Welcome to detailed, ad free, no bullshit information for home renovation in Austin TX. This blog is for anyone wanting to get the most out of a major (or minor) bath, kitchen, or other home renovation project. My wikiHow author page has info for quick DIY projects like grout cleaning, and my Vimeo and YouTube pages have somewhat informative but mostly just entertaining vids of wall demo, terrible shower construction reveals, and writing advice from my previous teaching career.

I specialize in tile installation. So there is a lot of advice here for custom shower renovations. Most of my recent work has focused on tub to shower renovations. Sometimes I do kitchens. I also though occasionally do odd varied jobs like removing walls.

Here’s the bottom line. I am a solo bath and kitchen tile home renovation pro in Austin. I’m also a marxist socialist. So I believe that local labor should be priced fairly and performed transparently. I also think that helpful knowledge should be shared freely. That is why this home reno advice website contains nothing but ad-free straight dope knowhow.

Austin is now the 10th largest city in America. Wow. It is however still a college town for me. A place for smart folks doing smart things the right way.

Info is good

My main goal with this blog is to help folks who are looking to hire a pro for reno work on their home and who want to understand the whole process beforehand. Info is good. Information can help you know what to plan for when thinking about a home renovation project. Good information can also help you select the best professional for your specific project.

For example, do you want a new custom tile shower but fear mistakes or cut corners? This post about how to waterproof a shower has all the info you’ll need to make sure the job is done properly. Or, have you bought a flipped house that has a leaky shower? This post about leaky shower fixing describes how a skilled pro might be able to fix it without having to tear out the entire shower. Or, maybe your expensive custom tile shower has an improperly sloped floor with dead spots that don’t drain. This post about how to fix a shower floor slope describes how that too can be fixed without having to rip everything out and start over.

This blog hopefully has a project description or explanation post that matches what you’d like to have done or what you’re interested in. You can scroll to the bottom of any post for a categories list or use the search tool to quickly find what you’re looking for.

My own home reno story

I started doing renovation work more than two decades ago after buying my first home in Lubbock, TX. The vintage brick house was a bargain mainly because it was a run-down 1947 slapdash pier and beam. It had no insulation, bad plumbing, and even worse wiring. The house also had a looong previous history of completely jacked-up foundation and other “repair” work.

I was a bit handy and also had time to spare (college teacher at the time). I also have an engineering degree from a past career choice and lots of research skills (yay practical academics). So, with some hands-on learning and a little bit of re-doing practice, I completely rebuilt the house solo from the foundation up and the inside out.

I then started helping out friends with their own house repairs and reno projects. And then friends of friends, and then friends of distant acquaintances, etc. I then quit academics and moved to Austin for a full time solo reno vocation. Austin is a lot more fun than Lubbock (truth hurts, LBK).

A different option for home renovation in Austin

I’m therefore not a super-specialized tradesperson like most subcontractors. I’m also not a hands-off manager like most general contractors. I can describe in detail an entire renovation project from start to finish because that’s how I work. I do every reno step myself unless there’s plumbing and/or electrical to permit. And in those cases, I can recommend a few excellent plumber and electrician options.

Straight dope home reno advice for anyplace

So again, my goal for this blog is to simply offer hopefully helpful and definitely free advice for anyone. This site isn’t monetized or commercialized. There are no ads or popups or premium paid content pages. Just some info to help you ensure great reno project results. If you are planning a home renovation in Austin, just get in touch for more free advice!