The Complete Handbook of Sundials
For professionals, businesses, and serious hobbyists who install, maintain, or source sundials
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The practical reference guide to selecting, installing, and maintaining sundials—for professionals, businesses, and serious hobbyists.
About this book
Sundials are more than decorative garden objects. They are functional instruments whose accuracy and longevity depend on correct materials, proper installation, and understanding their limitations in a specific location.
This handbook provides the technical knowledge professionals, businesses, and serious hobbyists need to make informed decisions about sundials. It explains how sundials actually work—the geometry and solar relationships that determine accuracy; covers the types of dials and materials in common use and their real-world performance differences; walks through installation, orientation, and daily use; and provides troubleshooting steps for the most common maintenance issues.
Whether you are a landscape architect specifying dials for a residential project, a contractor installing a dial on-site, a garden center or retail buyer sourcing inventory, or an enthusiast building or restoring a dial, this reference gives you the concrete, non-marketing information you need.
Reader Reviews
Charles Martin
★★★★★I'm a landscape contractor and buy sundials for maybe 3-4 residential projects each year. I appreciated Chapter 1's explanation of how gnomon angle relates to latitude—I never really understood why the angle mattered until I read this. The installation chapter is solid. My only complaint is Chapter 6 on business opportunities felt a bit thin; I would've liked more on what you can actually charge for installation and maintenance work. Still, this filled gaps I didn't know I had.
Christopher Martin
★★★★★Finally, a reference that treats sundials as working objects instead of garden decorations. The precision here is exactly what I needed—the section on how solar noon differs from clock noon by up to 16 minutes depending on the season, and why that matters for dial accuracy, was eye-opening. Chapters on materials and maintenance are practical and detailed. This should be the go-to resource for anyone buying or installing a dial seriously.
Brenda Lee
★★★★★I'm a hobbyist who's been restoring old dials for about five years, mostly learning through trial and error and online forums. This handbook would have saved me so much time early on. The troubleshooting chapter and the glossary are particularly useful. I'm recommending it to every serious dial person I know. It's exactly what the category needed.