How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home (RSMeans)

Interesting read. The pictures and description are so well done that I could immediately understand. Nice to know that you can fix, say, a tub that doesn't hold the water anymore by yourself.This might be a good read, too, if you are thinking about remodeling your house. Since it explains why things are placed how they are, you can figure out if an idea is practical or just not worth it.

The illustrations in this book, and the associated text, are fantastic. If you know 'know nothing' about how your house works and want to start learning, this is the book I recommend. Sophisticated enough that you get important nuances - like how plumbing is constructed to avoid siphoning water out the traps - but simple enough that you can grasp what is happening easily. There are also tips for simple repairs or things to check before calling a repair person. I know a fair bit about home repair, but I found myself often learning useful things as I read it.On related note, if you have a child who is interested in home repair or construction or just how things work, this book makes it much easier to explain how/why things work in the home. Toilets, sinks, wells, light switches, etc. Although it is written for adults, most of the content is understandable by a child with an adult assisting in the explanation. I bought the book to read with my son, and he has greatly enjoyed it.

Greetings,I like the illustrations which are very detailed. However, as this is my first ever purchase of a digital book on Amazon, I really dislike the fact that I could not convert this book into pdf format. Honesty, the format used for this Kindle book is not as convenient as pdf books I have read. I know this might be due to copyright concerns, but please Amazon consider making your Kindle books available in other formats like pdf. If it were not for the fact that I really like this book, I would have already returned it for a refund. I am still pondering upon that decision.

It does not have all the information you need. But it gives you enough information to look for more information. It is a house owner 101 book.

This book, "How Your House Works", is excellent for first-time homeowners and anyone who didn't grow up learning plumbing, electrical, etc.There is a full-color illustration on every page of the book, along with text that explains how each thing in your house works. While it doesn't go into detail on how to fix every single thing that might go wrong with each part of your house, it does tell you "what to look for" before calling a plumber or electrician for service.I like that it explains the name of every part of something like a toilet, so when I talk to the plumber, I can describe the problem more accurately by using the correct terms rather than just say "the thingy that goes up and down", which makes it harder for the plumber to understand the problem and give me a quote for service.There is even a chapter on outdoor equipment that explains lawnmowers, chain saw, etc.My one suggestion/request is for the author to include more information about pool equipment, beyond the page on pool pump and solar heating. I would love an entire chapter about how an inground pool/spa works, and all of the different pumps and valves that go along with it. (Or maybe write a second book just about that topic!)

Someone on the radio recommend that every woman that owns a home or lives alone should have this book. I bought one for my grown daughters as Christmas gifts. It is full of information about how things work, but doesn’t tell you how to fix anything.

I like that this book covers many things with detailed drawings. I depend on other books to go into more detail when needed. This explains very basic functions about things about many things in your house. It's a great addition to my home reference books.

Very illustrative and descriptive info on how each and every system actually works in your home. Like how does water flow in and out and how your heating and air works...all this info is very good to know so you can head off problems and perhaps figure out home problems without spending a fortune on a plumber or electrician!

This book MIGHT be ok but the Kindle version seems to be missing half its content. There are a large number of empty sections.

Great book if you want to get general knowledge without a heavy reading, nice illustrations if you like visuals with simple explanations. Many topics are covered, it's a fun read and useful.

Not quite as much “How To” info as I was looking for.

Good book. Nice pictures. Easy to read.

Touched almost every topic but in brief. For detailed and hands on, one would need to refer other books. But not a bad book for the beginner