WHEN “SMART” DEVICES AREN’T SO SMART AFTER ALL I totally relate to that “one bug away” feeling. We moved in a few months ago and I was super excited ...

WHEN FAILURES JUST AREN’T WORTH IT It’s kind of funny you mention smart lights—I tried setting up a fancy thermostat and it locked me out of my own h...

That’s exactly what I’m hoping for—just one less thing to stress about every time it pours. I actually did look at some FSC plywood, but the price jum...

MAKING THE SWITCH TO WATER-SAVING TOILETS: WORTH IT? I totally get what you mean about the parts being tricky. When we built our place last year, I p...

WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE I keep going back and forth on this. The interest savings are super tempting, but I kin...

Yeah, I get that. I tried using voice commands when I was juggling groceries and couldn’t find the remote—felt a bit silly talking to the TV, but it a...

Yeah, this hits home. The lot I ended up with looked like a steal, but after closing, we found an old septic tank buried way deeper than anyone expect...

BANK LOAN VS. INVESTOR FUNDING, WHICH MAKES MORE SENSE? Totally get what you mean about banks being “annoying but predictable.” When I did my build l...

Yeah, I totally get what you mean about the upgrades. We put in a ton of work making our place more energy-efficient, and the appraiser barely seemed ...

I'm still figuring this out myself—just moved into our first custom build and I'm tackling some DIY finishes. Started off thinking a hammer would be f...

That's a fair point, but I dunno—drainage issues still make me pretty nervous. I mean, I'm all for DIY and learning as I go, but water problems can so...