Rehabbing my crappy fire pit patio area took 3 seasons: fall, winter, and spring. A LONG time. The main reason? I wanted the backyard soil frozen solid to support the tree demolition equipment. A dead ~70-foot sweet gum tree, after all, is not something you cut down without a LOT of exceptionally-qualified professional tree removal […]
Repairs
How to Fix a Bedroom Door that Won’t Latch
2021 Update… My bedroom door had been getting more and more difficult to close. It reached the point where in order to get the thing to latch – I had to pull up on it by the door knob really hard every single time. How hard? So hard that I became the only person in the […]
Lawn Repair: Patching a Large Area with Kentucky Bluegrass
Update — Originally Published June, 2015 Maintaining a beautiful lawn is an ongoing effort. There are the rules of watering, seeding, fertilizing, lime application as well as both pest and fungus control. So many facets to consider, and if you’re reading this – you’re probably quite well-aware. But there’s one more challenge that I recently […]
Refreshing a Pool Landscape: Dead Hinoki Cypress & Solar Tiki Torches
Our pool landscape, now at 11 years old, needed some tuning. We’ve maintained it continuously, but the two Hinoki Cypress right up front (circled in the original landscape photo below) – died together. This particular area of our backyard, under the heaviest of rains, would sometimes pond a bit. And the last 2 years, we […]
Installing a Marble Threshold
2021 [Pi Day] Update, Originally Published August 2020… Marble thresholds (sometimes called marble saddles) are very common in many homes, often found at bathroom entries. They look really nice, they’re cool and smooth to the touch – and they’re not terribly expensive. Having recently installed a marble threshold as part of a more comprehensive home […]
Drywall Repair for My Dining Room Ceiling
2021 Update – Originally Published April, 2014 My dining room is about to undergo a massive renovation, but before I get started with my grand plans – I have to make a drywall repair to the ceiling. Damaged sheet rock is going to have to be patched, primed and repainted. The sole source of damage […]
Replacing a Bathroom Toilet: Mostly Easy. Not Too Gross.
When you own a home, toilet replacement (and toilet maintenance and toilet repair) – all come with the territory. You can always hire a plumber to help, of course, but even if you do – it’s still best to know what it takes to get something done yourself. What follows is a little chronicle of […]
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