A Few Books For The Handyman’s Bookshelf

First, build a shelf for your home and home improvement books. Consider these titles for filling:

“The Family Handyman Helpful Hints” (Reader’s Digest, $25 hardcover) is like a first-aid kit for the house, yard and car. It includes tips about painting, wallpapering, drywall installation, fixing squeaky floors, heating and cooling, and dozens of other maintenance projects.

Also from Reader’s Digest is “How a House Works” ($14.95 paperback) by Duane Johnson. This overview of the systems in your house tells you how to determine if something’s wrong, how to find it and how keep it in repair.

Many quality homes these days are built in factories. “Manufactured Houses: Finding and Buying Your Dream Home for Less” (Real Estate Education Company, $14.95) by A.M. Watkins covers the range of houses available, the procedures, the pitfalls and the savings you can realize over the standard stick-built home.

Knowing the ropes about home inspections can save costly headaches for buyers, sellers, or those who just want to keep their current homes fit. “The Home Inspection Troubleshooter” (Real Estate Education Company, $14.95) by Robert Irwin tells what to look for and where.

The updated “New Basics” series from Sunset Books ($9.99 each) offers titles for six home improvement and repair projects: carpentry, home repairs, home wiring, masonry, plumbing, and woodworking. Included are lists of necessary tools for each project, glossaries, and troubleshooting guides.

“Kids’ Furniture You Can Build” (Chapters, $17.95 paperback) by David and Jeanie Stiles gives you information and schematic plans for projects like a crib, loft bed, child’s art desk, storage bench, computer centers, play kitchens, tables, workbenches and other furnishings for youngsters.