Do-it-yourself experts Gary and Peg Hedstrom extensively remodeled six houses and built two from scratch, doing all the work themselves. A retired diesel mechanic, Gary describes himself as a jack-of-all-trades who’s happiest taking things apart to see how they’re built and putting them back together. He hates sitting still and willingly shares his knowledge with others so they can fix things themselves. Peg liked to get her hands “dirty,” as she puts it, fixing appliances and discarded televisions long before she met Gary. So she willingly tackled everything else once she and Gary started working on homes. Her favorite pastime, however, is restoring wood and old, damaged furniture, as well as doing the finishing touches in a home. Lifelong Michigan residents, the couple has homes in Grand Rapids and Florida.

Judy Ondrla Tremore, a veteran reporter and business writer, wrote two books and co-authored another before writing How to Fix Everything For Dummies. Her articles and stories have appeared in The Grand Rapids Press, Cadence (where she was managing editor), Legal Assistant Today, Grand Rapids Business Journal, Grand Rapids Magazine, Cosmopolitan Home, Our Children, Applause, and several other Michigan and Illinois publications. She was the Grand Rapids editor of Metropolitan Woman. Among her favorite articles were those pertaining to home improvement and design and restoration projects, because they dovetail with her deep interest in architecture and homes. She grew up in the Chicago area and has lived in Michigan for more than 30 years.