Home Repair & Maintenance

Your tub and shower are among the most heavily used items in your house. Each day, multiple people may use the tub, meaning that it gets a lot of wear and tear and will occasionally have to be...

Whatever your reason for replacing your old doorbell, the actual installation is not very difficult. A doorbell kit and few basic tools are all you'll need. It is a very small price for the sake...

Air from heat ducts, used with forced air heating, can be blocked in places where the duct is leaking or hot air is not needed. One way in which you can easily block air from a heat duct is to...

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...

Unsightly stains on your ceiling can be embarrassing, but, rest assured, there is an easy fix for this problem. Most ceiling water stains are a result of a leaking roof, so once that problem is...

Bird watching can be a wonderful activity or hobby, and spotting bluebirds, listening to sparrows sing and spying glorious swans paddle atop waters is fulfilling. However, if you are met with a...

Whenever a job requires making a connection between two threaded ends of a pipe, the possibility of leaking exists. It doesn't matter what kind of pipe it is; from plastic to steel gas line,...

Every household should have a tool box with basic tools. Even if you're not a do-it-yourself kind of person, you never know when you might need a tool to do a small project. There are a few...

Plumbing stub outs are used to extend pipe installed below slabs or inside walls out of the structure and into the room so that you can return later and connect the rest of your plumbing to the...

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...

Galvanized steel pipe used to be predominant for plumbing and is still found in older homes. Repairing galvanized steel plumbing might be preferable to attacking different types of pipes....

Porcelain tile has a very hard finish. Drilling holes in porcelain is often necessary for the installation of plumbing, fixtures and sinks or assistance grab bars in shower areas and adjacent to...

Forced-air heating and cooling systems often make a kind of ticking and popping sound when you turn them on and off---noises caused by the natural expansion and contraction of the metal duct. A...

Making a home more energy efficient is of interest to most modern homeowners. Energy savings, lower utility bills and reduced maintenance costs often occur after adding insulation to a home where...

As the cold winds of winter approach, now is a good time to cover up your home's crawl space vents. Crawl space vents allow the air from outside to ventilate under the house to prevent moisture...

The process of running wire through conduit is referred to as "snaking" or "fishing" the wire through the conduit. The best tool for this process is called a "fish tape." If the length of the...

Forced air heating and cooling systems are popular in many buildings and homes. A single blower forces the air through a series of air ducts to the separate rooms. Air ducts, because of the way...

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...

Vapor barriers are one the best ways to protect your home from unwanted moisture. Installed on either the exterior of the home during construction or on the walls of a basement, the added...

A handrail gives you something to grip onto when ascending or descending stairways. Every stairway needs a sturdy handrail, as the stairway is the cause of a large percentage of accidents in the...

When working with any piping system, you'll need accurate measurements to ensure everything fits properly. If your measurements are off, you'll end up wasting pipe, wasting time, and, most of all,...

Laminate flooring is a popular choice for many home owners. Some of the reasons to choose laminate flooring include the fact that it can be made to resemble everything from wood to marble. It also...

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,...

Concrete and stucco are no-fuss construction complements that can be prepared and built at the same time, or created as separate additions later. Concrete and stucco also serve well together in...

Fishing electrical wire is a technique for routing power wires in confined spaces, typically behind walls, for safety and aesthetic reasons. The wire can be guided behind a wall with a fish tape;...

Kitchen cabinet hardware not only adds functionality to your cabinets but can add a beautiful design that gives elegance to your kitchen. The knobs, pulls and handles can match your other metals...

One of the most common ways a house loses heat is by having an attic pull-down ladder that is either not insulated properly or not insulated at all. With just a short trip to the local hardware...

Sealing a gas pipe can be done in a safe and inexpensive manner. When dealing with gas, always keep the area well-ventilated. The materials for sealing a gas pipe are usually easy to find at a...

Caulking your bathtub surrounds is a surprisingly simple operation. You can do it yourself, and save the cost of hiring a handyman; which can run you about $75 an hour. I recommend using 100%...

Ceiling fans are great for circulating the air in the home. The most abused part of the ceiling fan is the pull chain, which is connected to the motor switch. Pull chains get broken off and motor...

Running electrical wires through an existing piece of conduit can help save time when you're running new wires. If the conduit is in place and has room for more wires, it is a simple process. You...

Replacing a basement tile floor when you have become tired of the colors can be both tiresome and expensive. Removing the tiles alone, even if you do it yourself, can take a great deal of time and...

Shower curtains are prone to rips and tears due to daily use. Tears usually occur around the rings because pressure is constantly put on this area. Instead of replacing your shower curtain you can...

Like many other types of pipes used in home construction, gas pipes often feature many different components joined by connections with tapered screw threads, formally known as National Pipe Taper...

Painting is a great way to give your home an overhaul without spending a small fortune. Paint changes may be subtle or dramatic. A change in paint color is also the perfect complement for new...

Pipes for plumbing and other systems that convey liquid or gas throughout your home usually include many straight or angled components, linked by various connections, or joints. These joints...

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...

An electrical outlet can be installed in a bathroom if the number out outlets that are currently available is not sufficient. Installing an electrical outlet in your bathroom will require running...

The systems in your home that use pipes to convey liquid or gas generally include components that interlock using National Pipe Taper (NPT) threads. The American Society of Testing and Materials...

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...

Curved drywall corners (usually referred to as bullnose corners) soften corners and are often seen in Spanish-style contemporary homes. When changing paint colors to transition from one to...

Pulling wire can be one of the most challenging do-it-yourself projects. However, learning this skill can be worth its weight in gold. Whether you are wiring a new outlet or running a line to a...

According to the 2007 Buildings Energy Data Book, space heating is the largest single drain on the average household's energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), energy loss through...

In residential plumbing and pipe fitting, components are often connected using threaded ends that screw together. Standard practice, based on guidelines set by the American Society of Testing and...

Opening a safe is not always a crime. What if it was in an estate or you lost the combination. This makes a legitimate reasons to how to crack one. In the movies you will see people using lasers,...

A pipe wrench is an open-end adjustable tool for gripping and turning objects, typically threaded bolts and tubes, such as plumbing pipes, for which the pipe wrench was named. Also known as a...

The craft of carpentry requires much concentration, planning and attention to detail. Carpentry requires the use of wood planes, chisels, saws, tape measures, hand levels, drills and joinery...

This is not a hot to for those who can afford expensive windows, but if you own an older home or live in a project, and want to seal off those windows to cut your heat bills, and do it at a low...

A fixed ceiling is made of sheet rock, wood or other similar material that cannot be removed easily. The contrast to this type of ceiling are those made of removable tiles. Running electrical wire...