If there's anyone out there who understands the dynamics of the urban rental biz, it is Larry Wooten. Here's a guy that owns a four-unit apartment building in Trinidad. And you can bet that when Wooten is through with it, every last square inch of usable space in that bad boy will serve some critical [...]

Mary Donovan is a 65-year-old resident of a three-level home on Capitol Hill. She likes being environmentally friendly and she likes to be comfortable indoors for D.C.'s sweltering summers.
But she's not going for any ductwork. Nope, not this District resident who showed up at Home Depot today. She ain't going to open the door for [...]

Whoever walks through the front door of the Whites' house in Trinidad tonight is going to behold a lovely sight.
What's not going to be there is an old, dull hardwood floor caked with dust. There'll be no clutter or juice stains or anything like that.
There'll be only a nice glow, a perfect welcome mat for [...]

Many people at the D.C. Home Depot today were advancing bona fide projects, like installing a closet door or working on the plumbing.
One man, though, came with a big van, enough cargo space to pack in materials for something as ambitious as a patio project or a roofing project or perhaps a floor patch.
But no.
"Roach [...]

Eugene Kerns is 75 and has been working as a contractor in the District for fifty years. He is to the handyman trades as John Wooden was to coaching basketball—focus on the basics, that is.

This microwave oven sucks. Hell, the brand name even sucks–Ewave.
Here's what this Ewave product starting doing not so long ago. When foodstuffs or liquids were placed in the Ewave oven for heating, this Ewave oven would just start sparking like mad. No, no one placed any aluminum foil in there, or a bunch of coins, [...]

Whoever walks in the front door of the Whites' house in Trinidad this evening is going to be very happy with what they see.
There'll be no dust-laden hardwood floor looking tired from years of use and no love. There'll be no dull look to the floor, no neglect, just a bright and shiny wood [...]

Think about your average 25-year-old male do-it-yourselfer—the guy who installs five windows in a single afternoon.
What other things would this fellow be into? Trucks? Not a bad guess. Football? A possibility. Architecture and the visual arts? Again, that's not a stretch.
But custom tailoring? That had me double-taking.
Yet that's the shtick of Tony [...]