When It Rains, It Drips

Don't you just love it when you get an unexpected surprise? Unless, of course, it's like the surprise I got this weekend. It was one of those cold, gray, dull, rainy weekends that make you want to just stay in bed. That's kind of hard for me to do, though. You see, I've always been a bit of a morning person. In fact, sleeping in to me means 6:30. Nonetheless, my daughter and I made the best of the wet weekend that we could. We went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant... we played games on the computer... we even went to see the new Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog. In spite of the weather, it actually had the makings of a decent weekend. Until...

Winterizing Your Home

Not long ago I was listening to some of the questions that came in on the Homefront Hotline, which is the name of our radio show call-in line. Sometimes this can be the biggest chore because it takes so long. Other times it's one of the most entertaining portions of my day because some of the questions are absolutely hilarious. Case in point: one lady called in and said she had a new home that had been winterized and she wanted to know, "How do I de-winterize it?" Okay, so here's the short answer: Don't.

A Christmas Tree from Trash

Last year, I was challenged to create a Christmas tree using only scrap material. I was able to come up with a design and chronicled this in my work blog. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to show the finished, decorated tree. So, I thought it would be fun to resurrect that article along with pictures, including the final product. I hope you enjoyed this project and, possibly, exercise your own imagination during this holiday season. What follows is the original posting:

Tired of Green Yet?

What’s your favorite color? Think about how many articles of clothing you have that happens to be that color. You may have quite a few. But if you wore that same color and nothing else day after day after day… AND let’s suppose that every wall, every stick of trim and every accessory in your home is the same color. Let’s take it a step further. What’s your favorite food? That single food item will be breakfast, lunch, supper, snacks and dessert. If for some crazy moment in twilight zone history that should ever happen, I have the distinct feeling it wouldn’t take too long before you got sick of it. The sad news is that this is the way a lot of people feel about the green movement. I can’t say that I blame them, either.

Painting Aluminum Siding

A common question that Danny & I receive on the radio show is, “Can I paint aluminum siding; and, if so, what is the best method to do that?” Great question.


Any time you are painting an aluminum siding, the key is in preparation and priming. All of the chalkiness must be washed and scrubbed off, any flaking paint must be taken off. In a nutshell, you need to start with a clean palette. Once everything is clean and dry, you’re ready to apply your primer.

Is Do-It-Yourself Really Worthwhile?

I think this is one of the most common questions I get asked. It’s usually followed by, ‘I just don’t think I could do something like that.” While it’s true that a DIY approach is a personal decision, let me show you a little project by an old college buddy of mine, Mark MacDonald, who lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons that may help swing you over the fence.

Mark was always very talented. He had such an amazing voice and still does to this day. When he sang a song, it would make the angels swoon. He makes me sick. If I had a dozen 5-gallon buckets strapped to me, I still couldn’t carry a tune. But could he successfully approach a major home remodeling project?

Before and After a Storm

There's nothing like being on a hurricane watch. I've called the Gulf Coast home for nearly 40 years, and to this day, I'm always in awe over the power of a hurricane. At this writing, I'm tracking Hurricane Ida and, yes, we are in the projected path...at least for now. I've seen hurricanes do some pretty strange things, so I never put a lot of stock in "projected paths" this far out. What can be predicted with great accuracy, unfortunately, is that some of the most unscrupulous people crawl out from under the rocks after a disaster strikes. Don't fall victime twice! Here are a couple of things to keep in mind if you're trying to have repair work done, whether in the aftermath of a storm or not.

Cool Plumbing Tool

I love gadgets and tools. If they’re more than just a novelty and can make my job easier, then I’m really happy. One thing I won’t do, though, is give a nod to a product that I haven’t tested in my own real world situation. With that said, I gotta tell you that I just had a chance to use a hand tool from RIDGID that, in all honesty, made me nod in approval several times! This is RIDGID's Faucet and Sink Installer.

Is it Particle Board or Not?

I’ve built custom cabinets for almost 20 years, so this is the part of a kitchen remodel I love the best. Of course, I build all my cabinets from plywood. I have a particular fondness for oak, because I just love the smell when I’m cutting it. And, while I do love a solid cabinet, don’t think you’re giving up quality by choosing a manufactured cabinet. A lot of people confuse the material on some manufactured cabinets as particle board. So let’s take a moment and find out exactly what you’re buying.

Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs

The Last Days of Incandescent Bulbs

Spending money to save money is, sometimes, one of those concepts you really have to wrap your head around. And, let’s face it, that can be as painful as it sounds, especially when you’re talking about light bulbs. Walk into any home improvement store and you can find regular incandescent light bulbs for $1 each or less. When you consider the fact that the average American household has 40 or more light bulbs inside, even on the cheap end of the scale, you’re spending a lot more than just pocket change to illuminate your home. So why in the world would you willingly spend 4 or 5 times more to purchase the green, tree-hugging compact fluorescent lights?

Ceramic vs. Porcelain

I was having a rather spirited debate with a colleague of mine about the benefits of using porcelain tile for flooring. According to my opponent, they never heard of using porcelain on floors! At first, I was just beside myself with the denial, but after looking into it more, I found out that a lot of people aren’t quite sure about the differences and which one is better to use in what application.