Renovation Headquarters
Home |
Translate This Page |
Recently Added DIY Information
Credit Cards & Home Improvement
Most of the large home improvement retailers such as Home Depot, Lowes and Rona offer a store credit card. These credit cards are not financed by the retailer. They are financed by one of the major credit card companies.
How To Build A Hydroplane
Free plans, drawings and instuctions on how to build 17 different hydroplanes
How To Install Pipe
The biggest problem that most home handymen face when installing pipe, is figuring out how to get the dimensions for sockets and fittings correct.
How To Apply Varnish
Varnish is not a finish that can be rushed. Depending on how many coats of varnish you apply to the piece of furniture or other item, the proper application of varnish can take a week or more.
Heating & Cooling Air Filters
Regular replacement of your heating and air conditioning systems air filters is one of the easiest preventative maintenance items that you can do in your home.
Thermostats, Remodeling & Decorating
One item that is often neglected or forgotten when doing home decorating, remodeling or renovation projects is the location of the house thermostat.
How to Repair Chips, Scratches & Fading on Porcelain Fixtures
Many homes have porcelain on steel and porcelain on cast iron plumbing fixtures. This manufacturing technique is commonly used for bathtubs, laundry sinks and tubs, kitchen sinks and bathroom basins. The problem is that these materials chip, scratch and fade and either need to be replaced or repaired.
Economics 101
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end when I read articles that discuss the values of different home remodeling projects and base their comments on the resale value of the home or what makes more economic sense as the primary justification for proceeding.
How to Repair Gutters
Overtime gutters can develop leaks at joints and seams from expansion, contraction and the introduction of excessive pressure, as well as pinhole leaks from rust and corrosion.
How to Repair Stucco
The biggest disadvantage to stucco is that it has no elasticity, so as buildings settle or shift, especially new construction; the stucco has a tendency to produce cracks, some hairline but others can be as much as a 1/4 inch wide.
How to Repair a Gas Spill on Asphalt
A spill of gasoline, diesel fuel, brake and transmission fluids spilled on asphalt will immediately begin to dissolve the binder that holds the aggregate together. There is no known method to reverse the dissolving process.
How to Repair a Door Strike Plate
The strike plate is that piece of hardware that is mounted on the door jamb. The strike plate catches the door bolt, which is part of the passage set, and holds the door in a closed position.
How to Repair Interior Doors
Over time houses shift and settle and in many cases this can have an effect on your interior doors. The humidity levels in your home will also change with the seasons and this makes interior doors swell and shrink.
How to Clean & Polish a Faucet & Aerator
Your kitchen and bathroom faucets are part of the overall aesthetics of the décor. Faucets that are dull, and water marked can make the entire bathroom or kitchen look and feel dirty. Many homeowners believe that having a dull faucet is just a matter of time and that the deterioration in the finish means that the faucet must be replaced.
Keep Your Home’s Drain System Free of Clogs
A clogged drain line is frustrating, can be expensive to repair and can be harmful to your families health. That being said, clogged drain lines are not a fact of life! There are a number of things that can be done to avoid having clogged drains, thereby avoiding the frustration, expense and potential health issues.
How Drains Work
Our homes contain a number of important systems. Heating, electrical, water, ventilation, but none of these systems are as crucial to the wellbeing of our families as the waste or sanitary sewage system.
Choosing a Paving Material
All homes have a paving material somewhere on the property. Paving materials are used for patios, driveways, walkways, garden paths and as decks around pools. Today we have a number of choices in paving materials, choosing what is best for your situation is generally based on appearance and budget.
How to Maintain a Septic System
A septic system is the homes personal sewage treatment facility, used when a home does not have access to or the cost would be prohibitive to connect to a municipal sewage treatment center.
How to Maintain Your Butcher Block Chopping Board
A butcher block is a type of wood chopping/cutting board. It is made up of solid pieces of hardwood, usually maple or oak. Butcher blocks or wood chopping blocks and boards are not inexpensive and to keep them in sound and in good condition they require some tender loving care.
How To Paint Concrete
Painting concrete provides a clean, fresh appearance. Painted concrete is easier to clean, spills wipe-up easier and the paint provides a level of protection to the surface.
Leveling Sunken Or Heaved Paving Bricks
There are numerous reasons for paving bricks and concrete stones to settle or heave. It is important to understand why the paving bricks or concrete stones shifted in order to make repairs that will last.
Paver & Concrete Stone Designs, Patterns & Layouts
24 Paving brick and concrete stone designs, patterns and layouts – includes requirements for 100 sq. ft. Paving bricks and concrete stones can enhance any property. Use these designs or modify them to suit your home.
Filter & Screen Replacement & Cleaning
Every home has a number of filters and screens that perform a variety of cleaning tasks. Filters and screens are installed as part of appliances and other devices to keep contamination out of our homes and/or prevent dirt, dust and grime from damaging our homes. All of this keeps are homes safer and more comfortable places to live.
Choosing The Right Lubricant
Everything that moves creates friction and that friction is a binding action which creates heat and can slow or even stop things from moving smoothly. Secondarily the friction can create squeaks and other noises as the parts move. And finally the friction causes wear which will eventually destroy the moving part.
13 Homemade Cleaning Solutions
Cleaning our homes, inside and out is important to most people. You can make excellent cleaning products in your home and save your hard earned money.
10 Common Copper Pipe Soldering Mistakes
Most home handymen will do some of their own plumbing jobs. This article covers 10 of the most common mistakes made when attempting to solder copper pipes to brass or copper fittings.
How To Repair A Leak In A Copper Water Pipe
Copper pipe is the common material used to deliver hot and cold water throughout your home. Over time a copper pipe can develop a pinhole leak or if the pipe should freeze it can burst. Pinhole leaks and bursts in copper pipe can occur in both solid and flexible copper pipe.
Efflorescence - Removal
Efflorescence is a white powder that usually found on below ground foundation floors, walls, footings, framing that rests on a foundation wall. Efflorescence is not mold or mildew. Efflorescence is caused by the natural evaporation of water that contained mineral salts.
Electrical Boxes - No. Of Wires
When remodeling a kitchen, attic, basement or other room in your home you may have to add electrical wires to an electrical box. There is a limit to how many wires you can safely place in a specific size of electrical box.
10 Most Common Wiring Mistakes
Most home handymen will do some of their own electrical work. This article covers 10 of the most common electrical wiring mistakes made.
Be Your Own Handyman
What are the differences between a home handyman and a person who can’t seem to do any basic household repairs or small installs correctly, turning them all into disasters? A home handyman is a person who can hang a drapery rod or track, change an electrical switch or receptacle...
Travertine/Onyx
Travertine, as it is known in North America or Onyx as it is known in Europe, is a natural stone that has been used as a material for construction for centuries. The Roman Coliseum is constructed using Travertine.
Watts Versus Lumens
Most of us grew up with the concept of buying light bulbs based on their wattage. Incandescent light bulbs, florescent light bulbs and other varieties of light bulbs are still labeled and sold based on their wattage. Now we must be re-educted and buy light bulbs based on lumens.
Wind Generators - Home
Many homeowners are considering the use of the energy in wind to augment the power that they currently receive from the electrical grid.
How To Repair Ceiling Water Damage
Water damage to ceilings can be caused by a number of things; leaking water pipes, bathtubs, sinks or basins that have overflowed, water entering from broken or damaged window frames, gable vents, roofing that has served its useful life or has been weathered and poor or damaged roof flashing.
Kitchen Cabinets – Glossary of Terms
Many products have their own unique terms to describe how they are made. Before you purchase kitchen cabinets it is important that you understand the terms used in kitchen cabinet construction.
Kitchen Cabinets – Wall & Pantry – Standard Stock Sizes
Kitchen Cabinets – Base – Standard Stock Sizes
If you are planning on remodeling your kitchen and you are going to install "stock" kitchen cabinets. It is important to know the standard sizes of base, wall and pantry kitchen cabinets that are normally available from most manufacturers.