High Hardware Prices and Your Garage and Workshop I took over the grocery shopping duties to give my lovely wife a break. She did it for over forty years. Each week I continue to be astonished at the prices of ordinary food staples like bacon, eggs, bread, and milk. Do you suffer from the same […]
How To Stop Contractor Scams - True Stories This is a milestone column for me. It’s my 1500th weekly column. For weeks leading up to this day I’ve wanted to produce a column that will save you vast sums of money, prevent confrontations, sleepless nights, and arguments. My goal is to empower you with all […]
How to Make Your Bathroom Floor Warm as a Hypocaust You may find this hard to believe, but I didn’t build the house I currently live in. It’s a long story but this current house in central New Hampshire was supposed to be a transition home while I did build a Queen Anne Victorian house […]
Secrets to Square Anything - It's So Simple Are you trying to save money in these harsh financial times? Have you given up trying to find a contractor and are starting to do more projects on your own? If so, you’re in fine company as my email inbox has exploded over the past months with […]
How to Build a Masonry Fireplace - It's Very Complex The two main reasons for smoke in his home were the lack of a combustion air intake and his chimney was not the correct height. A few of his photos also showed a very dangerous situation where his flue liners were not surrounded by solid […]
Cold Weather Myths and Your Home - Easy Ways to Save $$$ When I woke up just before writing this column, it was a balmy -15F here at my house in central New Hampshire. A gale was blowing and the wind chill was -41F. You may be reading this column in sunny Florida or southern […]
Spray Foam Pros and Cons - You Better Do the Math! A new home is being built on my street. I have to drive past it anytime I leave the community. I’ve visited the job site countless times to check on the progress and to weigh in on the quality of the workmanship. So far […]
PETA Demands No Christmas Reindeer The People who Eat Tasty Animals (PETA) are reported to have issued a proclamation demanding that reindeer NOT be used to pull Santa's sleigh. Instead, they recommend the use of propane - a wonderful fossil fuel that evidently is naturally renewable being created by Mother Nature.
Renovating an Old Building - Think Outside the Box Not a week goes by that I don’t receive an email asking me about what’s involved in renovating an old building. Most who reach out to me realize it can be an expensive endeavor, but the allure of restoring a sound old building to either its […]
Bad New Home Builder - On My Own Street! Over the past five months I’ve watched the dream of a neighbor I’ve yet to meet start to come true on my own street. It started just after the snow melted when two men arrived with a giant machine that wrestles logs and chain saws. Their […]
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