What is this website and where did it come from?

The heart and soul of this web site is answering your questions about Home Improvements.

To avoid spending the rest of his life answering the same questions over and over, Jon has built this site where he collects your questions and his research and answers, allowing him to spend more time answering a question well – just once.

Although there are constantly new problems, or special twists on old problems, over the years it has become evident that 90% of those requests for help have already been asked by someone else. That is the primary reason for most of this web site – answer questions in such a way that as many people as possible can profit from a thought out and clear answer.

The end result is a site that completes itself as time goes on. This site started in 1999 with questions from Jon’s HGTV TV show and has grown to include over 100 hours of video instruction. Often new entries are made or old ones updated in response to your comments and questions.

So please seek out what other people have already asked before submitting a question. You will most likely get the answer far quicker. When you do submit comments or questions, that helps to improve the site’s information.

When Jon had a public e-mail address he was receiving 200 to 300 letters a week. That obviously didn’t work. It was frustrating for everyone when we received so much mail that all you get is an automated response. That is why we make an effort to reduce the mail received by asking you to check the web site resources first, then we programmed the computer to respond to your specific question with links to relevant articles if you want, and finally we installed a series of paid paths for getting directly to Jon.

The SEARCH tab above is the primary avenue for this sharing of questions and answers. Start your search there by using one of the many entry doors to the encyclopaedia.

The CONTACT tab is your entryway to asking a more detailed question and getting a free response from the computer searching the database for you, or for you to use a paid pathway to get directly to Jon himself. With that, Jon spends less time answering questions and has more time for research and coffee. You might want to read his bio to get an idea of what he does in his ”spare” time.