Great Houses on a Budget

Melodie Moore

VIM & Vinegar: Moisten Cakes, Eliminate Grease, Remove Stains, Kill Weeds, Clean Pots & Pans, Soften Laundry, Unclog Drains, Control

Vinegar is inexpensive, safe and 100 percent natural, and nearly every household has a bottle tucked away somewhere, but few people ever take advantage of its full potential. Yes, it's great for dying Easter eggs and making salad dressing, but there's so much more it can do. In Vim & Vinegar, Melodie Moore tells all. Here are hundreds of tips to help readers tenderize meats, soup up soups, eradicate odor, firm fish fillets, cut grease, ease arthritis, cure cramps and more. Versatile vinegar also does wonders for flavoring food (plus, it has no fat or calories), and readers will be amazed at the range of tasty recipes, which include such treats as Vinegar Pie, Crazy Cake and Vinegar Hard Candy. For tightwads, environmental activists, health advocates and curious cooks -- in fact, anyone who appreciates good old American ingenuity -- Vim & Vinegar is the perfect book.

Cartwright Peter, Peter Cartwright

Bricklaying

8,Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.BRICKWORKING FROM "A-Z" . . .FOR NOVICES TO EXPERIENCED PROSWhether you're a homeowner wanting to do your own repairs, a trade apprentice seeking to sharpen your skills, or a veteran craftsman or contractor with years of experience, you'll turn to this complete guide to bricklaying again and again. There is no more comprehensive or up-to-date reference available on the subject.Written by a pro with over 25 years in the field, Bricklaying features: * Over 560 technical drawings and diagrams illustrating technique and clear text that guides you every step of the way * Skill-building projects with start-to-finish instructions* Electricity and plumbing integration in brick construction* Solutions and preventive methods for high-wind concerns in cavity brickwork* Table for calculating how many bricks are needed for a job* Brick design for handicapped* Engineering properties* Essential topics such as damp-proofing, repairing and carcking mortor, window and door cutting, cleaning brick, and much moreAn ...

David Giffels

All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House

As wry as Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself, as insightful as Tracy Kidder's House, here is smart, engaging tale of one man's stuggle to restore his family's new home--a decrepit old mansion--and discover himself With his pregnant wife and their 18-month-old son in tow, David Giffels scoured the environs of Akron, OH, in search of the perfect house. But nothing seemed right . . . until he spotted the beautiful, decaying Guilded Era mansion. A former rubber robber baron's domain, the once grand house does need some repair . . . okay it's a dump. So what if, there's “nothing holding this place up but memory,”--the assessment of his father, a structural engineer? It wouldn't be perfect if it were easy, and Giffels relishes the challenge. He's a committed do it yourselfer who fears a life without struggle--and Home Depot. All the Way Home follows Giffels's funny and sometimes frustrating journey as he and his young family turns a decrepit money pit into the the home of their dreams. From outwitting squatters (both four- and two-legged) to rebuilding termite ridden walls, battling wisteria vines and finding $14,000 in Depression-era cash hidden in a bathroom wall, ...