Featured Story

How to Install a Sliding Door: Big DIY Project

A pocket door is a great way to pick up usable space that's normally occupied by a swinging door. You can buy and install this PM solution for as little as $100, but some messy wall demolition is necessary. We walk you through it.

Previous Home Improvement Stories

This New House: Restoration Tips You Can Use Our House of the Year makeover with Country Living magazine turned an abandoned 1890s "folk Victorian" in rural Pennsylvania into a stunningly updated classic for the 21st century — with a new addition and cutting-edge materials. (Published in the February 2007 issue)
Video Abusive Lab Test: Handheld Vacuums In the first video edition of Popular Mechanics' product review turned extreme experiment, we tested three new hand vacs, using each to clean up 32 oz. of pre-sifted flour, followed by 14 oz. of wet, disgusting kitty litter. Things got messy, fast.
Holiday Home Checklist December has arrived. Inside, PM's senior home editor offers tips for inside your house and just out the front door, plus the ultimate Christmas tree handbook and a hardware store shopping guide.
Counter Resurgency As the focal point of your new kitchen, the counter material has to be perfect. We show you what's right for your budget — and, below, how to build your own. (Published in the December 2006 issue)
PM Makeover: Giving Back The generosity of a Brooklyn firehouse comes full circle. (Published in the December 2006 issue)
Show Us Your Woodworking Project! Are you a woodworker? We are looking for examples of reader woodworking projects, with a focus on creativity, ingenuity and inventive spirit. We're open to anything, so send us your best!
Home Invaders With winter coming, raccoons, bats, mice, squirrels and other pesky vermin would like to drop by your nice, warm house for an extended stay. Here are some tips to keep those unwanted houseguests out in the cold. (Published in the November 2006 issue)
Autumn Home Checklist "Thirty days has September" begins the ancient mnemonic rhyme for remembering the number of days in the month, and few months fly by more quickly than the last partial summer month.
Follow the Weekend Brick Road Brick walks, known to last over a hundred years, add beauty and distinction to your home's property. Learn how to make your own here. (Published in the October 2006 issue)
Homebuilt Shed Showcase With a few tools and a pile of lumber, a pioneering homeowner can lay claim to the territory out the back door. Building a barn--or, heck, a log-cabin sauna--is the ultimate hands-on project. Get inspired, and get started. (Published in the September 2006 issue)
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Gear of the Year: PM's Annual Wishlist

Check out our guide to the 31 best tools, gadgets, games, cameras and appliances that you can give, receive or just plain salivate over this year.

Lawn Care

Natural Lawn Care

Natural lawn care used to be a novelty. Now it includes effective techniques for any gardener's arsenal of tricks.

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The Boy Mechanic

Culled from a half-century of Popular Mechanics issues (make that the first half of last century), The Boy Mechanic represents an age when imagination could conquer far more than the checkbook — when solving a problem was more satisfying than paying to have it go away.