Construction

As students transition to higher levels of robotics, the problems they are asked to solve become more difficult. This book covers some more advanced tasks such as soldering and welding, and using CAD to design the robot. Also included are examples of how physics can be used to see if elements of the robot are strong enough to perform a task.

Build the garage of your dreams by doing all or part of the work yourself. All of the techniques and tips you'll need are inside. Build Your Own Garage Manual graphically demonstrates the latest in garage construction techniques and illustrates every step of the construction process in detail. Because drawing up your own plan from scratch may be challenging for the inexperienced builder, make planning and cost estimating easier by selecting from more than 175 terrific plans, prepared by garage experts. Easy-to-follow construction blueprints and materials lists are available for each project to ensure success.

Save 30% on home construction! Whether you want to take on all the responsibility of contracting your home or simply want to intelligently communicate with your homebuilder, The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home can help you save 30% or more on the cost of home construction by teaching you the ins and outs of managing your construction project. Learn how to get your project off to a solid start. Get financial and legal details in language you can understand. Learn what to consider when selecting a lot and how to deal with suppliers, labor and subcontractors. Gain understanding of building codes and inspections so you can manage with authority, confidence, and efficiency. This extensive guide walks you through each phase of construction including preconstruction, foundations, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical, masonry, siding, insulation, drywall, trim, painting, cabinetry, countertops, flooring, tile and landscaping. Completely revised and updated, this edition includes a new section on sustainable building as well as the most comprehensive building resources section ever compiled. You'll find schedules, order forms, control logs, contracts and checklists to help keep your project on track.

Labor and related costs account for more than half of the price of the average home solar installation. But homeowners can save thousands of dollars with this user-friendly manual, which follows the same process professional contractors use. Through detailed directions and step-by-step photos, veteran solar installer Joseph Burdick and seasoned builder Philip Schmidt teach you how to determine the size, placement, and type of installation you'll need. This comprehensive DIY guide covers everything from assembling rooftop racking or building a ground-mount structure to setting up the electrical connections and making a battery bank for off-grid systems.

The new threshold for green building is not just low energy, it's net-zero energy. In The New Net Zero, sustainable architect Bill Maclay charts the path for designers and builders interested in exploring green design's new frontier net-zero-energy structures that produce as much energy as they consume and are carbon neutral.  In a nation where traditional buildings use roughly 40 percent of the total fossil energy, the interest in net-zero building is growing enormously-among both designers interested in addressing climate change and consumers interested in energy efficiency and long-term savings. Maclay, an award-winning net-zero designer whose buildings have achieved high-performance goals at affordable costs, makes the case for a net-zero future; explains net-zero building metrics, integrated design practices, and renewable energy options; and shares his lessons learned on net-zero teambuilding. Designers and builders will find a wealth of state-of-the-art information on such considerations as air, water, and vapor barriers; embodied energy; residential and commercial net-zero standards; monitoring and commissioning; insulation options; costs; and more. The comprehensive overview is accompanied by several case studies, which include institutional buildings, commercial projects, and residences.  Both new-building and renovation projects are covered in detail.  The New Net Zero is geared toward professionals exploring net-zero design, but also suitable for nonprofessionals seeking ideas and strategies on net-zero options that are beautiful and renewably powered.

Traces the history of inventions in the world of science, from gunpowder to nuclear power.

Provides in-depth coverage of 110 wide-ranging fields of science and medicine, including Applied Physics, Biosynthetics, Climatology, Environmental Microbiology, Chaotic Systems, Genetically Modified Food Production, Genomics, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Polymer Science, Pulmonary Medicine, Radio Astronomy, Proteomics, Probability, Radiology, Scanning Probe Microscopy, Space Science, Toxicology, Virology, Xenotransplantation and many more.

Do you have what it takes to live tiny? Take the first step to achieving the dream of designing, building, and living in a tiny house (typically between 100-400 square feet). Idiot's Guides: Tiny House Designing, Building, and Living is the one-stop guide into this innovative concept of minimalist living. Dozens of helpful images and a full-color insert displaying different types of tiny houses help you visualize your dream. The book explores what it mentally takes to become a tiny house dweller and covers the best approach to designing and building a house that ideally fits your needs. The book includes an in-depth discussion on foundation types, financing and insurance, and legal standards, as well as building techniques, must-have utilities, and going off the grid, and home placement. Functional suggestions for décor, storage, and more are also featured. Bonus: three tiny house floor plans to illustrate what these homes entail.

Fresh, local nutrient-dense fruits vegetables are hard to find in winter in cold climates. Growing warm-weather crops like tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and other perennials is nearly impossible using conventional structures. The solution for millions of backyard and small-scale commercial growers is self-heating solar greenhouses. The Year-round Solar Greenhouse is the one-stop guide to designing and building greenhouses that harness and store energy from the sun to create naturally heated, lush growing environments even in the depths of winter, covering principles of solar greenhouse design and siting, glazing material properties and selection, controlling heat loss, ventilation, and construction methods. Additionally, an in-depth section covers sustainable ways of heating the greenhouse without fossil fuels, including using thermal mass and storing heat underground with a ground to air heat exchanger. Variations include attached solar greenhouses, earth sheltered greenhouses, plus integrating hydroponics and aquaponics. More than a dozen case studies from across North America provide inspiration and demonstrate specific challenges and solutions for growing year-round in any climate. Grow your own food, anytime, anywhere using the power of the sun!

For beginning gardeners and homeowners, this handbook shows you exactly how to plan, build, and plant a simple raised bed. Fully illustrated step-by-step instructions make it easy and ensure success! In just a weekend, using a few basic materials and minimal building skills, you can set up a complete garden bed adapted for vegetables, flowers, or herbs.   

Be inspired to imagine the garden of your dreams with this guide that will help you plan, build, and plant your perfect outdoor space. Whether you're aiming for a total redesign or targeting a specific area, Encyclopedia of Landscape Design offers fresh and achievable ideas for every gardener: grasp the fundamentals of landscape and garden design, find a style that's right for you, and create the structures and planting plans to bring your ideas to life. Produced by a team of award-winning horticultural experts, Encyclopedia of Landscape Design offers extensive design inspiration backed up with solid practical content, including step-by-step landscape structures and planting techniques.

A bestselling classic completely revised and updated The third edition of The Essential Garden Design Workbook is fully updated with new color photograph and illustrations, garden plans, and growing information for the top fifty plants no designer should be without. You'll also find updated information on designing with computer-aided design (CAD), details on sustainability ad biodiversity, and important advice on working with contractors.

"The Little Free Library is a terrific example of placing books--poetry included--within reach of people in the course of their everyday lives. Free is always a good thing, and the project has a nice give-and-take feel to it. Here's hoping we bump into literature when we turn the next corner--before we have time to resist!"--Billy Collins "Take a book. Return a book." In 2009, Todd Bol built the first Little Free Library as a memorial to his mom. Five years later, this simple idea to promote literacy and encourage community has become a movement. Little Free Libraries--freestanding front-yard book exchanges--now number twenty thousand in seventy countries.The Little Free Library Book tells the history of these charming libraries, gathers quirky and poignant firsthand stories from owners, provides a resource guide for how to best use your Little Free Library, and delights readers with color images of the most creative and inspired LFLs around. Margret Aldrich is a freelance writer and editor. Her articles have appeared in theUtne Reader,Experience Life!, and elsewhere. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her family.

Packed with ideas, examples and advice, with 60 projects, case-studies, plant lists and 850 photographs.