Mike McClintock

They seem like an integral part of the house that should never wear out. Some scraping and painting might be needed, especially on the sills, but replacement? Windows, which were...

One nice thing about winter: no mosquitoes. They come back in warmer weather along with flies, no-see-ums, bees and wasps, and find their way through the tiniest tears in your...

Cleaning in most homes concentrates on kitchens and bathrooms. But what about the room with a car? On top of dirt and debris from the street, garages are often the...

Before pressure-treated decking became popular, homeowners had a perennial maintenance project: resealing. Every year was a good idea because the boards on the deck were usually the same wood as...

Attics and crawl spaces can bake under summer sun that's fiery enough to make asphalt shingles gooey and protruding vent pipes too hot to touch. Insulation helps. But without adequate...

Americans use almost 100 gallons of water per day per person — where they're allowed to. More jurisdictions now impose limits on lawn watering, pool filling and sometimes even car...

There are two common reactions to the sticker shock of staggering utility bills: Some people want to reduce the kilowatt hours and gallons of oil to help the environment. Many...

Groundwater has a way of finding a route through any barrier, even concrete and block foundations. The culprit is called hydrostatic pressure. With wet dirt on one side and a...

Carpenters used to handle almost every phase of home construction and renovation. That changed with the post-WWII building boom and housing mass production. Since then, building trades have become increasingly...

Buildings that let in more light work better for the people inside. Studies in schools retrofitted with large skylights have proved the benefits. Where extra sources are added, light bills...