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Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair

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Description

1 New York Times Bestseller Don’t panic—Mercury Stardust, AKA The Trans Handy Ma’am is here to help! For too many people, the simple act of contacting a plumber or repair person can feel like a game of chance. As a transwoman and a professional maintenance technician, Mercury Stardust has discovered (the hard way) that we live in a world with much to fear. If you've ever felt panicked about opening your home to strangers in order to fix a maintenance issue, this book is for you. Renting a home can be a complex process—from finding a safe and affordable space, to hiring help for moving in and out, and of course, managing any repairs that come up during your stay. You deserve to feel empowered to take matters into your own hands—and it’s not as hard as you might think. In this book, Mercury will show you how to tackle the projects that need improvement in your home—from how to properly fix a clog in your bathroom sink and safely hang things on your walls to patching small and medium drywall holes. Safe and Sound includes: Guidance for over 50 simple home maintenance projects, such as replacing your showerhead and troubleshooting a faulty garbage disposal.Chapters covering basic and handy repairs for your plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and safety needs. Advice tailored to renters to minimize permanent changes.Helpful illustrations and QR code links to videos to help you on your journey. Remember—a little bit of knowledge can go a long way toward making you feel more safe and in control of your own life. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ DK (August 22, 2023)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0744079071


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 74


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.24 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.99 x 9.5 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #14,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Home Repair #14 in LGBTQ+ Biographies (Books) #983 in Reference (Books)


#6 in Home Repair:


#14 in LGBTQ+ Biographies (Books):


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Saturday, Nov 2

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • A Safe Place to Learn and Do
I have been a fan of Mercury for a long time for her positive message, gentle and compassionate approach, amazing laugh, and all the knowledge she shares. I purchased this book on pre-order to support her, not sure if I would find anything useful, but knowing I would enjoy paging through and could maybe give to one of my young adult kids. Right out of the box I was impressed with the beauty and quality of this book. The colors are vivid and illustrations are beautiful. You can tell it was thoughtfully designed and it just “feels” like Mercury. I would be happy to put this on a coffee table as a conversation piece, even if I never planned to do a single repair! The book is a renter-friendly guide, but that doesn’t mean it’s just for renters. It is full of step-by-step instructions that anyone can use, empowering renters, people who don’t feel comfortable with repair persons in their home, people new to having their own home, or people who just want to do things on their own! In addition to all the great DIY repair and maintenance, there is so much more! Section1 talks about finding a home, moving in, making it yours, figuring out what’s wrong, and building a toolkit. The central section is crammed full of repair guides with illustrations, tables, and helpful Handy Ma’am Tips along with info on emergencies and safety. The final section addresses tenant laws and provides resources. Throughout the book you will find great quotes from Mercury in bright pink script, Emotional Reset sections, QR codes for additional content, tables, charts, and illustrations, and simple, approachable language that is easy to understand and follow. While I purchased this expecting it to be something fun to have and a way to support Mercury, I am now planning to gift copies to at least 3 other people because of all the great information and overall usefulness! Mercury, I don’t know if you’ll ever see this, but thank you for this book and for everything you do! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2023 by Jennifer Jennifer

  • Trust me - you want this book
As a renter for the last ~14 years, I've had to learn a lot of stuff on the fly, make a lot of mistakes, or go without doing basic home repairs because I didn't know how. While many times, my apartment maintenance crew takes care of the big stuff, there are a lot of little home repairs I never learned how to do - like successfully hanging a shelf - because I either had my father do it for me or I just went without. Not anymore though! Thanks to Mercury's book, which includes in-depth explanations and wonderful diagrams, I feel empowered to complete minor home repairs/improvements by myself. Not only that, but I love that this guide isn't just useful for renters - the info contained within is universal to homeowners as well. I am so grateful for this book for a number of reasons: 1) It's incredibly useful to have a reference guide from a handyperson you know you can trust. I've been following Mercury on TikTok for a while and her videos are always helpful, so it's nice to know that I have a guide written by a person whose methods are tried, true, and make sense to my non-handy brain. 2) The manner in which this book is written is kind, loving, and encouraging. I've never seen a home improvement guide that includes a dedicated section at the end of each chapter for an 'Emotional Reset' but it's an amazing idea - haven't we all had those moments where we tried a new home improvement thing, failed at it, and got upset at ourselves? I know I have! 3) It's a cute book with TONS of information that runs the gambit from the basics (unclogging a toilet, changing your showerhead) to the more intense (repairing drywall, minor electrical repairs). I feel confident that no matter what kind of weird home repair I decide I need, there will be useful information within the covers of this book to help me achieve it. On a more personal note, I would like to say that I am so proud of Mercury for putting herself out there and kicking butt at being the best Trans Handy Ma'am to have ever existed. It's hard enough for AFAB people in male-dominated fields to break out of the pack and prove that we're just as capable (if not more so) than our male cohorts, but to be a transgender woman in a traditionally male-dominated field and do it so successfully? I can't even imagine being able to do that, and yet here Mercury is, absolutely killin' it! I'm thrilled that Mercury has not only been incredibly successful at proving she knows her stuff, but she has also managed to do so while still maintaining the most loving demeanor (which is very hard when a large portion of the world is against the very concept of your existence). Mercury, thank you so much for writing this book and continuing to share your knowledge, gifts, kindness, and love with us. The world is a better place simply because you're in it ♡ ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2023 by Amy K. Amy K.

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