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It all began when my son-in-law, Mitch, explained the mouthwatering virtues of smoking meat, something he does on a regular basis, particularly during football season. 'You take ribs or a [...]

Every other Monday, I wheel a 64-gallon jumbled mess of milk jugs, shredded paper, and refried bean cans to the curb--then righteously rub my hands together, knowing I've done my [...]

On average, more than 1,000 tornadoes touch down annually in the United States, which has more tornadoes than any other country in the world. Tornadoes have been spotted in every [...]

We all enjoy life's simple pleasures: gardening, cooking, the 'pop' of a canning lid, eating, spending time in the great outdoors, and, even better, doing these things with friends and [...]

Tools & Materials * Circular saw * Speed square * Drill with hex bit * 4-foot level * Hand tamper * Sledgehammer * 10-inch timber screws (200) * 4-inch timber [...]

You can spend $50,000 for an upscale curved-glass greenhouse, or $50 for a down-home one made of PVC pipe and plastic sheeting. But there's a lot of ground in between. [...]

Here's a project that's little in every way. It's for little people, only takes a little lumber and time to build--and if you have a little experience, it's a great [...]

Growing food in this solar-heated structure will be far more productive than doing so with electric lights indoors. Plus, you can build it with low-cost materials. Almost anyone can build [...]

Remember those multipurpose, free-standing kitchen cabinets with pull-out bins, built-in flour sifters, and lots of storage? The 'Hoosier' cupboard first appeared in the United States more than 100 years ago, [...]

Storing a miter saw can be tough. Most people don't have the space to leave it set up with long support tables. Storing it under the workbench is a pain: [...]

The first time I saw a fellow carpenter cope baseboard molding, I thought: 'Why's he messing around with that fancy-pants cut when two 45-degree cuts would do the job waaaay [...]

A funny thing happened when I began thinking about writing this article: I started noticing pegboard everywhere--panels, hooks, doodads, you name it. Every hand tool in the hardware store was [...]

You know the chairs I'm talking about--the ones you sat on for 4,122 dinners, the vintage ones inherited from Grandma, the dusty ones picked up at the garage sale, the [...]

I love projects that allow me to walk into my workshop with a few boards under one arm and then walk out a few hours later with something sturdy, useful [...]

My daughter, Kellie, recently bought a nice little house with a nice big coat closet by the front door. The problem is, since the garage is in the back, everyone, [...]

I've been making sawdust for almost 40 years. During those four decades, I've used homemade sawhorses, store-bought horses and a few pulled from the trash. I've grown particularly fond of [...]

Every time you pick up your circular saw, you're picking up 12 lbs. of gyrating metal with a blade spinning at 100 revolutions per second. Sure, it has knobs for [...]

Wheelbarrows are great for hauling stuff around the yard--unless you're working on a hill ... or trying to negotiate steps and rough terrain ... or moving a lot of bulky [...]

Our Greek Revival house stood garageless for the first 150 years of its life, so I knew when it came time to add one, it had to honor the character [...]

You can build a fire pit or assemble a clay-pot smoker in just one weekend. Let's get cookin'! Enjoy campfire cooking in the great outdoors without having to leave your [...]

Do you wash your garden produce on the lawn with a hose? Or transplant seedlings on top of your picnic table, or on your knees in the garden? If so, [...]

Sorry, folks, we just couldn't resist the play on words. Wood floors are durable and easy to clean, and they never go out of style. If they garner a few [...]

Sometimes there's just one big impetus behind a kitchen remodel: A growing family can no longer sit around the table, or a two-oven family is stuck with a one-oven kitchen, […]

Arches can be stunning in any room--both in how they look and in how difficult they are to build. But the bookcases you see here are stunning only on the […]

There were enormous eight-burner stoves and eight-person spas at the Kitchen and Bath Show this year, but there was one itty-bitty item that best exemplified some of the new directions […]

One Minnesota radio talk show host often asks callers about their "piston count." That's the number you'd get if you added up all the pistons in your garage--cars, lawn mowers, […]

The kitchen always has been, and always will be, the heart of the home. It's where family members cook, do homework, host dinner parties and go over the highlights of […]

Enter the bathroom of this suburban Minneapolis home and you'll find stone ranging in size from 5/8-in. flecks to 500-lb. slabs. It's installed on the ceiling, walls and floors; used […]

I recently watched a TV show that showed ways to improve a home's curb appeal. The crew built the homeowner a new front porch, a circular driveway, and a fountain. […]

Take a look, a really close look. At first glance it may be hard to recognize, but the kitchen on the left is the same as the one on the […]

You may have picked the perfect site, size and design for that new deck, but you still have one big thing left to select: the lumber. It doesn't matter whether […]

A chair rail can do a lot more than protect your walls from jostled chairs. A well-designed chair rail is an attractive accent and provides a clean dividing line so […]

Whether it's a stream in the middle of the woods or a fountain in the heart of downtown, few things rival the sight and sound of moving water. It's relaxing, […]

Water-based or regular stripper? I have a "flea market find" oak dresser with layer after layer of paint on it. My home center carries "safe" water-based strippers as well as […]

You finished that long, hot shower. You're squeaky clean and cozy warm--until you step onto the tile floor. Then you get another sensation--ice-cold feet. The solution isn't to banish tile […]

Hardworking toolbox It takes more than rain, sleet or snow to keep avid do-it-yourselfers from their appointed weekend rounds. Piano has developed Contractor Grade rugged toolboxes for these diehards. The […]

The kitchen in the house where I grew up was lit by a single fluorescent ring bulb smack dab in the middle of the ceiling. It was too bright when […]

One and a half billion square yards of carpet were bought and installed in the United States last year; my household accounted for a whopping 17 yards of it. While […]

Building just-right deck railing is a real brainteaser; you want a railing enclosed enough to stop people from falling through or over it, yet open enough for them to enjoy […]

In the formative days of electrical power, Thomas Edison (a proponent of direct current) and Nikola Tesla (a proponent of alternating current) maintained a running feud over which form of […]

"Out of sight, out of mind the attitude most of us have when it comes to flushing the toilet, popping the bathtub drain or running the dishwasher. But all that […]

Drinking water is a bit like sausage, it tastes better if you don't see where it comes from or how it's made. Yet, considering the sources -- turbulent rivers, open […]

Fred has a love-hate relationship with his fireplace. He owns one of the 35 million fireplaces in the United States, and lights his share of the nearly one billion fireplace […]

THREE SLICK SYSTEMS MAKE THEM EASIER THAN EVER TO BUILD. If you thought building a glass block wall was out of your league because it required the skills of an […]

Noise is a fact of life, but there are plenty of things you can do to get some peace and quiet. Here are 15 tips, some simple, some complex, to […]

It was the infamous "Lawn Chair, Rake and Stepladder Avalanche of 1993" that prompted me to build our storage bump-out. That fateful day made me realize I needed to either […]

Ever switched blades in your circular saw, then realized that the burning, bucking and pushing you'd been doing was due to one helluva dull blade--not weak muscles, poor technique or […]

Low-buck, high-impact, simple to do, minimum mess--now that's what I call the grand slam of DIY projects. We designed this dining room wainscoting so even ambitious beginning DIYers could tackle […]

ARE YOU ENTERTAINING, OR TRAINING FOR A MARATHON? Out of ice? It's a dash up to the kitchen, then back downstairs to the basement party room again. Hors d'oeuvres finally […]

You venture down there only when you have to; to flick a circuit breaker, to do the laundry, to empty Jasper's litter box. That's too bad, because every time you […]