The journal.
Stories from the road, advice on keeping your place running, and the occasional rant about popped nails.
What 17 years of fixing things teaches you about houses
From Glasgow tenements to New Zealand bungalows - the patterns you start to see after long enough on tools, and what they mean for your home.
Read more →Five things on your house that fail before you notice
Gutter brackets, deck fixings, door seals, smoke alarm batteries, and the bit of trim around your windows. Catch them early, save the trouble.
Read more →How much does a handyman cost in New Zealand?
What you should expect to pay in 2026, why hourly rates vary so widely, and how to tell whether a quote is fair before the work starts.
Read more →Why your deck boards keep popping up
If you're hammering down the same deck nail for the third time this year, you're fixing the symptom, not the problem. Here's what's happening and the screw trick that actually works.
Read more →Do you know where your water, gas, and power shut off?
Most homeowners don't find out where their shutoffs are until something goes wrong. Here's how to find all three before that day comes.
Read more →Why we take the small jobs
Most handyman companies have a minimum spend that rules out anything under a couple of hours. We don't. Here's why that's a deliberate choice, not a gap in the business model.
Read more →