There are many different levels to a home improvement project. No matter what it is, these tips may help you avoid headaches and frustration.
Use flour for emergency wall paper glue! That’s the way the old timers always used to glue their wall paper in place. Just mix some flour with enough water to make a paste. Apply it just as you would any other wall paper glue. It will last for years!
Talk to your friends and family and ask them for help before starting your home improvement project. By waiting until the project is started, you may have difficulty finding the extra help you need. You might have a hard time finishing on time, which would add more stress.
Always turn off the main water supply before working near pipes in your home. Whenever you are dealing with pipes, fittings, or fixtures, finding and turning the shutoff valve should be step number one. This will stop your house from flooding.
Using an area rug not only protects your floor, but helps highlight a piece of furniture. Use a printed area rug to call attention to a piece of furniture such as a nice, sleek sofa or an ornate coffee table that you are proud of. Make sure that the size of your area rug is not overwhelming to the point of highlighting your whole room.
When you paint interior rooms during a home improvement project, allow extra drying time if your house is new. Newer homes are usually built with extremely effective (nearly air-tight) separation between the interior and exterior. While this is an advantage for you as a homeowner in most situations, when you paint inside, your paint will take longer to dry than the paint manufacturer might claim.
Before doing any home improvement projects in the kitchen or bathroom, it’s important to turn off the main water supply. There are all too many homeowners out there who have had to deal with expensive, disastrous flooding because they forgot this fairly commonsense precaution.
If you feel your home is too small, consider a basement renovation. In many cases, a basement can be turned into a second living room or climate-controlled storage space. If your basement has exterior access, you could even renovate it into an apartment for rental income or a mother-in-law suite for family members and other visitors.
While new home builders are now required to install only low-flow toilets, older homes rarely have efficient plumbing; an older toilet can use more than three gallons of water per flush; a new low-flow commode will use less than half of that amount, making it a wise investment that can save money on your water costs.
Often home builders reduce their costs by installing cabinets without any hardware at all. You can get knobs or handles for a low cost online or at a store, such as Home Depot or Lowe’s. If you want something that you can install in only a few minutes, you can select modern knobs, designer-made accents, and pulls with a vintage look.
Home improvement doesn’t have to overwhelm you. If you have the proper information, you can make smart decisions. Some effort can take you far when it comes to home improvement, whether you or someone else is making the repairs.