DIY Home Inspector Checklist: 25 Places to Watch

Inspect your home with the help of this handy checklist to prevent minor problems from growing out of control and becoming expensive headaches.

• PM HOUSE OF THE YEAR: The Hurricane-Proof Home
• FREE PLANS: Build a Bookcase with Step-by-Step Guide

5 Secrets to Building a Better Shed: DIY Guy

Joseph Truini is something of an expert on building sheds. So it's not surprising that people often ask him for advice. And so with these inquisitive souls in mind he presents his favorite tricks of the trade.

• SHED PLANS: DIY Guy Breaks Down 2-in-1 Shed Build
• READER PROJECTS: Your Best Shed Creations!

Clarke Crocodile Circular Saw Chomps Through Aluminum and Dry Wall with Ease

In the market for great circular saws, there’s certainly an open space for a small, agile circular saw that can handle hard surfaces in addition to wood, and this product fills it.

• EARLIER: Crocodile Wins PM Hardware Show Award
• COMPARISON TEST: 11 New Circular Saws Reviewed!

5 Money-Saving Ways to Stay Cool This Summer

Summer has just begun and many parts of the country have already experienced record-high temperatures. As electricity rates continue their upward spiral, here are some steps you can take to lower the cost of running those air conditioners.

• SPECIAL REPORT: Tons of Energy-Saving Tips!
• GADGET REVIEW: Power Monitor Guilts the Bills Down

5 Household Tasks You Definitely Should Not Try Alone at Home

Our DIY Guy offers advice with his new weekly tips for PopularMechanics.com, but sometimes you’re better off with a paid specialist. Call it the D-DIY movement: don’t do it yourself.

• SPECIAL REPORT: 25 Skills Every Man Should Know

How to Build a Bookcase: Step-by-Step Woodworking Plans

In-the-wall bookcases are elegant, but they can be difficult and expensive to construct. We show you an easier way to create a classic piece for any space.

• ARCHIVE: Build a Finished Mahogany Bookcase
• 3D WORKSHOP: New Plans With Animated PDFs!

Best Suitcases May Not Be Most Expensive: Abusive Lab Test

Does expensive luggage increase your belongings’ chance of survival? To find out, we pit one budget hard case against two top-shelf ones. The goal: Measure their durability and payload protection.

• PLUS: How to Find Your Lost Luggage
• SPECIAL REPORT: 10 Ways to Fix Air Travel

3 Classic DIY Projects to Build With Dad This Father’s Day: Time Machine (1960s)

In the spirit of Father’s Day, we scoured the PM archives for fun projects that fathers and sons can build together using everyday materials. We even re-uploaded the old—but still timeless—plans so you can print 'em out for pops.

• THIS WEEKEND: 5 Quick Tips to Help Dad at Home
• TIME MACHINE: More Updates of Older PM Stories

5 Steps to Grow & Build a Perfect Lawn—With Free Time to Spare

At times, the hassle of keeping your lawn green is enough to make you consider AstroTurf, but don’t despair: PM’s DIY Guy is on the case with his new weekly Top 5.

• DIY SPECIAL: PM's New Guide to Your Best Lawn Ever
• COMPARISON TEST: Best Walk-Behind Lawnmowers

How to Hide Recycling Bins in Your Kitchen: No-Mess Space Saver

Organize with the array of cans, bottles and newspapers that collect in your home with these helpful tips for designing the ideal recycling storage unit.

• KNOW YOUR FOOTPRINT: Tons of Tips for Recycling 2.0
• DIY: How to Replace Your Garbage Disposal

California-Style Houses Spurred Architectural Revolution: Time Machine (Oct. 1954)

In October of 1954’s annual home section, Popular Mechanics paid homage to California-style homes, an inventive and modern strain of design that was quickly spreading from the West Coast to the East.

• PLUS: 7 Expert Tips to Save Space at Home

April Showers Bring Nubrella's Hands-Free Weather Protection (and Thumbs-Down From the Ladies)

Problem: It's difficult to send text messages while holding an umbrella. Solution: A hands-free umbrella that straps onto your shoulders. But does it work? And does the editor of Cosmo think girls will like it?

• PLUS: Sonic Showers & More New Inventions

Idle Gadget Fix: 7 Electronic Vampires Defanged

Many modern electronic devices draw small amounts of current even when they're powered off, adding real dollars to your monthly electric bill. Here's what you can do to plug those wattage leaks.

• KNOW YOUR FOOTPRINT: Unplug Idle Machinery
• REVIEW: Charge Gadgets With Wind Power

Rebuilding the World's Fastest Ship, Step-by-Step (With Downloadable Plans From the Archive!): Time Machine (December 1952)

We offered blueprints for a scale model of one of the greatest ocean liners of the 20th century. But 3 ft. of replication may be faring better in living rooms than the original SS United States today. Out of commission for 40 years, the ship's fate is up in the air.

• DOWNLOAD: All 5 Parts of PM's Model Plans

Micro Fueler Is First Ethanol Kit for Brewing Backyard Biofuels on the Cheap

The E-Fuel Corporation, a Silicon Valley startup, has introduced the first ethanol refinery system designed for home use. The backyard fueling station can create a gallon of pure E100 ethanol from 10 gallons of sugar—with offsetting cost options galore.

• PLUS: Coskata’s $1/Gallon Tech Starts Ethanol 2.0

5 Garage Inventions That Might Outperform Their Big-Name Predecessors ... at Half the Cost

Equally celebrating creativity, innovation and the future of science education, Maker Faire 2008 deployed hundreds of the country's top tinkerers—including this handful of genius minds whose creations could someday upstage the corporate competition.

• DIY RALLY: Updates on PM's Top Reader Projects of '07

Upgrade Your Workshop With Custom Pegboard Tool Hangers

It takes nothing more than off-the-shelf steel and aluminum from the local hardware store, combined with a hacksaw, drill and pliers. The best part about going the do-it-yourself route is that you can make extra-tough hangers that suit specific tools.

• PLUS: 5 Ways to Keep Your Power Tools Happy