Home Improvement

The Right Contractor Really Makes All of the Difference When It Comes to Your Home Improvement Dreams

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We know what you’re thinking — why even bother talking about contractors when it comes to DIY? The whole point of DIY is …well, doing it yourself. This is definitely true, but there does come a point where you really do need to start thinking about the type of home improvement dreams that you have. You might find that your dreams are actually bigger than what you can accomplish on your own. Does that mean that you let your dreams die on the vine just because you can’t get them done yourself? Not at all.

You need to just make sure that you are taking the time to the research into the contractor that’s going to be right for you.

First and foremost, you want to make sure that you understand that a true professional is a busy one. Expect some delay between when you inquire about their services and when they can actually squeeze you in for a consultation. You don’t want to find yourself getting into a contractor’s schedule right away, because that might be a sign that they’re really not as good as they claim to be. Trust us — when you get a really good one, you’ll know. Everyone seems to be using them and singing their praises.

Good contractors are also expensive — going with the lowest quoted contractor can often mean that they will cut corners because you haven’t really paid them enough to do a great job. It’s very important to make sure that you really do focus on getting a professional that will handle your job with the respect that it deserves.

Look into the laws for your state — make sure that the person that you want to hire for your home improvement project is licensed if they are required by law to be licensed. If you are caught hiring an unlicensed contractor when it’s against the law in your state, you can be penalized for this. It’s a lot better to make sure that you just focus on the professional that’s going to do the best job. Yes, that means that you might have to save up a little more to afford someone that’s actually going to be able to do the job properly. It just depends on you and what you want to actually do.

You need to make sure that you get good at actually explaining exactly what you want. Far too often homeowners blame the contractor when their vision doesn’t get executed properly. However, is it always the contractor’s fault? Not at all — poor communication and frequent changes can often cause projects to stall indefinitely. When you know what you want, don’t change it unless you utterly have to. This is only going to make your final bill even pricier.

Speaking of final bills, you want to make sure that you focus on getting someone that will let you know exactly how much the job is going to cost, and let you know exactly how the monies are to be distributed. If you get someone that says that they’ll work it out with you in the end of if they want all of the money in advance, this can really lead to disaster. So you really owe it to yourself to get as much done as possible, especially when you know what you really want to accomplish within your home.

Remember that your home is the center of your life — don’t just let anyone and everyone come in to change it. If a contractor doesn’t sit well with you — don’t work with them. A lot of homeowners have ignored this feeling and just rushed into a project, only to find that it’s really not what they wanted at all. It’s better to really make sure that you’re feeling one hundred percent confident with the contractor that you chose for your project. Anything less than that just wouldn’t make sense at all! Good luck out there!

Roller Blinds

Save Money and Mend Faulty Roller Blinds

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After a while, roller blinds can become hard to use, navigate and may even begin to look old and tatty. But before rushing out to the stores to purchase a new set of window treatments, it is worth finding out whether or not they can be easily fixed. This is usually the case with roller blinds, as they are used regularly and can experience problems with the inner mechanisms that are too small and fiddly to stand the test of time.

Here are some common complications which can occur with the workings of roller blinds and suggestions for how to combat the problems:

Appearance

It may be that the general appearance of your blinds is unsatisfactory. They can appear wrinkled, tatty and uneven after a while and many home owners would tackle this problem by purchasing a brand new blind. However, the cause of such a problem does not lie with the age of the fabric, rather the brackets on which it is attached to. If the brackets are screwed into the wall too close together then the blind will look uneven and untidy. To fix this, simply remove the blind, measure the width of the blind and compare that with the distance between the brackets and, if different, re-position them to the desired scale and return the blind to the window.

Up and Down

If the blind is refusing to stay either down then this is, more than likely, due to the mechanisms inside the roller being dirty. By removing the blind from the brackets, taking the cap off the end of the roller and spraying compressed air from a can into the inside, these types of mechanisms can be easily cleaned. Penetrating oil can be placed inside before re-attaching the cap to lubricate the parts and allow for ease of movement.

Roller blinds also can struggle to go both up and down. This common problem will, more than likely, be due to the pawl pin needing to be reset. Remove the blind from the window, roll the blind half way down by hand and locate the flat pin at the end of the roller. Use a pair of pliers to turn the pin clockwise before releasing. The pin is there to allow the pawl to attach to the ratchet inside the roller. Simply pull on the fabric to increase or decrease the tension before returning your blinds back to their original position.

The Speed

The speed at which a window blind rolls up or down can be extremely frustrating but can be fixed relatively easily.  If slow when rolling up, simply pull the blind half way down before removing it from the brackets and the window pane. Then roll back up by hand before re-attaching it. This process may need to be repeated until the desired speed is restored.

However, if the blind is moving too quickly when rolling up, then remove the blind from the brackets, roll the fabric down by hand a few inches before returning it to the wall. Again, this process may need repeating before the desired speed is restored.

Landscaping Project

Don’t Let Weeds Ruin Your DIY Landscaping Project

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Weeds. If there’s one thing that homeowners hate, it would definitely have to be weeds. We hate weeds because they are the enemy standing between you and a beautiful, lush looking yard. Your yard determines part of the overall first impression that potential home buyers will get about your property, so it’s in your best interest to make sure that you are getting the best yard possible when you’re really concerned with trying to get your home sold. Even before you even make the decision to sell your house, you want a nice yard because let’s face it – people notice a neat yard before almost everything else. What would be the point of having this beautiful house and a bad yard? When your yard isn’t where you want it to be, it tends to bring your whole house down in a big way — and who really wants to deal with that, either?

Don’t let weeds ruin your DIY landscaping project. You don’t have to call in the pros just because you have weeds in your year. In fact, it’s been said that getting the weeds out of your yard is the perfect DIY project. Here’s what you need to do.

The first thing that you need to decide is whether or not the weeds are in full or not. If they’re already sprouting up, you’re going to need a post-emergence weed killer. This will give you the benefit of killing off the weeds without causing other problems.

If the weeds have not sprung up yet, look for supplies in your local home improvement store that can strike at the weeds as they’re barely taking root in your yard. This will get rid of them before they can take over your yard.

Even though some forms of weeds might seem innocent or even a little pretty, they’re nothing to toy with — they really do take away from a good looking yard so it’s better to avoid them if you can.

Make sure that you continue to water your yard as scheduled even as you’re putting on the weed killer. It can make things a lot easier in the long run for your yard to bloom better grass and keep moving forward even in spite of being attacked by weeds!

Pool Pump

The DIY Way To Troubleshoot a Pool Pump

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Summer might be coming to an end where you live, but that doesn’t mean that pool maintenance suddenly becomes unimportant. If you really want to make sure that you’re taking care of your pool, year-round maintenance is the way to go.

For example, do you know that just about everything in a pool relies on the pool pump working smoothly? If it’s not doing what you expect, then it might be time to actually start thinking about the type of replacements or repairs that you need to make in order to get the pump working again. You might have to replace the whole unit, which can be pretty costly. If you’re committed to the DIY way of doing things, then you’re definitely going to want to make sure that you pick up some tips on how to troubleshoot that pesky pool pump.

The most common problem isn’t that your pool pump isn’t working, but that it’s not fully priming. That type of problem is actually pretty easy to fix.

You see, you know that your pool pump is fully operational when you look into the basket on the pump and there’s just water there. You don’t want to see swirls or the water flowing in from the pipe. The basket area is just full of water, and that’s the way it should be.

The cause of the pump not getting fully “primed” is air coming into the pump. Fix the air problem, and the pump springs back to life. You can look at backwashing the entire system to make sure that there’s not any sediment pushing out and causing leaks as well. However, the best way to go is simply to take a house and run it over the pipe. Anywhere the water rushes out of is where there’s a leak. Fixing that will yield a nicely working pump.

Keep in mind that if your pool water levels aren’t high enough, you’ll also have problems with your pool pump. So you’ll need to make sure that you keep that pool water going for the best results.

This is a pretty straightforward DIY fix as they go, so you shouldn’t have too many problems. Why not check it out for yourself today?

Remove Basement Mold

The Safe DIY Way to Remove Basement Mold

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Mold is something that’s a lot more dangerous than people give it credit for. Just because it doesn’t have physical teeth and physical claws means that you get to underestimate its power over your life. A house full of mold is a respiratory nightmare. Even if you start out feeling okay, chances are good that you will develop severe respiratory problems over the long run. Therefore, it’s smarter to really make sure that you have everything in your power to take care of the mold problems before they spiral out of control.

Why does mold grow so fast? It’s in the nature of mold to spread quickly in hot, humid environments. Your basement is one of those environments. A leak that goes out of control will create a fertile environment for mold. Once it sets in, mold definitely grows and grows until it takes over a space so completely that just being down there can make you feel dizzy and weak.

Using a hydrogen peroxide dilution will help you remove basement mold safely, but you’re still going to need to make absolutely sure that you’re protecting yourself. Don’t think about treating mold without having on protective clothing and a sturdy makes. This is not time to “cheap out” on these materials either — spend money on a good mask that blocks out the particles. That way you’re not risking your health too badly just because you want to get rid of the mold.

In order to keep the mold from coming back, you’re going to need to make some changes. First and foremost, you’re going to need to remove the humidity from that room. It starves the mold of what they need most to thrive — moisture.

You will also want to make sure that you do not store any wood in your basement. Mold loves wood, and it will spread like crazy through any wood that you store in the basement.

You will want to also direct water away from your home, so there’s no danger of runoff heading towards your house and draining down in the basement.

Overall, you will want to make sure that you watch the whole mold problem very carefully. Just because you take care of it once doesn’t mean that you will take care of it forever. Practicing smart mold prevention is the only way to go!

DIY Projects

Looking at a Home With DIY Projects In Mind

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A new house can be a great house, but you don’t have to settle on new construction and the high price tag that new construction often brings in order to feel like you have a house that could become your new home. In fact, if you are really thinking about embracing the DIY movement head on, you’re going to want to look into homes that can definitely double as a giant workshop for all of your creative ideas. Of course, before you even get too excited about that, you’re going to need to make sure that you think about a few things first.

First and foremost, you don’t want to take on too much at one time. It’s good that you’re excited about the DIY movement, but it’s not good to overcommitted yourself to something that isn’t going to get you what you want in the long run. A lot of people get interested in fixing up their own homes, only to find that the work entailed in restoring the home is a bit too much for them. Yu don’t want this to happen to you. Knowing your limits means that you will be able to know when it’s time to call in a professional to have the job done right. In the case of plumbing, pest control or even electrical wiring, it’s time to call a professional. There have been too many DIY people that have gotten hurt because they decided that they weren’t going to do anything like delegating the work to a professional. We need that pattern to come to an end. It’s high time that people stop getting hurt just because they’re afraid to reach out for further assistance.

The best thing that you can do is start thinking about your needs when it comes to the home in question. Can you work in small steps and still get the same effect that you’ve always wanted? Of course you can. It’s just a matter of reaching out and giving it your best shot. You don’t want to try to rush the process anyway, because that’s when a lot of the mistakes happen to begin with.

Overall, now is the best time to really start thinking about how you want your home to look – before you even purchase it. Going through the home and looking at the structure will give you some clues. Of course, there is no replacement for a good through home inspection. A lot of DIY people think that they can skip this process because they’re deeply into the process of getting things done by hand, but this is a mistake that could put you way over your head when it comes to the house in question. Why put yourself through that? Delegate smart, and take action today to get the home of your dreams!

green DIY plans

Is Green DIY Plans Worth the Extra Hassle?

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Whether you’re buying a new house or trying to think about what to do with an old one, one thing is going to be clear really fast: there’s always room for improvement! If you’re like most people, you’ll actually find that getting your hands dirty is pretty exciting.

However, when there’s a topic that come sup that’s a little outside of our own scope, that’s when things really start getting tricky. We want to really believe that we’re making all of the right decisions. So if you’re new to the world of green remodeling and you come across green DIY plans, you might be a little nervous. The best thing that you can do is look at your goals and think about what these “green” plans might have to offer.

First and foremost, if you’re thinking about doing any type of renovations because you want to really add value to your home, then green DIY plans are definitely going to play a role in it. The last thing that you want to do is think about is making an investment into your home that isn’t going to pay off. There used to be a time where you could just push forward and hope that you’re going to be just fine when it comes to your home sale, but that’s not the case anymore. Cooling home prices mean that the market is not in the favor of the seller — but the buyer. So if you really want to catch buyers, you’re going to need to focus on things that buyers are passionate about. You need to start thinking about the things that are really going to improve your bottom line, not the things that are just nice to have. That’s a trap that has eaten up a lot of DIY enthusiasts, and we don’t want to see that happen to you.

Green DIY plans can definitely vary, so it’s in your best interest to get proper plans the first time around. In addition, you always want to know your limits. Things like replacing old equipment might be something that’s pretty left to a professional. It just depends on the level of skill that you’re coming in with. Never try to do something that you know that you’re not good at. In addition, you’re also going to want to see about getting some help. Of course, if you know that you can do it on your own, then it’s up to you to push forward.

In a nutshell, are DIY plans that focus on green technologies wroth it? Absolutely — but you’ll need to start looking ahead of time for the very best results around. Why not get started today?

Kitchen-Remodel

DIY Kitchen Projects That Really Add Value to a Home

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One of the best things about buying a home is that you have endless possibilities when it comes to remodeling. However, if you really want to be strategic, you want to make sure that you are planning your remodel around what’s going to actually increase the overall value of your home. It’s never a bad idea to put value first when it comes to a renovation project. You want to make sure that every bit of money you put into your home is something that you’re going to get back in time. Why wouldn’t you want to do that?

So when it comes to the house as a whole, you might not be surprised that the best place to add value is the kitchen. These days, we do a lot of things in our kitchens, not just cooking. We study for tests at school, we eat, we entertain guests, and then if we have time we actually get to cook something. So there’s a lot of emphasis being place don a great kitchen in a house. Buyers want to imagine themselves in your shoes, happily cooking away while the rest of the world turns and turns. So if you’re thinking about the same things, then it’s definitely time to start planning your kitchen project. Budget is definitely one of the first things that you will want to think about. It’s tempting to just assume that you’re going to have free reign to just spend as much as you want. If you don’t set a budget up front, you’ll get sucked into the wonders of the home improvement store, which is not a good thing at all. There are a lot of beautiful fixtures and lighting options at the store that will entice you to buy them, and it’s very easy to go over budget.

So you want to first focus on the essentials that have to be there. Redoing the lighting in a kitchen can definitely add value, as well as upgrading the applicants and the cabinets. If you don’t have the budget for a major renovation, you might want to focus on making the space more functional. The addition of a kitchen island can add space where there isn’t anymore room to put in shelving, and you can also change the lighting so that you can see the food preparations much easier than if you were to just leave the lighting as is. One thing that you’ll notice about older homes is the lighting in the kitchen is very poor — it’ll need to be on the first things that you change.

The flooring may need to be redone, and this isn’t a bad idea. The best surfaces are laminated in the kitchen for obvious reasons. You wouldn’t want to put carpet in the kitchen — that’s just asking to have mold and mildew make permanent stays in your home.

Making your kitchen more energy efficient and eco-friendly is another great project that can add value to your home at large, because everyone is focused on those things. When you can show a buyer proof that you’re really into taking care of the environment and reducing your overall energy use, you may get more interest than if you didn’t make that investment. Again, these are projects that you’re going to need to balance against your budget. There’s nothing that says that you have to do all of these things at once. You can always tackle these projects one at a time so that you don’t have to worry about all of the costs at one time.

Since you’re dealing with a space that has some plumbing and electrical considerations that need to be made, it’s important to really make sure that you’re going to be able to do the work on your own. When it comes to advanced systems, we definitely advocate the use of trained professionals. Sure, you’re going to spend more money, but when you really need to make sure that something is done properly and up to code, that’s when calling a contractor is the right way to go. Look through reviews and get referrals if you need to so that you can count on them to do the job right the first time.

Overall, there are plenty of other kitchen ideas that you could use; this guide is just to give you a few short ideas. What will you create today?

Cordless Drill

Choosing a Cordless Drill For All of Your Home Improvement Needs

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If there’s one thing that matters to most people across the board, it’s definitely going to be their home. We’re big fans of the DIY movement because it gives people the power to change their own lives from the inside out. Instead of trying to wait for pricey contractors, you can actually push forward and handle your own repairs around the home. Now, there are going to be times where you will have to delegate things to a trained professional, but you would be surprised at all of the things that you can get done on your own.

Before you can get started though, you’re going to need a few basic tools. That’s actually the topic of today’s DIY guide — it all starts with a good cordless drill. Now, you might feel like there’s no reason why you would need a cordless drill when a corded variety has a pretty long cord on top of allowing you to use an extension cord. However, there’s nothing like being able to move around freely. You never know which repair will take your time next, so why not make sure that you can actually focus on the task ahead of you?

So, the first thing that we need to do is look at the cordless drill a little closer. You will want to make sure that the first thing that you consider is budget. Sure, a higher budget is going to allow you to get some fancier tools but the reality is that sometimes you’re just going to have to deal with the budget that you have. When you’re just starting out, you’re going to need to make sure that you keep your expenses low. That way you have more money set aside for tools, so you don’t want to just try to go out and get the biggest, baddest drill on the market. Most of those “super drills” are marketed towards contractors that need a higher level of durability than someone that is just making a few repairs here and there. Of course, if you do eventually want to transition into doing side jobs for other homeowners, you might want to invest in some higher grade tools down the road.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that you’re buying something that’s going to have a lot of power. That starts with the battery, because let’s face it — a weak battery isn’t going to get you very far. If you find that you’re drilling into tougher materials, you’re going to want to get a larger battery. Keep in mind that this means that you’re going to end up getting things a bit heavier, but if you aren’t opposed to a little extra weight then you will want to get the stronger battery for sure.

A really good cordless drill needs to be able to move in the reverse direction as well as forward. That will help you back out the screws you’ve put in without having to use your hands. That’s really painful and ends up damaging the surface that you were working with. A dual-speed motor is a plus, because you can control the rate that you’re drilling into the surfaces.

There are plenty of different cordless drills out there. If portability is something that’s important to you, then a smaller drill is going to be exactly what you’re looking for. On the other hand if power is the most important feature, then you’re going to want to focus accordingly.

Now is the perfect time to order a cordless drill online — why not take these tips and put them into action today?

Wallpapering

Wallpapering – Equipment and Preparation

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Wallpapering isn’t as difficult as it looks once you are equipped with the necessary tools. In addition to a paste table, brushes and some paste, you will also need shears, a spirit level, plumb line, scraping tools and sandpaper. Stairwells are the most problematic area and they are covered separately.

Calculating the Number of Rolls

To calculate how many rolls you need to buy, get hold of a wallpaper-calculating chart, readily available from most DIY stores. Measure the height of the walls from skirting board to the ceiling, coving, picture or dado rail (depending how far up you intend to cover) and the perimeter of the room. (Don’t deduct anything for the areas covered by doors or windows, unless there is a large picture window or patio door.) On the chart, find the measurement nearest to the perimeter of your room in the left-hand column then read across to find the height of the room in the right-hand column. There you will find the number of rolls required for a plain wallpaper.

If the wallpaper has a pattern you may need to take this into account. A large pattern repeat requires more paper than a random or non-matching design, which doesn’t need to be pattern matched. The best bet is to buy an extra roll on a sale-or-return basis, so that if you don’t need to open it, you will get your money back. Check when buying that the batch number printed on the label of each roll is the same. Even then, a slight difference in shading is possible, so you need to unroll all the paper at home and examine the colours in a good light. If any of the rolls are of a slightly different shade, don’t hang them on the same wall, where the difference might be noticeable.

Preparing The Walls

Before you hang the wallpaper, prepare the walls in the same way as for painting. However, where the old plaster is sound but badly crazed, or has been repaired in places over the years, it is best to hang lining paper first, as this will prevent defects showing through the wallpaper. Lining paper is usually hung horizontally, to prevent the joints coinciding with the wallpaper.

Any existing wallcovering must be stripped off completely. Some papers can be stripped off in lengths simply by loosening the bottom edge and pulling upwards. This leaves a thin backing paper on the wall which should be wetted then scraped off. Other wallcoverings may need to be soaked with water before scraping them off. Adding a little wallpaper paste or washing up liquid to the water helps the soaking process, making the stripping easier afterwards. Some vinyls and washable wallcoverings will need to be scored first, to allow water to penetrate the old paste.

If you are faced with a really stubborn wallpaper, or more than one layer, you can save time and effort by hiring or buying a wallpaper steam stripper. This produces steam through a square plate that loosens the paper when it is held against the wall. It’s a great labour-saving device and quite inexpensive to buy these days. Recently some clever cookie invented a handy little tool called an orbital scorer, which you simply run over the paper in a circular motion, creating little pin holes that allow the moisture from the steamer to penetrate behind the surface. After doing this, use both a broad-bladed and narrow-bladed scraping knife to carefully remove the old paper without damaging the plaster behind.

When all the paper has been stripped off, rub the walls down with sandpaper to remove any little nibs of paper still clinging to them.

Porous walls have to be ‘sized’ to ensure that the wallpaper adheres properly; sizing has the added bonus of making it easier to slide the paper into place when pattern matching across the lengths. Size can be bought purpose-made (a powder that is mixed with water) or you can simply dilute ordinary wallpaper paste, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Brush size on to the wall and leave it to dry for a short while before hanging the wallpaper.

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