Charlie Wing - How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home, 3rd Edition

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Cover Illustrations: Courtesy of Charlie Wing
Cover design: Wiley

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Copyright 2018 by Charlie Wing. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Wing, Charles, 1939- author.

Title: How your house works : a visual guide to understanding and maintaining
your home / Charlie Wing.

Description: Expanded and updated third edition. | Hoboken, New Jersey :
Wiley, [2018] | Includes index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2018008701 (print) | LCCN 2018012069 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119473480 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119473527 (epub) | ISBN 9781119467618 (pbk.
: acid-free paper)

Subjects: LCSH: DwellingsMaintenance and repair. | BuildingsMechanical
equipment.

Classification: LCC TH4817 (ebook) | LCC TH4817 .W56 2018 (print) | DDC
643/.7dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018008701

This book offers a unique approach to home improvement, maintenance, and repair. It describes how virtually everything in a house is put together, and how each item functions from plumbing to electrical, heating and air conditioning, appliances, doors and windows, and even the homes foundation and wood framing.

The key to the book is the easy-to-understand, see-through drawings. Each one is backed up by clear, brief explanations from a nationally known home improvement expert. Its a formula for a quick understanding of what youre dealing with when troubleshooting a problem, talking to your repairman, or planning your new home, addition, or remodeling project, and selecting new fixtures, appliances, or materials.

The illustrations show how the components of a system fit together and how each item is intended to function whether its an air conditioner, a hot water heater, the foundation, or a faucet. The author breaks down the workings of all of the plumbing, electrical, and heating/air conditioning systems, and other house parts, and shows not only what the parts look like and how they interact, but the sequence in which things work. Even complex systems are explained in simple terms and diagrams.

Throughout the book, youll also see Before Calling for Help boxes guidance on simple things to check, in many cases solving the problem quickly and inexpensively without having to hire a repairman. If you do find that you need a contractor or serviceman, the book will help you understand your options and be better informed about having the correct elements installed or replaced.

Maintenance tips and other helpful guidance throughout the book will help you keep your home running smoothly.

Not only homeowners, but handymen and contractors will benefit from the easy-to-interpret information presented here, especially for getting up to speed on items that are not their specialty.

If you would like the confidence of knowing more about how your house works and what to do if something breaks down, read this book. It just may change your life.

Note:This book is intended to provide useful information for understanding the systems, fixtures, and appliances in a house, but it is not a substitute for professional construction, engineering, or repair evaluations, recommendations, or services. Readers should obtain assistance from appropriate experts, as needed.

Charlie Wing is a nationally recognized home improvement/repair expert. He has written or co-written more than 20 books on these topics, including Home Depots Decorative Painting, Tiling, and Plumbing 1-2-3 books, Better Homes & Gardens Complete Guide to Home Repair, Taunton Presss The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling, Readers Digests The Big Book of Small Household Repairs, and many others, including Orthos Home Improvement Encyclopedia and How to Build Additions.

An MIT PhD, Charlie has been a guest more than 400 times on home improvement radio and television shows, including on the Discovery Channel, PBS, and NBCs Today Show. He developed and hosted a national PBS series on home remodeling for energy efficiency. He was founding and technical editor for Smart Homeowner magazine from 2001 to 2004.

After observing neighbors, friends, and family through decades of home ownership, Im convinced most live in a perpetual state of anxiety. The log cabin with a privy, a fireplace, and a bucket for hauling water has been replaced by homes with sophisticated wiring, plumbing, and appliances. What happens if something goes wrong?

No wonder we live in fear. While school has taught us mathematics, foreign languages, and computer sciences, most of us have no idea how our furnace, refrigerator, or even kitchen faucet works. This is an expensive omission in our educations. In metropolitan areas, the minimum charge for a repairperson to come to your home is about $150. In fact, repair services are now so expensive that the leading consumer magazine recommends replacing, rather than repairing, most appliances over five years old.

Why dont more people attempt simple repairs themselves? Because theyre convinced only professional tradespeople have the special tools and technical knowledge. The truth, however, is the opposite. Let me tell you my favorite home repair story.