Construction is not a nice sound early in the morning -- or at any time. (Photo: iStockphoto)

There’s nothing like waking up to a noise so loud that your house actually shakes. That happened to me this morning, and it has happened, on and off, for the past three months.

My neighbors across the street, you see, are renovating their house. Scratch that: They aren’t just renovating, they’re tearing it down to the studs and starting over …Full Story

A little garden sun to bring into my dark bedroom. (Photo: by Heather Boerner)

Throughout this week, the Cyberhomes bloggers will turn our attention to some recent home improvement projects we've accomplished. Read on and let us know what you think!

My fall improvement: Liven up my space with art …Full Story

Design disasters can wreck a room. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Recently, I wrote about the design lessons to take from the putative design stars. This week? It’s all about the red flags, warnings and downright mess-ups.

Without further ado: The Design Stars’ mistakes and how you can avoid them. …Full Story

For those looking to rehab a newly purchased home or remodel an old one, 203(k) loans can provide some cash. (Photo: iStockphoto)

With the large number of distressed properties on the market right now, and a prediction that more foreclosures are coming, it makes sense that home buyers are taking a close look at these properties. They're great bargains, but some of them need major work. I highlighted this in a recent blog post about calculating the cost of buying a foreclosure …Full Story

Could the Chinese drywall in so many American homes be toxic? (Photo: iStockphoto)

I spend a lot of time scanning news related to home building, so I’d seen plenty of stories about Chinese drywall in the last several months. I didn’t pay much attention to them, though. I figured it was another tariff dispute, a shortage here because the Chinese had bought up all the drywall, or U.S. suppliers complaining about the Chinese flooding the market with cheap product …Full Story

Team Nathan's whole lotta look. (Photo: HGTV.com)

Would you let a band of as-yet-unproven wanna-be home makeover show hosts loose in your kitchen?

If you said yes, then maybe you deserve the kitchens that two hopeful homeowners got in the Kitchen Challenge of last week's "Design Star." One looked, as judge Vern Yip wisely noted, "like a rainbow threw up in there." The other was like the kitchen of a spaceship after taking a beating in a shower of asteroids -- and where the astronauts have ceased eating …Full Story

Weep holes are essential for brick veneer homes, but they also let vermin in.

I was cruising around TweetDeck and saw a tweet about faucet maintenance on LennarCares.com. Since I do a fair amount of writing about kitchen and bath topics, I checked it out. It was good information, but it was the item right below it, "What are weep holes?" that really caught my attention …Full Story

Should a homeowner tip a contractor for a job well done?

At my New Jersey home, I recently had a paver patio installed. The contractor did a great job and I am very happy with the results.

Recognizing a job well done

Not only did the contractor put incredible craftsmanship into the project, but he put in a lot of extra work, cleaning out our gutters (which were blocked, causing water to pour onto the patio area and slow down construction), adding caps that our builder neglected to install on our downspouts and carrying away some brush and twigs in my yard that I never got around to clearing …Full Story

If you are thinking of boosting the energy efficiency of your home, this is the year to do it.

The federal government is offering rebates for energy-saving home improvements like solar panels, insulation, energy-efficient windows and insulation. And now, with President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package, local and state governments are stepping up to make such home improvements even more affordable for homeowners, writes Cyberhomes contributor Stephanie Pearson.

For instance, Berkeley, Calif., has an innovative program in which the city will finance installation of home solar energy systems by city-approved installers -- homeowners will then pay off the installation through a property-tax assessment over 20 years, she says. Other cities are likely to follow Berkeley's lead …Full Story

Once the siding was removed, the cause of my home's window leak was obvious.

Last week, I wrote about a leaky window in my home that I was finally able to get fixed, thanks to a contractor friend of a friend. The window had been leaking for at least three years, but I couldn't find a contractor who was willing to come out to my home for just one window. (And actual window companies don't want to come in unless I buy a minimum of four windows.) …Full Story