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Landscaping is one of the final stages in a new house or cabin build, but that doesn’t mean it should be an afterthought. Creating an attractive lawn and garden, and adding hardscape elements like a patio or deck, increases the overall value of your home and its curb appeal. It also makes your home or cabin feel more inviting and spacious by expanding the living area outdoors. Figuring out how much your landscaping will cost can be a challenge, however....

If you notice mysterious yellow patches of grass that turn brown and die rather than perk back up with regular watering, you may have a chinch bug problem. Unlike other types of turf grass pests, chinch bugs must reach a high population density before you notice anything amiss. Once they begin to flourish, however, they can devastate an entire lawn in just weeks. “Surprisingly, your lawn can host quite a few chinch bugs without causing noticeable damage,” says agronomist Bob Mann, director of state and local government relations for the National Association of Landscape Professionals....

Here’s the first thing to know about dryer repair: You can solve some common dryer troubles yourself. There’s no need to find a technician, schedule a service call or pay hundreds dollars for dryer repair. The dryer repair fixes we show in this article correct about 90 percent of dryer breakdowns. Most repairs take about an hour, but set aside extra time to locate replacement parts. Aside from basic tools like a socket set and screwdrivers, you may need a continuity tester or multimeter to diagnose the problem....

Family Handyman Surveys show that one of the major reasons buyers back away from a motorcycle purchase is that they’d have to park one of their cars outside to leave space for the bike. If you’re facing that dilemma, consider installing a motorcycle storage lift. It’ll lift your bike, four-wheeler or riding mower high enough to fit your car underneath it. The Store-It system from Garage Evolution uses an electric motor and stainless steel cables to lift a bike (up to 1,200 lbs....

Backyard trampolines can be a lot of fun, so it’s no surprise kids and teenagers have them on their wish lists. Buying one, though, is not something to do on impulse; it should be strategic and thoughtful. Not only do you have to decide which trampoline is right for your family (there are numerous shapes, sizes, brands, price ranges and more), you also need to consider whether getting a trampoline is right for your family at all....

Did you know basil is considered the king of herbs? In Greek, the word basilikos means “royal,” and basil was once used only in royal ceremonies. In my garden, I can hardly wait for spring weather to settle down so that I can transplant the basil I started from seed. I grow four types of basil because it’s my favorite herb to top homemade pizza and salads. Types of Basil There are many types you can grow in your garden....

They serenade us in the morning, offer a bright spot of beauty outside the kitchen window and often thanklessly control the population of bugs and critters that bite, buzz and squirm. Did we mention they also pollinate flowers? Despite all of their best qualities, many homeowners have their share of tales about that bird. Perhaps it was the blue jay who terrorized the mail carrier and anyone else daring to approach the front door near a nest....

It’s all over the news these days, stories about how succulents are the most popular houseplants — particularly among millennials. For many 30-somethings, succulents are replacing getting a cat or dog! As reported by Alice Vincent for The Guardian, “It seems the millennial appetite for sculptural green houseplant `pets’ has reached its zenith. In an echo of the boom-and-bust disaster of tulip fever in 17th-century Holland, succulent insanity is well on its way to defining our own horticultural age....

It’s safe to say that no one active in the construction trades today can remember a time when plywood wasn’t a staple building material. The U.S. Forest Service equates the increased use of plywood in the 1920s to the beginning of the industrial age. Historians might argue that point, but you get the idea. It’s been a preferred material for all aspects of home building and remodeling for at least a century....

While metal siding is well over 100 years old, modern metal siding got its big break in 1939. Frank Hoess, a machinist who designed the interlocking flanges at the tops and bottoms of panels, patented the design after using it on homes in a small development in Chicago. Since the late 1930s, the use of metal siding to protect homes from the elements has ebbed and flowed. War efforts reduced production in the 1940s, while the 1970s saw a renewed interest....

Family Handyman Don’t ruin your blades with poor storage I needed an efficient way to store table saw blades, keeping them organized and preventing their teeth from getting dinged. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time; just something simple. This 2×6 block fills the bill. On This Page How to make this blade storage Clamp a couple blocks to the rip fence to hold the 2×6 down while raising the blade....

When projects began stacking up around my house (including some gifts I wanted to build for my friends and family) I decided I needed to upgrade my garage workshop. But feeling the pinch of inflation, I didn’t have the cash to drop on a new $300 table saw or $500 planer. So I did something I normally hate: I went on Facebook. On Facebook Marketplace, I found most of the tools I needed for a fraction of the price I’d pay for new tools in a store....

On a cloudless day, a skylight lets the sun shine into your house. When it’s rainy, a skylight shouldn’t let anything in, especially the rain. If your skylight leaks, don’t wait to fix it. A small leak could indicate water collecting around the skylight that could rot the roof decking. Maryland general contractor Alan Hill warns that major skylight repair jobs aren’t DIY-friendly. However, he says homeowners can find and seal most leaks if they have the right equipment....

Many people flock to TikTok for the latest home hacks and trends, and while some can be helpful, occasionally, a viral tip can be less than desirable—or unsafe. The latest one includes a way to heat your home in a rather risky way. Across the country, the cost of heating is rising, and many people are looking for ways to save money on their home energy bills. As energy costs continue to rise, so does an increased variety of home heating tips, and this one viral TikTok hack encourages using DIY terracotta heaters to warm up your home....

Tired of that blast of cold air as you step out of the shower? Installing a heat lamp in your bathroom will help keep you warm all year round. Heat lamps are less expensive and require a lot less work to install than other bathroom heating methods, like in-floor radiant heat installation and wall heaters. Here’s a rundown of how heat lamps work, what they cost, and some of the best heat lamps on the market....

Brought to you by It’s easy to create a lot of storage space in a sizable home, but a good designer will also be able to fit smart storage into small, irregular spaces while challenging the traditional way of thinking about what ‘storage’ is. Use these ideas as a jumping-off point for your own projects to squeeze every last inch out of potential storage areas. Inglis Hall & Co. Ltd....

My late father taught me how to change oil in my car as soon as I got my driver’s license. We spent many a hot Texas morning in the driveway making sure my clunkers were in proper shape. He taught me well, but there are definitely things we both learned along the way. Some of these tips may seem obvious, but all will make your DIY oil changes a lot smoother....

I had my home broken into and was there while it happened. It was scary, to say the least. Through my job as a security and safety expert, I’ve researched just about every form of home protection since then and tried probably hundreds of security devices. Here’s what I learned. Reinforce Your Doors Most burglars come through a door. That’s how they got into my home. Besides locking your doors, you also should reinforce them....

No one wants to have a musty basement. If you notice foul sewer smells in your house or basement, here are the five possible causes in order of probability. Plus, we’ve included some tips to eliminate sewer smells and unpleasant odors. Bonus: We’ve rounded up the best basement odor eliminators for the job, too. Family Handyman A Dry Water Trap is Causing the Sewer Smell The most likely cause is a water trap under a floor drain, laundry tub or wash basin that has dried out from lack of use....

Have you seen fabric bags in the planter section of your local garden center? If you were curious about these fabric garden containers, you’re not alone. Although still less common than solid planters, grow bags are no longer a niche gardening tool. They’ve boomed in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. Garden grow bags are a convenient alternative to the bulky containers we’re used to. What Are Garden Grow Bags?...