If you own a home, then you know how important it is to maintain it. Little problems left unfixed can quickly grow into bigger ones. Luckily, a little maintenance goes a long way toward ensuring that your house stays in the best shape possible.
Here are some great tips for maintaining your home to ensure it stays looking great.
Use a Stud Finder to Locate Wall Studs
The first part of making a house your own is by hanging pictures, shelves, and other items to give it a personal touch. To prevent too much damage, hang the items from a wall stud. But finding a stud can sometimes be difficult. A magnetic stud finder makes it easy to find the studs in your walls by locating the nails in the studs.
Install Shelving
When you do find the studs in your walls, you can hang up shelving for extra storage space. If you need to a hang shelf but not attach it to a stud, use drywall anchors instead. The anchors allow you to tightly attach the shelving to the wall and ensure that the shelf supports the weight you need it to hold. Also, use a level to make sure your shelf is not tilted.
Replace a Faucet
Replacing a faucet is easier than it sounds. To start, turn off the water to the faucet and drain the faucet. You should also snap a photo underneath the sink so that you have a record of how everything is supposed to look when you are finished. Then it is just a matter of following the instructions that come with the new faucet.
Pressure Wash Your Home
To keep the exterior of your home clean and free of dirt, you occasionally need to pressure wash it. When pressure washing the outside of your home, you need to keep the following in mind:
- Wash starting from the top down.
- Avoid pointing the hose at a 90-degree angle.
- Look for a pressure washer designed for your home’s type of siding.
- If you plan on using a cleaning solution, look for a pressure washer with a detergent dispenser.
Install a Storm Door
You can install a storm door to the front door of your home to let in more light and give your home more insulation. The easiest way to do this project is to look for a prehung door frame to fit your door’s dimensions. Failing that, order a custom door. Adjust the frame with shims if the door is not square.
Paint Your Home
Painting the interior of your home is easy as long as you follow a few simple steps. Start by removing all of the furniture form the room you want to paint. Next, turn off the power and remove all of the light fixtures. Vacuum the walls, floor, and ceiling, and cover the floor with drop clothes.
Protect the baseboards with painter’s tape, and make sure the room is well ventilated before painting. Finally, after painting, allow the room to dry for a day or two before replacing the light fixtures and moving the furniture back in. Work your way through your house room by room until finished.
Hang Wallpaper
If you decide to hang wallpaper instead of painting, use these simple tricks to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Prime dark-colored wallpaper to keep it from bleeding through if you are placing a lighter color over the top. In addition, make sure to line up the pattern of the wallpaper for a seamless look.
You should also allow at least two inches of overlap on each edge and start in an unnoticeable spot just in case you end up with a break in the pattern. To match up the pattern in the corners perfectly, check out Bob Vila for more.
Replace an Outlet
You can also easily replace an outlet in your home by following these steps. Start by turning off the power to your home, testing the outlet with a volt meter to make sure the outlet has no electricity running to it.
Next, remove the faceplate and unscrew the outlet, making a note of which wires connect to which connectors on the outlet. Connect the wires to the new outlet, and screw it back into place. Replace the faceplate, and turn the power back on. Test the outlet to make sure it is working properly.
Fix a Faucet Drip
If a faucet is dripping, you should try this fix before replacing it. Start by turning off the water to the faucet and making sure it is drained. Next, stop up the sink so that any small parts don’t accidentally fall down the drain. Depending on the faucet type, you need to do one of two things outlined below.
A compression faucet contains a small rubber washer that holds the water back. To replace this washer, pop off the cap on top, remove the screw, and take off the knob and the accompanying nut. Remove the stem, and clean it with a wire brush. Replace the old washer underneath before reinstalling the faucet.
For a waterless faucet, follow the same removal process as above, starting by removing the top cap and working your way down the faucet until you reach the O-rings, which keep the faucet from leaking. Replace the O-rings using plumber’s grease to help roll them on. Replace the faucet when finished. For more information on how to repair a faucet, check out Bob Vila.
Replace a Showerhead
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To easily replace a shower head, follow these simple instructions. Start by removing the old shower head by loosening the showerhead using a pair of channel-lock pliers. Place some Teflon tape around the threads of the shower arm and thread a new shower head into place, turning it clockwise to tighten.
