Recently, there was a post about a book here on Active Rain. The book was about tips and tricks that pros use while remodeling and repairing homes. Honestly, I'm not crazy about the title...
But, reading through the comments, one might draw the conclusion that the book was purely evil.
How to Cheat at Home Repair
Like I said, not crazy about the title... But, the title doesn't tell the whole story. Here is a short except from the book:
Here’s another situation where a panic response will lead to misery and unnecessary expense: the times when you need to call in a professional to perform repairs around the house. At a minimum, you want to have on hand the names and contact information for a handyperson, a plumber, and an electrician—professionals whose backgrounds you’ve already checked. If you just flip open the telephone book and pick the first name that sounds professional—or the first company with an impressive display ad—you’re in deep trouble. Your odds of getting good work at a reasonable price that way are very low. When you do your research and find repair professionals that you’re comfortable with, it’s wise to treat them like family, pay them fairly, and pay them promptly. For more on hiring professional help, see chapter 13.
The section is called Build a Support Staff. That sure isn't bringing the evil. OK, there is a mention of 'nose oil' and duct tape. Of course duct tape is designed for ducts... not ducks, so there is actually a place for it in lasting home repairs. And nose oil is something that I employed on more than one occasion to rescue damaged negatives as both a photographer and photo store manager. Still not evil.
When you have to drive a lot of screws into wood, the friction from the screwdriver can leave your hand raw or even blistered. Making screws easier to drive is simple. Keep an old candle in your toolbox just for this purpose. When you have to drive a screw, rub the candle against its threads first, lubricating the metal. This makes the screw easier to turn and saves the hands a lot of pain. If you don't have a candle handy, soap will work well, too (but with greater potential to get messy). Or spritz the pilot hole for your screw with spray lubricant.
I have not read the whole book, and I am sure that there are things in the book that I will disagree with. I read the portion of the book available through Books.Google.com. I don't have the book, and I doubt I would run out to get it... but there are some good tips in it for those that might not be really experienced in home repair.
But that isn't the point...
The point is that it is easy to villainize the book because of its title... especially for those of us in the real estate business. It doesn't take an inspector to recognize some of the pure crap that most of us have witnessed... poorly done repairs, cover-ups and camouflage. But before sentencing the writer to the 7th level of Hell, it might be a good idea to actually do a little research.
I guess the part that bothered me was 'The Bandwagon' and the fact that EVERYBODY was on it, and nobody seemed willing to find out what they were talking about...
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
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Lane - missed that book review. Learned to lubricate screws while working in a window factory when I was 15. I just need to remember to keep some wax handy. Wonder if the author of the original post and those on the bandwagon read some of the posts behind many of the titles here on Active Rain.
If I recall the post Lane the issue was not the content of the book, but the thought that the title conveyed a slipshod approach that many people do use. It might have been a fine book and there was no judging the content. We were judging the Title by the Title.
"... poorly done repairs, cover-ups and camouflage ..." Whatever do you mean?