Book Smart

The Complete Idiots’ Guide to Simple Home Improvement (Penguin-Putnam, 2005)

David Tenenbaum, staff writer, The Why Files science education Web site at UW–Madison

How did those dining room windows get to be so seedy looking? It can’t be all that hard to replace them, can it?

“Most people would buy whole new windows, but there are kits you can get that make it possible to replace the moving parts in a double hung window in less than two hours,” David Tenenbaum says. “It’s a question of knowing what’s out there.”

And that’s where he comes in. Tenenbaum, who has written for the Graduate School’s The Why Files science-behind-the-news Web page since 1996, spent six months replacing molding; installing countertops, cabinets and doors; putting in ceiling lights; tiling floors; and photographing almost all of the book’s projects.

Tenenbaum began gathering his own experience early, working with his father to improve his family’s home in New York. While in college and for several years afterward, he was a plasterer, carpenter and mason. For four years he had his own masonry business. In addition to this most current book, Tenenbaum has written 10 other how-to construction guides. “The one before this is ‘The Complete Idiots’ Guide to Home Repair.’ Note the distinction: Repair is fixing things that are broke, and improvement is fixing stuff that isn’t,” he says.

In terms of improvement, Tenenbaum’s most cherished project was a new set of oak doors with glass panels. He’s also especially fond of the new granite-tile countertop in his kitchen.

However, the 30 projects did take their toll. Tenenbaum, who works three days a week at The Why Files, wrote the book during a hectic six-month stretch. “After the book was done I didn’t pick up a tool for another six months,” he says.

— Barbara Wolff