Mark’s blog

FixitUp Find: Troy-Bilt Pony Tractor
Troy bilt pony tractor

  Troy-Bilt’s most popular, best selling lawn tractor is the Pony Lawn Tractr. This ride-in-style tractor has seven, no-clutch speeds to muscle through all kinds of lawn…

It’s OK to make stuff in the USA
Jack with roof cut offs

  So here’s a tale from the “It’s OK to Make Things In This Country” File: I’m at the home center picking up a sheet…

FixitUpFinds: Olympic Paint and Stain App for iPhone and Android

Olympic Paint‘s–who has provided the deck stain for our real wood, real fun playhouse— mobile application called ColorClix makes selecting paint and stain colors from anything-a…

Recycling Sod

Question: I’m cutting in new garden beds and I’m making other garden beds larger. So, I’m going to end up with a lot of excess…

Easy Lawn Care

Want a healthier, greener lawn without having to do any extra work? Of course, who doesn’t.  One of the simplest tricks I know is to…

Lawn Mower Maintenance

First: think about replacing the spark plug. Depending on the size of your lawn, your spark plug may last more than a season. So despite…

Segmented Arch

So here’s one for the died-in-the-wool architecture aficionado. If someone were to ask you what shape is shown in both of these photos, what would…

What To Expect When Breaking Up a Driveway

There’s one thing that’s for sure in the life of home improvement: Despite all the dull moments, there’s rarely a dull moment. It’s always something….

Make the Most of an Entrance

We’ve all seen it, if we don’t, in fact, live it: the tricked-out, do-little front door gets lots of attention. And very little use. I…

Why Don’t Carpenter Pencils Have Erasers?

Full disclosure: I’m actually embarrassed to say how long it took me to figure this one out. I mean, talk about duh! Here’s the story….

Doorway to Savings and Durability

While Theresa and I try to be pennywise, we try very hard not to be pound-foolish, especially when it comes to entry doors. An entry…

Tip for Loading A Wheelbarrow

Ever thrown a shovel full of dirt into a wheelbarrow only to have it tip over? Yup…me too. So here’s a MyFixitUpLife QuickTip for keeping…