Tag: home improvement

Install a Weather Vane

Make a striking impression of your home by adding a weather vane, an ornament atop your home, garage or outbuilding, to catch the wind. It can be a distinctive crowning touch on a rooftop to distinguish your home, and it’s a simple way to see which way the wind is blowing. You’ll find a wide…


Make a Shower Seat for Comfort and Safety

Dear James: I am getting older and while vacationing found a shower seat to be convenient. How can we incorporate one into our tile bathroom when we remodel it?—Scott C. Dear Scott: Both convenience and comfort are attributes of a properly sized shower seat. Sitting in the spray of a hot shower is often much…


Heirloom-Quality Tools

Inexpensive hand tools are certainly acceptable for small tasks around the home and yard, but few hold up to years of use. This selection of high-quality items may quite possibly be less expensive over the long run, and all can be handed down from generation to generation. (Courtesy of Garrett Wade) A Forgotten Classic Garrett…


LED Light Strip

You have a lot of options when it comes to strip lighting, also called tape lights and ribbon lights. You’ll find choices in the color of lights, how to control them by a light switch or remote, and how to use them. LED light strips are ideal for accent lighting under a cabinet shelf, inside…


What Are Some Projects for a Happier Home?

By Brigitta Shannon Rose From Ask Angi Winter is an excellent time for making improvements to your home. Temperatures might be cooler, but contractors’ schedules are lighter. And the season is perfect for making changes to your home that improve your comfort as well as your resale value. Here are six ways to bring more…


Lighten Up: Cost-Effective Ways to Brighten a Dark Room

Bright rooms with a wealth of natural light have a host of benefits: They’re healthier, happier, will make you more productive, and—best of all—they feel more spacious, making the overall house seem larger. You’ve probably heard the old adage, “A gallon of paint is the most inexpensive way to transform a room”—and it’s true here,…


Urethane Trim Is Easy to Work With

Dear James: I think some decorative woodwork and trim in some rooms would look great. Do you have any tips for a relatively inexperienced do-it-yourselfer? — Evan D. Dear Evan: It does not take much decorative trim to really transform the decor and overall character of a room. You don’t need to add very much….


Buckle Down and Save Up for Home Improvements

Today is a good day to reach into my virtual mailbag and pull out letters from two of my dear readers. Dear Mary: We are homeowners with about $175,000 in equity, which we will need to buy a bigger house in the future. Our home needs some expensive improvements (new windows, updated kitchen, siding), none…


The Secrets to Squaring Anything

Are you trying to save money in these harsh financial times? Have you given up trying to find a contractor, and are you starting to do more projects on your own? If so, you’re in fine company, as my email inbox has exploded over the past months with requests for help. Lately, I’ve been in…


Kitchen and Bath Fixtures With Versatile Install Options

By Ed Del Grande From Tribune News Service Q: Ed: Read your article on versatile dual-mount kitchen sinks that can be installed to the countertop either top-mounted or under-mounted. This makes sense to have flexible install options. What other fixtures like this can you suggest? — Don, Idaho A: To quickly recap, the dual-mount kitchen…