Site Map (Alphabetical)

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• Add a Bedroom
  The average cost for a room addition in the U.S. runs between $50,000 and $65,000. You may want to save that outlay by undertaking the effort yourself. But, be prepared.Most room additions should be carried out with the help of professionals. But if you're good with tools and have the time and patience, there are projects that can be completed with minimal help.
  
  
• Air Conditioning
  Every air cooling system takes advantage of some very interesting laws of physics to reverse this and make your home temperature lower than the outdoors. Fortunately, you don't have to be a scientist to keep that system working well. Here are some simple tips to do just that...clogging from dirty drain lines.; and more
  
  
• Alarm Systems
  Few things are as important to most homeowners as the security of his or her home. Fortunately, today there are more options than ever. Here are some tips on how to select one with confidence...Home security systems aren't just hardware, though that's important. A key component of the overall package is the company and people that support the system.
  
  
• Basement-Remodeling
  Remodeling your basement presents several challenges, which can all be turned into advantages.Basements can be cold. Easily solved by turning the latest rage - radiant floor heating - on its side. The proper glue or nailing around the edges (avoiding the wire mesh, of course!), can make these systems easy to use as radiant wall heaters. Placed behind wood wall panels they operate essentially the same as floor systems, if there's air movement in the room. Naturally, any water leakage or moisture problems will need to be dealt with first.Basements can be dark. But that makes them perfect for a darkroom or home entertainment center.
  
  
• Bathroom Remodeling
  Serving so many functions, and often for multiple individuals, makes bathroom design a challenge. First, maximize the space available. Few have the chance to build a bathroom as large as we might want. Even in new home construction, costs often limit how much space can be allotted to the bathroom. But there are usually many pockets of wasted space that can be used to open up floor space and add elbow room.
  
  
• Cabinets-Kitchen
  Even beginning do-it-yourself'ers will find that installing kitchen cabinets is do-it-yourself-able. With care, the results can be as fine as any professional job. Here are some tips to achieve that goal.. Key to installing cabinets that are level and secure, with low hassle, is to use a support system of some kind.
  
  
• Carpet -Installing Indoor/Outdoor Carpet
  Laying carpet is often one of those projects where paying a professional is worth the cost. But if you have a simple installation, or really want to save the money, here are some guidelines to follow for a professional looking job. Installations will divide neatly into padded or non-padded. Indoor-outdoor carpet doesn't require a pad, while pile carpet usually does. You'll need to start with a smooth, clean surface. Whether the underfloor is concrete or wood, sweep and/or vacuum thoroughly. Check that the area is clear of any nails, screws, etc. Check for any concrete bumps or defects in wood, such as broken boards, etc. Smooth or repair, as needed. For indoor-outdoor installations, get a few weather reports and aim for a period of moderate temperature and low humidity, if possible. Obviously, you don't want to lay carpet outdoors during periods of rain, but temperature and humidity are important, too. Carpet and adhesive materials shouldn't be too cold nor too hot for best results. Excess moisture in the air will make adhesive less effective. Some jobs will require glue, where carpet is subject to very forceful traffic, such as dogs or children sliding or running. Glue is also recommended for fully-exposed outdoor installations. For most cases, double-sided adhesive tape will work fine. Measure the area and lay out a few test rows, before putting down glue or adhesive tape. Some indoor-outdoor carpet comes in rolls, but squares are generally easier to work with. Lay out some 'tiles', starting from the center. Try to arrange the layout so that no less than a 'half-tile' is needed around the perimeter. Lay double-faced tape around the edges of the room first, using long strips (6ft or more, if possible). Within the room area, place tape in the shape of a large 'X' (6in x 6in crossed strips will do), every foot over the entire surface. Leave the paper attached to the upper side of the tape. Starting at the center, remove the tape from a few "X"'s. Press carpet 'tiles' firmly onto the tape, taking care not to twist. If installing in rolls, roll the carpet across a small section then lift and remove the tape. Press firmly down. At the wall, you'll need to cut tiles or rolls to fit. Place a tile firmly along the edge of completed carpet, letting the excess fold up the wall. Take a thin piece of chalk and a straightedge and mark precisely where you need to cut. Using a sharp utility knife cut along the outside of the chalk line. Always cut just slightly larger than the area to be covered, but not enough to cause the carpet to bow upwards. If you're
  
  
• Construction-Judging
  Judging Construction – Ground and Walls Even when a homeowner doesn't have the advantage of watching the progress of construction from the beginning, it's still possible to judge the final result. The site needs to be graded properly, in order to provide adequate run-off after rains or even from simple lawn watering. That helps prevent standing water from forming around the base, which inevitably finds its way under the floor or into tiny cracks in the foundation. Foundations are flat and horizontal and walls are vertical and at right angles to the foundation.Walls not at right angles don't merely look wrong, they're weaker. Trusses that provide support for roofs and cross-members that make walls rigid are all placed to maximize strength, to resist wind, rain and/or earthquakes. Pieces need to be at the correct angle and fit well to minimize leaks and maximize support. Those simple engineering facts provide even those who lack detailed construction knowledge with a basis to judge the soundness of the job.
  
  
• Constructions-Judging II
  Judging Construction;Beyond the basics of grading, foundation and floors, and walls and roofs, there are a host of smaller - but still essential - elements to inspect.A house has an amazing number of distinct systems: electrical, plumbing, insulation, siding and/or paint, air conditioning and heating, windows and doors and several others. If defective, or poorly built or installed, headaches can run from expensive repairs to life-threatening conditions.
  
  
• Contractors-Choose Wisely
  Home Improvement - Do It Yourself -A good contractor earns every dime you pay them, a bad contractor will take every dime you have.There are several reasons good contractors make good incomes. They work hard over many years to acquire a wide set of useful skills. Good contractors almost always started as workmen of one kind or another - carpenter, plumber, electrician, you name it.
  
  
• Countertops - Kitchen
  Choosing the material for your Countertops" Iinvolves considerations of cost, appearance and use. Some are as inexpensive as $10 per square foot, others as high as $100 or more. Which you choose will depend on your taste and budget, as well as how you plan to make use of the surface. We will look at: Laminates;Ceramic tile;Styled concrete; Stainless steel;Marble;Granite ;Engineered stone; Whichever you choose, consider how long you'll own the house and what you intend to use the surface for. Initial outlay should not be the only factor. Think long term.
  
  
• Deck Refinishing
  Keeping decks sturdy and looking new is a three step process that can be low cost and require only moderate effort Testing for the condition of your deck, washing,rinsing, removing all debris, and let dry several days before sanding, and finishing.
  
  
• Decks
  Tips to Build a Deck that will Last.With only a few dozen deck screws, lag screws, galvanized nails, bolts, joists, posts, braces, flashing, concrete bags, gravel, stain, thinner, drill, level, plumb bob, hammer, measuring tape... you too can build a deck. Sounds complicated already, eh? No one can teach you to build a deck in one page. But here are some tips about how to build a deck that's stronger, lasts longer and gives you the result you want.
  
  
• Door Replacement
  Replacing doors falls into two categories: (1) replacing just the door, (2) replacing the door plus the frame. The first is easy, but the second is within the skill set of the average do-it-yourselfer as well. Here, we'll cover the first case only.To remove the original door, open it far enough to expose the hinges and give yourself ample working room. Whenever possible, put a wedge under the door on each side to take the pressure off the hinges. One on each side helps prevent the door from falling in either direction after the pins are removed. In most cases, the door is attached to the frame with a two-part hinge - one part attached to the door, the other to the frame.Take a hammer and a flat-head screwdriver, with a thin blade and flat, sturdy handle and tap the pin on the bottom hinge upward. Try to get it about 7/8 of the way out then stop. Tap the top pin up the same amount.
  
  
• Exterior Painting
  Save money-paint the exterior of your home yourself.Average cost of a professional paint job runs several thousand dollars. Try some inexpensive and quick experiments. Buy a pint of your proposed color and finish and try it on a small, out-of-the-way section of the house.
  
  
• Floors-Installing a Tile Floor
  Installing a tile floor is one of the more difficult home remodeling projects. But with care, it's within reach of anyone. Choose your tile according to taste, but keep in mind some differences in the options. Stone or slate tiles are beautiful, but generally higher priced than ceramic. They also require sealing after the job is done, in order to prevent staining and make for easy cleaning.
  
  
• Gardens-Improve Resale Value
  Gardens for Profit and Beauty Gardens provide a healthy, relaxing hobby and give beautiful results, enhancing the appearance of any home or business. But they can also be profitable. Gardens and planned neat landscaping enhance your homes value by making it visually attractive.
  
  
• HDTV Stand-
  Remodeling - TV Stand Design Ideas With the new HDTV sets coming onto the market the shape and weight requirements (not to mention the price) of stands has changed. If you don't want to shell out a few hundred dollars for a stand, increasing the TV's total price by 20% or more, here are a couple of alternatives.Steel kits are available for around $100. Alternatively, you can build your own TV/DVD stand out of wood. There are dozens of free plans online. Here's one elegant and simple style with a low-cost parts list.
  
  
• Heating Systems
  Home heating systems serve a simple purpose. Trouble shoot: If you're getting no heat at all out the vent, check the pilot light and circuit breakers. If your system isn't delivering enough heat, check filters first. Filters gradually become blocked with dust, animal hair, etc.Check that vents are open and unblocked. Don't rely only on what you can see from a standing height. For high vents, get out the ladder and shine a flashlight into the vent. For low vents, get down to the cat's eye level.To repair breaks, paradoxically, don't use duct tape. It breaks.
  
  
• Home Improvement Do It Yourself
  Home Improvement Projects -explained in detail. Includes all types of remodeling for homes. Build a deck, remodel a bath, install flooring, carpeting, paint and interior design.
  
  
• Hot Tub Installation
  If you've ever installed an outdoor deck and patio and hooked up an indoor dishwasher, you've got the skills needed to install your own hot tub.Depending on the layout of your yard, installation choices vary from a simple gravel and sand pad to a raised platform. You can get help designing your installation from one of the many good home design software packages available. They don't pour concrete, but they'll help you visualize the results, provide measurements and sometimes even contain local building codes.
  
  
• Insultation
  Insulatiom helps keep homes cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Temperature control is one of the chief reasons houses were invented, after all.Insulation works by preventing the transfer of heat by one of three basic ways: convection, radiation and conduction. Convection occurs when hot air moves to a cooler area. Insulation helps block or trap air, preventing the movement. Warmer bodies radiate heat to cooler surroundings. Radiation can't be prevented, but it can be directed, or insulated against. Insulation conducts very little heat, and is placed between parts that do, preventing heat movement.How well insulation carries out those tasks is measured by something called the R-value. The 'R' stands for 'resistive', in this case to heat transfer. The higher the R-value the more effective the insulation.
  
  
• Kitchen Remodeling
  Kitchens get more traffic from more individuals in most homes than any other room.Make your kitchen functional and beautiful on a budget with these simple ideas..
  
  
• Lighting Your Home
  Thanks to advances in materials science and other techno-wizardry, your lighting design options today are, well, blinding. Any look you want, for any part of the home with any layout is available.
  
  
• Moulding-Preparation & Installation
  As with any remodeling project, the first step - and the hardest - is preparation. Surfaces on which moulding is to be installed need to be clean, dry and smooth. The moulding itself may need to be cut, sanded and finished. To prepare the moulding, you'll need a mitre box, a cope saw, clamps and any needed finishing materials along with a box or two of 1/2 inch finishing nails. Mitre boxes come in various shapes and sizes, but they all serve the same purpose: to hold pieces at the correct angle for cutting. Even with pre-molded trim you'll need to make several joint cuts, usually at 45 degree angles. Measure the room carefully, then allow a slight amount extra for losses from cutting. You can always make the piece shorter. Making it longer creates a seam. Pieces will usually be joined at 45 degree angles either at a corner or where a moulding piece doesn't extend the entire length of room. Extra care needs to be taken at corners, where any errors are the most visible and exact joins are hardest to make. There are several ways to help yourself out. One technique involves deliberately making pieces end shortly before the corner. Corners can then be finished with small, pre-made pieces, often rounded. Another option is to make pieces fit as carefully as possible and then fill with wood putty at the corner and sand carefully. Keep in mind that houses are never constructed precisely, nor ever exactly level. Allow for small irregularities. Joining pieces together can be done with finishing nails hammered in near the ends and/or with glue on the joining surfaces. When using nails, be sure to hammer them in at slightly different levels on the adjoining trim pieces. This ensures that you're not hammering a nail on one piece into the nail on the adjoining piece. That can lead to cracking the trim. Trim cracking can occur in any case. Minimize the risk by pressing on the surface with a piece of wood or plastic while nailing. That allows the nail to compress the wood internally, rather than crack outward. A cope
  
  
• Plumbing-Fix Your Sinks
  Whether kitchen or bathroom, fixing a sink can be straightforward or it can be a nightmare. Much depends on the condition of the valves and hoses leading to them.In most cases do-it-yourselfers can shut off the water valves under the sink with a few clockwise twists. But if those valves are old and have never been turned since they were installed they can break, causing a leak.Be prepared by having a partner stand near the main shutoff valve with a walkie-talkie ready to turn off the water to the whole house.
  
  
• Pollution Prevention
  Pollution, radon gas !! It's easy to read magazines and conclude that your home is a danger to you and your family. But, as anyone can see, people are living longer, healthier lives than ever. Nevertheless, there are real risks associated with some remodeling projects. Some simple precautions can help minimize them.
  
  
• Roof Repair
  Roof repair can be simple and cheap... or you can wait until the damage spreads and you have a condition only a professional can solve - for hundreds of dollars.Damage comes in all forms - cracked tiles, warped or torn shingles, bent flashing - the list is endless. But most of them are a problem for the same reason: the possibility of water damage from a leak.Most damage that leads to a leak doesn't give you any warning. You find out after the water has already started coming in. But you can turn that problem into an asset.
  
  
• Screens-Replacment
  Replacing Screens;If carried out correctly, replacing your screens can be a snap. Be careless and you really will have to replace the whole screen, frame and all.Most screens come in two basic types: standard window screens and screen doors.Screen doors sit on rollers on springs and can typically just be lifted out with slight pressure..Window screens are held in by friction and often a set of bow-shaped springs attached to the frame at the top and/or sides, also. Use the tabs integrated into the frame to lift up or sideways.Lay the screen flat on a large, smooth surface.Screens are held in with a spline (a thin, cylindrical piece of rubber-like material) inserted into a shallow channel. Find the point where the spline ends and work it loose with an ice pick, tweezers or a screwdriver. Pull gently, but firmly, until the spline is removed. The screen mesh should pull out easily now. Always take care not to bend the frame.Rolls of replacement mesh can be purchased at hardware stores. Kits typically come with a length of replacement spline. Measure your screen and allow for some waste. Pick up a spline roller, too. A small, wooden-handled tool with a metal roller on one or both ends, a spline roller looks like a pizza slicer with a dull circular blade.Measure the inner frame twice, then the mesh twice. Cut to size, leaving about half a centimeter extra (2/10ths of an inch) on each side. Make sure the channel is completely free of any debris/ Place the mesh over the frame and stretch it tight, but not tight enough to cause ripples. Work the spline into the channel, making sure the mesh doesn't twist or slip from underneath. Stretch the spline slightly as you go.
  
  
• Showers-LeakProof Installation
  Shower installations are tough, no getting around it. Most home remodeling projects require care, but this is one case where even a small error can lead to disaster. Behind-the-wall or under-the-floor leaks can cause increased insect invasions and large repair bills. So, before you decide to undertake it, prepare to commit yourself to nothing less than a first rate job.
  
  
• Unplug Clogs
  Fixing Clogs:Modern chemistry has created both friend and challenge. Hand soaps, shaving cream and other concoctions make life a lot more healthy and convenient than it was a hundred years ago. But some traditional problems are still with us: clogs. there are traditional ways and some modern, that help overcome the problem. Metal Pipes-boiling water.Plastic pipes- best to use another method. an ordinary plunger may do the trick. Cup plunger versus flange plungers. How to unplug Double-sided sinks. How to plunge, use an augur and when to use chemical drain cleaners.
  
  
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