Book Description

This photo guidebook was published to show coastal homeowners how to adapt their homes to the everyday challenges presented by a coastal environmental. Salt air, salt spray, humidity, corrosion, wind-driven rain, nor'easters, and hurricanes are challenges that do not exist in inland regions. This book does not represent just another do-it-yourself book, although many of the everyday challenges can be tackled with relative ease. Instead, this book is a unique how-to book, helping homeowners to eliminate trial and error and do it right the first time, while living in a coastal environment.Best of all, most of the photos in this book were taken on location in coastal areas. As you will see, the coastal environment can easily deteriorate building materials not suitable for coastal elements. Materials and construction practices not designed for those elements will cost you thousands of dollars in repairs and repeat maintenance and will decrease home values. There are also photos showing solutions, using products and construction practices that will give you years of worry-free maintenance.The Complete Photo Guide To Coastal Maintenance is divided into thirteen chapters that deal with all aspects of protecting and maintaining the exterior and interior of your home from the coastal elements, including hardware, fasteners, doors and windows, roofs, lighting and electrical components, heating and cooling, coastal decks, water heaters, exterior surfaces, and preventative maintenance. There are also chapters addressing concerns about hurricane preparedness and winterizing coastal homes. We place emphasis on protecting your family and your coastal home by illustrating tips, techniques, and solutions and making them practical and accessible to coastal homeowners.The final chapter, "Increasing Rental Income," is essential reading for those coastal homeowners who are considering or have already purchased or built a home for investment purposes. Millions of vacationers travel to the coastal areas annually and book rental properties. The expectation of today's guests is very high. The photos and information in this chapter will give you tips and solutions that have been proven to increase rental income.The Coastal Products Directory, located in the Appendix, is a comprehensive and valuable reference guide with more than ninety companies, marketing many of their products to the coastal homeowner. Their products are resistant to salt air, salt spray, humidity, corrosion, wind-driven rain, and hurricanes.When you are communicating with the contractor or handyman about your next home improvement project, the photos and information gathered in this book will help you choose the best low-maintenance products and construction practices and will eliminate many repairs and repeat maintenance issues.The Complete Photo Guide To Coastal Maintenance is a book with more than three hundred photos that we hope you will find to be practical and useful if you live near the beautiful seashores and coastal sounds of this country