House and Hammer

How to build a rustic DIY end table from reclaimed wood

I’ll admit it: I’m a garbage picker. On Sunday evenings I like to go for a jog or a walk through the neighborhood, and it just so happens that Monday is trash day. And honestly, people throw out a lot of good stuff! Now, my wife likes a clutter-free (not to mention trash-free) house, and…

Wish Listing: Hingham

When it comes to the South Shore, Hingham has it all. It’s beautiful. It’s historic. It has a cute downtown. Grand old houses dot sidewalked, tree-lined streets. It’s on the ocean. There’s a harbor and a public beach. And it’s got commuter rail service, a ferry to Boston, and a major highway. Not even fancy Concord can say…

Is Angie’s List worth the money?

When we first bought our house about seven years ago, our to-do list, based in part on our lengthy, detailed home inspection report, was literally pages long. More like a to-do binder. We knew next to no one in Quincy, and after renting for all of our adult lives, we certainly didn’t have a ready…

Wish Listing: Craigville Beach

Summer’s officially here — and with it, visions of the Cape. This week’s lust-worthy listing is a big-but-somehow-quaint cottage near Craigville Beach in Centerville, where ocean breezes keep things cool and comfortable even as the rest of us sweat through our underwear on the streets of Boston. Oh, and it has a pretty nice view: I love living…

11 ways moving can improve your life

The American Dream has always been linked to mobility. Religious exiles sailed here to start a new, better life. Millions of immigrants later followed in their wake seeking the same. In fact, mobility was part of the American Dream even before there was an “American Dream” — many Plains Indians tribes were nomads who followed the…

Wish Listing: Quincy

I know you’re not supposed to covet they neighbor’s stuff and whatnot, but compared to our monstrous two-family, the cute dutch colonial next door has always seemed downright adorable. And now it’s for sale! Won’t you be my neighbor? Sure, it’s not a million-dollar Milton mansion or anything. But Redfin pegs our neighbor’s place as a…

Should you buy a house, condo, or multi-family?

You’re finally ready to buy a home — there’s just one thing: “Home” can mean a lot of different things to different people. Do you enjoy apartment living, with perks like professional landscaping and snow removal? Have you always dreamed of having your own house with a front yard, driveway, and picket fence? Does the idea…

3 house projects for a dry spring weekend

Happy Memorial Day weekend! It sure is a gorgeous start to summer in Boston: warm, sunny — and really, really dry. The National Weather Service warned of an “elevated fire weather risk” extending through Sunday because of the extremely dry conditions we’ve been having. Here are three spring projects you could tackle around the house…

Wish Listing: Roslindale

Our last lust-worthy listing was a million-dollar colonial in East Milton — purely daydream territory. This week? We have an actual bargain on our hands. This place needs a bit of work, and that’s the only reason there’s a Doctor’s Row-area two-family — just a few blocks from the heart of Roslindale Square — on…

couple using home equity loan for remodeling project

What’s a home equity loan, and what’s a line of credit?

If you’ve lived in your home for a while, paying down the principal on your mortgage while home values have crept (and then leapt) higher, you may now have a decent amount of equity in your house — the difference between what the home is worth and what you owe the bank. That equity is…

Wish Listing: Milton

Can you blame a fella for daydreaming once in a while? Each week on House & Hammer we’ll take a look at a gorgeous home for sale — whether it’s in anyone’s price range or not (bonus points for bargains, of course). I think this 5-bedroom colonial on Edge Hill Road in East Milton (i.e., the happening part…