In our Replay today, Kevin explains why your contractor may not be able to give you a solid estimate for a scheduled pro ject. Supply chain issues for lumber and other building materials and products are causing headaches for contractors and homeowners. The Horror Story deals with a ridiculous window installation. If you’re house hunting, our Featured Interview with realtor, Jeff Lavine, will help you understand the causes (note the plural) of your frustrations – and possibly prevent you from making a buying blunder.

Our Replay today and our Horror Story are both about Mark and his bathroom re-do. Bathrooms can be difficult, and this one was. In our Featured interview today we speak with Alan Hubbell from DuPont Tyvek. Such a simple product, but it can keep you out of trouble. For example, Tyvek Wrap around a window cavity before the window is installed can provide you with many years of trouble-free installation. Why not insist on it?

In our Replay today, Lisa tells the story of her just-completed kitchen. The project included the relocation of her was hing machine to the upstairs master bedroom. This outside-the-box solution facilitated expansion of the kitchen. Split HVAC systems require a lot of tubing to be inserted into wall cavities. In our Horror Story today an installer got creative and ran the tubing on the outside of the house, including over the roof. Unbelievable! Then in our Feature segment, singer, songwriter, author Dar Williams joins Gary Toth and Cynthia Nikitin from the Placemakers Guild for Part 2 of a fascinating discussion of why some towns flourish and others flounder. Dar shares some of the wonderous transformations she’s experienced in cities and towns across America. It’s all in her book, What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities-One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time.

In our Replay today, Mark’s 1,000 square-foot basement is almost totally made over. Imagine this: a built-in gas fire place and a kitchen with cabinets that match those in his just renovated kitchen above. There’s a water monitor just in case. Egress was achieved with Bilco Doors. All things to consider, if you want to make your basement livable. In our Horror Story, we talk about a contractor who was called in to fix a leaky roof. He took 50 percent up front and disappeared for three weeks. Four months later, the job still wasn’t finished. Watch out for big upfront payments and contractors who don’t show. In our Feature segment, we’re joined by Gary Toth and Raj Mohabeer from The Placemakers Guild for part one in a two-podcast series about what it takes to make a city or town flourish. The Guild is a collection of urban planners and pros of related disciplines who know how to create places where life can happen. In part two, which posts on 5/13, Cynthia Nikitin, a colleague of Gary’s in The Placemakers Guild, joins the conversation along with singer, song writer, author, Dar Williams, who discusses some of the wonderous transformations she’s experienced in cities and towns across America. It’s all in her book What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities-One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time.