Galleries
Water-Saving Tips and Products
Wall Hung Toilet The Toto Aquia wall-hung toilet saves both space and water. The dual-flushing system optimizes water usage by offering a choice between .9 gpf for liquids and 1.6 gpf when a stronger flush is needed. Besides being environmentally friendly, the compact...
Smart Grid Products and Appliances
The Dish on Dishwashers Go ahead: load the dishwasher right after supper -- when electric rates will be high -- and hit start. GE's Smart Grid-enabled dishwasher will delay running until rates go down later that night. When you hit start, a delay light will come on...
Backyard Play Sets
All-American Play Set This red, white and blue fort uses a swing and slide from American Swing, and the owner added lots of personal touches including flags, a double shingled roof, and a ventilation grate in the upstairs attic. For a play set such as the fort...
Bathroom Sinks
Forest Stream Kohler's Mirovia Spun Glass plain vessels lavatory is simple and understated—perfect for any minimalist's bathroom. Note the sink's subtle texturtes, mimicking water, which create a waterfall-like effect when the faucet is turned on. It's a bit like...
Award-Winning Kitchen and Bath Designs
Kitchen: Best Before and After by designer Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design Project Details Homeowner's goal: Improve the existing dark and dingy kitchen, which was badly lit, offered insufficient flow and had no storage. Design process: Worked with...
Home Gyms
Batting Cage Centerpiece, Cont'd The batting cage, pictured here, is padded with vinyl. Custom-made light covers protect from flyballs and the color palette matches the homeowner's favorite team: the Yankees. Cost: $250,000 For more information: DiSalvo Interiors,...
Birdhouses
From Coal Bin to Sleep In This Hammered Copper Coal Bin Birdhouse was creator Brian Carlisle's first every "upcycled" birdhouse. Some used copper from a stained glass supply was segmented to follow the diameter of the bird hole. The perch is the handle from the coal...
ClosetMaid Storage Solutions
Love Your Living Room Whether your design taste is traditional, vintage, romantic or modern eclectic like this living room, you don't have to go penniless in order to decorate your home. There are affordable no-fuss solutions to help organize movies, books and all...
8 Ways to Prepare Your Home for the Winter
Beef Up Insulation Even new homes can benefit from added insulation. The questions are where, what kind and how much. Basements and attics are great places to start, as the insulation in these spaces can either be lacking, missing altogether or in need of replacing....
5 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Climate Change
Insurance Knowledge Is your home insured for the climate of the future? Sadly, many homeowners learn the answer to this question the hard way. Get the latest home insurance information by looking into these insurance-related topics: What's Covered? Knowing where your...
5 Top Smart Home Solutions
Comcast Xfinity Home Just when you mastered the DVR and made sense of Triple Play bundles, the cable providers go and shove a new service in your face. But don't bat them all away as advertising noise just yet. Comcast's Xfinity Home is not exactly new, but it's...
8 Ways to Prepare Your Home for a Dog
Invest in a Collar As a general rule, your dog should have a collar on at all times, and that collar should display your dog's I.D. tags, which should include its name, as well as your name, address and phone number. As collars go, the traditional style is usually...
6 Steps to a Smooth Move
Two Months Out Relax, it's not time to roll up your sleeves...yet. But there's plenty you can do with 60 days and counting that will pave the way to an easier move. For starters: 1) Inventory. Take a weekend (or however long it takes) and go room to room in your...
Cold Weather Emergency Kit
Battery-Operated Radio It can be tempting to wander out into a snow storm after losing power to get a sense for the breadth of the outage and to check in with neighbors. In reality, this move can put you -- and utility workers -- in greater harm, especially if road...
6 Water-Saving Products for a Drought-Proof Home
Amphiro Water Meter Photo by Amphiro If you're looking for a more accurate way to track how much water you're using in the shower, the Amphiro may do the trick. The a1 model connects inline between the shower nozzle and the hose, the smart water meter displays...
2011 Wood Expo
2011 Baltimore Woodworking Show
Framing a Garage Workshop
When choosing the framing and construction materials for your garage, consider how it will be used, what fire and safety requirements you may have, and what additions you may need later on. Today’s garage holds cars, big toys, and serves as a central home workshop or...
Laminated Veneer Lumber
The laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufacturing process creates a strong and stable product that can reliably support large areas. Wide open spaces are great for country music singers, but can be a real headache for builders. To create large, open rooms, builders and...
Insulating Concrete Slabs, Foundations and Basements
Most residential concrete-foundation systems will come into contact with the ground and face moisture-management and heat-loss issues. Protecting the foundation of the home starts with the right barrier. Concrete slabs, basement foundation systems, and crawl-spaces...
Green Homes Series: Foundations
A solid foundation is essential for any home. But today’s emphasis on “green” suggests that other factors be considered as well. A good foundation is important. It helps a house withstand vertical and horizontal loads and protects from frost heaves. Foundation Basics...
Vapor Diffusion Retarders and Air Barriers
Vapor diffusion retarders, air retarders, and air/vapor retarders all relate to the interaction of temperature and moisture in and around the building envelope. A vapor barrier or vapor diffusion retarder (VDR) is a material that reduces the rate at which water vapor...
Load-bearing Walls
Before you grab a hammer, saw or crowbar to remove an unwanted wall, make sure you understand its role in holding up your house. Today's typical floor plan often includes bright and open spaces with high ceilings. Before the advent of today's modern building...
Expanding a One-Story House: Build a Second Story or a First-Floor Addition?
You’re expanding your home, but should you build up or out? Enlarge the footprint of your single-story residence or add a second floor? Before you call in the architect, here’s what you need to consider. Julie Languille and her husband, Larry, love everything about...
Stairbuilding Basics
Take the quick way to the top with a simple lesson in basic stair construction. Building nice staircases takes patience and skill. But it's worth the effort: beautiful stairs help make a home special. But, before you break out the tape measure and circular saw,...
The Carpenter’s Square
The carpenter's square is a deceptive tool. It looks simple, it's a ruler with an elbow, a straightedge that turns a corner. Yet it is a great deal more, because it can function as a sophisticated arithmetical guide to many of the complexities of laying out a...
Roofing Materials
Cost, ease of installation and appearance are all factors when choosing a roofing material. While asphalt shingles account for close to 90 percent of all residential roofing jobs, they certainly aren't the end of the story when it comes to roofing. Sheet metal, cement...
Roofs: Design, Function and Maintenance
A good roof is graceful, it's good-looking, and it ages well. To realize that end, however, you'll need to do three things: design the roof appropriately, build it right, and take good care of it. Your roof is critical to basic house performance. It gives your house...
Six Steps to Better Roof Protection
The weak link in most existing houses is in the connection of the roof sheathing to the rafters or roof trusses. The weak link in most existing houses is in the connection of the roof sheathing to the rafters or roof trusses. There are several ways to strengthen this...
Building a Tighter Roof with Roofing Underlayments
Roof underlayments are designed to protect the roof sheathing and structure from moisture and penetration. Advances in materials and technology have created more options and increased manufacturers’ warranties. Roofing underlayment was originally used for temporary...
