Winter Home Improvement Projects
It’s easy to feel cooped up inside after a few months of winter. The holiday buzz has died down, you’ve finally finished putting away all those seasonal...
{article.category}
Recent Blog Posts
DIY Home Projects Before Holiday Company
Whether you are planning a casual party, a large formal dinner, a festive gathering, or a combination of all three during the holidays, it can be helpful to...
How to Make Drywall Airtight
An air barrier stops air from leaking into exterior walls. That not only keeps heat from escaping, but it also prevents moisture from entering into stud, joist...
How to Repair Plaster on Lath
We’ve all seen it, and we’ve all done it. To mount an HVAC duct, we’ve cut through a plaster wall with a recip saw, sending plaster flying and leaving the lath...
Building Resiliency
Now that hurricane season is officially upon us, this is a good time for remodelers to think about upgrades to make existing houses more resilient. Updated...
Porcelain: Facts, Myths, and Tips
Porcelain is a really versatile material. It can be used in places like showers, flooring, backsplashes, and fire surrounds. We saw an increased interest in...
4 Rules for Flexible Ducts that Remodelers Need to Know
On most projects, HVAC flexible ductwork is located in designated chases that maximize the efficiency of the airflow. But the path for the final branch of the...
Deck Staining and Sealing Tips
The days are getting warmer, and summer will be here before you know it. If you’ve decided that your deck needs to be stained or sealed, then it’s important to...
Deck Privacy Ideas
Your deck can be the ultimate outdoor living space, but you may not feel comfortable using your deck if you feel that all your activities may be on display to...
Winter Home Improvement Tips to Help Save you Money and Energy
Just because every year there’s always talks about Global Warming, the warmest winter in years, and the sweaty hot summer we just had doesn’t mean winter is...
Do's and Don'ts of Home Winterization
Winter is on the way, and that means it’s time to get the house ready for the cold days ahead. Winterizing your home is the best way to avoid unexpected...
What to Look For: Inspecting your Insulation and Weather Stripping
As the cold weather approaches and your furnace begins its annual duties, we often think of ways to make our homes more energy efficient. One thing that can...
Choosing the Right Wood for Your Project
As tempting as it may be, cost should not be the driving factor in choosing the right wood for your project. Typically, softwood such as pine and poplar are...
Comparing Deck Wood Choices
Generally speaking, when you compare common decking materials there are three choices: Cedar, pressure-treated wood and composite decking. Neither one is a bad...
Getting your Deck Ready for Spring
As soon as the snow melts and the ground is somewhat thawed, it is the perfect time to start getting your deck ready for spring. This way, you can spend more...
Hardwood and Laminate Flooring Markets Projected to Rebound
While laminate and hardwood flooring have experienced greater exposure on home-improvement and home-flipping shows, both experienced sales decreases in 2018,...
Tips for Taking Down Walls and Creating an Open Layout
Removing walls and opening up the layout in your home can create a truly remarkable transformation. It is often done on television home improvement shows,...
How to Repair Damaged Molding
The functional purpose of moldings, such as baseboard, chair rail and door casings is to protect the more delicate wall materials (most commonly plaster and...
Repairing Rotted Window Sills
Window sills take quite a beating. Constant exposure to the sun, rain and ice can take a toll, especially when water finds its way beneath the layer of paint...
Siding: Clean, Paint or Replace?
Due to age, environmental conditions or bad weather, the siding we put on our homes will eventually need attention. It’s true that proper maintenance will go a...
Deck Building & Mold Prevention
Of course, homeowners bear the greatest burden for keeping new decks free from mold, but there are some things a builder can do: Gap the decking properly...
20-Year-Old Decks: Repair or Replace?
The rails jiggle, the nails are popping, and Dad just limped in with a splinter. Softwood decks can last a long time, depending on how well they’re built, but...
Turn Old Decks Into New Decks
Last spring a customer who Dennis Schaefer had built a cedar deck for during the '90s called to say he'd noticed some rot and thought that maybe the deck...
4 Tips for Complex Roofing Projects
The challenges that accompany every remodeling project are multiplied when it comes to homeowner association remodels. And when working on projects of immense...
Efficient Deck Building
If you’re not familiar with the Fast-Cheap-Good project triangle, you should be. That’s because it’s a great tool—applicable to virtually any line of...