If you’ve got any kind of outdoor steel around your house that needs protection from rust, there are a few things you should know about the element zinc. It offers the most effective way to prevent rusting of all kinds…
If you’ve never had a water well drilled, you don’t know the combination of hope and fear involved. Hope because you’re looking for a supply of water where none existed before. Fear because you never know how much it will…
Thousands of people who own beautiful lakeside cottages will tell you that owning the place is fun, but a ton of work. If this is your experience, or if you want to avoid being overwhelmed by a cottage that you…
Making Sense of Deck Finishes Question: What should I do about conflicting advice I’m getting about deck finishing? I just built a new staircase out of cedar for my deck and the measured moisture content of the wood is less…
DIY Installation An Option What’s involved in installing a wood pellet stove as a heating appliance? If you’re wondering if you can do this job yourself, my short answer is “yes”, if you’re a handy person you certainly can. There’s…
In this week’s video episode, learn how a hydraulic wood splitter works; see safe methods for using a wood splitter properly; learn how the best hydraulic splitters work both horizontally & vertically; understand proper storage procedures for maintaining your wood splitter.
QUESTION: What should I do about the fuzzy surface fibers that developed on my deck? In the fall I stripped and pressure washed the wood and now it’s all fuzzy. I’m afraid that when I re-stain in the spring it…
Home generators have never been more popular because people are more concerned than ever about backup electrical power when the grid goes down. What’s easy to miss is that without pre-planning, most generators won’t offer much benefit for outages lasting…
Steve Maxwell, Canada’s Handiest Man, talks to homeowners about how to build a safe and fun wooden play area for children on their back lawn.
According to Steve Maxwell wood heating makes sense on several levels; cost savings, cleanliness of combustion and the aesthetics of well-piled firewood.
There are tricks that make a big difference to the visual success of outdoor woodworking projects, and that’s what you’ll learn about here. You’ll find them useful for almost every project involving big, exterior wood. Decks, docks, gazebos, swing sets,…
The term “gnat” means different things to different people, but generally they’re small biting and non-biting flying insects that often appear in groups. Sometimes spelled “nats” or “knats”, the annoyance they cause when flying around your home remains the…