Turn down the lights, pass the popcorn and power up the VCR for some nail-biting videos.
It`s Saturday night at the movies for the do-it-yourselfer, featuring such modern classics as ”Three Season Porch,” ”Drywall,” ”Hardwood Floors,” ”Interior Wood Refinishing” and ”Energy Conservation.”
Dozens of such tapes for the do-it-yourselfer have come on the market in recent years and topics range from the very general to the very specific.
The advantage of do-it-yourselfer videos is that you can ”visualize”
the project before you begin.
”This type of information can be demonstrated a lot better on video than in print,” says Ron Weinstein, a corporate merchandiser for the Handy Andy chain, which carries numerous home improvement video titles.
”For example, the best way to learn how to wallpaper is to go to a clinic and have someone show you how to do it,” he says. ”The second best way is to watch it on video because you`re still seeing it done visually. Sometimes, it`s a lot simpler to learn home improvement tricks and techniques when they`re demonstrated rather than read them out of a book.”
”How many times have you read a set of instructions and wished you could see someone actually conduct a project?” asks Robert Roskin of North Carolina-based Do It Yourself Inc., which produces numerous home improvement videos. ”Instructions sometimes can be maddening. But if you can watch someone working at a task, you can understand the process a lot better.”
The disadvantage to home improvement videos is that, unlike a book, which you can refer back to, information on videos isn`t easily accessible, especially if you`re up on a ladder in the middle of a project. Also, a video isn`t as interactive as a book, and the fast-forwarding or rewinding to find certain information can be frustrating.
To remedy that situation, many home improvement video producers now include booklets with their tapes to give you an easy reference source. A few producers even include VCR counter readings for specific information, to ease your fast-forward and reverse searches.
A potpourri
Home improvement videos are available on about every do-it-yourselfer topic imaginable. Here`s a sampling:
– ”Basic Home Repair” includes information on repairing and replacing leaky faucets, opening clogged drains, replacing broken tiles and fixing faulty light switches.
– ”Exterior Painting” covers every related task, from priming to cleanup.
– ”Drywall” details the measuring, cutting, hanging and repairing of drywall.
Among the more specific titles:
– ”Skylights” shows how to plan, locate and install skylights as well as how to install flashing, shingles and drywall.
– ”Safe and Warm” unreels details on home security and energy conservation projects.
– ”Attic Conversion” demonstrates how to add living space to a home, leading viewers through furring out the rafters, installing a vapor barrier and preparing floors.
– ”Walls: Framing & Removing” covers wall-framing for door and window openings as well as wall removal to create bigger rooms.
Other home improvement videos cover roofing, siding, plumbing, electrical work, ceramic and vinyl tile, weatherization, lighting, interior wood and furniture refinishing, landscaping and underground sprinkler systems. Some show how to design and build decks, garages, room additions and children`s play sets.
While there are dozens of titles, most home improvement tapes come from just a handful of producers.
For example, one extensive series is the ”Hometime” collection, which also can be seen in another variation as a PBS television series. Hosted by Dean Johnson, Joanne Liebeler and others, about 50 different subject tapes are available.
The tapes are similar to the shows aired on PBS, but offer additional material and longer running times-45 minutes to an hour-plus. They sell for a suggested retail price of $9.95.
The Do It Yourself Inc. How-To Video library, called the ”Hands-On”
series, includes about 35 titles and was culled from a syndicated series that also aired on PBS several years ago. They sell for a suggested retail price of $9.95.
Another series is the ”Made Easy” home improvement collection by Karl-Lorimar Home Video. They sell for a suggested retail price of $14.98.
Using the tapes
Despite the complexity of some of the projects, most of these home improvement tapes are designed for the average do-it-yourselfer, according to experts.
”Just about all of our videos are geared to projects that someone could do for the first time and do well-except maybe the more difficult jobs, such as plumbing, electrical and framing, which may also require licensed craftsmen,” says Roskin.
Before you start a project, Roskin and the other producers advise watching the videotape all the way through at least once.
”Get an understanding of how the project is undertaken,” Roskin says.
”Then go back and take notes on the details and read the corresponding booklet.
”The video will demonstrate helpful hints, but a book or set of instructions may give you more explicit instructions. A book might also offer a formula or chart for figuring out square footage, etc.”
”The videos are a nice accompaniment to the books because they help you visualize what the books are trying to explain,” says Greg Napier, a Schaumburg homeowner and do-it-yourselfer who has used several home improvement tapes.
”But I don`t think the videos are the only source a person should use,” Napier says. ”For example, when I built a deck, I not only watched videos on the topic, but I also went around the neighborhood and looked at how other decks were built.”
Where to find them
Unlike ”Terminator II” and ”Fantasia,” home improvement videos usually aren`t readily available at your local video store.
Most do-it-yourselfer tapes are instead found in home improvement stores or libraries.
Handy Andy, Wal-Mart, Sears home improvement departments, Builders Square and Hines Lumber are among the retail outlets that offer video titles. Each Handy Andy store carries 35 to 65 tapes, Weinstein says.
But your local library might be a more economical source. Many charge as little as $1 for a one-day-plus rental and others even lend the tapes out at no cost.
At the Schaumburg Township District Library, for example, patrons with a North Suburban Library System library card can borrow instructional videotapes at no cost for seven days.
”We own about 60 (home improvement) titles and we add about 12 tapes a year as new titles come out constantly,” says Judy Napier, head of audio visual services for the library.
Popular video home improvement subjects there are deck construction;
kitchens and baths; and anything relating to walls: paneling, painting, wallpapering, etc.
”These tapes are constantly being borrowed,” says Napier, whose husband, Greg, has viewed several of the tapes. ”We have five different titles on decks alone.”
The librarian adds that the tapes are also proving popular with those homeowners who would rather not strap on their utility belts.
”Sometimes, people are hiring a contractor to handle their home improvement work but they want to be a more intelligent consumer,” she says. ”We even have tapes on how to contract a repair or improvement job.”
Another source for home improvement tapes is video catalogs. A few of the bigger catalogs are:
– Movies Unlimited (6736 Castor Ave., Philadelphia, Penn. 19149. Phone:
800-523-0823). Dozens of do-it-yourselfer tapes are available from this 600-plus page catalog, which features about 24,000 tapes. The catalog costs $10.95 but includes a $5 discount coupon that can be used toward your first purchase.
– Cambridge Vocational & Technical catalog (P.O. Box 2153, Dept. V05, Charleston, W.Va. 25328-2153. Phone: 800-468-4227). This catalog specializes in instructional videotapes.
– Critic`s Choice Video (800 Morse Ave., Elk Grove Village, Ill. 60007. Phone: 800-367-7765). A smaller number of home improvement videos are available here, but the catalog is free.
Another way of acquiring the tapes is through the video distribution companies directly.
Do It Yourself Inc. can be reached at 800-285-7776. And the Hometime series can be acquired by calling 800-238-6600.
