Tucson Project: A Dream Comes True
Team Tucson rises to the challenge, why lightning rods make sense, and what you need to know about paint
Team Tucson rises to the challenge, why lightning rods make sense, and what you need to know about paint
Team Tucson
A short spring TV schedule leaves no time for contractors who aren't willing to work on top of each other or homeowners who aren't willing to make decisions quickly. Thanks to extraordinary teamwork, This Old House polishes off an eight-month renovation in three.By Jack McClintock
Mesquite
The soul of the Sonoran Desert is hidden beneath the bark of its most prevalent tree. Crafted by cabinetmaker James Vosnos, this precious but stubborn wood becomes the centerpiece of the Tucson project kitchen.By Jack McClintock
Poured Floors
When is a concrete floor not fine Italian marble? Your friends will never know.By Brad Lemley
An American Craftsman
Cloaked in smoke and swathed in distorted metallic reflections, coppersmith Larry Stearns devotes his days to shimmering adornments that will endure much longer than he will.By Walt Harrington
Bad paint jobs can happen to good people with old houses? even when they listen faithfully to everything the paint salesman tells them. The reason is a surprising revelation about the compatibility of oil and latex paints.By Jeanne Huber
Zeus on the Loose
Exploding pipes, airborne fireplaces and vaporized wiring is child's play for 150,000-amp lightning bolts. Without lightning rods, every cupola, dormer and satellite dish on your house wears an electrostatic "Kick Me" sign.By Claudia Glenn Dowling
Nature Wins
The American obsession with clipped grass is usually a quixotic effort involving massive irrigation and expensive chemicals. For all the heroics, the result is often boring. A Phoenix landscaper gives in to nature, encouraging indigenous plants in a self-sustaining ecosystem teeming with cutters.By Sara Stein
The Poster: First Aid
When you're fishing through sawdust to find your finger, this is the chart to have at eye level.By Larry Katzenstein
In the Garden
It may seem crazy, but we're in love with a push mower?an old-fashioned reel mower that doesn't require old-fashioned effort. Also. razzle-dazzle raspberries.
Off The Wall
Blinded by Brackets
Shy glances over the counter, a solemn exchange of wing nuts: Could this be hardware-store love?By Jeanne Marie Laskas
Power Tool
Slice and Dice
Smooth edges! Dead-on angles! And it cuts trim in seconds! The sliding compound miter saw is a finish carpenter's favorite tool.By Mark Feirer
Hand Tool
Reverse Hammering
It can't extract the shame, but a good cat's paw will keep an errant nail your little secret.By Jeff Taylor
Electrics
Aiming for Space
NASA funding pays off: A well-installed satellite dish serves up "Comedy Central," via the stratosphere.By William G. Scheller
Equipment
Pure and Not So Simple
If you can't trust the water, at least you can trust the modern technology of home water filters.By Brooke Deterline
Technique
Easy Breeze
Installing a ceiling fan can be only slightly more complicated than changing a light bulb.By John Kelsey
Architecture
This Room Looks Funny
Learn the classic principles of proportion and visitors won't be able to tell where you added that new family room.By Steve Thomas
Finances
What's Your House Worth?
Don't let your neighborhood banker and his appraiser decide without your help.By Patricia E. Berry