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The price of lumber in the U.S. has been on a roller coaster since the start of the pandemic. A host of factors drove the price up and down the last two years, creating uncertainty for homebuilders and anyone looking to purchase lumber for a project. Lumber prices peaked in May 2021, with the cost of softwood lumber hitting well over $1,600 per thousand board feet. Just a few months later, lumber crashed back down to less than $600 per thousand board feet....

What Is Chemical Guys New Car Smell Air Freshener? A bottle of Chemical Guys New Car Smell Air Freshener is every worn-in car owner’s wildest fantasy. A few spritzes returns even the dingiest, mustiest minivans into fresh-off-the-lot newness when you close your eyes. It uses natural enzymes to eliminate existing odors, reduce new ones and blanket the air with new car scent. It’s safe to use in every inch of a car’s interior, including upholstery, leather and even car floor mats....

Quick, mobile and aerial, the Australian cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae) is a common and difficult pest when found near and around homes. Its ability to survive in moist and dry environments makes controlling these intrusive insects long and difficult. What are Australian Cockroaches A warm climate roach, the Australian cockroach was native to Australia but now appears all over the world. A quick moving flying cockroach, they can infest all types of locations including homes, ports, and outdoor habitats....

Off-grid power has the potential to offer electrical freedom, if you have the money and skills to set up a functional system. So far, more than 180 000 American families live fully off-grid, and that number is rapidly growing. Off-grid power has many benefits, as well as some considerable drawbacks. If you’re considering going off-grid with your cabin, keep reading and learn the ins and outs of off-grid power. What Is Off-Grid Power?...

The drill press is a motorized tool designed to bore holes in wood, metal or plastic. Like a handheld drill, drill presses utilize various types of bits to make holes of different diameters. But unlike a handheld drill, drill presses are stationary or bench-top machines. If you need a drilling tool only for small home repairs and the occasional woodworking project, a drill press probably isn’t for you. But if you’d like to get serious about working with wood or metal, a drill press will make it easier to bore precise holes, countersink or counterbore those holes and use sanding attachments....

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Getting ready for Thanksgiving is not always easy, but is necessary when hosting to make sure your house is shipshape. If you’re not hosting Thanksgiving at your house this year, lucky you. You may be thinking it’s your chance to kick your feet up and relax while someone else does all the work. Not so fast. This Thanksgiving, be an A+ guest by following these helpful tips. Plus, to make sure the day goes smoothly, here are 12 must-haves for a successful Thanksgiving....

CKP1001/Shutterstock Your daily caffeine fix takes its toll on your coffee maker. Calcium and lime scale (from your water) can clog up the works and make your coffee taste stale or slightly metallic. Cleaning experts know the secret to perking up any coffee maker: Good, old-fashioned white vinegar. How Much Vinegar Do You Use to Clean a Coffee Maker? Pour in enough full-strength white vinegar to complete a typical brew cycle and then run the cycle as usual....

Part of the mint family, creeping Charlie was brought to the U.S. in the 1800s by European settlers who thought the resilient and adaptable plant would provide good ground cover for shaded areas. They were right, but this rapidly spreading invader soon became an aggressive nuisance plant to homeowners and gardeners across the country. To this day, it is considered one of the most difficult weeds to get rid of....

You’ll need: 6- or 8-in. square tiles (there are a jillion colors and styles—go wild!) 1-in. x 3/4-in. wood strips for the frame 1/2-in. thick plywood for the base 1/4-in. thick plywood risers to elevate the tile above the frame Clear polyurethane finish and clear silicone sealant You only need a few basic tools, a selection of nice tiles and some scraps of your favorite wood. Here’s how to build ’em: Cut four frame pieces with 45-degree miters on each end....

With the arrival of the new year, a bevy of tax credits and rebates from the Inflation Reduction Act are now available. So if you’ve been thinking about making your home more energy efficient, there are now real, money-saving incentives available. That includes a 30 percent tax credit for a solar energy system. More homeowners are opting for solar panels to supplement or replace their grid-based energy needs. Whether you aspire to be energy neutral, prefer a back-up plan in the case of power failure or simply want to save a little on your monthly electric bill, the benefits of solar panels are numerous....

Andersen Ross/via getty images As trends move toward reusable, green options in our daily lives, single-use products like paper towels are falling by the wayside. But there are many instances where the convenience of single-use items takes precedent. Take our poll to vote for which cleaning method your family uses, paper towels or dish cloths. Our fast-paced lives often leave little time for thoughtful, environmentally conscious decisions. Our schedules dictate our lives and it trickles down to our everyday, mundane decisions....

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. drivers have adjusted their driving habits since March to combat soaring gas prices, according to a recent survey from the American Automobile Association (AAA). Those surveyed reported driving less, combining errands and reducing shopping or dining out. Eighty-eight percent of respondents reported driving less. Many also said they were more likely to cancel or postpone travel or delay major purchases because of increased fuel prices. According to the release, AAA interviewed 1,002 U....

If you live where the air turns crisp and cool in fall, chances are you know the joys of gathering around a wood-burning fireplace or bonfire with friends and family. Chances are you also know that sometimes getting firewood when you need it can be a chore. We’re here to help. Here’s a quick overview of what to look for when buying firewood and five ways to stock up, with options to fit any budget or schedule....

For the past few years, my wife and I have been remodeling our old house. This summer, I finally got around to the exterior paint. To remove 110 years of paint buildup, I tried all the conventional methods: hand scraping, pressure washing, wire brushes, sanders, heat guns, etc. Each of the paint removal tools sort of worked (eventually), but all the paint stripping tools all had the same problem: too slow!...

When spring arrives and you get the itch to go plant shopping, it’s tempting to buy way more than you have room for. There’s no exact formula for determining how many plants you need, and even experienced gardeners like me over-buy sometimes. As an avid container gardener, I plant up more than 75 pots each year. My driveway transforms into a holding area as I gather plants from my local garden centers....

Spark plugs are small, cylindrical devices that use electricity to trigger combustion of the gas/air mixture in engines, allowing them to start and continue running. They do this by turning incoming electrical voltage into a spark inside the cylinder or cylinders of an engine, igniting the pressurized fuel inside. This ignition forces the piston downward, generating power for the engine. The piston is pushed back up again by exhaust, and then the cycle repeats....

Newbie gardeners can easily become confused in the aisles of their favorite garden center. Why does every bagged product have a variation on the same name? “Potting soil” and “potting mix” sound similar. But just as novice bakers know the difference between baking soda and baking powder, first-time gardeners should understand why the two potting products aren’t the same. Potting Soil and Potting Mix: What’s the Difference? Potting soil What’s in it: Potting soil contains garden soil, minerals and organic matter, says Karen Bachman Thull of Bachman’s Floral, Gift & Garden, a Twin Cities-based garden company....

Over the eons, wind and water gradually weather rocks, breaking them down into particles that help form soil. That silty sand in your yard might have once been a towering granite cliff. That clay? It could have come from a lava flow of basalt, or limestone that formed under an ancient sea. Wherever it originated, once it becomes soil, we classify it based on particle size. Sand has the largest particles....

Breadmaker/shutterstock You made it—after weeks or months of hard work and stress, your home remodel is finished. However, there’s still work to do. Here are 10 things you’ll likely have to do after your home remodel. These are 12 remodeling ideas that will pay off. Before you pay that final bill, have a final walkthrough with your builder or contractor. Walk through each room that had work done and point out anything you’re not 100 percent satisfied with....

Via Wikipedia/Slashme What is a Birdsmouth? A birdsmouth is the little triangular cutout in the bottom of a rafter that provides a flat area so the rafter can rest solidly on—and be solidly attached to—a wall top plate. The horizontal cut (where the rafter rests on the wall) is called the “seat cut”; the vertical cut (which snugs up to the exterior of the wall) is called the “heel cut.” The rule of thumb when cutting a birdsmouth is to never remove more than one-third of the depth of the rafter to maintain the rafter’s structural integrity....