When a house stops working, the reflex is to add on. More square footage, out the back or up a storey. Additions have their place, but they are the most expensive answer to the question, and they are rarely the…
Cottages and rural retreats are great, but not if you have to work on them all the time. Read five simple strategies for ensuring your cottage doesn’t become an expensive ball and chain in your life.
Feel like opting out of the rat race and making it on your own in the country? It’s a great idea, but success depends on how well you manage your personal work habits.
Fabric structure buildings have become a popular option for barns, equipment storage, workshops and agricultural buildings. Compared with traditional framed buildings, they can go up faster, cost less per square foot and provide bright interior spaces filled with natural light….
If trees grow where you live, then making them into firewood is a great way to reduce heating costs and get exercise. I’ve been cutting firewood and heating with it for 35+ years, and there are five main steps to…
Steve Maxwell, Canada’s Handiest Man, maintains a tradition of cedar rail farm fences by continuing to use and upkeep them where he lives in Manitoulin.
Question: Is it possible to make something from the oak tree I cut down at my place? I don’t have many tools, and I don’t have any way to bring the log to a sawmill, but I’d really like to…
A Saturday spent improving the yard can become noisy before the first cup of coffee has gone cold. The mower starts, followed by the trimmer, leaf blower, pressure washer, or chainsaw. Move indoors, and the sound may continue with a…
Steve Maxwell, Canadas Handiest Man, sheds light on a new rural Canadian invention, Seg-Ins Big Bed, a truck extention that improves cargo capacity.
Need a large, economical building for equipment storage, farm machinery, vehicles, livestock, warehousing or workshop space? This video series follows my construction of a 42×80-foot fabric-covered building here at my place on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. The structure was engineered and…
Want to boost pollinators in your garden? Encourage mason bees with this simple but effective DIY project. Click here or the image below to download full plans and instructions for free. Scroll further down for a video tour of the…
Got a water supply line from a well or lake that can’t be buried enough to protect from freezing? The video below shows a system I installed a number of years ago for just this kind of situation, and has…