A bathroom can be a source of endless repairs for some people. A recent survey should that bathroom repairs rank in the top three home repairs. This can be due to the amount of plumbing in such a small area. There are many things that can go wrong with plumbing that it can either be overwhelmingly difficult or extremely easy to fix. It just depends on what area of the plumbing you are going to need to fix.

The toilet is a common problem area for many home owners. A running toilet is a big problem if you continue to leave it running. It can really be a problem if you have a septic system instead of city sewer. This is because it can cause your septic system to feel up rather quickly. A running toilet can also cause a large or expensive water bill.

Fixing a running toilet can mean just replacing a few pieces on the inside. One way to fix a leaking toilet is to test and see if you lift the bulb in back of the toilet, does this make the water stop running? If so you may be able to bend the bar down to lower the bulb into the water. This often times will help with the running toilet. If this does not work, then you may need to buy some replacement parts.

There are many different things that you can do to your older home to make it more energy efficient. You don’t have to throw out all of your old appliances to make your home more energy friendly though newer appliance to use less energy. They do not guarantee that you will spend less on your energy if the rest of your home is not properly equipped.

One great way to making your home more energy efficient is putting more insulation in your attic. This will greatly decrease your energy bill way more than buying new appliance or products. Insulation should be at least one foot deep, but the best is to make it up to 18 inches. This will not only keep your cold air in your home better, but it will also keep that hot air out. If you take the time to do this, it will greatly decrease the amount of air that you lose just through your attic space. You will see a marked difference in your energy bills once this is finished.

You may also want to check into placing weathering striping around all your doors and windows. This is where most air is lost. You can lose a massive amount of air through a hole the size of the tip of a pen. Many people do not realize how much this can and will affect your energy bill.

If you follow these two tips will definite see a difference in your heating and cooling bill. You will not being using nearly as much energy to keep your home comfortable because you will lose a lot less air through these particular sources.

As summer is coming to an end, this is the best time to get ready to winterize your home. It is a good idea to begin doing what they call a walk through. This is where you go through your home and check for areas that might be letting air in or out. Checking your roof now instead of during cold winter morning would be a good idea as well.

Being prepared now will allow you enough time to do any kind of repairs that is necessary for your home to be ready for winter. This is especially important if you have a summer home. Making sure your summer home will be well protected during the harsh winter months will save you money in costly repairs. Leaving plumbing uncovered during the summer is fine, but when winter comes around you could be paying an expensive plumbing bill.

It is a good time to start now so that you are not in a rush once the winter months get here especially if you find something that will require a licensed individual. Many times these people are very busy during the change of seasons because everyone is in a rush to winterize their homes. Waiting until the last minute could really put you in a bind and may even make you have to spend more money due to being in a hurry to beat out a winter storm.

It would be perfect if a fresh coat of paint, especially over a good primer, would cover stains, water marks and mildew. In fact, when the paint is still wet, it may appear to cover as it dries. However these stains will seep through and you’ll end up with a fresh coat of stained paint. Before you prime or paint remove stains and mildew. It takes elbow grease, but cleaning will save time in the long run because you won’t have to repaint. Regular household bleach diluted with water is extremely effective in destroying the spores that cause mildew. Water stains need to be fixed at the source before you repair the wall or ceiling.

Stuff you’ll need
Water, household bleach, primer and paint, TSP solution.  Tools needed include a bucket rubber gloves, 4 foot stepladder, some old clothes, safety goggles and or glasses, large round cornered sponge, rollers and brushes.

What’s the real problem? Anytime mildew or stains are present on your walls, it’s a sign of a much larger problem. Find the source of the moisture that’s causing the staining and fix it.

Safety alert! Beware of what you breathe. Do not mix bleach with other household cleaners. Household cleaners often contain ammonia, which reacts with bleach to produce toxic fumes.

You are vulnerable to particulate and fumes when you are sanding, painting or working with solvents. To protect your skin, wear cotton gloves when using sharp or abrasive tools. Wear latex gloves when working with paint, or handling solvents, strippers and harsh chemicals. To protect your eyes always wear safety glasses when working with tools. To protect against aerosol droplets when sanding, spraying or painting over you head you should protect your eyes with safety goggles.

To protect your lungs you should sand, paint or strip outside or in a cross ventilated area with a minimum of two open doors or windows. If there is a danger of breathing dust, aerosols or solvent fumes, filter the air with a respirator. Be sure to check the product labels for the recommended type. There are two types of respirators: dust masks, also called particulate respirators, filter out dry particles and most non oil based liquid droplets. Cartridge respirators contain both particulate filters and chemically active canisters for absorbing solvent vapors.  Use a cartridge respirator when spraying solvent based paints and working with solvents and strippers. Most importantly accept no substitutes for safety. To avoid toxic fumes wear masks that the manufacturer has expressly recommended for you particular job.

Paint brush vs. rollers

When should you use a roller or a paint brush? You want to use a brush when you need to paint narrow strips or to cut in , painting sharp edges.  Because of the soft edges of a roller, it simply cannot lay a sharp line. Although a roller lays down paint about three times faster than a brush. A good roller with beveled edges leaves no roller or overlap marks.  A roller is the tool of choice for large, flat areas such as a ceiling or wall. Most paint jobs will require both a roller and brush for the entire painting application. The key is to understand when to use each applicator and to know how to use each properly, including pouring out only as much paint as you are going to need for the job.

A good brush feels like a natural extension of your hand. There are many types of paint applicators available, but quality is the key. Bristle brushes are generally more expensive but will last longer and outperform their more inexpensive counterparts. A good quality, properly cared for paint brush will last for years. Thus making it well worth it’s cost with it’s overall performance and durability over time.

Kitchen remodels are the most common kind of remodel in a home. You may be one of those people who are looking to really update the appearance of your home. In a home remodel the kitchen is the common place to start. That is because many people use this room to set the atmosphere for the rest of the home. The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in a home and is generally where people will gather during dinner engagements.

You want your kitchen to have the best lighting possible. If you have inadequate lighting it can really change the entire atmosphere of the room. You do not want your kitchen to seem small and dark. When asked on a survey on “how should a kitchen feel?” most people said that the room should be bright and inviting.

Some of the most popular or common lighting options are the ceiling lights. These are place right on the ceiling. You can go with a traditional appearance or a more modern appearance with this lighting option. One reason that this lighting option is so popular is because it is one of the less expensive options. If you are looking to spending a little more money, you can go with a chandelier or some form of hanging lights. These are also very popular in the kitchen area. Some people might feel that a chandelier would look to old fashioned, but there are several modern forms of chandeliers available that can make your kitchen look great.

There are many different options that a homeowner might have for doors leading to the backyard or patio area. But there seems to be two that stand out to most, and it can be difficult decision for some. Many times the decision is made because of pricing issues. A set of French doors are going to be a little more costly than the traditional sliding doors. Both can give a great feel to your home really giving you an inviting atmosphere to your outdoor spaces.

French doors are commonly used in homes that are going for a certain style or era. These doors are a little more expensive than most, but they are usually worth the expense in the end. French doors are one of the most popular chooses for people that are remodeling their homes. One of the downsides to these doors is that they are somewhat difficult to install on your own.

Sliding glass doors is a great option for a homeowner who is looking for a door that will let in great natural light. These types of doors can really make the outdoors inviting because of the open view they can give you. They are also one of the least expensive options available. This option is great for homeowners that are on a tight budget.

If you have a kitchen that really needs some new lighting, but you do not want to spend a fortune of new fixtures. You should try using lights under the cabinets. This is a quick fix for dark kitchens. It will really make the space feel a little more open, and you would be surprised at how much it can really change the room. All you need are small LED lights for under the cabinets.

You can find these little lights at most home improvement stores. A great option is to use the touch lights. These are really inexpensive, and there is no real installation. You just simply place these lights under the cabinets and push to turn them on. They can really help with a lighting problem. You also do not have to worry about raising your utility expense because these lights only run off of batteries.

These are lights are especially great for kitchens that have really dark corners. It is common for some large kitchen to not have enough lighting for the entire kitchen area. These simple lights can really help when you need to work in these spaces. It is nice that you can turn them off and on as you need them. They also come in handy when you are up in the middle of the night for a late night snack.

Here are some basic painting tools. Good quality tools are one of the most important investments you’ll make as you become more involved in home improvement projects around your home and do it yourself projects. The tools listed will help you achieve the best results for your painting jobs. Some you may already have, some you’ll need to purchase. When you’re preparing for a project, fill out your tool list with the best products you can afford. Quality tools can save you time and money down the road. They also can save you time and effort. Products you should have on hand or consider are as follows.
One quart bucket
Brushes – various sizes
Paint can opener
Rags – various porous
Rollers – various sizes
Spray bottle
Five gallon bucket
Caulking gun
Paint can pouring spout
Roller cages – various sizes
Round corner sponges
Stainless wire brush – various sizes
Five in one tool
Drop cloth
Paint mixer
 Roller grid for five gallon bucket Rubber gloves
Step ladder
Brush and roller spinner
Extension pole
Painters tape
 Roller pan safety goggles
Tape measure
Brush extender
Masks
Putty knives
Roller pans
Sanding blocks
Utility knives

This is a brief list of necessary painting supplies. Remember that do it yourself projects are far more cost effective when you have the right tools. Tools of less quality can also cost you more in the long run because of lost time on the job or replacement cost plus the cost of the original item you had to replace.

Color Wheel

Any color scheme begins with a single color. You want a blue dining room. A red house. A yellow nursery. The question is, what next? Look at the blue dining room. The simplest scheme would be a monochromatic approach. Do the entire room in shades of blue. You probably don’t want dark blue walls, so go with a lighter tint, like powder blue. The trim could be a darker shade of the same color, or in what designers call an analogous scheme, the trim color could come from one of blue’s adjacent slices of the color wheel. If blue on blue proves to be overpowering, you can look for a complementary color – one that falls opposite your first choice on the color wheel.  Technically, in the blue dining room, this would be orange; however you might prefer to fudge just a little with a brass chandelier or a burnt umber finish on the furniture. For variety, you might choose triadic colors, those that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel. Tints and shades of blue, red, and yellow are shown on the color wheel. Pictures in decorating and house magazines are also a good source for color combinations that work well tobether.

National Fire Inspection Association
Building codes are often confusing to the do it yourselfer; but they exist to enforce constant methods of installation and more importantly to ensure the safety of your family.  The National Electrical Code, which is written by the National Fire Protection Association, for example says you can only put one wire under each screw on a receptacle or switch. It doesn’t seem like two wires are more dangerous then one. But the NFPA has seen one too many fires caused by the second wire popping out from under the screw. Fire Prevention Code says that if you’re going to put in foam insulation (say in your basement) and then cover it with wood paneling, you have to put drywall over the foam first. Why? Foam insulation produces thick black smoke in a fire and drywall delays the spread of fire, giving you time to get out safely. Sometimes the reason for code is common sense. Ever wonder why code requires outlets every six feet along walls, but every two feet along kitchen counters? It’s because of the length of appliance cords, they’re shorter on toasters than they are on lamps. For this reason the outlets in the house are set every six feet and the outlets in the kitchen are set every two feet