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(MCT) — Using a quarter-inch trowel, Susie Love of Winston-Salem scooped some mortar out of a bucket then started spreading it on a floor.

''Now butter it," said her instructor, Pete Henderson, as she reached for a floor tile. Love spread mortar on the back of the tile then placed it on the floor.

''It really wasn't hard," she said after the workshop.

Love was one of 14 people who attended a tile-installation workshop last weekend at the Home Depot on Hanes Mall Boulevard. Many of them said they were there because they hoped to save money on home-improvement projects.

And they are not alone. Home-improvement retailers say they have been seeing a growing interest in do-it-yourself projects since the recession began.

Craig Fishel, a spokesman for Home Depot, said in an interview that more people have been taking advantage of retailer's regular in-store workshops across the country.

And Henderson, a flooring specialist for the Home Depot on Hanes Mall Boulevard, estimates that customer participation in his workshops has increased 30 percent to 40 percent from two years ago.

"It's all about saving them money," Henderson said. "In today's world, you've got to save every penny you can."

When Home Depot released its earnings report Tuesday, Carol Tome, the company's chief financial officer, said in a conference call that customers are still holding back on higher-priced items, but more of them are coming into Home Depot stores, spending money on "core DIY," products such as paint. That helped contribute to an improved fourth-quarter bottom line for the company.

At Lowe's Cos. Inc., paint and paint accessories continue to perform well as consumers complete small projects to enhance their homes, said Jaclyn Pardini, a company spokeswoman.

Lowe's is starting to see signs that consumers are interested in big-ticket projects. According to the retailer's fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Monday, purchases of more than $500 were down just 1 percent from the company's third quarter. The company's earnings were up for the first time since 2007.

Pine Hall Brick holds an annual spring "Paver Day" program in Charlotte, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, featuring a yard sale and patio demonstration.

Ted Corvey, the director of the company's paver business, said that a lot of people turn out for the program, and that there are typically 80 to 100 people who watch the demonstrations.

Corvey declined to give sales numbers, but said that on Paver Day in 2009, 2008 and 2007, the company's three combined locations generated record sales.

"I really think that particularly in these economic times, people are looking for a deal, and they're still looking to do do-it-yourself projects to make their homes look better," he said. "We're anticipating another good year."

Pat Patrick and his wife, Lynne, are redoing their kitchen in Clemmons.

They attended the Home Depot tile-installation workshop in hopes of saving more than $1,000 by doing their own backsplash project rather than paying $1,900 to $2,300 to have it done.

They had a lot of questions, Pat Patrick said, because it has been years since they put down tile themselves.

"The products have improved so much in the last 10 to 25 years," he said.

Love attended the workshop with her fiance, Michael McCollum, who said that he really needs to save money because he has a child in college and another in high school.

He and Love plan to remodel a basement floor. She said that installers gave them estimates of $1,400 to $1,800 to do the job, including labor and materials.

By laying the tile themselves they expect to spend just $300 to $400.

"That's what we're going to do," Love said.

The Associate Press contributed to this report