The name says it all!! The clearest, most comprehensive reference guide available, The Home Reference Book is provided to the potential home buyer at the end of every home inspection. The easy-to-use manual contains 400 informative pages and over 160 illustrations, organized as follows:

Text and Illustrations
A simplified explanation of home construction, with detailed chapters on each of the nine house systems - Roofing, Exterior, Structure, Electrical, Heating, Cooling, Insulation, Plumbing and Interior. There are also illustrations showing how each component of the house is made, how it works and how it wears out or fails.

Life Cycle and Costs
One of the favourite sections in the book! This is where you turn if you want to know what it is, how long it will last and what it will cost to replace in metro Toronto dollars!

Maintenance
A handy chart outlining the recommended frequency of household maintenance so that you can catch little problems before they become big ones.

Filing System
This is a neat series of envelopes to record and store your house documents including Acquisition Records, Mortgages, Insurance Policies, Property Taxes, plus costs for Utilities, Home Improvements, Major Furniture and Appliances.

Improvement Recommendations
This is where we record the condition of a house's major systems and components. Every improvement noted is prioritized with an approximate cost for the repair(s).

The Bottom Line
The summary page that instantly tells you how a house stacks up against its peers, highlighting any and all components requiring significant improvements and/or major expenditures in the near future.

Of all the tools used by the home owner, The Home Reference Book could well be the most valuable. It can help inform you, organize you...and save you money.