Mike McClintock

Power tools are practical, but they still make great presents for a DIYer or contractor, especially when there are a slew of them packed into a kit. The two here...

Heating and cooling systems are designed to provide a comfortable indoor environment of 65 to 70 degrees and 30 to 50 percent relative humidity. The temperature is straightforward; just move...

New or old, row house or ranch, all homes have a few trouble spots. Some, like popped drywall nails, are only skin deep and easy to fix. Others, like clogged...

The first mention of vapor barriers protecting exterior walls from moisture appeared in the Architectural Record magazine in 1938. It was based on research by the U.S. Forest Service and...

Doors that slide away into walls is an old design that still makes sense. A pair of 3- or 4-foot-wide doors can turn two rooms into one or vice versa,...

Carpenters always carry a ruler — a metal tape or a folding rule with brass extensions to capture inside-to-inside dimensions. These days it might even be a laser that shoots...

Controls and monitors for heating, cooling, power and other systems are crammed into cluttered dashboards in cars. In houses, they're spread all over, sometimes in plain sight, often tucked away...

Controls and monitors for heating, cooling, power and other systems are crammed into cluttered dashboards in cars. In houses, they're spread all over, sometimes in plain sight, often tucked away...

Most homes already have a fan built into the heating and cooling system. So why would you want a ceiling fan too? Because it humanizes the scale of a cavernous...

Gutters are crucial in wet climates to move deluges that would fall along the foundation and foster leaks. But they're also on the eaves in dry climates — often to...