Exteriors

April 29, 2011

A shady retreat: Front porch enjoys new popularity

Like pieced quilts and chair rail, the front porch was born of practicality. It provided Grandma and her front rooms shade from the hot sun.

September 25, 2009

Huff and puff-proof your home's exterior

Memo to the three little pigs: You now have more exterior cladding choices for your houses. And, they sure beat sticks and straw.

November 7, 2008

Take steps to winterize exterior

To cut energy bills and prevent damage from water, ice and snow this winter, it pays to button up the house before bad weather hits.

January 24, 2008

3 must-haves for a good paint job

Paint preparation is one of the ugly sides of home improvement projects. All that sanding and scraping and cleaning -- no one really likes to do it, but it's essential to a good paint job.

December 16, 2007

Mary Umberger: Judging a home by its siding

In today's real estate market, anxious home sellers -- or those merely thinking about selling -- might well heed a finding of the latest annual remodeling study: It's what's outside that counts.

August 30, 2007

Setting the tone

A great exterior paint job should make you think, "What a lovely home," not "What great colors."

July 5, 2007

HANDY@HOME

A great exterior paint job is all in the prep work

So you've finally decided that it's time to spruce up the outside of the house with a fresh coat of paint. Well, before you have the paint mixed and start dragging out the ladders and brushes, you need to take some time getting the house ready. The more time and effort you put into proper preparation, the easier your painting tasks will be and, even more importantly, the longer the paint job will last.