Essential Skills

Knowing When to Call a Pro :: DIY Home Improvement Essential Skills

with pros

But perhaps it highlights the most important line on my resume. It is the most important, most essential of all home improvement essential skills ... that extends far beyond plumbing: Knowing the...

by jb bartkowiak

For Pros Only :: The Organized Truck Is the Organized Professional

It’s 6:00 pm Friday night, the crew is picking up trash and cleaning the site as the last piece of aluminum is bent and installed on the 15 replacement windows we installed...

by Aaron Gillison

What to Paint the Ceiling? The 5th Wall :: Looking Up & Looking Back

Remodeling

What are the prevailing trends with ceiling paint? This vid from friends AK Renovations cites the continuing trend of painting ceilings not white, but rather a shade just lighter than that used...

by jb bartkowiak

How To Install a Programmable Thermostat :: Why Replace It + How to Set to It

If you’ve been putzing around with an old thermostat, you should consider replacing it with a new programmable one. In only a few simple steps, you will never again have to lift...

by Lauren Beerling

Ideas That’ll Light Up Your Backyard :: 4 Uncommon Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Don't move the party indoors, light up your backyard with these tips and outdoor lighting ideas.

by Ross Donald

mold cleanup man in tyvek suit and respirator

The Basic Steps to Mold Remediation :: Location, Isolation, Cleaning or Rebuilding & Documentation

Ubiquitous in nature, hard on allergies as well as destructive towards woodwork, mold is a monster. Mold attacks humans along with seemingly stout structures. Detection often happens too late, causing amplified destruction...

by Carl Bennett

Being Smarter With Smart Meters and Home Heating :: Three Steps to Take to the Full Benefit

So while smart meters have good intentions they aren’t always practical for the moment. Unless a series of steps are taken to make sure a home is more structurally sound so heating...

by Jakob Barry

holiday decorations outside window looking in

A Safe and Happy Holiday :: Last Minute Tips to Keep Your Home Safe for the Winter Holidays

The holidays are in full swing and celebrations are underway. Many people have completed all of their seasonal decorating and are moving on to hosting parties and inviting guests into their home....

by Dorian Adams

Building Moxie’s 1st Annual Parade of Tool Belts :: Quick Shopping Tips

Tools

Like a calling card or a *ahem* welcoming holiday front door. ha! A little bit of an indication of the gentlemen that wear them, or what they are working on, and I...

by jb bartkowiak

electricians fish tapes for electrical work

An Iterative Approach to Electrical Work :: Zoned Remodeling Be Damned

Remodeling

Together we (okay maybe a little more he): Hooked up a 60amp sub-panel (in my attic); Ran a new 20amp dedicated circuit to my youngest daughter’s bedroom; Installed two exterior outlets; &...

by jb bartkowiak

Switches in a Breaker Panel or Breaker Box

Making Sense of the Breaker Panel :: How Circuit Breakers Works & How to Label a the Breaker Panel

In the world of do-it-yourselfers it's important to understand the array of breakers on the circuit breaker panel. Fortunately, it's pretty easy, but it helps to understand what's at play and how...

by Chris Long

Four Plumbing Myths That Can Increase Costs :: Drain Maintenance, Leaky Faucets & More

These four plumbing myths may increase your long term plumbing costs. Myth busting drain cleaners, lemons for the garbage disposal, and more. [...]

by Briana Davis