I never thought I’d be saying this, but Home Depot actually sells some really good books.
As a recent first-time homeowner and someone who has never really had to do home upkeep or home projects, combined with the fact that the house we bought needs some cosmetic upgrades, I found myself at Home Depot quite a bit the past two weeks. I stumbled across a section that had a couple of their books. Yes, Home Depot has published a few books over the past decade.
After paging through Home Improvement 1-2-3
It doesn’t stop there, though, as I also saw Wiring 1-2-3
Even better was that Wiring 1-2-3 has projects included and estimates how long it would take someone to complete who is experienced, handy, or a novice. It seems like projects always take longer than planned, so I appreciate the fact that they built in these estimates.
Included are such projects as:
- Replacing a Switch
- Inspecting a Service Panel
- Replacing a Receptacle
- Installing a GFCI Breaker
- Upgrading a Ceiling Fixture
- Adding undercabinet fluorescent lights
The book even gets into ventilation, which was a huge win for me because I want to install a bathroom vent fan but was unsure how to go about it. They give step-by-step directions for how to do it. Unfortunately for me, though, it will take a novice about 16 hours. The money savings from doing this could be huge, though, so it just might be worth it for me to go the do-it-yourself route.
While Home Improvement 1-2-3 and Wiring 1-2-3 are the only two books I have bought so far, there are a number of other books published by the Home Depot that I’m just assuming have a ton of good information if you have some work to do on your house, or want to save money by doing the work yourself instead of hiring a contractor. Below are some of the other books they have published:
- Landscape Construction 1-2-3
- Plumbing 1-2-3
- Patios and Walkways 1-2-3
- Trimwork 1-2-3
- Gardening 1-2-3
- Flooring 1-2-3
- Kitchen Design and Planning 1-2-3
If you are interested in doing projects but don’t know much (like me), then these are some good books for background information.
Do you have any of the Home Depot home improvement books? What other home improvement books would you recommend to new homeowners?
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Photo by David Carlson
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I knew they offered some books, but did not know the extent of them. I don’t know that they’d help me though as I am horrible with stuff like this. :) I also know that they offer classes as well on some basic things, at least they do in my area, and I believe that they’re free.
My father-in-law has nearly every DIY book under the sun. A lot of them were from Home Depot and helped save us quite a bit of money.
@JustinatTheFrugalPath That’s awesome! Saving money is always good. I’m looking forward to some DIY projects and to learn a lot of new stuff. I’ve never done any of this stuff.
Shortly after we bought our house during one of our many trips to the ‘ol HD (yes, we’re tight like that, we’re on an acronym basis now) hubby came home with both of those books, I particularly like the orange one! Enjoy!
@PlungedinDebt Nice! I can’t wait to get into them!
I have looked through these books.. they are solid.. but to be honest.. this is one of the main reasons that i love the internet.. you can find not only written text on how to do virtually any repair or improvement.. but also a video!.. viva la youtube..
@seedebtrun Oh definitely there is lots of great content online! I like the books for my purposes since I have about 0 knowledge and need a comprehensive overview. I will refer to online for specific questions/projects!
I need to look through these! There are so many things that I want to do around our house and need to finally start.
I haven’t looked at the books at Home Depot but I did buy a plumbing book from Lowes last year when I had a pipe that was leaking. I still ended up calling a plumber to come fix it but I watched him do it so I could learn how to solder correctly. It’s a good way to save money if you learn how to correctly do it. The plumbing book was pretty solid. Did you know in order to solder pipes together there can’t be any moisture by the pipe? A quick way to stop a little water comng through is to stick a piece of white bread in the pipe. Once the soldering is compete and the water is turned back on the bread will break down and come out of the faucet.
I didn’t even know Home Depot had DIy book to be honest. Mrs.CBB bought me the Mike Holmes Make it Right or Doing it Right The First Time.. I forget but I’ve only briefly read it. I’m no pro but certainly reading books, talking to professionals or better yet hiring one if you just don’t think you can do the job 100% is more what I would do. I hate spending money twice.. cheers Mr.CBB
Home depot and Lowes both have a solid selection of DIY books. Stanley tools also has a reference book on home improvement projects. I would recommend that as well.
I never knew Home Depot published books. It only make sense. I love the fact that they named all of their book series “1-2-3”, let’s do-it-yourself amateurs know that the books use step by step approach. Let’s face it, who doesn’t like to be told step by step?!
Yes, their book section is actually quite huge. I found some really nice ones when we were looking for ways to landscape our backyard. They had great design ideas, including beautiful decks.
Oh, we have 3 or 4, one on basic DIY, one of how to lay tile, one on deck building, etc. Very helpful. I don’t know what we’d do without Big Orange.
I have a pretty complete collection of these books. They have been my constant companion in the fixer upper house business. Of course, the internet is a great tool too, but books still have a place in my heart.
@tsx1561 I definitely love the books as well as the internet. Internet content can’t replace books.
When we first moved to our townhouse I started to teach myself some of the basic just through youtube…do you think that the book is better or worse than just googling what you are trying to do? I find that the videos help me out a log
@MJTM I like the books as a more thorough explanation of things, ESPECIALLY the wiring book. I don’t want to mess around when it comes to the electrical, and I’m trying to have a full understanding of how it all works before I start replacing outlets and switches. I definitely plan on consulting videos, though, for more specific questions.
My bf is not much of a reader, but he enjoys reading how to books for the home. Come to think of it, he may have purchased the wiring book shown in the picture not too long ago. I think I lucked out because he is amazing with renovations. He knows so much, has a ton of tools and actually doesn’t mind doing most of them, which will save us $ when we do renos on our new house and only have to pay for the materials. Me, on the other hand, will have to start reading the books you have mentioned above.
@MakintheBacon I hear you, I definitely need to read the books. I have zero background on any of this stuff.