Yeah, that’s what I keep coming back to—clay soil just doesn’t play nice. I’ve been reading up and it seems like no matter what you do, silt and roots...

CRAMPED SPACES AND WEIRD TILE CHOICES—ANYONE ELSE? I get what you mean about the patchwork effect. When we built, I spent way too long overthinking t...

CHOOSING BETWEEN ENERGY EFFICIENCY OR WATER SAVINGS FOR GREEN BUILDING POINTS? You nailed it about the points system sometimes missing the mark. I’ve...

WATER POOLING IN MY BACKYARD—WORTH DIGGING A TRENCH? You nailed it with the “medium risk” label for DIY drains. I’ve been researching this a lot sinc...

I get the appeal of “the story behind the materials,” but honestly, I think sometimes we over-romanticize it. —that really rings true for me. When I w...

Totally get what you mean about the unpredictability. I’ll admit, when I first started digging up my backyard, I was more worried about hitting a pipe...

IS IT WORTH PAYING MORE FOR AN ECO-FRIENDLY HOME IF YOU PLAN TO SELL LATER? Honestly, I’ve wondered the same thing. We put in better insulation and...

WHY DOES YARD WORK ALWAYS SEEM NEVER-ENDING? I get the appeal of letting things go a bit wild, but I’ve actually found more structure helps me keep s...