How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home, is a great idea. The book’s goal is providing homeowners with simplified drawings and diagrams of home systems, including written explanations of how each system works. For common problems, simple fixes are proposed that anyone can accomplish. Drawings are informative. Written explanations are typically integrated within the drawings or succinctly itemized without unnecessary “writer’s” fluff.
The Good: Clearly, the illustrator spent considerable time ensuring each drawing was informative and not too complicated or overly technical. Text with leaders pointing within the drawings is especially effective and reminiscent of blue prints.
The Bad: While the idea is great, this book’s execution is not. Considerable space is dedicated to electrical, plumbing, appliances and HVAC. Perhaps most homeowner concerns arise in these areas. But little information is provided about other systems critical for the home. The author glosses over the foundation and framing with span charts and other unnecessary topics. Yet fails to include any information about potential problems the might be of concern to homeowners. The same approach is used for mold and humidity. Nothing is discussed about vapor barriers and their application for minimizing condensation.
Diagrams for windows are too simple. Nothing is included about doors, except overhead garage doors. Nor is any information discussed about roofing, siding or flashing. All critical areas of homeowner concern, or they should be.
The Bottom Line: Buildwise cautiously recommends this book for homeowners because of the interesting drawings and diagrams. Some are very informative while others are too simple. Don’t expect detailed instructions for fixing problems, but simple fixes are included. All your home’s systems aren’t included in this book.
Full Citation: Wing, Charles
How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home.
Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. Paperback
190 pages, 8.5×10.75 size, copious color 2D and 3D technical images. Some checklists and tables.
How Your House Works
Pros
- Great 3D images
- Integrated text with images
- Simple fixes discussed
Cons
- Not thorough enough
- Many building systems not included
- Some information is too simplified