The Online Guide to... Home Repair DIY

five Important Things to Think about Before Tiling

Picking a new floor can be overwhelming. Even after you've narrowed it down to one particular type, it is still challenging to find the right tile because there are so many different varieties to choose from these days.

Five Guidelines in Purchasing a Central Air Conditioning Unit

Summer is fast approaching & your air conditioner just does not work the way it used too. It barely cools, if it does anything at all. You have tried cleaning it. You have tried flushing it. You have tried everything including kick it and hit it with a mallet.

“You Got It Nailed” five Types of Nails and What they are Used For

If you've ever gotten confused over nails in your hardware department store then you're not alone. Nails are used in a variety of materials for projects such as masonry and wood, which are 2 of the most common materials. There are long and short nails, brass nails and galvanized and different types of nail heads.

When Using Pavers instead of Wood Decking Makes Sense for your Patio

There's nothing like being able after a hard days work like going outside and relaxing on your deck or patio. Weekends are especially nice to take a few minutes and fix up a dinner of hamburgers or steaks.

When It’s Time to Call a Plumber

One of the most important lessons in owning a home is learning when to throw in the towel or the plunger & call for professional help. It does not mean you are stupid or ignorant. It just means you know when to give up.

What is Wainscoting and Why is it so Popular?

Wainscoting has been a popular form of wall coating for more than a hundred years. Essentially, wainscoting is paneling that is used on the lower half of walls inside your house. It can be made of wood, marble, ceramic tile, heavy fabric, or newer materials like wood combinations or plastic.

Ways to Hide that Ugly Wood Paneling in your Home

You hate the old paneling in your home, and it's to expensive to replace it, but you can't stand living with it any longer. In fact it's so bad that it depresses you, and you've actually thought about selling the house just to get away from it.

Using the Right Screwdriver for the Job

Screws are used to hold any material together whether it is plastic, wood or metal. Screwdrivers are used both for fixing and removing the screws. When using a screwdriver, make sure it is the appropriate size for the job. The tip of the screwdriver should fit snugly into the groove of the screw.

Tips on Choosing Light Fixtures

Lighting is an important feature of a house. Aside from being functional, lighting is also used as an interior decorating element. Lights can be used to accessorize a house or a room. Lighting can be used to create sure types of moods.

Tips for a Successful Painting Job

Giving your house a new coat of paint can enhance its beauty. However, as with any undertaking, you have to plan and prepare before starting that painting job. Planning and preparing involves picking the appropriate colors and shades, and choosing the correct paint to use from the many choices available.

Three Top Reasons NOT to Tile over Vinyl Flooring

Though more and more people are tiling right over their existing flooring, there are many disadvantages to this. Though you may think that this will save you time, tiling right over vinyl can compromise the stability and look of your ceramic tile.

Those Indispensable Spares

Small repairs are a compulsory & repeating certainty in any home. Any homeowner knows that repairs and maintenance occur on a regular basis. The house, electrical wires, water pumps, appliances and such need constant attention and upkeep.

These Biscuits aren’t for Eating! Importance of those Wood Biscuits in Woodworking

There's a saying in woodworking that you should probably hear: "Good woodworking projects use glue. Great woodworking projects use a little more." That "little more" means wood biscuits. Wood biscuits are small oval shaped discs that are inserted with the use of a biscuit joiner.

The Right Nail for the Right Job

Nails are normally used to make a strong joint between two materials or to hang or fit things to the wall or roof. The best joint is achievable if the nails are driven in the correct angle.

“Test Your Metal” Why Metal Roofs are Gaining Popularity in Homes

With new materials that are reachable for roofing, many are turning to metal roofs. These are gaining more popularity as it is seen that metal roofs have more advantages than other types of roofing. Weather differences, as well as the make of the metal roofs are all adding to the popularity found in metal roofing.

Ten Tips to Conserve Energy in Your Home

Winter time heating costs continue to rise every year. Natural disasters & the war in Iraq inflate the prices of home heating expenses, for electric, gas and oil furnaces. Be aware that there are steps that you can take to lower your bills and put a little cash back for other things, or just to brace for the next rise in energy costs for your home.

Ten Easy Tips for Installing a Ceiling Fan

You may be a "do it yourself" (DIY) expert, having installed countless ceiling fans in numerous homes both yours and those of various family and friends. However, even though you have the basics down, every DIYer knows: there's always another trick out there to make the process a little easier.

Ten Critical Tools You Need to Stock Your Toolbox

Every time I hang a picture or measure a window, I carefully place my toolbox back in its place: an inconvenient corner in the back of the closet, next to the ironing board, underneath the winter coats, and behind a cabinet.

“Taking Sides” the Pro’s and Cons of Vinyl Siding

Vinyl siding is a popular choice for homeowners who want to improve the looks of their home without painting. While vinyl is relatively inexpensive, and long-lasting, there are some pros and cons when it comes to choosing it for your home.

Spackle, Shmackle: five Easy Tips to Patch a Hole in the Wall

It's easy to make a hole in a wall, but how easy is it to fix 1? It's easier than you might think to fix any size hole in your wall. Here are Five easy tips to follow.

“Sink & Drain Maintenance” Top 8 Things that Make You Go Glug

There are assured things that you shouldn't put down your sink. It's true there are certain things that go down your drain and it has to be that way, but you can keep it cleaned out. If you don't keep it cleaned out it will become clogged up. Sink and line maintenance is a part of being a home owner.

Simple Home Maintenance: Cleaning the Toilet

Clean your toilets on a regular basis. Have cleaning products readily available. For simple toilet cleaning jobs, you need to have liquid spray cleaner for porcelain tops, cleanser for your bathroom floors and bathtubs, scrubs, paper towels and an old toothbrush, which you can use to clean places that are hard to reach.

Septic Tank Maintenance

Septic tanks are meant for storing sewage wastes. Sewage waste is separated from the other wastes that come from your house and is deposited into your septic tank. The solid part of the waste settles at the bottom of the tank while the water that rises to the top is usually allowed to leach off.

Screws for Your Home Repair Jobs

Screws are used to hold things together like wood, plastic or metal. Screws are available in different varieties. Different types of screws are available for different types of repair jobs. Choose the most outstanding & most appropriate screw for your job.

Screened In: How to Replace the Screens in Your Windows

In many parts of the world, window screens are an important necessity of comfortable living. While extremely helpful in keeping out unwanted intruders & letting fresh air flow in, screens are by nature delicate and often need repair or replacement.

“Rub a Dub Tub” Five Main Things to Know before Buying New Tub

Some people will walk into a home improvement store expecting to walk out with a new bathtub. However, they did not think of all that entails which deciding to acquire and install a new tub. On the other hand, there are people like you who are reading articles like this.

“Right on Track” Easy Steps to Mounting Track Lights

Your five-year-old son is going to be the next Picasso, you can already tell. You want to hang his latest masterpiece on the wall & make it the focal point of the room, but how to achieve the effect?

Painting Your House’s Interior

Painting a house's interior is a challenging job. Every painting job has to be planned & executed carefully. It is generally most terrific to do any interior paintwork when the weather is sunny. This is because you can have the doors and windows kept open in order to let the paint fumes disperse quickly.

Open & Shut Case: Mysteries of the Stuck Window and Door Revealed

Sometimes, when opportunity knocks, you can't get the door open. It's mysteriously stuck. You move over to open the window of opportunity, and after much huffing and puffing, you realize you can't get that open, either. What's going on here?

On the Level: How to Hang a Picture Properly

Hanging a picture may seem like the simplest of all home improvement projects. While it is quite easy, there are factors like wall type and object weight that you need to consider before hammering away. If you're a beginner or if you've hung pictures before but consistently done some in a hit or miss kind of manner, these tips will come in useful.

“Molding Magic” Ten Different Uses of Wood Molding

There are several great reasons, & at least ten great uses, for wood molding in the home. Wood molding can increase the price point of your home. Because any type of wood molding makes your home a unique and individual home, when you show up at resell your home, consumers will location more value on property that looks different from

Maintaining a Clean and Safe Work Area

Every house has a work area, which is typically a separate room or part of the garage or basement. This work area is the area where you keep the tools and spares and the bulk of the rough and tough work is done.

Know the Tools to Use for Home Repair Jobs

If you frequently do simple home repair jobs, it is important that you know the different kinds of tools you can use and their uses. This is because when you use the right tool for a particular home repair job, you save time and energy. It also prevents further damage to the object you are repairing.

Keeping Manuals for Repairs

Repairing & maintaining our homes and the various items in it is a continuous and on-going activity. Our homes experience wear and tear either due to continuous daily usage or exposure to weather. For this, we do preventive maintenance.

Insulations Options for your Attic

Adding insulation in your attic can drastically help reduce your heating and cooling bills each month. The attic is a perfect place for hot and cold air to leak in and out. With proper insulation, your attic can provide you with an energy efficient home. There are many options for insulating your attic.

How to Diagnose a Smoky Fireplace

It's cold & you want to use your fireplace, but you've been having problems in the past with it smoking. You can correct your smoky fireplace issue with a few easy steps. Take a gander at these fireplace tips to correct any issues of a smoky one.

How to Change your Locks in five Simple Steps

Changing locks in your home sounds so simple, and it can be if you know what you're doing. Of course there are on the market different styles of handles, and sure styles have different locking mechanisms.

How’s it hanging? Your Wallpaper that is

For many people, hanging wallpaper is a complicated and frustrating experience. Though there are rooms that pose more challenges than others (a bathroom, for example), it doesn't have to be a stressful experience for you.

“Hot Wire Mishaps” Five Things to Do BEFORE Working on Electrical Problems

Many "do-it-yourself" (DIY) projects are trial and error. You may still laugh at your first attempted faux finish or the shelves that crashed to the floor five minutes after you triumphantly tapped the last nail in.

Hot Water Heater Hook-Ups Made Easy

Hooking up a hot water heater is one of the most common home repair jobs there is. However if you don't know what you are doing, or don't know the first thing about hot water heaters, well then you could be in hot water quite literally.

Happening Hinges: How to Choose the Right Hinge for Your Project

The array of hinges found in a local hardware store can be dizzying. How do you know which hinge is the right one for your project?

Hammer It Home: Different Types of Hammers and What Jobs They Perform

Although the hammer is one of the simplest tools consisting of a handle and a head there is nonetheless a great variety of sizes, styles, and functionalities. For basic home repairs, which ones should you have handy? Read on to find out!

Grown-ups Can Play with Mud Too: Three Basics to Know when Mudding Drywall

After installing and fastening your drywall, you need to move on to the taping and compound stage. This is an important stage because the final look of your walls will really be determined by how well you apply the mud or compound to your drywall.

Groovin’ Grouting Tips: Five Key Things to Think about Before Applying that Grout

When selecting a new tile floor, you don't want to forget about grout. It may seem like a trivial decision to make, but grout color & width will make all the difference in the appearance of your new floor. Before you apply grout to your new tile floor, there are five key things to keep in mind.

“Garage Door Replacements” Can You Do It Yourself?

Older garage doors are often the subject of replacement in a home. At some point in the life of the door, they simply wear out. The great news in this project, though, is that new garage doors have features manufacturers never even considered in older models.

“Furnace Fall” out” three Things to Check before Calling an Expert

Before you start losing it and screaming at your furnace in the dead cold or the heat of the summer time, stop and take a deep breath. Your furnace might not be working because of a few simple issues that can be fixed quickly.

“4 Fix” It’s in Faucet Maintenance

Faucets don't go out very often, but when they do it's a mess. If you're a home owner expect to have a few leaky faucets to fix in your house. There's no need to panic over the water spraying in your home, just get busy & find the problem and fix it.

Five Things to Watch Out for When Installing

Antennas and satellite dishes are popular ways to connect your television or other different technical equipment. By investing in a dish or antenna, you will have more choices in your home for your entertainment.

five Steps to a Brand New Door

Learning how to replace a door opens a whole new window of opportunity for a do-it-yourselfer. A new door can change the style of a room or brighten up the exterior of a house. In addition, a new door with a better seal can help prevent drafts and improve heating bills.

Five Reasons to Use Oil-Based Paints for Home Projects

Learning to paint in your home can be an easy project & provide a quick way to beautify your home. When painting, there are two basic types of paints that can be used inside the home. Water based latex paints are good for using on the walls.

5 Power Tools You Cannot Live Without

There are a lot of things that either needs to be repaired, or put together when you're a home owner. If you're a new home owner, & have just gotten out of apartment style living, you might want to take this list with you to the hardware store.

Foolproof Ways to Install a New Doorbell

Whether you are waiting on guests or unexpected visitors drop by, you'll seem like a surly host if you don't answer the door because the doorbell doesn't work. Don't let your reputation suffer when fixing a doorbell is one of the easiest "do-it-yourself" (DIY) electrical projects of all!

Do-It-Yourself Home Repair & Maintenance

Your mechanical and electrical items and other pieces of equipment are subjected to constant wear and tear. They require constant observation and maintenance.

Conditioning Your Air Conditioner

It is necessary to clean air conditioners often. If you live in a heavily polluted place, there is every possibility that dust will get collected in your air conditioner. These dust particles will slow down the condenser of your air conditioner and force it to work harder.

Choosing the Right Adhesive for Your Home Repair Job

Different kinds of adhesives are accessible in the market for use on different materials. Before choosing the adhesive, be sure about the material that needs to be glued and the strength of the adhesive needed to glue it. You can see on the adhesive's label itself the strength of the glue and the type of materials on which it can be applied.