DESC: Before you drive that first nail, this is the guide you need-thousands of hints, tips, and professional tricks of the tradeAuthoritative, detailed, and fully illustrated, Rules of Thumb for Home Building, Improvement, and Repair gives you all the inside information you need to make your home improvement project go faster and easier. For this all-in-one volume, do-it-yourself experts Gene and Katie Hamilton, founders of the online service HouseNet, have distilled the best professional home repair and remodeling information.Rules of Thumb will help you avoid the costly headaches that can result from using the wrong materials, amounts, or measurements. Here in plain English are all the technical standards and specifications for lumber, fasteners and adhesives, carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, painting, walls, ceilings and floors, doors and windows, weatherizing and climate control, exteriors, asphalt, concrete, masonry, and more. Plus, you'll discover time-tested procedures that get you the result