How I Test and Recommend
This page exists because most home-improvement blogs do not tell you how they decide what to recommend. I think you deserve to know before you trust my reviews and product picks.
Who is writing
I am Jeremy F. I have been working as a plasterer-painter in central France for fifteen years. Lath-and-plaster ceilings in 1900s buildings, modern drywall installs, lime renders, moisture diagnosis on cold walls — this is my daily work, not a side project. Every product review on this site is based on tools I actually use, brands I actually buy, and methods I have applied on real jobsites where the outcome matters to a paying client.
How I pick what to write about
I do not chase trending topics. I write about problems I see on jobsites that beginners and DIY homeowners get wrong, or where the existing online guidance is generic, wrong, or written by someone who has never held a trowel. The keyword behind every article comes from a specific situation I have handled, not from a keyword-volume tool alone.
How I evaluate a product before recommending it
Three checks before a product makes it into a recommendation:
- I have used it. If I have not bought and used the product myself, I say so explicitly and explain what comparable product I have used instead.
- Price-to-result. I look at how a professional and a DIY buyer would each evaluate the same product. The right tool for a one-time DIY job is not always the right tool for daily trade use, and I say which is which.
- Where it fails. No product is perfect. I name the situations where I would not use it, and what I would use instead.
What I never do
- Recommend a product I have not used or could not source quickly.
- Invent jobsite stories or anecdotes. Every story on this site is real.
- Recommend the most expensive option by default. Trade work has tight margins; I respect that.
- Cover trades I do not practice. You will not see me write about electrical wiring, plumbing, or roofing. I refer those out.
Affiliate disclosure
Some links on this site are Amazon affiliate links (tag gbhteam04-20). If you buy through them, I earn a small commission at no cost to you. This does not change which products I recommend — I would write the same review with no affiliate program at all. The affiliate income lets me keep this site running without sponsored content or ad-network noise.
When I am wrong
If I get something wrong, email me (contact link in the footer) and I will correct the article and credit you publicly if you want the credit. This page itself will be updated as my methodology evolves.
Last updated: 2026-05-20.