Home improvement and renovation tips
With all that moisture hanging around in your bathroom, mold and mildew (those kissin’ cousins in the fungus family) are bound to find cozy little homes in cracks and crevices. The nasty stuff isn’t good for your health, so here’s a few things you can do to avoid it. If you’ve already got it, clean
Read more in Bathrooms
If you’ve ever put a scratch or nick in your counter top while preparing food, you might want to think about a butcher block counter. With a butcher block, nicks aren’t a problem; they’re “character”. Wood is also attractive, and some studies show a wood surface prevents bacteria growth better than many other materials. And
Read more in Kitchens
If you have wallpaper problems, but you’re not ready to redecorate just yet, simply repair it. Here are cures for some common problems. Lifting seams. Moisten the affected area and carefully lift the wallpaper away from the wall. Apply a thin coat of wallpaper glue (available in small containers) to the wallpaper, then press back
Read more in Painting/DecoratingI don’t know why they’re here. It’s summer and it’s warm and there are lots of goodies outside. But I guess that’s why they call them house mice. The water under the sink appeared between one onslaught of guests and another dinner gathering that night. So I took my usual decisive approach to a problem such as this. I ignored it. Something must have spilled. It was a momentary leak
Eric Z, a long-time reader, experienced renovator/builder, and former owner of a large building supply store in Toronto, had some smart suggestions after reading our reno-demo checklist. “I lost an entire renovation,” he writes. “$40,000 in damage – due to a shut-off valve failing in the night the day before the new sink was to be installed.” As you can see from this photo, during the entirety of our long
A recent kitchen renovation reminded me, in some cases a little too late, about some key areas to cover up during a demolition or drywall mudding/sanding. Here you go. Mask doorways into other areas of the house Well, duh. Okay, I did remember this one. For a major old-house plaster demo or drywall sanding, 6 mil plastic and painter’s tape do the trick to seal the openings well. We stapled