About Jane

Jane is a library of practical home-improvement how-to guides — painting, plumbing, carpentry, furniture, and everything between — written for anyone who wants to do it themselves.

The site's original incarnation was Be Jane, a home-improvement community aimed at women who build, fix, and make, which launched in the mid-2000s. Be Jane was built for Builder Homesite Inc. by Paul Walhus. The community thrived through the late 2000s, then the original platform faded.

What you're reading is a revival. The archived articles — real how-to guides written by real contributors — have been cleaned up and reassembled into a modern, readable site. No logins, no ads, no forums. Just the guides.

If you recognize one of these pieces as yours and you'd like attribution added or the article removed, please drop a note.

A note on accuracy

These guides were written between roughly 2006 and 2012. Plumbing, electrical, and structural advice is still largely sound, but building codes, product availability, and tool technology all shift. For anything that could affect your safety or your home's structural integrity, verify against current codes and pull permits when required.