Black & Decker:  The Complete Guide To Bathrooms, by Chis Peterson

As one can probably imagine, there are a great many books about bathrooms that one can find.  Some of them focus on aesthetics, and the sort of fixtures and items that one would want to have in one’s bathroom, and a discussion of the visual appeal that a good bathroom possesses.  There are other books that focus on going into detail on a single bathroom remodel job and looking at what is required to do it, with the knowledge that the remodel itself is a rather plain one in constricted and small space that is likely to mirror the sort of work that the reader is likely to do in their own situation.  This book is a mix between the approach of looking aesthetically (no surprise given the author’s obvious talent in that area) as well as showing the nuts and bolts aspects of building and creating the sort of bathroom that is being designed, which makes sense given the fact that this book is published under the aegis of Black & Decker, a company known for its quality tools, many of which are shown in the pages of this particular book.

This book is about 250 pages long and is divided thematically into various sections.  The author begins with an introduction as well as the importance for a writer in planning and designing their restroom, showing a gallery of restrooms as well as different elements in a bathroom, namely bathtubs and jetted tubs, showers, sinks, toilets and bidets, cabinets and vanities, lighting, heating & ventilation, walls & ceiling, and flooring.  After this there are some discussions about getting started and the design principles for having a successful bathroom remodeling project.  The author then spends the rest of the book showing detailed remodeling projects to help inspire and inform the reader, with projects dealing with showers, tubs, and whirlpools (including some curbless showers I am very interested in given my clumsiness and occasional mobility problems), sinks & vanities, toilets & bidets, lighting & ventilation, wall & floor, and accessories and other upgrades.  Some of these jobs keep the footprint of the room the same but many show expansions and they are gorgeously rendered with photographs that show and explain the work that is needed to pull off such projects.  After this the author closes the book with a discussion on plumbing and wiring codes and permits in two appendices as well as measurement conversions, resources, photo credits, and an index.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this book is just how practical it is.  The author demonstrates the tools of Black & Decker in such a way that it would likely encourage someone to want to use those more.  I tend not to be a very crafty or technically proficient person when it comes to equipment, but I think that is due to a lack of experience rather than a lack of interest.  At some point it is possible that I may help out in some sort of work project or do some do-it-yourself work of my own on my future homes, and as that is at least a reasonable possibility this work is the sort of preparatory reading that I tend to like to engage in before acting upon such matters, similar to my reading in gardening and related subjects.  This book is definitely aimed at practicing such interests and for those who have the tools and the need to engage in such projects.  The author also points out a great deal of the legal as well as environmental and accessibility concerns that lead to a great deal of work in restrooms, and even gives people a reason to care about bidets, which is quite an achievement.