DIY in Home & Garage

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A four-by-eight raised bed, built in one afternoon

Four feet wide, nine inches deep, three boards and a box of screws. The build takes 90 minutes. Hauling the soil is the real work.

GuideAutosDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

Jump a dead battery without wrecking either car

The clamp order, the one connection everybody gets wrong, and why a twenty-minute drive home doesn't actually recharge anything.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

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GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Most bad finishes are actually sanding problems

A great finish is about ninety percent preparation and ten percent what's in the can. Do the first part properly and the rest is easy.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

PartnerDude.com

Skills6 min read

Re-caulking a bath and shower without it peeling in a year

Most new caulk fails because of what happened before the tube was even opened. The order matters more than the technique.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideAutosDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

What it really takes to get a car past 250,000 miles

Most cars die of neglected fluids and small leaks, not worn-out engines. The schedule that prevents it's shorter than you think.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Build a garage workshop you'll use on a Tuesday night

Most home shops fail for one reason: starting takes too long. Fix that first, and the tools take care of themselves.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Why Fences Lean, and How to Set Posts That Don't

A fence never fails at the pickets. It fails in the first eight inches of dirt below grade, and that part is decided on day one.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Changing your own oil without making a mess of it

The order to do it in, the two mistakes that dump five quarts on your driveway, and the parts nobody tells you to buy.

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Build a tool tote first, and buy these five tools

One board, one afternoon, no table saw. The project that teaches you square cuts, glue-ups and finish — and gets used for the next twenty years.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

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GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

How to hang a door so it closes with one push

Most doors that stick were hung to a crooked frame. Set the hinge side plumb first and everything downstream gets easier.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

The running toilet is a fifteen-minute fix, not a plumber call

Two parts cause almost every running toilet. You can tell which one in thirty seconds, and both cost under twenty dollars to replace.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar22 Sept 20265 min

How to bleed a radiator without soaking the carpet

Cold at the top and hot at the bottom means trapped air. The whole fix takes eight minutes, and the mistake people make is doing it in the wrong order.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar22 Sept 20265 min

Read a tape measure right the first time

The marks, the sliding hook, the diamond at 19.2 and the one habit that stops you cutting a shelf a sixteenth short.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar22 Sept 20265 min

How to stop a dripping tap in fifteen minutes

Water off, handle off, washer out, washer in. The job is small. The mistakes are the expensive part.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Skills6 min

The six multimeter checks that solve most problems

Skills6 min

How to wire a plug properly, and when to leave it alone

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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GuideSkillsWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

Jumping a dead mower without frying the battery

A flat mower battery is a twenty-minute fix if you do it in the right order, and an expensive one if you don't.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

Skills6 min read

Unblock the drain yourself before you pay somebody

Most household blockages are within two feet of the plughole and clear in under an hour with a plunger, a bucket and a bit of patience.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

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