home improvement tips

Dec
16
So you've taped off every opening, hung plastic everywhere. You're even blowing a box fan out the window or using an air cleaner. That's supposed to manage the airborne material. Looks like it'll work. Now it's go-time. You drive your demo bar into the plaster and lath, start sanding all that drywall, or start making all those zillion cuts for the new trim or floor thinking the rest of the ...
Dec
11
That’s two-thousand dollars in water damage from a frozen pipe that burst.  That’s in addition to the $250.00 for the repair of the pipe. I see this at least once each year.  This year I’m seeing it a lot more than usual, since a majority of the homes I inspect are vacant, and many are bank owned.  I’m not talking about homes that have no heat or windows missing.  I’m talking ...
Dec
04
We've done everything we can to maximize the storage in a house that, well, wasn't built with much. We've used kitchen cabinets to design custom built-in closets (it changed our lives!). We installed a Murphy bed (ditto!). I've custom built storage and shelves all over my shop. Heck, we've even built temporary storage while we installed new storage. Uncovering Storage Space in an Old Home So it's rare that we ...