Improve your home and increase its value without ever hiring a contractor. With simple advice and instructions, you can do it yourself! You will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars by learning the simple skills to do home improvements on your own time. Moreover, you will enjoy the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
It is extremely important to change your air filters. Not only do you create a better environment to breathe in, but it can also make your air conditioner run better. Many of the service calls that these repairmen face are due to build up that has gotten into the machine from dirty filters.
Poke holes in your wall paper bubbles! Sometimes bubbles form when you are hanging wallpaper and you don’t notice them until it’s too late to pull the paper back and correct them. All is not lost! Just use a pin to pierce each bubble then carefully flatten it out against the wall.
If you are hiring someone to perform your home improvement work, never pay more than 10% down or $1000, whichever sum is less. Legally, a contractor is not able to accept more than this figure. If he asks for additional funds, it is a sign that the person you hired may not be very reputable.
Avoid hiring an architect for minor home improvements and small renovations. Check your local building codes; in most areas architects are unnecessary for jobs below a certain size. Working with a competent contractor on these small-scale projects makes an architect unnecessary. When an architect is unnecessary and not required by local ordinances, save yourself some money by working without one.
Before you start painting a room, it is best to know about how much paint you need. Measure the length of the walls in the room you plan to paint and add them together. Next, measure the height of the room. Multiply the height by the length. The square foot of the room is the answer you get. One gallon of paint will generally cover 350 square feet.
Before you start remodeling or redecorating a room, bring in a professional to check out the electrical and the plumbing, to be sure that it is in good working condition. It is very disheartening having to tear out a new floor or rip into a new wall, to make a repair that should have been done before doing the work.
Locate the studs in the wall prior to beginning to hang your new cabinets in your kitchen. Using a finishing nail to mark each stud is going to save you the time of missing the stud and having to put multiple holes in the cabinets trying to find the stud to hang them on.
Enlist the services of an electrician to place an electrical outlet adjacent to the area where your microwave will be installed. This will give you a place to plug your microwave in that is not visible. This will help hide a cord that has been bothering you.
You can reduce your homeowner’s insurance premium by installing smoke alarms in your home and checking them regularly. This is especially important if you live in an old home that might not have been built with fire-resistant materials. Saving money isn’t the only good thing, they can also save your life.
If you are a pet owner make sure that there are no lingering pet hairs or pet odors in the home when you are giving a showing. This is especially true for people that have carpets because the buyers will worry about whether these issues will cause them to have to replace them.
Get new window treatments. Window treatments are a cheap, fast way to change the appearance of a room, and something as simple as replacing window treatments can help you re-imagine a space. Stick to fabrics and materials that are easy to clean, and you’ll be on the way to great window coverings that look great.
It’s simple to completely renovate your bathroom by installing artwork and new wallpaper. Wallpaper trim is an inexpensive way to complement any decor with the numerous styles available to choose from. Border trim is also quite simple to put into place. Place some affordable and simple art pieces to transform the bathroom.
Do renovations because they are needed not because you are bored. Many people undertake renovating jobs because they need something to do and are bored. This pointless work can lead to many problems. Building code violations, rooms that are useless, as well as other renovation follies, can quickly become issues if you do not have a reason behind your work.
Old toothbrushes can be used to clean your house. Whether you’re cleaning the grout in your bath tub area or scrubbing engine parts, you will find that old toothbrushes do an outstanding job. They’re also free, which is another great bonus. There’s no need to purchase a brand new bush whenever you can use a free item that is just as effective. You can surely use that money on something else.
Make sure that you clean your downspouts and gutters at least a couple of times per year to prevent costly damage to your home. Overflowing gutters can actually cause water to leak onto interior walls, and gutters clogged with pounds of wet leaves may buckle under the weight. This is especially important in autumn, when leaves are shedding rapidly from the trees.
To keep the water pipes under your home from freezing in the winter months, use foam pipe insulation to keep the cold air from seizing your pipes with ice. This pre-slit black foam slips easily onto your copper or PVC pipes, and you can secure it with duct tape.
Now that you know how to begin your own home improvement projects, you won’t have to put off those little repairs until a contractor can come by to fix it. You will save time and money, and you will impress your family and friends with your handy skills!