Maintenance in Home & Garage

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Five car jobs worth learning before you pay someone else

Basic maintenance most drivers outsource, what each one actually takes, and the mistakes that turn a twenty-minute job into a tow truck.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

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.

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Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideCountry BroDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

Spec a truck for the acreage, not the driveway

Payload, bed length and tires decide whether a truck works on your place. Tow rating is mostly a billboard number.

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

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Autos6 min read

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.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

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.

GuideStyleTobias Reed22 Sept 20265 min

The dryer is why your clothes wear out early

Most garments don't die of old age. They get cooked, over-washed and hung on the wrong hanger, and you can stop all three this week.

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GuideAutosDean Shaw22 Sept 20265 min

The used cars still worth buying and how to spot one

Boring, high-volume, mechanically simple and four to eight years old. That profile still beats almost anything clever on the lot.

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.

GuideCountry BroWes Dunbar22 Sept 20266 min

What Freezes First on a Property and How to Stop It

Wellheads, hydrants, pump houses and stock tanks all fail in predictable places. Find yours in October, not at 4am in February.

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Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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GuideAutosDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

What should actually be in your boot from November to March

Tires do most of the work, but the kit behind the parcel shelf is what gets you home when the road wins.

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

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GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Changing a tire at the roadside without getting hurt

The order matters more than the muscle. Loosen before you lift, and know the one place you should never do this at all.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideCountry BroWes Dunbar22 Sept 20265 min

What a Well and a Septic Really Cost to Keep Running

Nobody bills you monthly for water out here. The money still comes due — just in lumps, and usually at the worst time.

GuideAutosDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

The car servicing that can't wait, and the kind that can

Brake fluid, coolant and a timing belt will strand you or bankrupt a repair bill. A dirty cabin filter won't. Know which is which.

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

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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.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

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

Hunting & Shooting5 min

Sight in six weeks early, not the night before

Autos6 min

Twenty minutes with the engine off tells you most of it

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Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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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.

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

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Woodworking6 min read

Raise a burr, and the rest of sharpening follows

One skill, one piece of feedback, and about fifteen minutes to learn it. After that your chisels, kitchen knives and axe all get easier.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

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