Home improvement and renovation tips
We’ve talked before about how ice can build up on your eaves in the winter. If your roof isn’t well insulated, heat escaping from the house can melt the snow. This drips merrily down the slope of the warm roof until it suddenly hits the eaves. The eaves, of course, aren’t warm, so the water
Read more in Exteriors
Installing cabinets, a center island with a bar sink, or replacing all your appliances will give your kitchen a whole new look. But if you’d prefer to start small, here are some ideas to help you spruce up your kitchen without spending a lot. Add crown molding to the top of your cabinet carcasses. This
Read more in Kitchens
Some people really get into sanding. I mean really. Here are some of the nifty tricks they’ve come up with in their never-ending quest for sanding Nirvana. If you’re sanding an intricately shaped molding, it can be tough to get into all the nooks and crannies without dulling the corners and sharp edges. One trick
Read more in ToolsI 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