Whether you're Bob Villa's long-lost sibling -- or so green at homeowner lingo, you've got weeds growing out of your ears -- you'll find the answers to your home-related questions on the Web at Today's Homeowner online, the Internet equivalent of the popular magazine you'll find on newsstands everywhere. This comprehensive and ambitious (yet unintimidating) online directory leaves precious little if anything to be guessed.

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Even if you're among the homeowners who'd rather get a root canal than dabble in home-improvement or maintenance projects of any kind, you easily may find yourself tempted while browsing Today's Homeowner. The color photography is of such quality that you'll park your mouse here awhile if only just to look. While perusing the site, if you're hit by inspiration and nail down a project upon which you'd like to embark, an expense calculator will help you estimate the total amount of material -- gallons of paint, total square feet to cover, how many tiles to order, for example -- you're going to need based upon room measurements and other factors.

Site categories range from the comparatively glamorous -- kitchens, baths, adding on -- to the utilitarian: repair and maintenance; electrical and lighting; plumbing; and heating and cooling. Additional categories include a buyer's guide, which contains a list of the best new products of 1998 (including kid-proof flooring and paint that accommodates your local climate), and "managing your home," containing sage advice on such topics as loan scams. Perhaps best of all, the site presents the information in a manner that's approachable for even the most novice homeowner. The site's kitchen category, for example, contains tips for "When to Splurge," passing along insider information that helps homeowners weigh the pros and cons of emptying their wallets for home-improvement efforts, and decide when it's genuinely worth the initial expense.

"Magazine Areas," presumably direct copies of the magazine's printed version, include in-depth features (for example, "Border Wars," an informative piece on getting along with your neighbors and when to take action against your grievances); "simple solutions," tried-and-true fast fixes for various household dilemmas; Q&A on all home-related topics; weekend projects; tips for hiring pros and contractors; "around the yard," which includes such topics as gifts for gardeners and some advice for dodging deer problems; "in a word," a homeowner's glossary (for example: What's a "dutchman"? Clue: It's not a "he," and it doesn't reside anywhere near the Netherlands); and toolbox, a compilation of tool reviews and recommendations.

Visitors may join one of the site's forums on such topics as general homeowner interest, yard and gardening (including a "backyard adviser"), major remodeling, and repair and maintenance. Web resources linked to the site allow users to locate certified contractors, designers, and lenders in their geographical areas; or obtain brochures, catalogs, and samples by mail to help homeowners get started on their projects. Readers may also subscribe to the magazine's newsstand version or while online.

Whether you're satisfied just flipping on the boob tube watching Tim Allen's home-improvement foibles or you're knee deep in sawdust, Today's Homeowner online is worth checking out. And if you don't find the answers to your questions here, home-improvement experts recruited by the magazine are just an e-mail away.

Published: March 18, 1998

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