The consultant John McGowan has written about home maintenance and improvement throughout his career. He is an author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and partworks. He has consulted, written and collaborated on countless books, including the Do-It-Yourself Book of DIY and Home Maintenance (Dorling Kindersley), Terence Conran DIY by Design (Conran Octopus) and The Reader's Digest Manual. He was formerly the Editor of the United Kingdom's leading do-it-yourself magazines, New DIY, Practical Householder and HomeDIY.