ALUMINUM SOFFIT & FASCIA: How-To Install It The Right Way
Got some soffit and fascia to install on your home, garage or cottage? This article covers the basics for achieving an exceptionally good job, even as a non-professional
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REVOVATIONS: “How Can I Convert a Seasonal Cottage to Full-Time Home?”
Question: How realistic is it to convert a seasonal cottage built in the 1950s into a year-round home? My husband and I live in the city and we’d like to sell our house and take the proceeds to buy a…
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RURAL LIVING: Water Well Drilling With Nice Surprise Near the End
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…
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METALWORKING: Learn About Forging Steel In The Home Workshop
Canada’s Handiest Man, Steve Maxwell, shows inspired homeowners Might Forge, a way to make forging metal a realistic hobby.
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PHILOSOPHY: What Marriage is Really All About
In the last few days of May 1988, I was a few weeks away from getting married. That’s Mary and I in the photo above, on June 4 of that year. As I was preparing mentally for the big day, I…
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HOME IMPROVEMENTS: “How Can I Boost Sound Resistance at Low Cost?”
Question: How can I make the ceiling above my basement workshop more sound resistant? The joists and wood frame are open and accessible since the ceiling isn’t finished. Way too much sounds comes up into the living area above right…
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HOME SYSTEMS: Smart Thermostat Delivers Better Comfort & Economy
If you’ve got any kind of hot water heating system in your home, whether it be infloor heating or radiators, let me show you a thermostat control system at my place that I really like. It’s different than most out there…
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“WOODWORKING”: How to Build Fine Projects Without Actual Wood
Wood is a wonderful material, but sunshine, rain and seasonal temperature swings can make it look weathered and cracked in short order if that wood lives outdoors. This is fine for some applications, but not others. That’s what gave me the idea…
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EASY-KEEPER COTTAGE: Don’t Build Or Renovate To Make Work For Yourself
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…
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CHOOSING PAINT COLORS: Three Steps for Making Better Choices
Choosing paint colors is probably the number#1 challenge faced by people looking to paint their homes, both inside and out. There are so many choices and so many opinions about what looks good that it often leads to indecision and…
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DEEP WELL HAND PUMP: See How We Installed One Alongside Our Electric Pump
Click above to watch lesson#10 in my online video course KEEP IT FLOWING. This video shows a Bison deep well hand pump being installed alongside an electric submersible pump in my own well. It’s surprising how many people ask me about hand pumps like…
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MONEY: Thoughts on Financial Success Wherever You Want to Live
Question: How can my wife and I earn a living in the country so we can move out of the city? We’re over-educated urban dwellers with a dream of becoming homesteaders and permaculture farmers. Should we get certified in some…
