reading
1149 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
May 30, 2022
Very informative
November 21, 2017
"Righty, tighty; Lefty, loosey" -Every dad ever
After huricane Maria I realized that I knew very little about home repairs. With the appropiate support, I made sure the house was safe before, during, and after but some repairs post huricane were a struggle. Hence I will start researching more and this book is one of the many things I'm doing.
The information within the pages could be easily researched on the internet but it is a perfect reference for many overlooked aspects of a home. It is sort of a homeowner's manual. For example, I knew that most of my appliances were 120 VAC and others were 240 VAC but what I did not know is that 240 VAC was produced via three voltages supplied by the power grids.
240 VAC is the hottest topic of discussion on the island since it is the appropiate VAC for powering a house with a transfer switch setup. Electric generators still powers many homes after 56 days of the storm's passing.
I hate paperback Wiley books, their wax and glossy covers always bend into cylinders.
After huricane Maria I realized that I knew very little about home repairs. With the appropiate support, I made sure the house was safe before, during, and after but some repairs post huricane were a struggle. Hence I will start researching more and this book is one of the many things I'm doing.
The information within the pages could be easily researched on the internet but it is a perfect reference for many overlooked aspects of a home. It is sort of a homeowner's manual. For example, I knew that most of my appliances were 120 VAC and others were 240 VAC but what I did not know is that 240 VAC was produced via three voltages supplied by the power grids.
240 VAC is the hottest topic of discussion on the island since it is the appropiate VAC for powering a house with a transfer switch setup. Electric generators still powers many homes after 56 days of the storm's passing.
I hate paperback Wiley books, their wax and glossy covers always bend into cylinders.
August 13, 2015
In terms of broad introduction, this book is very understandable and I think it's great for getting your feet wet, however, he fails to define a whole ton of parts. Each section is set up so he names something, like "flush mount lighting fixture" and explains how the parts break down, how it works, and what to do if basic things aren't working. That's all well and dandy, but you'll be reading and he'll throw in terms like "nm 14/2" and as a beginner, you'll be like "...?" and then use the power of google. It's like trying to understand how to put together a house frame without knowing what the word "2x4" or "load bearing wall" means first, and that much is troublesome. I found myself skimming over things that don't apply to my life because it wasn't worth it to look up all the terms.
March 25, 2019
Really informative with great pictures. Knowing is half the battle and this is a good basic intro to home repairs. Between this and online videos I fixed a few lingering home problems I’d been ignoring. It won’t help with everything but it hits most common stuff.
April 21, 2010
Not what I really wanted. I was hoping for more of a "this is how houses are constructed". Something along the lines of: plumbing is run this way, electrical is run this way, roofs are constructed this way, framing should be done this way. It had some of that, but it was more "this is how an AC works. This is how a water heater works."
November 29, 2022
In a quest to bootstrap my handyman skills, I couldn't think of a better place to start. Great practical advice and context. Would need to YouTube a lot more for some repairs but I know the landscape and jargon a lot better.
March 25, 2021
A fantastic overview of the major systems in a house and the two or three things a homeowner can do before calling in professional help on any of those systems.
July 21, 2020
The diagrams are clear, readable, and helpfully labelled, but the maintenance details are sparse; there are only a few tips for each area/system of the home. I expected more preventive maintenance advice, given the subtitle "A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home." Each "How it works" explains how a system functions. Each "Before calling a …" section gives DIY tips to try before calling a pro. Covers plumbing, wiring, heating, cooling, appliances, windows and doors, foundations and frame.
Notes
If lift chain in toilet breaks or disconnects, repair with plastic wire tie.
If ball-type faucet leaks from under handle, remove handle and tighten adjusting ring in cap.
If AC doesn't turn on, check HVAC system's circuit breakers or fuses. Next, set heating thermostat to high temp. If furnace doesn't start, thermostat or wiring is faulty.
Buy appliance parts from repairclinic.com.
If dishes coming out of dishwasher are still dirty
• Interrupt wash and check water temp. Should be 140 F.
• Remove food from dishes before loading.
• Interrupt wash and check water level. Should be just over heating element. If not, remove and clean float switch until it slides freely.
• Remove spray arm(s), clean spray holes, replace arm(s), ensure they spin freely.
If clothes washer takes longer to fill than it used to, check inlet screens inside machine where hoses connect, and clean with toothbrush.
If clothes washer "walks" during wash, machine is overloaded, or one of leveling feed requires adjustment.
If clothes dryer takes longer to dry than it used to, remove hose or ductwork to check vent, and remove lint if necessary.
Notes
If lift chain in toilet breaks or disconnects, repair with plastic wire tie.
If ball-type faucet leaks from under handle, remove handle and tighten adjusting ring in cap.
If AC doesn't turn on, check HVAC system's circuit breakers or fuses. Next, set heating thermostat to high temp. If furnace doesn't start, thermostat or wiring is faulty.
Buy appliance parts from repairclinic.com.
If dishes coming out of dishwasher are still dirty
• Interrupt wash and check water temp. Should be 140 F.
• Remove food from dishes before loading.
• Interrupt wash and check water level. Should be just over heating element. If not, remove and clean float switch until it slides freely.
• Remove spray arm(s), clean spray holes, replace arm(s), ensure they spin freely.
If clothes washer takes longer to fill than it used to, check inlet screens inside machine where hoses connect, and clean with toothbrush.
If clothes washer "walks" during wash, machine is overloaded, or one of leveling feed requires adjustment.
If clothes dryer takes longer to dry than it used to, remove hose or ductwork to check vent, and remove lint if necessary.
February 2, 2024
This was a weird one, happened to come up in a recommendation on a private tracker and I thought it seemed interesting.
The subtitle is misleading, is the big problem. It doesn't really tell you jack shit about maintenance. Each page has a diagram of a thing with little numbered bubbles each containing a 1-2 sentence description, and the "main text" of the page is just more infodump on building codes, scientific reasoning for things, etc.
All you get that could be deemed "maintaining your home" is a little box in the corner that just says some obvious things to check before calling a plumber/electrician/etc. When you hear that bit of the subtitle, you expect step by step instructions on things that you could do yourself instead of paying a professional 10x as much.
For example, it says on the toilet page that if there's leaking at the bottom, just replace the wax ring. Oh, ok, I'll get right on that gross task that I definitely don't want to leave half finished if I can't figure it out with zero instructions!
I think if you actually deliver on that half of the process, this would be a solid resource for homeowners. As it is, it's a curiosity if you don't know how basic things work, but in 2024 you're better served by the plethora of youtube channels that do exactly this but better.
The subtitle is misleading, is the big problem. It doesn't really tell you jack shit about maintenance. Each page has a diagram of a thing with little numbered bubbles each containing a 1-2 sentence description, and the "main text" of the page is just more infodump on building codes, scientific reasoning for things, etc.
All you get that could be deemed "maintaining your home" is a little box in the corner that just says some obvious things to check before calling a plumber/electrician/etc. When you hear that bit of the subtitle, you expect step by step instructions on things that you could do yourself instead of paying a professional 10x as much.
For example, it says on the toilet page that if there's leaking at the bottom, just replace the wax ring. Oh, ok, I'll get right on that gross task that I definitely don't want to leave half finished if I can't figure it out with zero instructions!
I think if you actually deliver on that half of the process, this would be a solid resource for homeowners. As it is, it's a curiosity if you don't know how basic things work, but in 2024 you're better served by the plethora of youtube channels that do exactly this but better.
February 18, 2020
Note, this book was read before I got a Goodreads account as part of a challenge to read 50 new books by the end of 2019. I wrote a review for it right after I read it and copy pasted it here.
Adults don't outgrow pictures in books, we call them diagrams. I wouldn't say this was a particularly fun read since this isn't an area I generally have a lot of interest in, but it was extremely informative. Even though it's geared towards a novice audience, I still felt a little lost for some of the explanations. That said, I came away understanding more about how appliances, etc. work after reading this than I ever have before. I particularly liked the emphasis on well labelled diagrams that explained both what something was and what it did. I also liked how it went over some of the most common issues run into with specific items and what the most likely causes were. I probably won't be able to put most of this to use because my toolset literally is composed of 2 hammers, a (small cheap) power drill, screws, a tape measure, twine, pencils, various kinds of tape, and various kinds of glue. At least I have a better understanding of what is going on and I have a landlord who's supposed to fix the stuff anyways.
Adults don't outgrow pictures in books, we call them diagrams. I wouldn't say this was a particularly fun read since this isn't an area I generally have a lot of interest in, but it was extremely informative. Even though it's geared towards a novice audience, I still felt a little lost for some of the explanations. That said, I came away understanding more about how appliances, etc. work after reading this than I ever have before. I particularly liked the emphasis on well labelled diagrams that explained both what something was and what it did. I also liked how it went over some of the most common issues run into with specific items and what the most likely causes were. I probably won't be able to put most of this to use because my toolset literally is composed of 2 hammers, a (small cheap) power drill, screws, a tape measure, twine, pencils, various kinds of tape, and various kinds of glue. At least I have a better understanding of what is going on and I have a landlord who's supposed to fix the stuff anyways.
March 13, 2023
I'm a 36 year old female who grew up thinking that maintaining the home's systems was the man's job. I'm recently separated and almost divorced and I've decided I am capable and can learn this shit on my own. And damn it, this book was helpful. I like the no nonsense style of the Author... like "After that, how this works is common sense." AND I LOVE THE BEFORE YOU CALL FOR HELP bits. I hope to continue on my journey of being a strong, independent female and that starts with using my homeowners tool bag and electric drill and mowing my own dang lawn. I knew some of these basics, but I feel like with this short book, I already know more than my STBX.
July 7, 2020
Chock full of a lot of interesting tidbits most of us haven't encountered. Some information is beyond what a newbie homeowner/handyman needs to know, some is beyond what even a veteran (but amateur) handyman would need. For the non-amateur, this probably won't add much, but this could be a good reference for the rest of us, helping us save money on hiring others for simple fixes. Fun to know how things work in general, but this can help you plan things out for renovations or upgrades, or fix small things on your own.
December 26, 2020
Well-illustrated and useful book for understanding some basic principles regarding cooling and heating, how your appliances work, etc. It seems a tough book to please everyone. Some people will want to just Google their problems and watch YouTube videos. This is more for generally understanding, and for that I think it is successful, though I don’t feel like I understood the more basic concepts of how houses are framed, foundations are chosen and prepared, etc. but that may be on me rather than the book and I need to learn more.
August 18, 2023
Excellent book explaining how everything from your water system, electric, frame, and house/yard appliances work. Keeps it fairly simple without being condescending. I really loved the side bar in most sections where the author provides tips for When You Could Fix it Yourself vs When You Should Call a Pro. I definitely did not retain a lot but am happy to have this book as a handy reference or re-read when needed.
October 23, 2018
This is what amounts to an interesting picture book for adults, at least the ones who are interested in houses and construction. While not all of it applies to my house (especially since it's from 1870!) I feel it was a good primer and a good gift for a new homeowner. :)
June 5, 2019
Really useful and knowledgable book with big pictures. Helped a lot to understand the inner working of a house and it's internal components. Helped me a lot to make decision on my first time house buying experience.
September 10, 2022
Admittedly didn’t finish reading the entire book because I live in a tropical country so a lot of the stuff aren’t applicable to me. The few sections which are relevant - they didn’t point me to how to solve my problems
May 21, 2024
Some parts could be explained in more detail, but otherwise, it's a great guide for people who want to do small repairs and don't know much about how a house works.
It's filled with useful diagrams, tips, and how-tos.
It's filled with useful diagrams, tips, and how-tos.
June 18, 2024
A particularly useful reference to understand, at a basic level, the systems that make up the house. A great initial reference before researching any sort of DIY projects, etc., or simply useful to make watching This Old House that much more enjoyable.
December 19, 2017
Super useful.
February 17, 2018
Good visuals for how things function. You'd need to go to other books for descriptions as to the actual repairs.
November 6, 2018
Great visual read to learn about how all sorts of stuff in your house works. Also a great reference for homeowners about where to look/what to replace before calling in a professional.
February 15, 2019
Must own for new homeowners
January 24, 2020
Love the diagrams in this book! Came in handy being able to refer to the gas furnace diagram in order to intelligently talk with the repair guy.
April 1, 2021
Terrific starting point that covers the basics. Dont count on this to guide you through diy endeavors. However, awesome base to build from. Very enjoyable and approachable.
July 8, 2021
Decent (albeit not comprehensive) introduction to the first-time home owner on the inner workings of a house.
September 14, 2021
I really love these diagrams - so helpful!!!
September 29, 2021
Doesn't really give any detailed descriptions but the diagrams are a helpful intro to how things in your house work.
March 11, 2023
Super helpful!
April 4, 2023
Loved this, super helpful and informative diagrams. Really helped me understand how the most common systems we rely upon function.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews