Books published by publisher Cool Springs Press

You might not have to call a plumber; get the most comprehensive, up-to-date book on home plumbing for DIYers of all skill levels instead!From fixing a faucet to installing a drain line in a basement floor, The Black & Decker Complete Guide to Plumbing 6th edition has the answer to any home plumbing problem you're likely to have. Packed with clear color photos and easy-to-understand descriptions, the basics of home plumbing systems are clearly explained, and all of the most popular plumbing projects are shown with beautiful step-by-step photos.This new edition has been thoroughly updated to ensure that all information conforms to the most recent codes, including the 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code and the 2014 International Residential Code. New projects include plumbing and tiling a curbless shower. Other features include projects to promote accessibility in the bathroom; updated bathroom ventilation featuring new products; and an expanded section on exterior plumbing, including pools, pumps, and sprinkler systems.

Dive into the ultimate handcrafted, fun way to bring the natural world indoors!Terrariums are back and better than ever! If you haven't seen this virtually foolproof and no-fuss way to bring nature indoors in the last forty years, you are in for a treat. Whether you live in an apartment, are chained to an office desk, or just want to be surrounded by green, living things, creating terrariums is a delightful way to combine the worlds of home decor and gardening. Terrarium expert and teacher Maria Colletti makes designing your very own interior gardens easy with step-by-step photos of over twenty of her own designs. Get all of the information you need on the "it" plants of today--tillandsias (air plants), orchids, mosses, cacti, and succulents, along with "traditional" terrarium ferns.Learn how to transform basic designs using moss, air plants, succulents, vertical planters, hanging glass globes, and more into an unlimited creative palette. Once you know the basics (the plants, the vessels, and a basic understanding of soil, water, and humidity), you can mix and match for an endless exploration of your own creativity!

Vanity lights on the sides of the mirror provide good lighting. Vanity Lights Many bathrooms have a single fixture positioned above the vanity, but a light source in this position casts shadows on the face and makes grooming more difficult. Light fixtures on either side of the mirror is a better arrangement. For a remodel, mark the mirror location, run cable, and position boxes before drywall installation. You can also retrofit by installing new boxes and drawing power from the existing fixture. The light sources should be at eye level; 66" is typical. The size of your mirror and its location on the wall may affect how far apart you can place the sconces, but 36" to 40" apart is a good guideline. How to Replace Vanity Lights in a Finished Bathroom Tools & Materials Drywall saw, drill, combination tool, circuit tester, screwdrivers, hammer, electrical boxes and braces, vanity light fixtures, NM cable, wire connectors, eye protection Step 1 Turn off the power at the service panel. Remove the old fixture from the wall, and test to make sure that the power is off. Then remove a strip of drywall from around the old fixture to the first studs beyond the approximate location of the new fixtures. Make the opening large enough that you have room to route cable from the existing fixture to the boxes. Step 2 Mark the location for the fixtures, and install new boxes. Install the boxes about 66" above the floor and 18" to 20" from the centerline of the mirror (the mounting base of some fixtures is above or below the bulb, so adjust the height of the bracing accordingly). If the correct location is on or next to a stud, you can attach the box directly to the stud; otherwise you’ll need to install blocking or use boxes with adjustable braces (shown). Step 3 Open the side knockouts on the electrical box above the vanity. Then drill 5 ⁄8" holes in the centers of any studs between the old fixture and the new ones. Run two NM cables from the new boxes for the fixtures to the box above the vanity. Protect the cable with metal protector plates. Secure the cables with cable clamps, leaving 11" of extra cable for making the connection to the new fixtures. Remove sheathing, and strip insulation from the ends of the wires. Step 4 Connect the white wires from the new cables to the white wire from the old cable, and connect the black wires from the new cables to the black wire from the old cable. Connect the ground wires. Cover all open boxes, and then replace the drywall, leaving openings for the fixture and the old box. (Cover the old box with a solid junction box cover plate. ) Pellentesque Blandit Install the fixture mounting braces on the boxes. Attach the fixtures by connecting the black circuit wire to the black fixture wire and connecting the white circuit wire to the white fixture wire. Connect the ground wires. Position each fixture over each box, and attach with the mounting screws. Restore power, and test the circuit.

Design, plant, and grow a world of your very own—inside a terrarium! Including 15 unique, imagination-inspiring project plans, each accompanied by adorable, full-color photographs, kids and their grown-ups will discover how easy terrariums are to plant and grow. Kids love to create, imagine, and have fun. Nothing fulfills all three of those desires quite like designing and planting a terrarium. With the step-by-step project instructions found in A Family Guide toTerrariums for Kids, the results are beautiful, inspiring, and confidence-building. Making these little landscapes develops motor skills, spacial awareness, and provides a wealth of sensory input. The science behind the art is included with quick and simple lessons on ecosystem functions, the water cycle, and plant nutrition. But for kids, it's all about being active and building something cool! Plus, when the project is complete, there's a piece of living art to share with family and friends or display on a bedroom shelf. With the terrarium plans found in A Family Guide to Terrariums for Kids, everyone in the family can tap their inner “science geek” to:Use multi-colored sand and succulents to craft a desert terrariumPlant, trim, and tend a terrarium bonsai treeBuild a peat bog filled with carnivorous plantsMake an aquatic terrarium, complete with a marimo moss ball “pet”Design a prehistoric garden of air plantsCreate a plant-filled habitat for a praying mantisGrow a Japanese garden with living rocksWith information on selecting the best terrarium container, growing materials, decorative elements, tools, and plants, readers are primed for success that lasts long after the terrarium has been built. Terrariums combine imagination and creativity with a dash of hands-on science. And you get to play in the dirt! What could be better than that?

Keep your lawn and eat it too - Foodscaping will show you how to grow food without giving up your view.Foodscaping is what it sounds like - a combination of landscaping and food. This gardening resource is chock-full of real-world examples, photos, and advice so that even an "average Joe" homeowner and gardener can grow food without sacrificing either their lawn or their home's appearance to do so.While "edible" and "ornamental" aren't always synonymous, they can be combined, with the right plants, placement, and advice from author and edible gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi. Charlie's ideas allow you to add food plants wherever you like. Incorporating food-bearing plants as hedgerows and barriers or in small spaces, containers, window boxes and many more ideas allow you to expand the types of plants you can use and even extend your growing season!For example, bluberry bushes provide not just fruit, but also wonderful fall color. Arbors and pergolas are perfect supports for edible plants and even simplify harvest. Squash and cabbage have attractive, interesting leaf textures, so they can be a part of the ornamental garden.Foodscaping also goes beyond mere plant selection. The basics of gardening, planting, pruning, dealing with pests, watering, feeding, and harvesting are all covered in detail, ensuring your success in creating a beautiful, edible landscape for your home.

Gardening is now the favorite outdoor leisure activity in America. Homeowners realize the health benefits available from gardening and the potential increase in their home's property value. Regional gardening titles offer the most useful advice because they provide credible information on the plants that perform best in specific states. Gardeners want information they can trust and use successfully in their own gardens. The Arizona Gardener's Guide is a full-color plant selection resource guide written especially for Arizona gardeners. It includes the top 175 landscape plants as recommended by one of Arizona's most respected horticultural experts.

Keep critters and pests out of your yard and garden with heart! The Guide to Humane Critter Control keeps unwanted guests away safely and organically. It takes a lot of work and a fair amount of money to grow a garden, and a top fear of every gardener is having their investment wiped out by deer, rabbits, and insect invaders. The Guide to Humane Critter Control is filled with clever ways to be proactive and stop pests from feasting on the bounty you've been working on all season. The Guide to Humane Critter Control shows many ways to incorporate protective barriers without ruining your sight lines, outsmart the invaders using insect behavior, use scent to your advantage, and more. With methods and products that are not only kind to wildlife and insects but also healthier for children and pets, this is the blueprint for creating a safe backyard for play, beauty, and healthy fresh-grown foods.

Expand the sharing movement to your community with Little Free Libraries and Tiny Sheds—your complete source for building tiny sharing structures, including plans for 12 different structures, step-by-step photography and instructions, inspirational examples, and maintenance. Around the world, a community movement is underway featuring quaint landscape structures mounted on posts in front yards and other green spaces. Some are built for personal use, as miniature sheds for gardeners or as decorative accent pieces. More commonly, though, they are evidence of the growing trend toward neighborhood organization and community outreach. This movement has been popularized by Wisconsin-based Little Free Library (LFL), whose members currently include 75,000 stewards seeking to build community togetherness and promote reading at the same time by sharing books among neighbors. LFL has inspired builders to use similar structures to share things like CDs, food, garden tools, and seeds in the community. Produced in cooperation with Little Free Library, Little Free Libraries and Tiny Sheds is the builder's complete source of inspiration and how-to knowledge. Illustrated throughout with colorful step-by-step photography and a gallery of tiny structures for further inspiration, Little Free Libraries and Tiny Sheds covers every step: planning and design, tools and building techniques, best materials, and 12 complete plans for structures of varying size and aesthetics. In addition, author and professional carpenter Phil Schmidt includes information on proper installation of small structures and common repairs and maintenance for down the road.Little Free Libraries and Tiny Sheds even includes information on how to become a steward, getting the word out about your little structure once it's up and running, and tips for building a lively collection. Community togetherness has never been so at the fore of our consciousness—or so important. Little Free Libraries and Tiny Sheds is one tool on the road to helping you build community in your neighborhood.

The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores is an updated edition of the everyone’s favorite hardware shopping guide and reference book. There's nothing more frustrating than making multiple trips to the hardware store because you purchased the wrong item. Those double--or even triple-trips to the big box store are a thing of the past with The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores. You'll learn the difference between drywall screws and deck screws; between faucet washers and neoprene O-rings; and between red wire nuts and blue wire nuts. And that's before we even get to understanding nail gauges and drill bit sizes!Looking through the range of products at home stores can be downright bewildering, but with this handy guide you'll know exactly what you're looking for and why. The next time you talk to a hardware store clerk, rather than asking for "screws about 2 inches long", you'll be able to ask for a #3 gauge 2-1/4-inch-long panhead screws with SAE 5/16" flat washers.The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores is filled with color photos that let you see in lifesize scale what different screws and nails and washers and bolts are called, accompanied by brief descriptions of their recommended uses--so you'll be able to ask for them with accuracy and use them with precision.

Growing Heirloom Flowers explains in simple terms how to grow the fullest, richest, and most aromatic blooms possible. Heirloom flowers have stood the test of time. Prized for their beauty, scent, hardiness, or other star qualities, these vintage varieties continue to capture our imaginations and decorate our gardens long after they first came to be. These flowers have experience, and now you can enjoy the experience of growing them. In Growing Heirloom Flowers, author Chris McLaughlin takes you on a tour of these alluring blooms, covering the benefits, challenges, growing requirements, and everything else you need to know about more than forty heirloom flowers. Along the way, she offers tips, tricks, and creative projects for making the most of your heirloom garden, from arranging and preserving to dyes, drinks, and more. With a wealth of information and stunning full-color photography, this book is the perfect guide to adding heirloom beauty to your life.

Dive into the ultimate handcrafted, fun way to bring the natural world indoors!Terrariums are back and better than ever! If you haven't seen this virtually foolproof and no-fuss way to bring nature indoors in the last forty years, you are in for a treat. Whether you live in an apartment, are chained to an office desk, or just want to be surrounded by green, living things, creating terrariums is a delightful way to combine the worlds of home decor and gardening. Terrarium expert and teacher Maria Colletti makes designing your very own interior gardens easy with step-by-step photos of over twenty of her own designs. Get all of the information you need on the "it" plants of today--tillandsias (air plants), orchids, mosses, cacti, and succulents, along with "traditional" terrarium ferns.Learn how to transform basic designs using moss, air plants, succulents, vertical planters, hanging glass globes, and more into an unlimited creative palette. Once you know the basics (the plants, the vessels, and a basic understanding of soil, water, and humidity), you can mix and match for an endless exploration of your own creativity!

No-Waste Kitchen Gardening is a fun and colorful exploration of the amazing results you can get by re-growing vegetable cutoffs and scraps into harvestable, edible plants. Stop tossing your carrot stumps, loose cilantro sprigs, lettuce and cabbage stalks, and apple cores in the trash! The expert advice in No-Waste Kitchen Gardening, gives you all the instruction and tricks you'll need to grow and re-propagate produce from food waste. You'll be astonished at how much food waste you can re-grow. You'll also find some helpful general information about growing indoors and maintaining your re-grown plants. Two-part photo instructions show first what the root, chunk seed, or leaf should look like when you re-plant it, and second, when to harvest or re-plant it in soil to continue growing. Edibles big and small, quick to grow and those that take a big longer, are included, so you can pick and choose which projects to take on. A few of the many plants profiled include:Green onionsTomatoesMelonsAvocadoesPotatoesCarrotsCut back on your food waste, cultivate your own food easily, and maybe even share gardening with a new generation, all with the advice from No-Waste Kitchen Gardening.