Comprehensive index and glossary of important terms
Customer Reviews:
Insulate walls, update plumbing, install new wiring and more.......2003-08-11
Part of the outstanding "Smart Guide" series from Creative Homeowner, Basements: Step-By-Step Projects is a no-nonsense, "user friendly" collection of step-by-step projects to insulate walls, update plumbing, install new wiring, eliminate moisture problems and much more in the basement of one's home. Color photographs, diagrams, and detailed instructions distinguish this excellent do-it-yourself resource which is confidently recommended for personal "do-it-yourself" and Interior Design technical reference shelf collections.
Average customer rating:
- Good Guidance
- Food for thought.
- Good reading.
- Only for dummies
- Smart Review
|
Smart Homes for Dummies, Second Edition
Danny Briere , and
Pat Hurley
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
| Humor
| Movies
| Music
| Performing Arts
| Pop Culture
| Puzzles & Games
| Radio
| Sheet Music & Scores
| Television
For Dummies: General
| Introductory Guides
| Software
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Hardware
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Computer Science
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Remodeling & Renovation
| Home Design
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Do-It-Yourself
| How-to & Home Improvements
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Household Hints
| How-to & Home Improvements
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Telecommunications
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Electronics
| Electrical & Electronics
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Electrical
| Construction
| Civil
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Computers & Internet
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Entertainment
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Home & Garden
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Home Theater For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
-
Latest Technology in Automated Home Control: System Design Manual
-
How To Automate Both New & Existing Homes
-
Structured Wiring Design Manual
-
Easy X10 Projects For Creating A Smart Home
ASIN: 0764525395 |
Book Description
Most people have had some contact with a network through their work environment – computer local area networks (LANs) in the office, control networks in factories, telephone networks in many mid-sized or larger businesses. The Internet itself is one big network.
Although some folks may think of a network as simply something that helps them do their work, the network concept has begun to move from the workplace to the home address. Smart home builders and remodelers (and forward-looking owners of otherwise perfect existing homes) are starting to think in terms of wiring (or wirelessing) their homes both to make use of a network today and to prepare for future structural requirements.
Smart Homes For Dummies, 2nd Edition, lays out a richly landscaped spread of possibilities in networking your home devices – for convenience, cost control, time-savings, safety, and increased property values. This forward-thinking, fun guide spells out how to
- Imagine all the cool stuff that home networks can do
- Make your home an entertainment center
- Plan a phone system
- Design a home-based LAN
- Wire a security system
- Install and configure all the gizmos
Smart homes never want for innovation; people are constantly inventing things. Stuff that seems niche-oriented and expensive today may be high-volume consumer products tomorrow. Smart Homes For Dummies, 2nd Edition, invites you to take advantage of the latest techno developments as you rev up for the upcoming gee-whiz things that'll make your home a twenty-first century castle. You'll meet the most recent information and insight on
- Figuring how much you're willing to spend
- Connecting your kitchen appliances and more
- Feeding audio and video from your Media Center
- Accessing the Internet all over your house
- Integrating a satellite system to create a video network
- Untangling cables and components
- Seeing what's just over the horizon for telephone service
A home network opens the world to your entire household, and Smart Homes For Dummies, 2nd Edition, provides a plan for your home, sweet home to enjoy all that awaits in an infinite space.
Customer Reviews:
Good Guidance.......2007-09-20
Lots of info for x10 systems but not leaning to any particular vendor. Very much like that they wrote from personal experience. I did wish they were a bit more clear in regards to whole house audio, but the section on impedance was adequate.
Food for thought........2007-08-16
My husband and I are in the midst of a major remodel/expansion of our 1968 tract home so we have read pretty much every remodeling book we could find. This book offers a lot of information and food for thought on how to bring an outdated home into the technology age. Our budget is not unlimited and this book helped us decide which features were essential to add now and what could be added later (and how to add the foundation work while the walls were stripped to the studs for those future improvements to save us money in the long run). This book does not give reviews on specific products, that is not it's purpose. Technology is changing so fast, that any product reviews would have been obsolete by the time the book hit the shelves. I recommend you use this book to plan out the framework for your smart house and use magazines like THE PERFECT VISION, HOME THEATER, etc. to fill in the blanks. My husband subscribed to both magazines through Amazon (very inexpensively) for 2 years and did a lot of research on the Internet before making his preliminary choices. Since we aren't at the "fun stage" of our remodel yet, where we get to go buy all the equipment, those choices might still change because prices our dropping and items that were out of our price range 2 years ago are now more affordable. The bottom line is this book is the BEST for helping you plan your smart house because it is easy to understand by even those of us who are not tech savy (like me) and it shows you options that you may have never even thought of before. And believe me, in a remodel the time for thought, planning and innovation is before you put the drywall back up!
Good reading........2007-02-20
I am very much into the X-10 gadgets and have been for several years. This book was intended for the average DUMMY homeowner interested in inexpensive home security and automation. Although I own other books on this particular subject, I found this one to be the most down to earth.
Only for dummies.......2005-09-29
Very little information of any real help here. No reviews of current equipment, or help in wiring. Very basic descriptions of home automation. Only for the truly dumb.
Smart Review.......2004-03-30
I have read this book in its whole entirety. It is very well written, thorough, and sectionally organized. It covers a diverse range of interesting issues in relation to the title's subject. The approach to reading this book can be tackled from a stand-alone-chapter format, and/or in a chapter-linking format, and/or obviously as a whole book format.
Book Description
Aimed at single contractors and small businesses, Smart Business for Contractors gives readers reliable information on bidding and pricing and offers field-tested ways to handle legal matters that arise during this process. It includes chapters on incorporation, taxes, insurance, disability, and retirement.
Customer Reviews:
Written Specifically for Self-Employed Contractors.......2007-09-21
This book covers everything you need to know as a self-employed contractor through hiring your first employee.
The straightforward language of this book explains the business side of being a professional tradesperson, and shows the benefits of doing things properly. It is backed by many examples of what has worked and not worked for others.
The book also shows how to plan for your retirement and balance your business and personal life.
Whether you are just thinking about going out on your own, or you've been running things by the seat of your pants, this book will help.
Contractor .......2007-02-04
For beginners only. Written as if you don't know anything about the business, so if you don't then buy it. It will not open your eyes to anything new if you're in the business.
Smart Business for Contractors.......2007-01-16
Good solid information on the accounting, legal and business details of a construction company.
Great Contractor Trade Book.......2006-11-15
I am starting an electrical contracting business and needed help with the office/legal side of the business. I read 4 books on starting a business. This book was the most practical and relavent for me as it was written specifically for the contractor trades. This book provides a good overview of the business details that are required for a business to operate and succeed. It contains very practical examples of what to do to before you start your company and as you run your company. Buy this book first and you may not want any others. Good job with this book Jim.
very helpful.......2006-11-05
i am starting a contracting business in the near future and i found this book to be very readable and full of good info.i would highly recomend it!!!
Book Description
With rising energy costs, homeowners are beginning to examine the energy efficiency of their own homes, asking questions that range from where energy comes from and how much it costs, to how to choose new appliances and what options exist for renewable energy?
The Home Energy Diet answers all these questions and more, while helping readers take control of their personal energy use and costs so they can save money, live more comfortably, and help the environment. Energy auditor Paul Scheckel first explores energy literacy, and then describes how your home uses - and loses - energy you pay for via:
- Electricity
- Hot water
- Heating and air conditioning, and
- Windows, walls and insulation.
The Home Energy Diet involves readers in learning about their own homes by measuring, metering, investigating, and considering habits related to household energy use, then learning how to quantify energy consumption and cost, and to make informed decisions about cost-effective improvements and upgrades. The book explores the misunderstood concept of efficiency versus cost by comparing fuel costs and equipment choices, including the possibility of using renewable energy for meeting home energy needs. This authoritative guide makes efficiency fun through personal anecdotes and humorous "tales-from-the-basement" energy misadventures.
Since energy efficiency is an investment that offers returns greater than Wall Street, readers can earn several hundred dollars every year just by following the advice in this book. As a bonus, many of the energy-saving strategies described can make for improved indoor air quality and healthier, more comfortable homes.
Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series
Customer Reviews:
The Home Energy Diet.......2007-10-17
A thorough review of everything you can do to save money and make your home energy efficient. Helpful photos, illustrations and charts. Good resource for understanding and maintaining major systems of a house such as heating and cooling, electric and appliances.
More than just an overview of ideas........2007-09-29
This is the best book I've read on the subject of improving household energy efficiency. Many of the books I've read in the past go through the basic things that homeowners can do to improve efficience, but this book explains the hows AND the whys.
The book surprised me when I first started reading it. I expected another "easy reader" on the subject. I was pleasantly surprised to find detailed explanations on why things should be done, situations where a particular improvement may not be the best, and how to approach the many different systems in a house - air heating and cooling, envelope, insulation, water heating, ventilation, etc. It was also refreshing to find different ways of examining the same system - for example, amount of fuel used for different heating systems, amount of heat generated for a particular type of fuel, and all the relationships between them.
As you start reading, you will find a lot of sidebars and short stories to highlight the discussion in the chapter. One thing I found slightly annoying is the number of Math Boxes that interrupt the flow of the book early on. These are sidebars that present sample calculations for the various topics, e.g. efficiency, fuel used for different heating systems, etc. I'd prefer the Math Boxes to be contained in an appendix with references in the main body of the book, but that's just me. Other readers may not find this annoying, and it's certainly not enough for me to reduce my rating of the book.
I highly recommend this book if you are serious about exploring ways to improve your house's efficiency. It's not an "easy reader", but it's well worth the time to read through it.
Great information that will save your money.......2007-09-18
The first third of the book is general information about energy, how it is made, how to count it, how to work the numbers. It should be a required class textbook for High School seniors. This background information is very well written and easy to understand. But, that is not why folks should buy this book.
The real meat starts at about page 93 with some very important electrical power safety tips, followed by an appliance-by-appliance list of items that use energy in a typical North American home. It is alphabetical and organized like an index.
Each item listed includes information about the amount of energy it uses and tips on how to save money using it. The "what to do" information is very specific and easy to put into practice. It starts with Air Cleaners and goes right through to Well Pumps.
Some items get just a sentence or two and others get a whole chapter. The biggest energy users get the most page space. Hot water, heating and air conditioning get their own chapters, as they should.
Like most grouchy old engineers, I read the book looking for details to disagree with. That approach was rewarded with frustration. In fact, there is so much good stuff in this book that I put it on the shelf next to my desk where it will be a handy reference.
I am forever getting questions from folks wanting to know how much they save when they shut off the item in question. The book has a handy chart, as appendix C, which does a good job answering that question.
More importantly, it provides focus for action by letting you identify the big energy users in your home. I get too many questions from people worried about the cost of running a computer when they should be focused on their heating, cooling and kitchen energy use.
The book is targeted at folks who own a house, but renters should read it too. If you pay the energy bill at your home this book will pay back the cover price many times over.
Good book.......2007-05-14
Good read, I got a lot out of this book. The author really knows his stuff.
Read before you remodel or upgrade your home.......2006-11-04
This author goes into detailed explanations that are easy to understand. I learned MANY reasons why my 1950's brick house was still air leaky after replacing HVAC system, windows, exterior steel doors, roof and adding insulation-the "professional" installers (Temp-A-Tech, Window World, Lowes, roof installer, and the handyman)-simply I bought good products but they were improperly/inadequately installed. Needless to say after paying the rather pricey installation charges, I'm not too happy. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone purchasing a home or having remodeling done. If I had only known about this book before I had the costly replacements done I would have a much better energy efficient home.
Product Description
The popular title The Smart Approach to Bath Design returns with all new photographs, a larger size, a fresh look, and updated information that presents the most recent and best materials and products on the market. Read about the latest trends in master baths, family baths, powder rooms, and accessible design. Talk the talk of professional designers, and plan your project with professional finesse. The series' familiar Smart Steps and Smart Tips accompany more than 260 glorious photographs and take you through the process with ease-from beginning to end.
Get Clark Smart: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich from America's Money-Saving Expert
Clark Smart Parents, Clark Smart Kids : Teaching Kids of Every Age the Value of Money
Clark's Big Book of Bargains : Clark Howard Teaches You How to Get the Best Deals
The Real Estate Investor's Handbook: The Complete Guide for the Individual Investor
50 Simple Steps You Can Take To Improve Your Personal Finances: How to Spend Less, Save More, and Make the Most of What You Have
Pass On This One.......2007-07-30
