“What are the best DIY and Home Improvement books?” We looked at 120 of the top books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 10 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best DIY” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 100+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.
Top 10 DIY Books
- Scrappy Geek
- Wonderful Engineering
BLACK+DECKER The Book of Home How-To is a comprehensive home reference book with all of the information you need to perform just about any home repair or improvement project you can dream of. And even though it boasts 600 densely packed pages of reliable DIY instructions, this brick of a book will still fit into your toolbox. This book is an A-to-Z encyclopedia with precise how-to instructions and clear photos on every page. With an expanded index of keywords that is intuitive and a simple, alphabetical strategy for organizing the information, you won’t spend precious time wading through stuff you don’t need to know. And all the most common tasks around your home are covered, including electrical, plumbing, flooring, walls, windows and doors, cabinetry, insulating, heating and cooling, roofing and siding, and much more. BLACK+DECKER The Book of Home How-To: it’s incredibly easy to use because it thinks like you do. Plus, it is portable so you can take it with you wherever the work is being done.
- Goodreads
- The Book People
This collection contains all you need to know about practically every DIY job you can tackle, from changing a plug to re-wiring a house, and from painting a wall to building one.
- Full Home Living
- Wonderful Engineering
Home Improvement 1-2-3 is a workbench classic. The new edition—more than 600 projects, thousands of color photos, detailed illustrations, charts, and graphs, and a 90-minute DVD—offers up-to-the-minute solutions for homeowners tackling home repair, maintenance, and improvement. Chapters cover painting, wallpaper, plumbing, electrical system, walls and ceilings, flooring, doors, windows, cabinets, shelves, countertops, insulation, weatherproofing, exterior maintenance, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. Clear, concise instructions accompanied by detailed how-to photographs ensure success no matter what your skill level. Every project offers tips, shortcuts, and advice on buying and using tools and materials, working safely, avoiding common mistakes, saving time and money, and developing skills. Home Improvement 1-2-3 also reviews new tools, technology, materials, and installation techniques.
- Wonderful Engineering
- Wonderful Engineering
“All home improvements don’t require a contractor. Installing a smoke detector, painting a room, and unclogging a sink are all home improvements. In fact, doing the job yourself is often cheaper and always more rewarding. There’s no mystery to home repair. The most important tool you need to make home repairs is know-how—to fix the problem at hand and to buy the other tools and hardware you’ll need!
Home Improvement For Dummies is a whole-house repair manual for everyone from fledgling do-it-yourselfers to seasoned handymen and women. This anybody-can-do-it approach will help you with a repair that needs fixing right away or get you started on a project you’ve been planning.”
- Goodreads
- Parts Warehouse
“From his unique vantage point as editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine, the hub of the newly invigorated do-it-yourself movement, Mark Frauenfelder takes readers on an inspiring and surprising tour of the vibrant world of DIY. The Internet has brought together large communities of people who share ideas, tips, and blueprints for making everything from unmanned aerial vehicles to pedal- powered iPhone chargers to an automatic cat feeder jury-rigged from a VCR.
DIY is a direct reflection of our basic human desire to invent and improve, long suppressed by the availability of cheap, mass-produced products that have drowned us in bland convenience and cultivated our most wasteful habits.
Frauenfelder spent a year trying a variety of offbeat projects such as keeping chickens and bees, tricking out his espresso machine, whittling wooden spoons, making guitars out of cigar boxes, and doing citizen science with his daughters in the garage. His whole family found that DIY helped them take control of their lives, offering a path that was simple, direct, and clear. Working with their hands and minds helped them feel more engaged with the world around them. “
- Real Simple
- Scrappy Geek
The indispensable reference guide for every homeowner, guaranteed to help you maintain and improve your home while saving time and money. Covering everything from replacing faulty faucets and showerheads to curing the quirks of an air conditioner, this book provides step-by-step illustrated instructions, plus a comprehensive chapter on tools.
- Full Home Living
- Wonderful Engineering
“When it comes to home renovation, there’s no substitute for experience. Renovation 4th Edition contains the collective wisdom of hundreds of contractors, architects and tradespeople who shared their first-hand experience with Mike Litchfield as he interviewed and photographed them on job sites across North America.
As a founding editor of Fine Homebuilding magazine, the author of 12 acclaimed books, and a home renovator himself, Litchfield was able to record lifetimes of practical, field-tested solutions and trade secrets from the cream of the cropthe pros that other pros admire.
Both first-time renovators and professionals who want to supplement their knowledge of specific trades will find Renovation 4th Edition invaluable. R4 reflects the new realities of planning carefully, spending wisely, maximizing space and building durably. Its 614 pages contain extensively revised chapters on planning; doors, windows and skylights; electrical wiring; and energy conservation. Its illustrations are crisp and informative. And its 1000+ photos were selected from more than 40,000 that the author has taken over the years.”
- Full Home Living
- Scrappy Geek
- Wonderful Engineering
“The Family Handyman’s 100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know gives you the knowledge you need to be a better homeowner. You’ll make informed decisions, avoid frustrations and save thousands over the life of your home.
The Family Handyman’s 100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know gives you the knowledge you need to be a better homeowner. You’ll make informed decisions, avoid frustrations and save thousands over the life of your home. “
- Full Home Living
- Parts Warehouse
- XO Jame
“How Your House Works, Second Edition reinforces the fact that it pays to be an informed consumer. Knowledge of your home’s systems helps you control repair and construction costs and makes sure the correct elements are being installed or replaced. How Your House Works uncovers the mysteries behind just about every major appliance and building element in your house. Clear, full-color drawings show you exactly how these things should be put together and how they function, including what to check if they don’t work.
Covering topics such as electrical systems, heating and air conditioning, plumbing, major household appliances, foundation, framing, doors, and windows, this updated Second Edition has considerable additional information, with new chapters related to sustainability in and outside the house, as well as new topics, including clock thermostats, ventless gas heaters, moisture and mold, and passive solar heating.”
- Full Home Living
- Health Line
- Parts Warehouse
- Scrappy Geek
- XO Jame
“The bestselling, most comprehensive guide to home improvements has been revised and updated once again since it’s revision in 2005. Over 10 million copies of READER’S DIGEST COMPLETE DO-IT-YOURSELF MANUAL have been sold since it’s original publication in 1973. In 2005, the manual got bigger and better than ever, when The Family Handyman and Reader’s Digest joined forces and completely revised, updated, rewrote, and redesigned this home improvement classic. Now in 2014, The Family Handyman has once again updated and revised this do-it-yourself classic to make it relevant to today’s homeowners and DIYers..
Written in a style of text that addresses readers in a very accessible, conversational tone for easy, user-friendly assistance with every do-it-yourself task. All instructions and materials have been updated to address current codes (electrical, plumbing and building), and revised to indicate the very latest in materials, tools, and technology. “
The 100+ Additional Do It Yourself Books
| # | Books | Authors | Lists |
| (Titles Appear On 1 List Each) | |||
| 11 |
101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home |
Health Line | |
| 12 | A Beautiful Mess Happy Handmade Home: Painting, Crafting, and Decorating a Cheerful, More Inspiring Space | Elsie Larson | Goodreads |
| 13 | A Hot Glue Gun Mess: Funny Stories, Pretty DIY Projects | Mr. Kate | Goodreads |
| 14 | A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder | Michael Pollan | |
| 15 | All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House | David Giffels | |
| 16 | Allegra Hicks | Allegra Hicks | |
| 17 | AmeriSpec Home Repair Handbook | ||
| 18 | Apartment Therapy: Complete and Happy Home | Maxwell Ryan and Janel Laban | |
| 19 | Auto Repair for Dummies | Deanna Sclar | Real Simple |
| 20 | Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills | Abigail R. Gehring | Goodreads |
| 21 | Beyond Chic | Ivan Terestchenko | |
| 22 | Big Book of Home How-To | Better Homes & Gardens | |
| 23 | Bust DIY Guide to Life: Making Your Way Through Every Day | Laurie Henzel | Goodreads |
| 24 | Color | Abigail Ahern | |
| 25 | Contemporary Furniture | Popular Woodworking and American Woodworker | |
| 26 | Country Living Gardener Gardening Basics | Ken Beckett | Real Simple |
| 27 | Country Wisdom and Know-How: A Practical Guide to Living off the Land | M. John Storey | |
| 28 | Crafting with Wood Pallets | Health Line | |
| 30 | Cupcakes and Cashmere at Home | Emily Schuman | |
| 31 | D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself: A Design Handbook | Ellen Lupton | Goodreads |
| 32 | Dare to Repair, Replace & Renovate | Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet | Real Simple |
| 33 | Design*Sponge at Home | Grace Bonney | Goodreads |
| 34 | DIY Bitters | Health Line | |
| 35 | DIY Solar Projects | Health Line | |
| 36 | DIY Wood Pallet Projects | Health Line | |
| 37 | DIY Woven Art | Health Line | |
| 38 | Do-It-Yourself Woodwork in the Home | Mike Collins | |
| 39 | Domino: The Book of Decorating: A Room-by-Room Guide to Creating a Home That Makes You Happy | Deborah Needleman | Goodreads |
| 40 | Fix-It-Yourself Manual | Readers Digest | |
| 41 | Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard Into a Garden and Your Neighborhood Into a Community | Heather Flores | Goodreads |
| 42 | Furniture Makeovers: Simple Techniques for Transforming Furniture with Paint, Stains, Paper, Stencils, and More | Barbara Blair | Goodreads |
| 43 | Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt | Megan Nicolay | Goodreads |
| 44 |
Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens |
Goodreads | |
| 45 |
Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World |
Goodreads | |
| 46 | Home Chic | India Mahdavi | |
| 47 | Home Repair Wisdom & Know-How | Editors of Fine Homebuilding | |
| 48 | How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum | Keri Smith | Goodreads |
| 49 | How to Build and Furnish a Log Cabin: The Easy Natural Way Using Only Hand Tools and the Woods around You | W. Ben Hunt | |
| 50 | I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence | Amy Sedaris | Goodreads |
| 51 | I Spy DIY Style: Find Fashion You Love and Do It Yourself | Jenni Radosevich | Goodreads |
| 52 | Kitchen & Bath Renovation Guide | ||
| 53 | Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects | Lotta Jansdotter | Goodreads |
| 54 | Lotta Prints: How to Print with Anything, from Potatoes to Linoleum | Lotta Jansdotter | Goodreads |
| 55 | Love the House You’re In | ||
| 56 |
Lowe’s Complete Home Improvement and Repair |
||
| 57 | Lowe’s Complete Home Wiring | ||
| 58 | Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life | Jenna Woginrich | Goodreads |
| 59 |
Make It Right: Expert Advice on Home Renovations |
||
| 60 | Make It Up | ||
| 61 | Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills | Raleigh Briggs | Goodreads |
| 62 | Makers: The New Industrial Revolution | Chris Anderson | Goodreads |
| 63 | Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World | Kelly Coyne | Goodreads |
| 64 | Making Stuff and Doing Things: A Collection of DIY Guides to Just About Everything | Kyle Bravo | Goodreads |
| 65 | Natural Color | ||
| 66 | Nomadic Furniture | James Hennessey | Goodreads |
| 67 | One-Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects; Look How Much You Can Make with Just One Yard of Fabric! | Rebecca Yaker | Goodreads |
| 68 | Ortho’s Home Improvement Encyclopedia | Ortho Brooks | |
| 69 | Playing with Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining the Book | Jason Thompson | Goodreads |
| 70 | Popular Mechanics 500 Simple Home Repair Solutions | Norman Becker | XO Jame |
| 71 | Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To | Albert Jackson and David Day | |
| 72 | Printing | Lena Corwin | Goodreads |
| 73 | ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer | Shoshana Berger | Goodreads |
| 74 | Recipes for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook | CrimethInc. | Goodreads |
| 75 |
Remodel Without Going Bonkers or Broke |
||
| 76 | Rhapsody | Kelly Wearstler | |
| 77 | Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work | Matthew B. Crawford | |
| 78 | Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People | Amy Sedaris | Goodreads |
| 79 | Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up | Marie Kondō | Goodreads |
| 80 | Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative | Austin Kleon | Goodreads |
| 81 | Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker | Debbie Stoller | Goodreads |
| 82 | Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook: Instructions, Patterns, and Advice for a New Generation of Knitters | Debbie Stoller | Goodreads |
| 83 | Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Zine Resource | Alex Wrekk | Goodreads |
| 84 | Styled | Emily Henderson | |
| 85 | Sunset Basic Home Repairs | ||
| 86 | Sunset Complete Home Wiring | ||
| 87 | Sunset Complete Patio Book | ||
| 88 | Sunset Home Repair Handbook | ||
| 89 | Sunset Water Gardens | ||
| 90 | Sunset You Can Build – Wiring | ||
| 91 | The Alchemy of Herbs | ||
| 92 | The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need on Just a Quarter Acre! | Carleen Madigan | Goodreads |
| 93 | The Beeswax Workshop | ||
| 94 | The Big Book of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects | Doug Cantor | Goodreads |
| 95 | The Big-Ass Book of Crafts | Mark Montano | Goodreads |
| 96 | The Complete Book of Home Organization | Toni Hammersley | |
| 97 |
The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home |
||
| 98 |
The Complete Guide to Home Inspection |
||
| 99 | The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Auto Repair | Vyvyan Lynn and Tony Molla | Real Simple |
| 100 | The Craftsman | Richard Sennett | |
| 101 | The Do-It-Yourself Homestead | ||
| 102 | The Encyclopedia of Country Living | Carla Emery | Goodreads |
| 103 | The Foxfire Book: Hog Dressing; Log Cabin Building; Mountain Crafts and Foods; Planting | Eliot Wigginton | Goodreads |
| 104 | The Guerilla Art Kit | Keri Smith | Goodreads |
| 105 | The Handbuilt Home: 34 Simple Stylish and Budget-Friendly Woodworking Projects for Every Room | Ana White | Goodreads |
| 106 | The Kinfolk Home | Nathan Williams | |
| 107 | The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing | Marie Kondō | Goodreads |
| 108 | The New Wildcrafted Cuisine | ||
| 109 | The Repurposed Library | Lisa Occhipinti | Goodreads |
| 110 | The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City | Kelly Coyne | Goodreads |
| 111 |
The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling |
||
| 112 | The Year of Cozy: 125 Recipes, Crafts, and Other Homemade Adventures | Adrianna Adarme | Goodreads |
| 113 | Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A Do-It-Ourselves Guide | Scott Kellogg | Goodreads |
| 114 | Troubleshooting Your PC for Dummies | Dan Gookin | Real Simple |
| 115 | Upcycling | Max McMurdo | |
| 116 | Upcycling: Create Beautiful Things with the Stuff You Already Have | Danny Seo | Goodreads |
| 117 | What Your Contractor Can’t Tell You | ||
| 118 | Why We Make Things and Why it Matters:The Education of a Craftsman | Peter Korn | |
| 119 | Wreck This Journal | Keri Smith | Goodreads |
| 120 | Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update Show Your Home Some Love | Sherry Petersik | Goodreads |