01
Stop damp for good, no harsh cleaners needed
Damp, and why it beats every cleaner
Rural Ohio
Forty years keeping one 1890s farmhouse standing.
The Senior Home Repair Manual
What forty years of keeping one old house taught me
The twenty jobs that cost you the most, done right the first time, from the ground, with what each one costs and how long it takes.
PDF · 20 jobs · every cost printed
No. I · The manual
One manual. Twenty jobs. Every cost written down.
I kept the same old house standing for forty years on a small paycheck. I learned which jobs eat the most money, and I learned to do them from the ground, without a ladder and without a contractor. That is all this is.
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Twenty chapters, one job per chapter, plain and short
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Pictures showing what to check and what to fix
03
What each job should cost, so no one overcharges you
04
How long each job takes, done right, from the ground
05
Which jobs to do first if money is tight this year
06
Warning signs that mean a small job is turning big
No. II · The math
What each job actually costs.
Every figure below is printed in the manual, in the job it belongs to. Nothing here is rounded up to sell you something.
Damp, and why it beats every cleaner
How long
24 to 72 hours to test and confirm damp
Costs you
8 to 15 dollars for a hygrometer
The five cent fix for a draughty window
How long
about 45 minutes per window
Costs you
3 to 10 dollars a window
Ants, and the line they will not cross
How long
20 minutes to find the trail
Costs you
4 dollars for diatomaceous earth
Mice, kept out without poison
How long
one afternoon
Costs you
40 to 60 dollars total for steel wool
The gutter job you can do from the ground
How long
30 to 90 minutes for a typical one story house
Costs you
10 to 45 dollars for pole
Cast iron that outlives you
How long
45 minutes to strip rust
Costs you
4 to 10 dollars for steel wool and oil
A wood pile that stays dry
How long
half a day to build rails and restack a full cord
Costs you
10 to 25 dollars for rails and blocks
Paint that lasts twice as long
How long
6 to 9 days total for an average house
Costs you
150 to 300 dollars in soap
A warm house on a cold bill
How long
one afternoon for outlets and baseboards
Costs you
60 to 100 dollars total for foam gaskets
What to do before you call anyone
How long
30 to 45 minutes total
Costs you
nothing
Ten more jobs are in the manual, each one costed the same way.
No. III · What is inside
All twenty jobs.
02
Fix a drafty window for just five cents
The five cent fix for a draughty window
03
Keep ants out with one simple line
Ants, and the line they will not cross
04
Block mice from your home without poison
Mice, kept out without poison
05
Clean gutters safely without climbing a ladder
The gutter job you can do from the ground
06
Choose cast iron that lasts your whole life
Cast iron that outlives you
07
Store wood so it never gets wet
A wood pile that stays dry
08
Make paint last twice as long as usual
Paint that lasts twice as long
09
Keep your house warm for less money
A warm house on a cold bill
10
Know what to try before hiring help
What to do before you call anyone
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Find your own roof leak in minutes
The roof leak you can find yourself
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Learn where caulk really stops drafts and leaks
Caulk and where it actually matters
13
Stop your toilet from running for good
A toilet that stops running for good
14
Test smoke alarms so they truly protect you
Smoke alarms, tested the right way
15
Get a water heater that keeps working for years
The water heater that will not quit
16
Seal concrete cracks before winter causes damage
Cracks in concrete, sealed before winter
17
Fix sticking doors with one lasting solution
Doors that stick, and the real fix
18
Keep your basement dry through every season
A basement that stays dry all year
19
Know what parts of the panel are safe
The electrical panel, what you can touch
20
Learn which tools to buy and which to skip
Tools worth owning, and what to skip
No. IV · Who wrote this
Walter Combs.
I kept the grounds and the buildings at one place in rural Ohio for a little over forty years, and I have kept my own house longer than that. I never went to school for any of it. I learned it the way most of us did, by doing a job wrong once, then doing it right the second time because I could not afford a third.
No. V · Order
$47 once. Yours to keep.
$47
A PDF you can read on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and print if you like. No subscription. Twenty chapters, pictures throughout.
Get the manual for $47If this manual does not help you, tell me and I will send your money back. No questions, no forms.
No. VI · Questions
Questions people ask first.
Do I need tools I do not own?
Mostly no. Each job lists what it needs, and most of it is a screwdriver, a caulking gun and a flashlight. Where a job needs something else, the cost is printed right there.
Do I have to climb a ladder?
No. Every job is written to be done from the ground. There is a whole chapter on when not to get on a ladder at all.
Is this a printed book?
It is a PDF. You read it on any device and you can print the pages you want.
What if my house is newer?
The jobs still hold. I wrote it around an old house because that is what I know, but damp, drafts, gutters and mice do not care how old the place is.
What if it does not help me?
If this manual does not help you, tell me and I will send your money back. No questions, no forms.
No. VII · Free
Ten Fixes For This Week
A short guide you can read tonight. Put your email in and I will send it.
