from Hacker News

Ask HN: Best source to learn home renovations

by Diesel555 on 10/11/22, 8:39 PM with 1 comments

I'm trying to find the best source that explains clearly how to do specific tasks such as replacing a toilet, bathtub, tile work, electric gate, garbage disposal, countertop, septic considerations, when to hire out because the tools are unique and not worth it, etc.

I know this is a generic question to an extent, and that the level of knowledge of the person learning will dictate the source. However, that's why I reached out to this community. I feel pretty good doing most work, including wood work, with a clear set of schematics or direction. Unfortunately, most sources I find are a surface-level single page description and, for lack of a better term, click-baity. I want the engineer's resource for home everything.

And if one doesn't exist - that may be my next web-project.

by cc101 on 10/12/22, 3:52 AM
I have built 3 spec-houses without a building background. I did it by managing sub-contracts. I learned a lot about such work by filling the gaps between one sub-contract and the next. By far the most important source of info was bookstores. Books like the HP or the Sunset lines were a tremendous help. Mostly I'm talking about 1/4 inch thick books in large format focusing on a single trade. I could not have done what I did without them. In my opinion there is too much information for a practical website.