I recently moved into a house that my husband’s father bought as a “flipper.” Somewhere along the way, the flip idea turned into our buying the house because it’s directly across the street from the high school where he teaches and directly next door to the elementary school where our younger children attend. The house is purported to have been built in the mid 80’s, but it is packed...

Buying a central air conditioner constitutes a major expense. Because of the initial cost, ongoing monthly energy costs, maintenance and environmental concerns, you should become familiar with the basic function and terminology of central air conditioners before you buy a new one. The term “central air conditioner” refers to the fact that one unit cools the entire home rather than one that works in one room...

What’s a houseblog? Houseblogs are online diaries written by folks who are building, improving or restoring their own homes. Like other blogs, they are updated regularly and show the work unfold in real time. If you’re interested in reading houseblogs or starting one of your own, head over to Houseblogs.net, where you can: - Find people with similar homes, taste, or challenges via their community. -...

Are your bathroom floors any of the following? - carpet - hardwood - cork - bamboo - glass tiles - leather tiles - glass mosaic - rubber tiles or rolls Have you reglazed or refinished vintage bathroom fixtures instead of replacing them? If you have or have done any of the above, contact Kate, as she may want to interview you for HGTV.com.

When we were bulding our house, one of the favorite topics of conversation was who was going to build our cabinets. These discussions turned into a who’s who session where people complained about or complimented the guy(s) who built their kitchen cabinets. They threw around phrases like crown molding, custom height, european hinges, plate rack, and work surface, all followed by another word - expensive. Some...

If you’ve ever assembled a computer desk, you can assemble pre-fab cabinets. The most common tools you need are a screwdriver, a hammer, a level, a drill, some wood screws that are long enough to attach a cabinet to a wall (2 1/4″), and some screws that are long enough to attach cabinets to one another without going through on the other side (1 1/4″), some shims (our cabinets came with plastic...