Saturday, April 6, 2013

Easy Home Improvement Tricks You Can Try Today

By Anton Winkle


If you are interested in home improvement but don't know where to start, don't worry. There are lots of great resources available no matter what kind of project you are considering. Whether it's fixing a leaky faucet or completely remodeling your home, this article can give you tips to help you on your way.

When doing a web search looking for a contractor to hire, do specific niche searches. Many contractors work in niche aspects of home improvement and can do an excellent job for you. These contractors have the experience and expertise that is required for many of the niche home improvement jobs.

By installing crown molding, you will be updating your home with a crisp and fresh look that is surprisingly high-impact. At just over a dollar per square foot, you can splurge on molding that complements your window trim, flooring and baseboards. This look is timeless and easily adds value to your home, even after many years.

If you are looking for home improvement ideas that can add value to your house, then lighten everything up by adding space if you can. If your rooms are small, then this gives a cramped/dark feeling to them. Look to see if you can knock down a wall to combine two rooms (possibly between a kitchen and dining room). This will give a light and airy feeling to the space.

Involving your children with your home improvement jobs can be fun, and will help you bond while building their self-esteem. Children are great helpers and enjoy feeling included, so giving them a small job to do makes them feel good about themselves, and this helps you at the same time.

Consider buying second hand treasures from local companies that recycle items pulled from houses either recently demolished or renovated. These items are often absolutely gorgeous and in excellent shape; usually the previous owners' tastes changed or the items no longer fit aesthetically. You may even choose to base your new designs around these recovered treasures!

If you don't like to nail pictures to the wall because of the holes the nails make, an easy solution is buying mounting squares. Mounting squares can easily hold a few pounds and can be quickly removed without damaging your wall. Stick four squares altogether, one in each corner of your frame to mount your picture properly on your wall.

Using a paste-form of wood filler to fill a hole in wood, that you need to screw into again, will not yield satisfactory results. The screw will cause the wood filler to disintegrate and never hold secure. Instead, break off pieces of wooden toothpicks and fill the hole with as many as it will hold. Put a drop of white or wood glue on top of the toothpicks, that you can break off so that they are flush with the surrounding wood, and allow to dry. When completely dry, replace the screw into your new real wood-filled hole and that will give the screw something to "bite" into, versus the plaster-like dust, created by typical wood fillers.

Recycle the molding in the closets of your old house to finish out your renovation project! Sometimes, finding molding to match the molding from old houses can be almost impossible. One option is to remove the molding that is, likely inside your closets. You'll never notice that it's gone and it will be restored to its glory, out in the open where it can be seen.

Instead of trying to update bathrooms to go with current trends, it is a better idea to keep things neutral. The reason for that is the fact that styles change and there is a chance that what looks good now, may be considered dated at the time you wish to sell your home.

Displaying buttons on a spice rack can be a great way to give your home a cottage style feel, as well as, making a focal point in your living room. Buy some small old fashioned apothecary jars and fill them with buttons assorted by color. Arrange them in a pleasing manner on your spice rack and you have yourself, a great focal point.

A good way to get things done in your house is to ask for help from friends and family. You might want to ask close friends and family members to help you repaint your kitchen. You can pay them off by buying them lunch or taking them out to dinner, it's probably cheaper than hiring someone to do the job for you.

If your bathroom is looking a bit bland, you can put in a new vanity to add a touch of class and elegance. As time goes on, your old vanity will look worn and begin to warp. If you want to improve your bathroom, just buy vanity and drop it in for a touch of class.

One important aspect of doing home improvement projects is measuring. Three must-have, measuring tools for projects are measuring tape, a ruler and a level. The measuring tape allows you to get dimensions of space and of the parts you may use. A ruler allows you to measure and create straight lines. A level allows you to make sure a surface is flat and not inclining or declining.

Make visible changes. Invisible changes are great for your home, but if it ever comes time to sell, you do not want to have to explain why you installed fantastic heating systems but did not fix your shutters. Keep in mind that visibility sells. You want to be at the top of the market.

If you have a dark colored kitchen it would be in your best interest to lighten things up. Many people do not want to buy homes that have kitchens with dark colors. If you are worried about selling you home at some point them you need to keep that in mind.

Home improvement work is something many feel ill-equipped to undertake on their own. The important thing to remember, though, is that with the proper information, anything is possible in this realm.

Even the simplest home improvement projects can seem overwhelming at first if you don't have a good grasp of the basics. Once you know what you're doing, though, any project is manageable. Just apply what you've learned from this article, and before you know it, you'll be one step closer to turning your house into your dream home.




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