THIS WEEK

Going it Alone
Resilience Industry Updates
Seasonal Checklist
Resilience-first Dreamhouse

TOP NEWS THIS WEEK

Doing it Yourself

The internet will teach you how to do almost anything to your house. The internet will not tell you when you shouldn't.

There is a version of home repair culture that treats every task as a personal challenge — a referendum on competence, resourcefulness, willingness to try. Watch enough YouTube and you start to believe the only thing separating you from a flawless tile installation is confidence and a wet saw rental.

This is expensive.

Not because DIY is bad — it isn't. Homeowners who develop real repair fluency save thousands over the life of a house, and more importantly, they understand their homes in a way that passive owners never do. The problem is the framework most people use to decide. "Can I do this?" is the wrong question.

The right question is four questions. And the order matters.

Question 1

What is the failure mode?

A badly hung picture frame falls. A badly installed light fixture shorts. A badly capped gas line — you see where this goes. The higher the failure mode, the more the math favors a professional.

Question 2

Is a permit required?

Electrical, structural, and plumbing above a certain threshold requires a permit in most jurisdictions. Unpermitted work follows the house. When you sell, inspectors find it. When you claim, insurers use it.

Question 3

Does this compound?

A small mold remediation done incorrectly doesn't leave the mold — it often spreads it. A poorly flashed roof repair that seems fine in July becomes a ceiling stain in November. If you get this partially wrong, does it get harder or easier to fix?

Question 4

What is your time actually worth?

A plumber charges $150 an hour. If a repair takes you six hours and a plumber four, the math may not be as obvious as it first appears — particularly when you account for the three trips to the hardware store.

The tasks almost always worth doing yourself: painting, caulking, weatherstripping, replacing fixtures, patching drywall, swapping outlets and switches with the breaker off, sealing gaps, appliance maintenance.

The tasks almost never worth doing yourself without real experience: anything involving the main electrical panel, anything involving gas lines, anything structural, anything that requires opening walls you then have to close again.

Everything else lives in the middle. The four questions sort it.

Confidence is not a substitute for judgment. Neither, for that matter, is calling a contractor.

Resilience Industry Updates

Greenhome Institute recorded a deep energy retrofit webinar.
Extreme heat caused at least 30 deaths across the U.S. in the past week, underscoring the need for passive cooling, shading, insulation, and backup power in homes.
U.S. existing home sales fell while prices hit record highs, which tends to push more owners toward renovation, retrofit, and stay-put improvements instead of moving.
DOE’s single-family home deep energy retrofit work with prefabricated panels remains a notable U.S. renovation and retrofit R&D effort.
From Oregon’s Energy Trust, a guide for 2026 updated specifications for home renovations.

If mold is not handled properly, it actually makes the problem worse, spreading the mold spores. There are ways to learn to spot it. Recently dog’s have begun to be trained to smell mold, helping professionals pin-point the problem.

The problem is some pro’s aren’t really qualified, or just have the wrong information. They’re weighing their own time, against cost and materials, you’re weighing bids against time and what it costs.

OUR TAKE

Mold is just one example. The proliferation of issues comes from forgoing maintenance, solving for consistency is the real lever in getting you home under control.

KEY TERMS

HVAC You’ve probably heard of your HVAC unit or HVAC system. You may even remember receiving advice to have it inspected or maintained on a regular basis. But, what is it? Your HVAC system is your home’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. You know, the system that controls your comfort at home. If you haven’t already interacted with your HVAC system this spring, perform necessary maintenance now, whether your DIY involves changing a filter or phoning a professional!

GCFI This is your ground fault circuit interrupter. Whether you remember the technical term or the acronym, just keep in mind that this outlet can protect you when you’re doing any DIY electrical work.

Caulk You may already know that caulk is a great filler for drafty windows or cracks. But when it comes to DIY projects, you also should know just how flexible it is. Caulk can help you even out some imperfections when you’re decorating too.

Grout What caulk is to your DIY decorating projects, grout is to your waterproofing projects. This filler is typically used to seal gaps between your walls and ceramic tile. The paste also fills crevices between floor tiles.

G-Clamp This is a tool you may or may not have around the house. How can you tell? Well, go by its name. This clamp, which can hold wood or metal together while you’re trying to work with it, is shaped like the letter “G.”

Keying When it comes to DIY projects, consider keying to be barely scratching the surface. Truly, this technique is a way to roughen a surface before you apply paint or plaster.

Masking This term is an important tip for mastering any DIY painting project. Masking an area is covering it with tape to keep it safe from any drips when you’re painting nearby. You’ll definitely want to be good at masking before you complete your DIY projects.

Matte Speaking of painting, before you apply a new coat to any DIY project, you should understand what the finish is. A matte color is dull and flat, with no shine. Satin paints give a slight shine and glossy finishes are highly light reflective.

Floating If you’re completing any DIY flooring projects this year, you’ll want to know about floating. This term refers to flooring that is not nailed or glued down, but flooring that interlocks. When installing these floors, it is customary to leave a gap between the floors and walls to allow for expansion.

KISS When it comes to your spring DIY projects, KISS means “Keep it simple and straightforward.” Maybe you’ve heard another variation of the acronym, but when you’re trying something new for your home, you want to make it as easy on yourself as possible. Simple, straightforward projects are sure to hit home for you.

Seasonal Rhythms

Mid-July 2026 is different than mid-July 1990 or even 2010 for that matter. The changing weather due to climate change means variation. Resilience for growing summer months comes down to R-value. The amount of insulation keeping the warmth from transferring through a wall/roof/window/floor etc. Look up how much you need from here.