Category: DIY

Plant a Hedge

A lush garden hedge can create more than a barrier between properties, and it’s a useful way to lower noisy traffic or nearby neighbors. Planting a hedge is an attractive way to muffle sounds and enclose your property while creating a lush backdrop for a bed of flowers. And it might encourage songbirds to take…


Install Beadboard Paneling

We see beadboard wall paneling everywhere in new and old homes, anywhere a wall needs some punch, or as a design interest instead of ordinary flat wallboard. Years ago, beadboard was milled wood used as a coverup to add a surface to a porch ceiling or to surround a room with wainscoting. Today, it adds…


Edge a Garden Bed

To create a manicured lawn and flower garden, flexible plastic edging does a good job of separating the components of a landscape. The edging defines garden beds and paths and driveways, and prevents plants from creeping and spreading. The metal edging creates a fine line so the beds are set off and separated from the…


Remove a Tree Stump

If you have a tree stump you want to take out, you can remove it by hand, digging down to the root ball of the tree and cutting out the roots supporting it. This is a difficult physical job that’s time consuming, but it’s an option for anyone with a strong back and shovel. Another…


Install a Curved Shower Rod

Whoever thought of the curved shower rod is a genius, because it expands the space in a typical 5-foot bathtub for taking a shower. We first noticed these space-expanding rods used in the small bathrooms of old motels. If you want to stretch the space in a bathtub for a more comfortable shower, this ingenious…


Install a Pocket Door

A door that disappears into the cavity of a wall is called a pocket door because it slides away and doesn’t require room to open. A pocket door has long been the solution for a small room or tight space, because it takes up virtually no wall space and requires no room to swing out…


Replace a Sliding Closet Mirror Door

The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University reports “red hot remodeling growth expected to ease into 2023.” So, if you’re considering an upgrade, you won’t be alone. One of the best improvements we made to a basic bedroom was replacing an old sliding closet door with a new sliding mirror door. The new…


‘Should I Call a Plumber?’ How to Diagnose—and Fix—a Plumbing Clog

The Romans are often credited with inventing plumbing, but it was the Minoans, Mesopotamians, and Indus Valley civilizations who, about 4,000 years ago, engineered the world’s first sewer systems, complete with flushing toilets. In 1652, Boston was the first U.S. city with a water system; it used hollowed-out tree trunks. In 1804, Philadelphia introduced cast…


DIY Long Haul Symptom Relief!

My practice remained open the last 2 years through the pandemic. I saw 40 patients a day, every day. During this time and even today, I have seen hundreds of patients suffering from lingering symptoms of the virus and it’s many strains. Because I fix whatever walks in, I began investigating and working clinically with…


Summer Smarts: Prepare Your Home to Help Beat the Heat

Getting your home ready for summer is about much more than reinstalling the window screens and putting out the patio furniture. Happily, it doesn’t take all that much effort or skill to get your house ready for the coming 90-plus-degree days. If you haven’t done so already, turn on your air conditioning system. If there’s…