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Installing a new kitchen sink is not the most difficult do-it-yourself home project. But it will take all day, usually. Take it step by step and you can’t go wrong.
First, you’ll have to disconnect any and all attachments to the sink except possibly the faucet, unless you plan to re-use it.
A frozen pipe isn’t itself a problem. After all, copper pipes can get to temperatures far below the freezing point of water without cracking. But too often it is accompanied by an ice blockage inside the pipe. That can lead to a pressure build up that ultimately bursts the pipe. Not only do you lose the ability to get water from the faucet, but now have the larger problem of clean up and repair.
In many homes, the odds of a burst pipe in winter from low temperatures are very low. But others have exposed pipes in crawlspaces or elsewhere. It takes only a modest opening around the base of the house to let in winds that can chill pipes to sub-freezing temperatures.
Toilet repairs run the gamut. It can be as extensive as a complete replacement or as simple as replacing a broken flush handle. All of them are well within the ability of the average do-it-yourselfer.
Leaks around the base are usually a sign that the toilet will have to be replaced. In some cases, it’s a simple tear in the wax paper that was used to seal the hole in the floor. Sometimes a kind of grease is used instead and it can dry out or acquire a hole. In those cases, the old toilet can be re-used but the steps for repair are the same as installing a new toilet.
Other problems are much more common.
Garage lighting often gets little attention. An incandescent bulb or two, maybe a fluorescent fixture and it’s considered finished. But a garage can have many uses and lighting is often poorly designed for most of them.
Even such a simple act as parking the car and walking into the house can be compromised by poor lighting design. Bumping into low shelves, tripping over toys and many other common garage accidents could be avoided with proper lighting.
A primer is a paint or coating applied directly to a surface to serve as an undercoat for other paints. In principle, any paint could be used as primer, but specially prepared compounds typically do the job much better.
Many surfaces aren’t quite ready to serve as the base for a single coat of oil-based or latex paint. They may soak up too much paint, or be uneven. They may be discolored. They may have chemical or physical properties that make applying a single, even coat nearly impossible.
Fortunately, painting the outside of most homes is easier today than ever. Easier… not easy. When the average cost of a professional paint job runs several thousand dollars (though they do earn it), you may want to tackle it yourself.
Get started right by investing in one of the many home design software packages available. You can’t judge color and finish on a computer monitor. But, it will help you estimate the amount of paint needed, provide a list of materials and assist you in budgeting.
Plumbers earn their income. Most are skilled professionals who spent years learning a trade. They come to rescue us in times of crisis or for important projects. But, as thousands of jokes attest, they’re expensive and often not available when you need them. That’s not their fault. Their services are in high demand. Good fortune to them.
Fortunately, there are a whole range of plumbing projects around the home that are well within the reach of the ambitious do-it-yourself’er.
Painting a ceiling is one of the more challenging paint jobs. Paint drips onto your face and onto the floor. The angle makes it more difficult to use a brush or even a roller on a pole. A ladder is often needed. Even the lighting is different. To top it off, ceilings are sometimes texture coated. How can you deal with all these difficulties to get a good final result?
The first step to overcoming those hurdles is proper paint selection and using the right tools with it.
Want to install a dimmer switch, replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) or LEDs, or perform many other home lighting projects? If so, it’s helpful to know a little bit about what drives them all: electricity.
Two of the most basic concepts needed are ‘voltage’ and ‘current’. Current moves down a wire, pushed by a certain voltage. Current is the quantity of electricity flowing, measured in amperes or amps (A). Voltage is the force with which it’s pushed down the wire, measured in volts (V).
Getting started on a new project is always the hardest part. One major reason for that, especially in the case of painting your house, is the knowledge barrier. There’s just so much to know to get the job done right. Read on and flatten that hurdle between you and your house’s brand new look.
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