Thanks to reader Jeannie for sending a link to this online booklet: Is Your Home Protected From Wildfire Disaster? A Homeowner’s Guide to Wildfire Retrofit. It was produced by the Institute for Business & Home Safety, with input from government and insurance agencies. Of interest to me is an estimate of how much fire-protection retrofits…
At this time of year, a home improvement writer’s interest typically turns to wet-weather topics like replacing the roof and cleaning out the gutters. But here we are in the heat of fire season. This graphic in today’s L.A. Times (click on graphic to enlarge) gives advice on increasing a home’s ability to survive a…
I found this DIY concrete countertop on the Instructables website, which bills itself as: "the world’s biggest show and tell." The DIY-er, screen name "doubleabattery," shows step-by-step how he created some handsome counters. Why did he choose concrete? He writes: So I wanted to redo the kitchen in my 1916 Foursquare and I was bored…
Sustainably speaking, it’s probably a good idea to move a house rather than tear it down and haul it to the landfill. But when your house hits a bridge on the way and gets stranded on the Hollywood Freeway, well, there’s got to be some regrets. According to the story, the owner, Patrick Richardson, was…
You never know when a home-improvement project will find you. Here’s the recent experience of The Times’ own Real Estate section editor, Lauren Beale: I had been warned. The night before I left town to take my son, Mike, back to college, his friend Kyle — arriving at the fraternity house a day ahead —…
One of the most compelling products to be displayed at the upcoming West Coast Green building conference (San Francisco, Sept. 20-22) will be American Clay plaster, a natural clay application that can give otherwise ordinary walls depth and a warm glow. Manufactured in and using materials from the United States, American Clay, based in Albuquerque,…
Here’s one of the latest creations posted on Ikea Hacker blog, where clever people find ways to create cool environments on a budget and mostly with Ikea products. The coolest thing in this $1,400 bathroom, from my perspective, is the simple wall-mounted sink set into a wooden shelf with a hole cut in it. This…
If you attend remodeling industry conferences (as I often do), you’ve see Buellton, Calif.-based tile-installation expert Michael Byrne in action. With his calm, methodical, knowing attitude, Michael demonstrates for attendees (mostly contractors and tradespeople) how to set tile. Sounds pretty mundane, right? But Michael, the author of many books and videos on the subject, is…
As I was browsing the Be Jane site — where Los Angeles handywomen Heidi Baker and Eden Jarrin encourage their sisters to take on home improvement projects — I came across an essay called “Throw a Do-It-Yourself Party!” that suggests you ask friends to come over and help you paint or install shelves or do…
After a Claremont homeowner designed her new master bathroom and had it built, she felt the dramatic octagonal recess in the room needed a little more drama. So she brought in Dan Gallagher of Gallagher’s Decorative Painting and Design (Lic. No. 733972) to add more dimension. First Dan applied paper-thin sheets of copper to the…