As Ben Franklin once said: “In this world, nothing is certain but death and cleaning your gutters before winter to prevent ice dams”. With that, here are five fall home maintenance activities to start thinking about in the coming weeks. Check your chimney Make sure everything is in order before the first fire of the season. "Creosote buildup causes chimney fires," says Family Handyman. "You should...
When decorating your home, saving money is great. Who doesn't love finding a deal on an item and then not-so-subtly bragging about it when guests come over? Bargain-hunting does, however, have its limits, and the impulse to save now might cost you in the long run. Here are a couple places to splurge, and a couple ways to save when decorating your home. Furniture Furniture is a mixed bag. You can get...
Create a beautiful outdoor cooking space for relaxing and entertaining all summer long. Summer temperatures start to rise, no one wants to spend time inside sweating over a hot stove. With an outdoor kitchen, you can make the most of the beautiful warm nights by spending them with your friends and family. Whether you have thousands to spend or a just few hundred to splurge, create your own outdoor...
Like the fabled “Victory Gardens” of WWII before them, urban and backyard vegetable gardens became a vital source of food and purpose for many people last year when world events threw supply chains into disarray. A year has passed, but interest in do-it-yourself food production has remained, and more and more DIYer's are getting into growing their own crops. Your ability to grow fruits, vegetables...
As families become more health-conscious and think more about the food they consume, family farms are on the comeback, regardless of the size. Whether driven to grow produce on their own to make sure their vegetables are pesticide-free, out of a passion for gardening or as a cottage industry for extra cash, city-dwellers are using innovative means to produce crops of their own. Your ability to grow...
2020 was a record-breaking year for home improvements. Harvard University researchers found that Americans spent nearly $420 billion, much of it on do-it-yourself projects. The study found that in late March of 2020, about 60% of people said they started at least one project in the previous two to three weeks. By early May that number jumped to nearly 80%. Multiple rounds of federal economic relief...
Adding a DIY fire pit to your backyard is an excellent way to keep the fun going long after dark. Instead of an unsightly dirt fire pit, spend a day making a new statement piece for your yard. If you’re wondering how to build a fire pit — we’ll show you how. When selecting and building your DIY fire pit, make sure you avoid using wet stones. If you are using river rocks, be sure to give them several...
When it comes to home renovations, a kitchen remodel is on the higher end of the price spectrum. One of the biggest line items in any kitchen remodel is cabinetry, which can account for up to 40% of your total budget. If you're willing to think outside the box a little, you can save yourself some money and still make a solid long-term cabinets choice. As always: do your research Take time to learn...
Let's face it – it's been a long winter, but brighter and warmer days are upon us. If you're the type of person who likes to be prepared, it isn't too early to gear up for lawn and garden season. Here are some tips to help you hit the ground running this spring: Test the content of your soil with a kit. Soil test kits are designed to determine levels of PH, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and...
Spring brings blooming flowers and budding trees, but it also brings a long list of home improvement chores that accumulated over the winter. Now is the time to tackle cleaning projects, exterior maintenance, and routine HVAC checkups in preparation for the sweltering months ahead. But with so much to do, it can be hard to decide which tasks are essential and which can wait. Most homeowners will admit that...
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