Home Repair & Maintenance

Houses shift over time and with extreme changes in weather. Shifting can cause stress cracks in the drywall, most commonly occurring at the corners of doors and windows and extended out on the...

Kids, pets and furniture are just a few of the items that can put a dent in drywall. If the dent is very small and your walls are textured, likely it will not be noticeable, but if the dent is...

If you've noticed a wrinkled texture in an area of your wall, it's most likely a problem with the tape used at the seam. Drywall is hung in sheets with the seams between them ``taped'' with joint...

One of the trickier parts of doing your own electrical work is getting the wire from point A to point B. Quite often, there are obstacles in the way and more times than not, a floor or ceiling to...

If you have a small bathroom, you may be searching for ways to squeeze every inch of available space out of the room. As long as you can forgo the storage space, a wall-hung sink can be a perfect...

The simplest setup for a heating system is a thermostat that is wired with two wires. In order for a thermostat to only need two wires, the heating system can only heat the space. If any cooling...

Finishing a garage is quite a complex project requiring you to obtain knowledge of installing insulation, electrical and drywall among other skills. You might wish to do the entire project...

Plumbing access panels used to be regularly included in home design. They were often unattractive, hinged doors that jutted out from the walls of bedrooms, living rooms and even dining rooms....

That heavy piece of furniture slipped as you were moving it downstairs, and now you have to repair a hole in your drywall fast, before your landlord (or your spouse) sees it. Here's how to fix...

Coving is a type of wall-to-ceiling transition where, instead of a hard 90-degree angle, the wall and ceiling meet with a concave, rounded corner. Modern coving is made of polystyrene and coated...

To install an inset medicine cabinet, you need to create a box with 2x4 lumber that is placed inside the drywall opening to support the cabinet. The goal is to create a wooden box behind the...

Repairing a crack in texture drywall is a three-step process: removing texture to expose the crack, repairing the crack and replacing the texture drywall with a matching finish. Textured drywall...

With just a few simple tools, you can repair a small hole, or complete an entire home remodel. One of the most noticeable problems with wallboard is visible seams; the fewer seams you have the...

You just poked a hole in the drywall, now what? Following these simple instructions you will have your drywall looking like new in no time!

Holes in plaster can be patched using a piece of drywall. This type of plaster repair is easy to perform but it is challenging to obtain the look of the surrounding plaster walls. Plaster walls...

A straight crack that appears on your drywalled wall, then reappears with time whenever you plaster or paint over it, is going to need a more permanent fix. Unlike old-fashioned plaster walls,...

Knowing how to insulate around the electrical outlets in your home can not only help to save energy but can also save you money by minimizing the loss of heat and air conditioning. The process is...

Drywall is used in almost every home and can be damaged easily or incorrectly installed. You may need to patch a small hole or cover an exposed seam, but the process to fix these problems is...

If you would like to add a new towel bar to your bathroom you do not need to install an ugly metal one. It is possible to install one that is like the one in your shower. Follow these instructions...

Carpet glue is used primarily for flooring purposes but can sometimes be difficult to manage during projects and repairs. When excess carpet glue has stained drywall, it is important to use the...

Screws can often be tricky to use. In many materials, a screw seems strong enough to hold, but the bond weakens in time, creating damage to the object and making it useless. Drywall is one of the...

Most ceilings are made of drywall. The hole left in the ceiling after you remove a light fixture can be patched using simple drywall patching techniques. The great thing about drywall is that it...

Adding an outlet from an electrical switch can be very simple or nearly impossible, depending on how the switch was configured in the original wiring of the house. If today's wiring allows it,...

Patching and taping drywall on a ceiling utilizes the same techniques as on walls, but it is more challenging for a number of reasons. First, gravity is working against you, so you have to be...

Whether you have an unwanted screw or simply need to make changes to your wall, removing screws from drywall is very easy. If performed carefully, there will be little additional damage to the...

If you want to add an outlet to a room, you need to know how the electric runs in the walls. Punching holes in your drywall until you locate the conduit will work, but it will leave you with a...

No one wants to encounter a leaky ceiling in their home. Finding the cause of the leak can be frustrating, but that is the first thing you must do before trying to repair the leak. If you do have...

Wood glue is used primarily for woodworking purposes, but it is rather common to spill it onto other surfaces during projects and repairs. When excess wood glue has gotten onto drywall, it is...

If there has been a moisture problem in your home, your drywall may have become moldy. It's a problem you need to address quickly. First, take all of the necessary steps to remedy the moisture...

At some point in your life, whether you rent or own, you'll have to patch some holes in drywall. Whenever you move a picture, you'll be left with a hole. When you repaint and redecorate, you'll be...

Drywall is gypsum (chalk) pressed between two sheets of thick paper into boards. This provides a nice, flat surface for covering walls that's far easier to work with than old-fashioned plaster,...

Painting over drywall repairs is the final step in finishing off the project. Do it right, and nobody will ever know a repair was made. While not difficult, you'll need to take your time to ensure...

Cracked plaster is common in older homes, because the homes have shifted and settled over the years. This can cause unsightly cracks. If repairing the plaster is not possible or too expensive,...

If you want to install a new ceiling light fixture, you are going to need to hang a light box first. Some light boxes have expanding rods on either side that are nailed into the adjoining ceiling...

Initially, installing wallboard can appear intimidating, but there are various techniques in the cutting and installation process that can alleviate your fears. The key to properly installing...

If you own a home built in the last 20 years, chances are you have at least one vaulted ceiling. Vaulted ceilings usually require a special type of drywall tape, but not a special type of mud, or...

There are several ways that you can finish the ceiling in your garage. Your ceiling can be left smooth or it can be textured. Some homes have the same finish in the garage as inside the home. The...

Repairing ceilings, walls and beams with spackle takes some skill to complete a professional-looking job. Spackle can be a very forgiving medium; if you make a mistake, it's usually easy to go...

Drywall is a construction product made from gypsum, sand and water. These materials are pressed between sheets of heavy paper and used to build walls, ceilings and other architectural...

Matching a a drywall patch to the existing painted texture is more of an art than a science. A rough textured wall may simply be the result of decades of built up paint creating a stippled effect....

Mix latex paint with drywall compound powder for an easy way to apply texture, cover up small cracks and imperfections on a wall or create a Venetian plaster effect. Realize that when you mix the...

If you've noticed a straight crack or gap appearing on your drywall, chances are that the seam between two pieces of the drywall has split. This generally means the drywall tape normally used to...

As a home settles, it becomes necessary to make minor drywall repairs. Most often, cracks may form along seams in the joints of the drywall. As with any issues showing wear within a home, it is...

The studs in your wall must be flush to hang drywall evenly. Uneven studs will result in uneven walls. You can fix this situation without reconstructing your framing by simply adding to it or...

Sagging ceilings are more prevalent in older homes. Sagging can occur for a variety of reasons, such as water damage, a broken beam or loosened fasteners in your ceiling material.

Drywall is the most common material used for walls and ceilings, and it occasionally is damaged. Repairing drywall is a simple task, and with a little practice, the repairs can be made...

Polyurethane is the best top coat to put on your wood floors. It's durable and easy to apply. It comes in oil-based and water-based formulas and a variety of finishes. Due to VOC (volatile organic...

Drywall sheets on your wall are connected by joint compound, a form of plaster, which is sanded smooth and painted over. Cracks can develop along those seams, sometimes right after the room is...

Plaster ceilings are delightful characteristics of old homes. It was the preferred material for ceilings before drywall came along in the 1950s. While restoring these ceilings can keep the...

Drywall corners are used to protect the drywall on outside corners in many homes. They are made of steel, and though they are very durable, the corners can become damaged or dented if heavy items...