Composting Basics
We have two large maple trees in the backyard, so late fall means dragging leaves to the curb to be picked up by the city. The last few years, I’ve started using some of...
Firewood and how to split it
When I bought this house, I had a fireplace for the first time in my life. Fun! And also a whole bunch of new stuff to learn. I’ll save for another post the expensive...
Landscape edging for flower beds
When it comes to landscape edging, you may think: why bother? You’re not a person obsessed with order, you don’t need everything “just so,” you’ll let the plants grow where they want. It won’t...
Installing a pre-hung door
When we moved, the doors and trim in our house all had an oak finish. All except for one. For some reason, the main level bathroom door was white. This was a case where...
Uncovering a buried electrical box
Sometimes home improvement means undoing someone else’s mistake. Recently I found a kind of buried treasure: an electrical box with live wires right where I needed an outlet. It was hidden in plain sight....
Painting wood paneling
Some former owner of our house loved wood paneling. They paneled virtually every wall of the basement. Let’s not judge — it was the Sixties. Or maybe the Seventies. Could have been the Eighties....
Shower heads for small spaces
If you have a shower, you probably want a handheld shower head. Back in the day we called this a telephone shower head, but soon no one will understand how the thing resembled a...
How I removed lichen from my rubber roof
At some point in our house’s history, a three-season room was added to the back of the garage. It’s an unusual space in some ways, but we’re not going inside for this post. Instead...
Recent Comments