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Leaking basements are commonly caused due to clogged gutters. Learn about leaking basement solutions with help from a professional engineer in this free video clip.
Skylights, whether they are solidly mounted glass windows or have an opening and closing mechanism for air circulation, need periodic maintenance to remain fully functional for the life of the unit. Depending on the location of the skylight, ladders and scaffolding may be required for safety. If you are unsure of your safety on a rooftop, call in a professional to get the job done right.
Extending an existing bonus room, bedroom or other area into unused attic space can offer a cost-effective remodeling option that doesn't require adding on. While unfinished attic space may lack features such as insulation, plumbing and air conditioning, the primary framing and structural elements may already be in place.
Size is an important factor among many that determine a dog breed's average life expectancy. In general, smaller breeds of dogs tend to live longer, in some cases a lot longer, than their cousins who stand taller and sturdier.
All well-stocked pantries will always have a few key things at the ready. Learn about the top things to keep in a pantry with help from a classically-trained chef with experience in both World class restaurants and private dining companies in this free video clip.
An attic doesn't have to just be a storage space if you don't want it to be. Decorate an attic with help from an accomplished interior and life designer in this free video clip.
Pepperoni, pasta and olives come together to form a great pantry pasta dish that you can make quickly and easily. Make a pantry meal with pepperoni, pasta and olives with help from an all natural and organic personal chef in this free video clip.
A number of different plants, when used properly, can really give your dining room a nice beachy look. Find out what plants you should use in your dining room to give it a beachy look with help from a dedicated interior designer in this free video clip.
A beautiful hutch serves as the showpiece of your dining room, so it should be as beautiful as the treasures stored inside. If yours looks shabby or out-of-date, consider renovating rather than replacing it. You can return your hutch to its former glory or give it an entirely new look. You can re-stain a wood hutch or one with thick veneer. You'll get better results if you paint a hutch with thin veneer. In the end, you'll have a beautiful, custom piece of furniture and the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself.
A Bruno stair lift eliminates the challenge of a staircase for a disabled person. The Bruno lift's special design hides the mechanical components of the chair while keeping the system's lubricating grease away from you and your clothes. You can safely sit in the chair and have it transport you up or down the stairs. With proper maintenance, the Bruno stair lift will continue to function effectively for years. Lubricating the stair's movable parts every three months will help extend the lift's life.
Basement ceiling brackets create extra storage space. You can use basement ceiling brackets to store nearly anything. They can be used to store paint cans, lumber or seasonal yard tools. The brackets are mounted to the exposed floor joists on the basement ceiling. Basement ceiling brackets free up floor and wall space. In small basements, this storage method is a space-saving option. You can customize the size of the brackets to meet your storage and space requirements.
A hearth, the part of the fireplace that extends out into the room, usually rises up a few inches off the floor. For a more modern look, a flush hearth, one that remains even with the floor, gives the fireplace a stronger connection to the rest of the room. Though not always a good choice for a large traditional fireplace, for a small prefabricated fireplace, a flush hearth works well. The installation is simplified when you add the hearth material, such as ceramic tile, before the finished flooring.
Many homeowners feel that the trouble with their split foyer and living room is that neither one is big enough. The foyer detracts from the space of the living room, but does not provide enough space to appropriately greet guests. Sometimes problems like this can be solved with minor decorative changes that enhance the feeling of space. By opening up the perceived space of the room, you make a cramped area easier to maneuver and more welcoming to guests.
A wooden spiral staircase can add visual appeal to your home and save space. Over time, however, joints can come loose, as with any wooden staircase. Keep your staircase quiet and well-functioning with little more than a screwdriver and wrench. Working with wood does require care, as over-tightening can split it, especially if it's a softer wood.
Installing a basement toilet, or commode, increases your home’s value and reduces the line of family members waiting outside the main floor bathroom. Most homes have rough-in basement plumbing, so adding a toilet in the basement is a relatively simple home improvement task. Provisions for the sewer drain and the vent pipe are already in place. All you have to do is set the toilet and connect the vent to the existing plumbing.
Living room windows come in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles. Sometimes you may not want window treatments to cover your living room windows but would like to add texture, color and softness around the windows. Or, perhaps, your living room windows are narrow and you'd like the illusion of wider, more spacious windows. Hanging curtain rods on each side of a window draped with cascading curtains can be a viable solution to both of these common interior design issues.
A closet flange, more commonly called a toilet flange, is the round plumbing base that sits flush with the top of the floor and is instrumental in securing the toilet. The closet flange connects to either a 3- or 4-inch drainpipe that carries water and waste to the main sewer line. In most new houses, local building codes require contractors to install rough-in plumbing in the basement for a future bathroom. This plumbing includes a closet flange, hooked to the drain system and permanently cemented into the floor.
Removing a bath or shower from a basement bathroom is relatively straightforward, but you will need to close off the pipes. Of course, the water pipes need to be shut off in order to keep the basement from flooding with water, but it is also important to shut off the drainage pipe; leaving the drainage pipe exposed may allow sewer or septic odors to back up into the house, giving your basement an unpleasant smell.
If you've renovated an older home or divided one into apartments, you may find yourself with a staircase that is no longer used. This can create an awkward flow in a house or cause separate apartments to be connected. This is easily remedied, however, by simply closing off the top of the stairs. Effectively, this involves building a wall to cover up the top of the stairwell, separating the top and bottom floors.
Attic radiant barriers and insulation materials help to keep heat from entering a home’s living spaces. And while insulation materials block off heat pathways, radiant barriers reflect heat waves away and prevent heat conduction. Radiant barrier products come with manufacturer data sheets. These sheets enable homeowners to evaluate a particular product’s sensitivity to heat within an attic space.
Sheetrock is a brand of gypsum wall board or drywall that is commonly used to cover the studs of a wall; it makes up the interior wall surface. If a set of basement stairs is constructed before the Sheetrock is in place, the drywall will have to be trimmed to fit around the stair treads. The result is Sheetrock cut unevenly near the stairs. Many options for trimming the stair are available -- such as wood edging -- but using small or irregular tiles will disguise the problem better by fitting around the treads if they are not square.
Beams are useful to add decor to a basement ceiling or to support a bearing wall when you remodel a room. Adding the beams is an uncomplicated way to ensure the structure of your home is not compromised. Many homeowners add beams between two small rooms in the basement to create one large room. This is appropriate after tearing out the existing wall.
Condensation buildup between the panes of glass in a skylight normally requires the replacement of the unit. Attempting to fix the problem by hand requires patience and methodical craftsmanship. Proceeding too quickly through the repair process can lead to broken glass and an immediate need to contact a professional repair service.
One of the most important things you can do to help prevent basement flooding is install a standpipe in all the basement floor drains. Standpipes usually are installed 2 to 3 feet above the basement floor level. This allows any backflowing water to rise up into the pipe rather than onto the basement floor. You can make a standpipe for your basement with the proper tools, materials and do-it-yourself ability.
A storm shelter should put as many barriers as possible between you and a storm, according to the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS). The structure of storm cellars and basements determines if they have sufficient barriers for storm protection, but each type of shelter has advantages and disadvantages. For example, a basement that appears safe becomes a hazardous storm shelter if a tornado causes floors above it to collapse.
Spiral stairs work well to access an upper floor when space is at a premium. They also become an attractive focal point in the home's decor. Hardwood spiral stairs bring the natural, open feel of the outdoors to confined interior spaces. Although building a spiral staircase on site requires the skills of a professional carpenter, you can easily install a prefabricated hardwood staircase -- especially since most of the carpentry work's already complete.
Framing a basement main support beam involves cutting sheets of wood to the length of the beam, then screwing the sheets over the beam to cover it. The sheets need to be cut at the right angle to fit each one together at the joints, forming a seamless box around the support beam behind them. Framing a basement main support beam covers over what can be an unsightly piece of supporting wood, to make the basement more decorative.
For fire safety and the convenience of moving stored items, a basement egress to the outside is important. Moreover, if you want to build an apartment, bedroom or family room in the basement, fire codes will typically require a walk-out door. A window as an only egress will not be sufficient, especially during a real emergency. Constructing an opening for a walk-out door will require cutting through block materials. Taking out foundation materials and adding a door may require professional assistance, especially for cutting the blocks.
An unfinished attic typically consists of a floor, with ceiling rafters above the space. To create an attic cubby, you will need to frame in the sides of the attic with vertical walls. The ceiling rafters can be left as they are for a vaulted ceiling. The frame walls and ceiling rafters can then be insulated, and wall board or paneling installed over them. Framing in the vertical side walls of the attic cubby can be done with some basic carpentry skills and tools.
Legalizing a basement requires you to follow specific laws and ordinances that may be unique to your area. Legalize a basement with help from an attorney in this free video clip.
The metal pole that is a common sight in many basements is actually a support beam. Support beams may also be constructed of wood. Support beams help provide additional support to floor beams and floor joists. Checking your basement support beams once a year helps ensure that your house maintains its structural integrity. Damage to support beams isn’t common, but may occur if you have an insect problem, water damage or gaps between the support beams and floor joists.
A basement railing -- a knee wall with a railing attached to the top -- can help delineate the space in your basement without closing off areas with a full wall. Framing the basement railing is similar in concept and execution to full wall framing and can be done by the do-it-yourself homeowner with some basic carpentry skills and the right tools.
Skylights bring natural light into a home from above, adding to its appeal and contributing to energy efficiency. While many types come in simple square designs, rounded skylights vary in size from small shaft or tube styles to large, extravagant domes. Specific installation instructions vary depending on the exact design, and some circular skylights may have a square frame. Always consult manufacturer instructions for precise installation.
Storage can be a problem for many homeowners, and one of the places where storage is most necessary yet often lacking is in the kitchen. Rather than purchasing expensive storage units or taking up valuable floor space with custom furniture, consider making a simple adjustment to the storage space you already have. Deepening the pantry by cutting into the wall is a project that most homeowners can complete over the course of a weekend. This project is an efficient way to add to your kitchen storage space without a complete remodel.
Open floor plans -- whether they're completely open loft spaces or homes without walls separating the public areas -- maximize natural light and facilitate family togetherness. When you don't have designated rooms for living and dining, you have to to divide the larger space into zones and float the furniture. Upholstered sofa and chair backs provide natural barriers that define seating areas, and they're frequently arranged around coffee tables. The dining areas are trickier. If you don't anchor a floating dining room visually, the space tends to look incomplete.
The basement is an ideal spot for installing stoves and other heating appliances. It keeps appliances out of sight and results in better heating efficiency, in the case of stoves. Many appliances require a proper chimney flue for venting. The best way to do this is to direct the chimney vertically through the roof. To accomplish this, you will need to install the proper hardware so the chimney can safely penetrate combustible building materials.
Some Lane brand sectional sofas come with a built-in massage unit on the upper, lower or full back of one or two of the sofa sections. The massage feature is controlled using a remote control or using the controls on the armrest of the sofa. While the massager's electronics should work well under most circumstances, if the massage unit is not working, some troubleshooting may resolve the situation.
Large, stately homes in the Victorian era incorporated butler's pantries as a space for food prep by maids and butlers. A modern butler's pantry is used for more than preparing food and hiding dirty dishes. Typically located between the dining and kitchen areas, a butler's pantry is an ideal space to stop and linger. Decorative storage spaces and attractive buffet areas can transition your out-of-sight butler's pantry into an accommodating entertaining space.
If you think your stair-step edging project looks formidable, consider the skill it took to add the edging to any of the 11 floating staircases profiled at InewIdea.com, where you can find cutting-edge designs from around the globe. Your staircase-edging project, on the other hand, might be undertaken for reasons other than aesthetics: Perhaps you want to replace deteriorated steps or you’d like to add a safety feature. Explore the world of stair edging and you’ll keep traffic moving at your home.
A home’s attic can be a source of both heating and cooling problems, depending upon how the attic is insulated and whether homeowners use the space wisely to help maintain the home’s heating and cooling systems. In addition, mold and moisture enter the attic if ventilation is poor. One contributing factor is the attic temperatures at different times of year, which can help owners determine seasonal ventilation needs. Estimating and recording the attic temperatures is an important first step in establishing seasonal ventilation.
The sewer stack, also called the vent-and-soil stack, is the main waste and water drainage system, featuring a 4-inch pipe that flows into to a horizontal main sewer line. The vertical pipe runs to the top of the house, exiting through the roof. Starting in the 1970s, most communities adopted building codes requiring basement plumbing rough-ins, called “stubs.” When you install a toilet in the designated spot, it will automatically be added to the sewer stack. You’ll have to install a sink or install a vent pipe where the sink would be, to provide the necessary vent for the toilet.
Hanging drywall is a pretty standard way to begin finishing a basement, and the process is the same whether your basement walls are concrete or brick. Before you can hang drywall, you need to build wood frames, which will go right along the existing walls to create a mask that will hide those old, unsightly basement walls. When building drywall frames for a basement, it is important that you take very careful measurements to account for any irregularities or unevenness in the floor and ceiling.
A frequently seen type of basement exit, the bulkhead door typically consists of two panels fastened onto a frame that rest on the home's foundation walls. Often made of metal, old bulkhead doors can rust and corrode over time, becoming unsightly and creating a potential safety hazard. Although you save time and effort by letting a professional install your replacement doors, if you have good skills with tools you save money by tackling the job yourself.
One option for attic access other than a set of stairs is to install an attic scuttle. Attic scuttles are basically rectangular access points in the ceiling. A scuttle requires less maintenance and is suitable if you do not use the attic space for storage. Installing an attic scuttle still requires some work to the ceiling, however. Framing an attic scuttle uses the same method as framing for attic stairs, although on a smaller scale.
If your foyer is very cold in the winter and hot in the summer, insulation may be the solution. You will need access to the attic space above the foyer, which may not be the most comfortable environment to work in, but it will be worth it when you are finished. Besides adding insulation, also check for leaks from interior walls to the foyer area. Sealing these leaks can also help prevent heating or cooling loss in that area of the home.
Grading for surface drainage is one of the measures required to keep the basement dry. Concrete is a porous material, and runoff from rain and melting snow can penetrate basement walls if it collects around the foundation. Building regulations call for grading an apron around the foundation walls, sloped to a specified percentage to direct runoff away from the house. Grading requirements vary from region to region, and local building codes should be consulted before starting the work. Finish soft or hard landscaping can be installed on the graded surface.
It starts with one little box of knickknacks getting tossed into the garage or mismatched plastic containers and lids shoved into a pantry drawer. Then before you know it, you’re overrun and overwhelmed by the things you once thought precious and worthy of keeping tucked away in a kitchen cabinet, in the garage or in the attic. Taking steps to organize what is of value, safely store what you need and eliminate what you never use helps ensure that the stuff you own doesn’t own you. It can also save time, helping you retrieve what you need, when you need…
The failure over time of basement ceiling joist supports to hold up the weight of the floor above typically causes sagging. While the floor edges are generally supported by the masonry walls of the basement, the center of the floor must rely primarily on the strength of the joists alone. The sagging is simply a symptom of the failure of the joints. Reducing the sagging is a matter of adding additional joist support. This is done by bracing the joists with adjustable metal poles. Installation of the poles is a quick process, but the adjustments needed to reduce the sagging…
If you have an uneven hearth around your fireplace, you can settle it and make it smoother by replacing some of the stones or bricks that are in the hearth. The first step is to locate the area where the hearth is uneven by testing evenness with a level. From there, you can determine whether you need to break apart the entire hearth.
Sewer vents are a necessity for all household drains, as moving water in a pipe creates an area of high pressure ahead of the water and low pressure behind it. Typically sink, tub and toilet drains will vent to the rooftop. This vent is a metal or plastic pipe, about 2 inches in diameter, that allows air to be pulled in from outside the drain system to keep water flowing freely within the drain. Basement sewer vents, located so far from the main household sewer vent, can be a bit more tricky. There are a few things to keep in…
