JoAnne Liebeler's Do It Herself: Everything You Need to Know to Fix, Maintain, and Improve Your Home

This book is a powerhouse of a guide for any woman ready to roll up her sleeves and take charge of home maintenance. The author, with her no-nonsense yet engaging writing style, breaks down the often-intimidating world of home repair into accessible and empowering steps.

The book is divided into practical sections, covering everything from plumbing and electrical work to drywall repairs and painting techniques. Each chapter is packed with step-by-step instructions, detailed illustrations, and helpful tips that demystify even the trickiest tasks. The author's approach not only educates but also encourages women to embrace their inner handyman, challenging the outdated notion that home repairs are a male domain.

What sets this book apart is its combination of technical precision and conversational tone. The author writes as if she’s right there with you, cheering you on while providing the knowledge you need to tackle each project with confidence. The inclusion of personal anecdotes and humor makes the book not just a manual, but an enjoyable read.

Overall, Do It Herself is an invaluable resource for both beginners and seasoned DIY enthusiasts. It’s a celebration of self-sufficiency and empowerment, proving that with the right tools and attitude, anyone can master home improvement.

I just read pg. 12-13 that shows me how the plumbing systems behind the walls work. I enjoy reading the cross-section diagram of a house that shows the loop of the plumping pipes, even though my home probably has a different looping layout. I recently had a bad clog in my toilet that I had tried almost every trick that I watched on Youtube, from poring boiling water with vinegar and baking soda, to poring all kind of drain clearing liquids like Draino, but I was unable to unclog the toilet. So I hired a plumber who snaked the toilet and then pulled out lots of roots. It was a gross smelly mess when the plumber showed me the pile of roots he pulled out. He thought he was done but few days later, my toilet couldn't flush again and the poop wouldn't go down. So the plumber came again and did a camera detection to find out what happened behind the walls and the ground. Then he told me he needed to dig open to access the sewer pipe to replace a section that was broken. Before the clog, I had been smelling sewer odor at nights even though after I ran water into the drain because I learned from Youtube that the P-trap could be dry up and water was needed to block the sewer gas. But the sewer odor lingered on. So that was a sign when something more major happened deeper down the pipe, beyneath that P-trap. I didn't know then. My attempts to unclog my toilet and then my hiring of a plubmer to fix the clog were very traumatizing to me, so I borrowed this book from the libraray to try to learn more about plumbing so I can understand my plumber's work better. I find this book very educational because I feel less traumatized after reading how the plumbing works. It's a little comforting to know that it's something fixable and it's not going to completely destroy my home. It's gross and it will take a few days to replace the section of the underground sewer line that was broken by the roots, but it was not a bankrupting disaster like I initially imagined. So, reading this book kind of helped me reduce my stress over a broken sewer line.