The Complete Guide to Home Carpentry: Essential Woodworking Skills & DIY Projects for Beginners - Perfect for Home Renovation, Furniture Building & Wood Crafts (Black & Decker Home Improvement Library)

This is a neat little book, despite the name 'Black & Decker', which I stay away from like the plague.As a girl, I know very little on carpentry in general. This isn't a bad book to have to give you a starting point and some little projects to put together to gauge yourself. I always liked the idea of fixing up the house--but liking the idea, and being able to ACTUALLY DO IT are totally different things. So, my first project I started with was the workbench plan, and modified it a bit to suit my needs, just to see if I had a knack for this kind of thing. I can't even begin to say how much I like the plan for the workbench. It ends up making a very sturdy table. (I added locking wheels to the bottom of mine, and used 2 sheets of 3/4" MDF board as the top instead of plywood.)This book obviously isn't meant for someone who already knows it all. As the title says, 'Carpentry for Homeowners', not 'Carpentry for Carpenters'. So, if you've got some projects you want to try out, this is certainly a nice addition to your library--even if you're just a tad bit interested. The first 100 pages are just telling you what certain tools are, what they're used for, and how to use them. Kind of basic stuff, but for me, it was a good start.One thing I don't like about the book is that it's glue-bound. What I mean by that is that it's glued to the cover and all that, and so it has a tendency to flop closed on you. Hardly functional if you're trying to learn WHAT to do WHILE doing it. The easiest way to fix this is to take it to your local Kinko's, or somewhere else that binds books, and have them chop the spine off, laminate the covers, and coil bind it for you. (Be ready to pay ~$12 for this, though) Now, you have a functional book you can leave open without having to weigh it down!Here's a list of the things covered inside the book, just to let you know if it's worth it for you.Basic Carpentry:- Anatomy of a House- Preparing the Work Area- Building Walls- Soundproofing- Installing Wallboard- Installing Interior Doors- Mounting Bifold Doors- Installing a Storm Door- Installing Door & Window Casings- Installing Window Trim- Installing Base Molding- Paneling an Attic Ceiling- Installing Wainscoting- Covering Foundation Walls- Framing Basement Foundation Walls- Trimming Basement WindowsAdvanced Carpentry- Enlarging Openings & Removing Walls- Removing Wallboard- Removing Plaster- Removing Exterior Surfaces- Removing Doors & Windows- Removing a Non-loadbearing Wall- Installing an Attic Access Ladder- Framing & Installing Doors- Framing & Installing Windows- Installing New Window Sashes- Installing a Standard Skylight- Installing a Bay Window- Patching Wood Siding & Stucco- Patching FlooringCabinets & Countertops- Removing Trim & Old Cabinets- Preparing for New Cabinets- Installing Cabinets- Installing Countertops- Building a Custom Laminate Countertop