Looking for books on renovations.

[mallik]

I'm looking to do complete renovations, and I was looking for books and information on it. I heard the Home Depot books are good, but I was looking for anything better and more detailed. I'm also looking for books on heating, refrigeration/air conditioning, and ventilation. Any help would be appreciated.

[jed]

Whoa, you're jumping in whole hog here - if you've never done ANY renos before, you may be in over your head, IMHO. We're redoing our house right now, and its a bear, if you want to do it right. Any hack can redo a house, but it takes someone with a bit of know how to do it right.

I'd suggest the CMHC for a good start. Their book gives the basics for construction which you'll need when you go to cut into that load bearing wall.

There are lots of courses held at community colleges that I would also suggest, depending upon your experience. The HD books are pretty basic, as they're not meant to give you a trades education. Start there and get to know what you're getting into would be my advice, and there are some good forums on the net where trades guys help out DIY'ers. But know a bit of what you need to do as they'll help with questions, but they won't hold your hand through the entire process. Good Luck!

[mallik]

Thanks for the advice. I've done minor things before like walls and floors, and I'm not looking to do anything huge like building a house, but just more than what I've done before.

I was thinking about taking courses, but I was wondering if there are any in-depth books that might be comparable. Otherwise does anybody know where there are good courses in the Markham area?