Top Choices in Home Remodeling Magazines

If you want to learn how to keep your house humming and only want to read one home remodeling magazine, my recommendation is that you give Family Handyman a try. This magazine has some long-time, highly knowledgable editors who produce great how-to articles aimed squarely at the DIY market. Follow Family Handyman for a couple of years and you will suddenly find that you have a deeper understanding of how your house works, and how you can make it work better. Most of the common DIY tasks are regularly covered, and I find that the tool recommendations are worth paying attention to.

Want to learn how best to paint a room, change a light switch, repair a misfiring toilet or replace a broken window pane? Family Handyman can help you. Likewise, if you want to build a nice-looking bookcase, shed or deck, this is a great choice in home remodeling magazines.

Family Handyman subscription info here.

I’ve been reading Fine Homebuilding since it first appeared nearly 30 years ago. It has gone through many changes since then, but the core mission has remained the same. The editors themselves are experienced in the home remodeling and construction trades, and the authors of articles are usually professionals in either the construction, design or product side of the business. Much of the readership is also composed of pros, but to my mind that just makes it all the more useful for DIYers. This is information you can trust!

No, this is not a magazine for those without construction and home remodeling experience. But if you are interested in taking on  home remodeling projects a bit more challenging than changing a light bulb, Fine Homebuilding can be a terrific asset. Learn how pros paint houses, work with drywall, tackle tiling jobs and more. Read hands-on reviews of tools and materials. Discover cutting edge ideas in green building and affordable housing. Great photography and illustrations drive the message home visually.

And while your at it, you may want to look at another terrific magazine from the publisher, Fine Woodworking. This magazine is aimed at serious woodworkers and may not be the best place to start if you are just picking up the hobby, but it will certainly become an indispensable ally if you decide to become serious about building furniture and cabinetry.

Fine Homebuilding subscription information here.

Popular Mechanics has been around for about one hundred years, and I first started reading it when I was a youngster hungering for information on all things automotive and techie. It remains a somewhat eclectic publication, covering ground far beyond home remodeling, and I rarely read an entire issue from cover to cover. But I do find enough in every issue to warrant subscribing. The automotive coverage (from new car reviews to old car repairs) is probably the highlight for me. DIY home remodeling and tool reviews are sometimes spotty and narrow. The low subscription price, however, makes it easy to overlook these minor quibbles.

Popular Mechanics subscription information here.

The early days of This Old House on television are responsible for making me fall in love with old houses and old-house renovation. The magazine has never had the same impact on me, but I continue to read it year after year. The market for this magazine is homeowners a bit more inclined to read about home remodeling than they are to want to do the work themselves. For many people, that is right on target -- just give me some ideas on remodeling the kitchen and landscaping the yard so that I can tell the professionals I hire what I want.

But the magazine is not without useful home remodeling information for DIYers. Regular columns from long-time staples of the This Old House TV crew (Norm Abrams, Tom Silva, Richard Trethewey and Roger Cook) are alone worth the subscription price for me.

This Old House subscription information here.