Best resources to learnHome Renovation & DIY

Sal DiBlasi

A tile contractor with over forty years of installations demonstrates substrate prep, waterproofing membranes, mud beds, shower pans, flood testing and layout. Explains the reasoning behind each step and which shortcuts cause failures.

This Old House

Channel of the long-running PBS renovation program, where licensed carpenters, plumbers and electricians work through repairs and whole-house remodels on camera and answer homeowner questions in short Ask This Old House segments covering tiling, flooring, plumbing and wiring.

Vancouver Carpenter

A working drywall finisher films hanging, taping, mudding, corner bead, texture matching and patch repair close up in real houses, explaining knife angle, mud consistency and why each coat exists rather than just showing the result. Drywall finishing is the single highest-leverage skill for making DIY work look professional, and it is almost impossible to learn from still photographs - the feel of the knife is the whole lesson.

Essential Craftsman

Scott Wadsworth, a contractor with forty years on job sites, films framing, concrete, roofing, tool technique and jobsite judgment, including a multi-year series documenting one spec house from excavation through final finishes and punch list. The Spec House series is the closest free thing to an apprenticeship: it shows the order operations happen in, which is exactly what DIY renovators get wrong.

📚Books(3)

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Code Check Complete, 3rd Edition: An Illustrated Guide to the Building, Plumbing, Mechanical, and Electrical Codes

Spiral-bound illustrated digest of the 2021 IRC, UPC and UMC plus the 2020 NEC, organised around the violations building inspectors cite most often. Covers framing, electrical, plumbing and mechanical requirements needed to pass permit inspection.

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Wiring Simplified, 47th Edition: Based on the 2023 National Electrical Code

Residential wiring manual keyed to the 2023 National Electrical Code, explaining circuits, conductor sizing, boxes, grounding and bonding, GFCI and AFCI protection and device installation in plain language. Homeowners learn to plan and carry out permitted electrical work that meets code.

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Renovation, 5th Edition: Completely Revised and Updated

The single best whole-project text for this topic: it is organized around renovating an existing structure (the actual DIY case) rather than new construction, and it is the only resource that covers planning, permitting and trade sequencing end to end. A 656-page reference on remodeling existing houses: assessment, permits, demolition, framing and structural repair, windows, wiring, plumbing, drywall, tile and finish work, with field-tested sequencing advice gathered from hundreds of working contractors and architects.

🌐Websites(4)

This Old House Plumbing

Plumbing section of the long-running This Old House renovation brand, collecting step-by-step articles and videos on replacing faucets, toilets, sinks, and shower valves. Readers learn the tools, sequence, and common leak points for typical homeowner fixture swaps.

Building Science Digests - Building Science Corporation

The failure mode that turns a good renovation into a rebuild is trapped moisture, and almost nothing in consumer DIY media covers it correctly. Technical digests on wall and roof assemblies, vapour control, insulation retrofits, crawlspaces and moisture movement. Explains why assemblies rot, which matters before insulating or closing up a wall during a renovation.

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ICC Digital Codes - the I-Codes (free read-only access)

The International Code Council's official online library of the I-Codes, including the International Residential and Building Codes, readable free in a browser. Readers can look up the model code requirements behind construction and renovation work, then check them against local amendments.

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Instructables

Community site of user-submitted, step-by-step project guides with photos, spanning woodworking, home repair, electronics, Arduino and Raspberry Pi builds, crafts and cooking. Quality varies by author, but popular guides let learners follow a complete build and adapt it to their own projects.