All articles – First House Fixes

Inside Our Home Energy Assessment: Blower Door Numbers and a Long To-Do List

Posted on October 2, 2025In Energy & Utilities

The assessment measured 2,950 CFM of air leakage, found a bath fan venting into the attic and bare knee walls. Here's the rest of the list.

Posted on September 28, 2025In Weekend Projects

A rented cottage near Glen Arbor, the Dune Climb, cherry everything and a promise not to talk about the house. We broke it on day two.

Posted on September 23, 2025In Weekend Projects

Eighty-five guests, a barn outside Lowell, rain until 3 p.m. and Moose in a bow tie for the photos. A short, happy post that isn't about the house.

Posted on September 9, 2025In Repairs & Fixes

A flapper, a chain and finally a new fill valve. What fixed our running toilet the week before the wedding, and the $19 I should have spent first.

Posted on September 4, 2025In Tools & Workshop

Is the basement wall wet or just cold? Is the window trim soft? A cheap pin meter answered questions I'd been guessing at for a whole year.

Posted on August 26, 2025In Repairs & Fixes

Our 1952 plaster has a crack over nearly every door. Plaster washers, mesh tape and setting compound fixed most of them. One I made worse first.

Posted on August 20, 2025In Weekend Projects

With family coming in for the wedding, the house got a deadline. The six projects we picked, the two we cut and what the list taught us.

Posted on August 13, 2025In Tools & Workshop

An 8-foot workbench for $186, built on a Saturday with pocket screws and a borrowed miter saw. Plus the height mistake I fixed on Sunday.

Posted on August 7, 2025In Homeowner Money

Michigan property taxes uncap after a sale, and nobody told us what that does to escrow until the letter came. Our numbers, line by line.

Posted on August 2, 2025In Energy & Utilities

Our July bill hit $146 under Consumers Energy's summer peak pricing. The small schedule changes we made and what August looked like after.