My chief goal this summer was to rip out my unsightly, peeling and warped deck, and replace it with a paver brick patio. Working at Angie’s List, I’ve learned a lot while interviewing home-improvement specialists for our magazine’s Comparative Shopper column and other stories. Advice on how to improve my home’s resale value always gets my attention. So, that said, I knew replacing the deck with a patio that not only looks lovely but is also maintenance free was the way to go.
My husband, however, chalked the idea up to a womanly impulse to spend our hard-earned money and nearly chickened out at the last minute. He hated the deck, but he said, “I can build a new one… installing a patio can’t be that difficult, I can do it myself.” Now, that’s a manly impulse. Continue reading ‘The battle of man vs. wife’
Brittany is senior editor of national affairs for
Angie's List magazine. When she's not busy reporting for the magazine, she enjoys relaxing, bowling and watching movies.
…my new home:
According to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the number one reason you should bother to write a good introduction is because you never get a second chance to make a first impression. I hope I succeeded in writing a good introduction of my new home.
It lies in the Indianapolis neighborhood known as Williams Creek. I have famous neighbors in the area — Peyton Manning lives around the corner in Meridian Hills. Continue reading ‘I would like to introduce…’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
I’m not married yet, but I received my first ultimatum a couple months ago. My fiancée said, “Finish remodeling the house before I move in, or else…” I’m not sure what “or else” means, but at this point in our relationship I’m not sure I’m ready to find out. Continue reading ‘Ultimatums turn into suggestions during remodel’
JD is a production artist at
Angie's List magazine.
The Angie’s List fitness center has it all: lots of equipment; a great personal trainer, Kelsey; our very own version of The Biggest Loser; TVs with plenty of good talk shows to keep you entertained while you work out; and much more.
But if there’s one complaint any of us who use the center regularly might have, it’s the lack of space. The machines are crammed pretty closely together, and it’s tough to find a little bit of extra space to do some crunches or push-ups. There’s room for only two treadmills (although I’m not a runner, so seeing that both treadmills are taken is the perfect excuse for me to skip that part of my workout) and a few bikes. Continue reading ‘The Angie’s List fitness center — bigger and better’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
You’d think after living in central Indiana my entire life I’d be used to our weather. But it never fails to surprise me with tornadoes, thunderstorms, destroyed power lines and overflowing basements.
As Kristy indicated, Indianapolis has recently experienced some bad weather. Last weekend, I came home to knee-high sewage that had backed up into my basement. Continue reading ‘Bad weather bothering you? Not me…’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
I’ve been taking a lot of baths lately. Now, I can already guess what you’re thinking: “I thought ‘Mike’ was a guy’s name?” Continue reading ‘My bathroom is doomed.’
As editorial intern, Mike writes the monthly employee page, edits content and talks to service providers for the Comparative Shopper column in
Angie's List magazine. His favorite place is the Appalachian Trail (except for the areas that have bears, snakes or birds). His favorite album is "London Calling" by the Clash.
I’m willing to do anything legal to save money. This includes moving in with an old family friend in order to save on rent. Here’s a picture of my good old buddy:
Continue reading ‘A Tip from My Thumbs’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
Okay, the title is a bit misleading … I promise I won’t go on too long about my own troubles. So, here’s the deal: Due to a limited amount of funds, my fiance and I tend to do most of our repairs and projects ourselves. My fiance’s father happens to be one of those guys that knows how to do everything. I mean EVERYTHING. It’s been said that if the world comes to an end, he’s the guy you’d want in your bomb shelter. Let’s face it, he’s a modern day MacGyver.
While it’s comforting to know that we’ll never (knock on wood) need to hire an electrician, plumber or landscaper there are just some things I can’t trust him with. It’s not that he does shoddy work, it’s just that I can’t always appreciate the resourcefulness.
Our kitchen is in desperate need of some remodeling. And while I think it’s just swell that my future father in-law can rig up an apartment heater in our garage using plywood and copper piping … I don’t really want my to leave the fate of my kitchen floor to innovation and quick wit.
I decided (much to my fiance’s chagrin) that we were going to hire a handyman. After the initial shock wore off, we began to compile a list of things that needed to be done and that we didn’t want to “burden” the pops with.
We started with the kitchen floor, cabinets and light fixtures and moved to other areas of the house. We’re also in dire need of getting our hardwood floors refinished, but I caught myself before putting that on the list. Should a handyman refinish your floors? Even if he can, should he? If he’s so good at refinishing floors then why doesn’t he specialize? I mean … I want this done right. Especially if we’re going to pay for it. Is that too much to ask? It seems that the prospect of having one person knock out my projects was a little unnerving. I then realized I may have a control problem, or maybe I’m a bit cheap. All I know is that I found myself calling a familiar number and saying, “Hey Dad, do you happen to have a drum sander?”
Jackie is editor of
Quality + Design, the
Angie's List newsletter.
She's currently owned by three Great Danes named Silas, Eppie and Augustus Merriweather as well as two angry tabby cats, Bob and Polly. Her favorite album is anything by Radiohead.
