Spring Cleaning & Home Repair
A special Boston Globe section to help you make your home the best it can be.
LIVE CHAT
Mar. 18 Noon
Chat with Mike Holmes
The host of HGTV's Holmes on Homes takes your home repair questions Friday at noon.
RESOURCES
- Mass.gov Massachusetts Department of Public Safety
- Tool Check a home improvement contractor's registration
- Massachusetts consumer guide to home improvement
- File a complaint with the state attorney general
- Check a contractor's history at the Better Business Bureau
BLOGS
The fiction of asking prices
Thursday and Friday, this week, I’ll be posting the asking price and the sale price of single family homes which sold in less than a...
New England Wild Flower Society Classes
Saturday, April 2, 1:30-4:30 p.m. there is a Pruning Shrubs with the Pros class at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Early spring is an...
FEATURES
10 projects that add value
If you do one thing, paint. But if you're more serious, we've got nine other worthwhile home improvement projects and the percentage of cost typically recouped at resale.
- Submit Your home renovation before-and-after photos
- Discuss Home renovation horror stories | More repair discussions
Wenham house gets a fresh look
After tearing down walls and adding 175 square feet to this Cape Cod-style home, homeowners Stephanie and George Needham didn't have to move to accommodate their growing family.
Well-stocked toolbox key to a job done right
Few new homeowners are likely to set up a workshop right after moving in, and new tools are probably well below furniture and appliances on the shopping list.
Small changes add up to quality improvements
It's the little unseen details, like the texture and quality of doors and knobs, that go a long way.
DIY can save time, money but watch for hazards
It was supposed to be a quick and easy switch: a recessed light in the kitchen for a more decorative pendant fixture. But Daniel Evans had no idea the comedy of errors that lay ahead when he began.
Do you own a fixer-upper?
Here's what not to do
Are you considering taking on a major home renovation project? Ed Zotti provided a list of 10 things to avoid, including flat-finish paint.
New England Home Show
Whether it's the luxury of a six-head shower or the accessibility offered by this Kohler bathtub, above, check out the latest home technology shown last weekend. (By Clifford Atiyeh, Boston.com Staff)
Inspections 101
A home inspection is a vital part of the buying - and owning - a home. Here are 10 things you should know about getting a Mass. inspection.
(By Jesse Nunes, Boston.com)
(By Jesse Nunes, Boston.com)
Small changes, big results
These days, more homeowners are maximizing their living space by transforming underused areas of their homes to create more functional and attractive spaces.
- photos Before and after
- |
- Weighing cost vs. value
Share your home renovation photos
Have a home project you're proud of? Send us before and after photos of your best renovations.
REAL ESTATE TOOLS
Peter Hotton
Blueboard, skimcoat cures for calcimine ceiling
Q. When I had a new roof installed recently, I saved the invoice to apply for a tax credit with my return. But the tax preparer said I did not qualify because the shingles, called 30-year Architectural 3-tab shingles, were not asphalt shingles. I already have filed my taxes. What can I do?
