The Bottom Line
Pros
- Clear and simple graphics.
- Accompanying text further clarifies the graphics.
- Tons of projects--150 total.
Cons
- Deadset on a certain outdoor project or two? Then, this guide may be superfluous.
- Too much emphasis on decks: 142 pages in all.
Description
- The Complete Outdoor Builder is...complete. It's 528 pages showing a cross-section of most outdoor building projects.
- Pay attention: the operative word in the title is "builder." This is not a gardening book.
- Includes hot topics like building a deck and laying a stone pathway.
- Think the book is too complete? Perhaps not. No doubt you'll get ideas for projects you have never even considered.
Guide Review - Black & Decker The Complete Outdoor Builder Review
Don't believe me? Imagine this. You're inside your house--demo'ing drywall, pulling out fiberglass insulation, dealing with dead rats in the crawlspace, wrestling 20 ton house jacks. You're covered in drywall dust, dirt, paint, and anything else that comes with the territory.
Then, you look outside and see Neighbor Jones whistling in the sun as he happily builds his delightful A-frame greenhouse. Jealous? You bet.
That's the promise I get out of a book like Black & Decker's The Complete Outdoor Builder: from Arbors to Walkways: 150 DIY Projects. The fun stuff. The outdoors stuff.
I can't find a single project in The Complete Outdoor Builder that I wouldn't want to take on. Here are just a few:
- Building a deck
- Installing railings
- Building a flagstone pathway
- Building a mortared stone wall
- Building a children's play structure
The Complete Outdoor Builder aims to quell the fears of beginning outdoor DIY'ers, as well as speak to intermediate level outdoor builders.
Important Note: Version of The Complete Outdoor Builder reviewed here publishes November 30, 2009. The Compare Prices link to shopping aggregator should link to this new version after that date. See also the link direct to the publisher listed below.
