Maintenance in Home & Garage

Only Maintenance: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Maintenance stories and video. All of Home →

He knows which side the gas cap is on without looking

Eleven years married to a man who checks tire pressure for fun. Everything I've learned about the car, mostly by getting it wrong first.

StoryAutosDean Shaw7 Oct 20265 min

Nobody at the parts counter can guess which engine you have

A Saturday morning in line at the auto parts counter, where every wrong guess comes with a lesson you can use before your next oil change.

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

Ask it

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw3 Oct 20267 min

The Ten Minutes Before You Start a Chainsaw After a Storm

Chaps, chain tension, a clean air filter and fresh fuel. The checks that keep a cleanup Saturday from ending in the emergency room.

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

PartnerDude.com

Moms7 min read

Your Mower Probably Isn't Broken. The Gas Is Just Old.

Most mowers that won't start in spring just need fresh fuel and a proper pull. Start, fuel and care for one yourself, without a repair shop.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideAutosDean Shaw6 Oct 20266 min

Changing your own oil in the driveway, the way it really goes

The video says twenty minutes. Plan on ninety, a shower and one trip back to the parts store. You'll still come out ahead.

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan3 Oct 20266 min

Resetting a tripped breaker, and when to stop and call

Most tripped breakers take thirty seconds to fix. A few are your house warning you about a fire. Learn to tell them apart.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideWoodworkingWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Your fingers go white in the cold and that's the tool talking

Vibration white finger creeps up on weekend builders too, and by the time you notice it, most of the damage is already permanent.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

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

GuideAutosDean Shaw3 Oct 20267 min

The spark plug job is easy until the last quarter turn

Gapping, torque and the hand-start habit that keep a simple plug change from ending with a stripped aluminum head and a tow truck.

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan3 Oct 20266 min

The dashboard lights that mean stop the car now

Red, amber and green aren't decoration. Learn which lights give you a week and which give you thirty seconds.

Ask BRO

Rehearse the raise conversation with me

Ask it

GuideBRO SeniorsMarcus Vale23 Sept 20267 min

Salt the Steps Before It Snows

Ice melt that works below 20 degrees, a flu shot built for your age group, and why the mailbox walk is the most dangerous forty feet you own.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

GuideAutosDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The Classic Cars Still Cheap Enough to Buy This Year

Seven cars the market still files under used instead of collectible, plus the one rule that decides whether you win or bleed.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan3 Oct 20266 min

The tire pressure light is a late warning

By the time that little horseshoe lights up, a tire's already 25 percent low. A gauge, a quarter and two minutes a month get you ahead of it.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Change a tire in the dark and the rain without getting hit

The order matters more than the muscle. Loosen before you lift, and never put a body part under a car held up by a scissor jack.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

PartnerShirts.com

GuideAutosDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Start With a Weekend Project, Not a Barn Find

Most project cars die in the disassembly phase. Pick the job that fits the two days you actually have, and the car stays a car.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Old School6 min

How To Keep A Car Twenty Years The Way My Grandfather Did

Country Bro6 min

Your Pond Problem Probably Isn't the Fish

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideTools & OrganizingDean Shaw23 Sept 20266 min

The 20 Tools Every Homeowner Needs and What to Pay for Each

Spend where your hands go every time, save where they don't, and rent the rest. Real brands, real price ranges, and the four you shouldn't buy at all.

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

PartnerDelicious.com

Style6 min read

Make a good pair of shoes last ten years

Cedar trees, twenty minutes of polish and one honest look at the welt will get more out of your shoes than buying new ones ever will.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

Older articles