Reader's Digest DIY Manual

[Blodwyn Pigs Might Fly]

I'm so useless at DIY you wouldn't believe it. Instructions might as well be written in Narnian for all the sense they make to me. And those diagrams - what connection are they meant to have with the random bits of wood and screws in front of you?

I can wire a plug and mend a fuse but I want to be able to do a lot more. I managed to put up some blinds once, and it felt like I'd won an Olympic gold medal. (Apart from having to polyfilla a hole in the wall where I'd put a hole in the wrong place.) So I need some help.

Is the Reader's Digest DIY manual the one to go for? Or does anyone know of any better ones? Is there a book called DIY For Dummies?

[JohnE]

You sound as if you're round about the same level of DIY competence as me. Trouble is I do jobs so infrequently I get about three-quarters through before I remember the lessons I learnt 10 years before. This book seems quite useful and is usually some help when I get it down from the shelf. Of course the less competent you are, the more idiosyncratic your DIY questions, so I find it quite easy to catch it out with some abstruse concern. Nevertheless, it comes up with the goods more often than not.

I used to find it enormously difficult to judge whether a self-help guide would be any value, as I stood there in the bookshop leafing through them all. I now test them out with two or three very specific and ongoing needs, especially to see if they cover points where I've come unstuck, eg how the hell do you drill a decent screw hole in a concrete lintel?. Sadly, I've not yet come across a book that answers that one.

[My Friend Jack]

My copy is probably 10 or 15 years old now, but I would say it's excellent at what it does. Be careful, though. It will tell you all sorts of useful things that you can do around the house - but it WON'T give you any help in interpreting those useless diagrams that you get with flatpack furniture.

Over the last quarter of a century, I have built untold numbers of flatpacks and I've become quite good at working out what the diagrams actually MEAN. Last year, though, I bought a CD cabinet and discovered that some of the pre-drilled holes hadn't been. Drilled, that is. "No problem," I thought, whipping out my electric one. God alone knows what wood the unit was made of, but all I managed to do was set fire to the damned thing - the boy scout method of starting a fire really DOES work! Fortunately, a phone call to the supplier, explaining that some of the drill holes were missing resulted in a replacement being delivered within 48 hours - and no, they didn't want the burnt one back!

Anyway, if you can browse a copy before buying, then I would agree with JohnE. Look up something you already know about - I use the same method for judging music reference books.

[lynne g]

My copy of the Readers Digest DIY manual is some years old now but over the years we have found it to be the first book we reach for when a job needs doing, so i would say its a good buy for learning how to do basic stuff.

[Colinj]

I agree It's a great book. Once the basics are mastered Experience will help you to learn even more. A Great book to buy a 16 year old.

[megustaleer]

My husband is somewhat inept at DIY. (He has drilled into the electric wiring, fortunately with a brace and bit, so he just nicked it and fused everything. Goodness knows what would have happened with a power drill!)

In an effort to improve his skills we have acquired a number of DIY manuals over the years, and have found the Readers Digest DIY Manual to be the most helpful, and certainly the most comprehensive.

With it's assistance we have fixed the flush mechanism of the loo, replaced a light pull (the whole thing, not just the cord!), and serviced both a lawnmower and a moped, plus many other household tasks. Our copy is at least 20 years old, but then, so is most of our household equipment. I presume that a more up to date edition would be just as useful in the modern home!

[Obskua]

From personal experience (with power drill) there's a flash, a loud bang and your bit gets bent. I agree totally about the steep learning curve with DIY instructions - even the ones not translated from the Japanese by an unemployed Korean rice-husker. They always assume a depth of knowledge I for one do not possess - must look out for a copy of this esoteric tome.

[megustaleer]

My garden shredder is unwell.
Sadly there were no such pieces of equipment when our edition of the R.D. D.I.Y. Manual was published, so it has been unable to help.

[r3nu4l]

I purchased the updated edition when I bought my house last year and it has been invaluable.

I've used it quite a lot already and have found it really useful and I'm someone who is useless at DIY! :)

I still wouldn't attempt electrical DIY but this is covered in very good detail in the book with reminders on every page about new wiring colour codes and new regulations.

I'd recommend it purely on the fact that for the few jobs Iv'e done, it's been a great help.