To those about to hammer, drill, screw and cut, we salute you
There seems to be a list of basic tools that you need to have to fill your obligations to society as a handyman of even a middling familiarity and competency.
Home Renovation
Watching for things that go snap in the night
The first week of September, the mice fled the fields and snuck indoors, as mice are wont to do. It happened in the quiet hours of one night. The day before, the kitchen drawers and cupboards were spotless. The next, they were festooned with rodential calling cards: the kind a not-so-observant eye might mistake for …
The Evolution of a Home
By 2001, however, that big detached deck on the front of the house was deteriorating and we decided that a verandah running across the entire front of the house would cut down on the seasonal evening sun glare and provide what amounted to a sheltered outdoor living room in the summer. This addition we were …
Stuffed?
Ah, stuff. Sometimes my life can feel way too focused on the next thing I think I “need”, as precious hours are spent reorganizing the ones I already have in order to make room. When I get fed up and hop on my anti-materialistic horse, my mind is split between rationalizing what I have and …
DIY, If You Dare
They have a saying in the Dixie States — or maybe it’s the military: “When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember your mission was to drain the swamp.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard this truism before launching my career as a DIY homereno star. Winnipeg, 1971. The summer of peace and …
Home Truths and Other Stories
The inherent drama of buying, selling, or renovating homes is tailor-made for reality television. You don’t need to own a house to be captivated by the minutiae of managing the large and small choices these programs painstakingly document. Still, it’s common to feel somewhat suspicious of the heightened “reality” on display. In recent years, in …
Rock this wall
I like blank, plain walls in the kitchen. Uncluttered and simple. If the paint is the same colour as every other wall in the house, even better. Crap! I am not even kidding myself, here. We have a very nice kitchen, but those walls are just a glaring bore. I guess I won’t be binge-watching …