PURGULA

Fiat Lux September 30, 2026 Hi Reader, Quick question: What's the difference between a "lamp" and a "portable"? If you guessed that a lamp is the thing on your nightstand, you're actually using homeowner vocabulary, not trade terminology—in the lighting industry, a "lamp" is technically the bulb, and the object you'd call a lamp is called a "portable." It's a small thing, but it's a good example of why lighting conversations with a contractor or electrician can go sideways quickly. That's...

Fall is Your Driveway Moment September 21, 2026 Hi Reader, You wouldn't take a long winter road trip without checking your tires, brakes, battery, wipers, and emergency supplies. Not because any one of them is likely to fail, but because you'd rather discover a problem now—in your own driveway or at a local mechanic— rather than later, on the shoulder of a rural highway during a snowstorm late at night. Every fall, your home faces the same winter trip. Your home heads into a season that will...

Rediscovery Is Only Half the Story September 13, 2026 Hi Reader, Landscape trade shows have largely been about two objectives: how a yard looks, and how to keep it looking that way—decoration and upkeep. This year's FutureScape USA 2026, however, got us thinking about more meaningful topics and trends. What resonated with us wasn't so much "new" information, but a renewed sense of rediscovery, with modern twists of innovation and unique perspectives. Soil health, water quality, native and...

Call Me Trimtab August 16, 2026 Hi Reader, Peter Tobia is 80 years old. Decades ago, he built geodesic dome homes—one of them featured at NAHB’s National Builders' Show in Las Vegas around 1979—during the brief American moment when domes looked like the future of housing, with the energy crisis and counterculture optimism fueling the appeal. That moment faded. Financing grew difficult, insurance turned unpredictable, and the shape became a punchline. Tobia never stopped believing in it. “The...

PCBC 2026: What We Took Away August 9 2026 Hi Reader, Every industry likes to believe innovation comes from the top down—bold builders, visionary architects, a keynote speaker with a big idea. What we kept noticing at PCBC 2026 was closer to the opposite. The homes getting real attention right now—the ones winning pitch competitions, showing up in valuation frameworks, driving what buyers will and won't compromise on—aren't being handed down by the industry. They're being pulled forward by...

Home Is Where the Calm Is July 26, 2026 Hi Reader, Home has always been where we recharge—but for a growing number of people, it's also become the place where every kind of stress now converges: work, family, health, home maintenance, even neighborhood friction, all under one roof. A home with that many competing demands on it needs to be resilient, flexible, and adaptable—and increasingly, so do the people living in it. The numbers make the case. According to the National Institute of Mental...

The Cost of Owning, Not Just Buying July 19, 2026 Hi Reader, America's housing affordability crisis isn't only a story about who can afford to buy a home—it's increasingly a story about who can afford to keep one. According to Census Bureau data, roughly 20.7 million owner-occupied households—nearly a quarter of all homeowners—were burdened by housing costs in 2024, spending more than 30% of their income just to keep the lights on and the mortgage paid. Much of that strain correlates to the...

When Basic Building Science is the Difference July 12, 2026 Hi Reader, Early summer record-breaking heat has pushed electrical grids to the brink, with millions of homes relying on air conditioning just to stay safe. In some regions, emergency measures were needed to keep residential power flowing during peak demand. While many homeowners watched energy bills climb and worried about outages, some fortunate homeowners barely noticed the heat at all. The difference wasn't solar panels,...

Closing the Loop on Water Waste June 28, 2026 Hi Reader, There is a version of homeownership that used to feel like a reasonable bargain: pay your taxes; follow the rules; maintain your property; carry your insurance; and the system would more or less hold up its end. But that bargain is fraying—and homeowners across the country are starting to notice. A post on Nextdoor this week captured something our new graywater guide is designed to address directly. A longtime Southern California...

Go Where the Fun Is June 20, 2026 Hi Reader, Some of the best summer nights happen in your own backyard. You know the feeling. The evening stretches longer than expected. Someone refills the glasses. A song comes on, or a troubadour pulls out a guitar, and a few people start singing along. Nobody's checked their phone in an hour. These are the nights people reminisce about for years—and they almost always happen at home. There's something quietly powerful about hosting a social gathering...