I scan the media each week to keep abreast of all that has to do with building and remodeling homes, new tools, and new technology in the trades. I also talk to dozens of homeowners. I can tell you that inflation and soaring interest rates are inspiring more and more homeowners to contemplate tackling home-improvement…
Southern-Style Elegance: A Family-Friendly North Carolina Estate
This elegant residence that would be right at home in the English countryside is located within the upscale Teeter Farms Estates neighborhood outside of Mooresville, North Carolina. A 30-minute drive north of Charlotte, Mooresville is a bustling, family-oriented town with a population of 50,000 people and a Southern-style, laid-back atmosphere. One room in the spacious…
Simple Driveway Restoration With Tar and Chips
Dear James: We need an inexpensive way to resurface our driveway. Asphalt and concrete cost too much. Will a tar-and-chip type of driveway be much less expensive?—Dave B. Dear Dave: A tar-and-chip driveway is an excellent option and can cost almost 50 percent less than having it resurfaced with conventional asphalt. This type of surface…
This Simple, 5-Minute iPhone Self-Checkup Just Saved Me a Lot of Money
Calling all iPhone users. After so many upgrades over years of using an iPhone, I thought I knew it all. Only recently, I discovered a feature that’s been there all along but I’d never noticed, much less thought about. It took about five minutes for me to change that and—ta-da!—save a lot of money. I…
Dog’s Cloudy Eyes May Be Normal Aging Change, Not Cataracts
Q: When Toto, my 10-year-old terrier, looks at me, his eyes appear cloudy. At last week’s wellness exam, his veterinarian said his eyes are healthy and he has no cataracts or other problems. So why do his eyes reflect a cloudy white-blue-gray haze? A: It sounds like Toto has a condition called nuclear sclerosis, which…
Peony and Tree Problems
Question: My peony has bloomed wonderfully for many years but this year the buds are turning black and are not growing. What can I do? Answer: It is too late this year to get flowers, but it is not too late to help prevent problems next year. The symptom you describe is caused by a…
You Can Grow Your Own Corn—and There’s Way More Than Sweet Corn
It’s just a specialized kind of grass. That horticultural description applies to almost all grains, but corn is the only one that home gardeners revere, the only one grown for fresh use—in fact, the only grain commonly found in home gardens period. Does the average American homeowner grow rice or wheat? No. But corn is…
Great Tips From My Great Readers!
With the cost of feeding a family so high, it’s no wonder that so many tips readers submit are geared to help us save money and time in the supermarket and kitchen—with plenty more for all around the house and garage, too. Rethink Cheap My tip might seem like a contradiction to “cheapskate” but it…
How to Properly Repot a Houseplant (Without the Mess)
Keeping plants alive is one thing, but knowing exactly when (and more importantly how) to repot a plant requires a whole new level of indoor gardening know-how. The right gardening tools are required, of course, but it turns out you don’t necessarily need a green thumb in order to properly repot your most hard-earned indoor…
Five Invisible Events That Can Cost Home Sellers a Bundle
Dear Monty: We recently sold our home. We were planning on using an agent we knew. He worked for one of the large companies in our city. He came and looked at our home and took many photos and notes. He also measured the house. We felt he was very thorough. A few days later,…
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