Recent How-To Stories

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  Podcast 189: Heating with Pellets, Stabilizing a Collapsing Cottage, and Keeping an Accessory Dwelling Unit Close to the Ground

  Kiley, Matt, and Patrick hear from listeners about brick row homes and Bonfig walls before taking questions about heating with wood pellets, the lack of control on modern shower valves, and rebuilding a rustic cabin.

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  Podcast 188: Smoothing Plaster Ceilings, Enforcing Airtightness, and Better Brick Walkways

  The crew reviews feedback about carpenter bees, home sprinklers, and grade-level decks before taking questions on finding contractors for small jobs, removing textured ceilings, and blower-door testing.

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  Changes to the Building Codes

  Code expert Glenn Mathewson explains how changes are made to the International Residential Code, with a chart detailing the code-development process.

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  Confessions of an Energy Dinosaur

  Builder Scott McBride reflects on the reasons most carpenters get into the business and the disconnect between the act of building a house and making it energy efficient.

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  Insulating an Uninsulated Block-Wall Home

  Two years ago I purchased a small home near Toledo, Ohio. It was constructed by the owner in the mid 1950s using cinder blocks, and the interior walls are lath…

• Vapor Barrier Over Mineral Wool

  When installing skylights in our living room in Atlanta, Ga., we discovered some rot that led to us having to demo and reframe around our fireplace. I’m happy to say…

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  To Vent or Not to Vent?

  I recently purchased a 1930s-era home that has a low-pitch hip roof over an enclosed porch that has been opened up to the living space. The roof is unvented and,…

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  Air-Sealed and On Piers

  An up-in-the-air solution to sealing an elevated floor

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  Solo Window Install

  Unless a window is very large, I usually install it by myself. Over the years I've played with a few variations of how to install a window without it falling…

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  Another Way to Store Caulk Tubes

  After using screws and anils to stopper opened tubes of caulk, I figured there had to be a better way

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