What makes a bed stand out the most is the headboard. You can easily make a gorgeous headboard yourself with a little bit of time, effort and creative thinking. In order to make your own headboard, think outside the box. Many materials you can use for a headboard had other original purposes like folding closet doors, old windows or even part of a fence. Sand, repaint and upholster to give them new life then secure them to the wall behind your bed. Get creative when repurposing materials. Use painters tape to tape off designs and layer on the colors.

One of my favorite headboard projects is a padded headboard. All you need is a piece of plywood, foam, some fabric and a staple gun. Secure the foam to the piece of plywood then stretch your fabric around the entire piece. Secure the fabric to the back of the plywood with a staple gun and in a couple hours you have a totally customized headboard for well under $100. What’s great about this project is that the options are endless. You can go to a fabric store and choose any fabric you like, guaranteeing a perfect match to your décor.

Another great way to set off your bed is with a draped fabric headboard. Make a simple cornice box out of some plywood and fabric (similar to the process for a padded headboard) and secure it to the wall. Go to the fabric store and pick out one or two fabrics that complement your décor. Begin by securing them inside the cornice box then drape them with a few hooks for a truly elegant look for half the price of a store bought piece.

One of the biggest money savers at the end of summer is on patio furniture. Many retailers take deep discounts on sets in order to move them quickly. In order to find the best deals, it’s best to wait until after labor day. If you can stand to wait a few months before you can use your awesome new patio furniture, you can easily save yourself hundreds of dollars and possibly buy a nicer set than you could originally have afforded.

Another area that retailers give huge discounts in at the end of summer is on lawn equipment. If you have been thinking about buying a new lawnmower or if your trimmer has taken a turn for the worse, fall is the time to buy. After labor day, you should be able to find discounts on lawn and garden tools of at least 30% if not more. They might sit in your shed for a few months, but the amount of money you can save is well worth the wait.

When it comes to your yard, making it beautiful can be expensive – espeically when it comes to new plants. In the springtime when most people are planting, the prices hit record highs. However, once autumn hits, stores are desperate to get rid of any leftover plants. If you live in an area where it will still be warm for a few weeks, you can save some serious dough. Many stores discount their plants up to 80% off! You won’t see the results of your savings until they bloom next spring but that’s about as close to seeing money on a tree as you can get!

Real hardwood flooring, while it will cost you more than laminate, will provide you with a few important benefits. You can’t beat the appearance of a true hardwood floor, they really are beautiful. Many of the hardwood options out there are also quite scratch resistant. Another benefit of hardwood floor is ease of repair. It is relatively easy to repair any damaged boards and you can also sand them down for refinishing. If you take good care of your hardwood floors, they can last for 30 years or more.

Laminate flooring is definitely the more cost efficient way to go and it also provides some benefits. The appearance of laminate has improved greatly but still will never stand up to a true hardwood. However, laminate flooring is extremely durable, scratch and stain resistant, making it an excellent choice if you have small children and or pets. Laminate flooring also requires very little maintenance and is easy to clean. With laminate however, it is more difficult to replace any boards that get damaged and this type of flooring cannot be refinished.

So, when deciding on true hardwood or laminate, consider your circumstances and weigh all of the pros and cons. Either way, you are sure to end up with some beautiful new flooring!

Let’s start with the steal. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get a decent refrigerator with ample space. A great example is the LG Bottom Freezer mount refrigerator. It should run you just under $800 and comes from a reliable brand of appliances. At 22.4 cubic feet it provides plenty of storage space and is energy star certified to cut your electric bill. It has temperature controls and plenty of freezer space. There is no icemaker/water dispenser on the front but if you are willing to do without this feature, this is a great steal.

If you are looking to go more mid-range when purchasing a new refrigerator, consider a style like the Maytag French Door refrigerator. This type of fridge is going to run you about $1200-$1500 but if you shop well, you can find a great deal. This particular fridge offers a ton of space at 25 cubic feet and the French door style really opens it up. When you go for a mid-price refrigerator you are also typically going to get an ice/water dispenser on the door. This style of fridge is going to give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to resale.

If you want to splurge on your new refrigerator, there are some great options that will put you right in the lap of luxury. Try the LG stainless steel double drawer French Door refrigerator. This fridge offers features like a double drawer freezer pullout, 27.5 cubic feet, slide out spill proof shelves and an extra tall ice/water dispenser. At about $2200 it may hurt the pocket but you can’t find a better appliance.

The first option is your typical, hardware store hot water tank. Depending on the size, one of these is going to run you $300-$500. Many of the hot water tanks now are energy star certified and have multiple settings to help you save money. With this type of hot water system, you are going to have the same old issues like possibly running out of hot water if you have a lot of people trying to use all of it at once and it can take a minute or two for the hot water to reach you. If there is cold water sitting in the pipes, it needs to be flushed out before the hot water can make its way through. So, going with this old reliable is still a good choice in today’s economy and if you buy the proper size for your home, it should serve you quite well.

If you are feeling a bit more adventurous and want to splurge on a new hot water system you might consider going tankless. These systems have been around for a few years now but are going to run you about $1000. The tankless water heaters boast an endless amount of hot water as they are attached directly to your pipes and constantly run water through the unit. If you have a large household, these might not be the best option for you as the water still has to have time to heat up. With these tankless systems, the temperature often fluctuates. So, if you have a relatively small household with low water usage, this could be the way to go.

A neighborhood power outage can be caused by many different things and usually has something to do with the weather conditions. If this happens in the winter time you will want to make sure you put on layers of clothes to keep you warm. Another thing to remember is to try not to open and close your freezer and refrigerator too much. The food inside will stay cold for hours if you keep it closed. Usually, depending on the problem, the power will be turned back on as quickly as possible.

If you have power in part of your house then most likely the problem has something to do with your house’s wiring. Usually when the power goes out it is caused by a loose wire, an overloaded circuit or a short circuit. For example, if the power went out when using an electric heater or something that use a lot of electrical current it usually means you overloaded the circuit. You can check your circuit panel to see if a fuse blew out or if the breaker was tripped.

You will want to go to the circuit panel and flipped the breaker back on or replace the blown fuse. If after doing this you still are without power you probably have a more serious problem. In that case it is better to call in an electrician to fix the problem for you.

Even a small leak or drip can waste gallons of water a day. A leak can also cause permanent water spots and stains in your sink. There are many different types of faucets on the market today. However, most of them have the same basic parts and go together the same way. One of the main causes of leaks is the washer. The faucet will leak if the washer is not installed properly, the wrong size or from wear and tear.

The first thing to do before you even start is to make sure you turn off the water. Usually there is a shut off value under or near the sink you are working on. If you can’t find the shut off value you can shut off the water to the entire house.

The next thing to do is to remove the decorative cap that is on the faucet handle and then remove the handle. After you have done this you unscrew and remove the rod. The next step is to remove the screw that is holding the faucet washer in place. Once you have the washer off you can use it as a guide to find the right size for your faucet.

Once you have found and replaced the washer you can then reassemble the faucet. Then turn the water back on and you should have solved the problem. Fixing a leaky faucet is a relatively easy task to do. You will be saving money on your water bill and not wasting precious water.

I’m going to outline what you can do to paint a wide variety of materials without making it look like a botched, amateur job.

Plastic

Plastic can be painted but the problem has traditionally been an inability to get the paint to stick to the surface properly.  This led to ugly, application issues or peeling once the paint has dried – generally, a very poor looking finish.  Now there are paints which are specially formulated for application to plastic surfaces.  You are now able to give a new look to tired old garden furniture with a simple coat of paint – if the plastic surface is old, you usually only need to give it a wipe down prior to application, but if you have new plastic this needs to wiped with paint remover which will “rough up” the surface and improve paint adhesion.

Concrete & Masonry

Concrete is found around the home in all sorts of places from the floors and passageways, your basement and outside the home such as the driveway. You have a couple of options with concrete – you can paint it or stain it but, in either case make sure it is clean and dry.

A stain will seep into the concrete much the same way as it does with wood, the stain bonds with the concrete and forms a protective shield which provides a long lasting, decorative look.  Staining does not “cover” the concrete, unlike paint, so imperfections will be visible once you have stained it – if you need to perform a “cover up”, you will need to consider painting it.  Consider using a stain or paint which contains an anti-mildew ingredient and provides additional waterproofing.

Metal & Aluminum

Metal can be painted too and a simple coat of paint can dramatically improve the appearance simply by getting rid of rust!  You’ll need a wire brush to take to the metal surface or railings and once you have performed this chore, you should apply a primer and make sure it contains a rust inhibitor.  Use a high gloss paint for the best effect and enjoy!

Aluminum siding is not cheap and because it does get to look tired and unsightly with time, many homeowners consider replacing it with new siding.  They are pleasantly surprised when they find out how simple and easy it is to spruce up their existing siding installation with a paint job.  The first step is to remove the chalk residue which builds up on aluminum siding, and this must be done thoroughly using a degreaser or even a regular cleaner.  Don’t worry – it’s simple and easy to do.  If the original coating has completely worn away, you should use a primer but this is frequently not the case unless it is completely down to the metal.  Use an acrylic paint with a satin finish for the best results.

]]> http://www.homeimprovementforyou.com/paint-options-how-to-paint-anything/feed/ 0 http://www.homeimprovementforyou.com/how-to-perform-an-emergency-roof-repair/ http://www.homeimprovementforyou.com/how-to-perform-an-emergency-roof-repair/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:49:51 +0000 Karl http://www.homeimprovementforyou.com/?p=19 Continue reading →]]> It’s a fact of life – you never know you have a leaking roof until you have one vital ingredient – water!

We usually discover a leak when we have a particularly heavy rainfall, that means during a storm and usually it has to be the middle of the night too!  It’s just a fact of life we all have to live with but there are things you can do straight away to minimize the damage and impact on your home – but always remember, be safe first!

It is also a devil of a job to locate exactly where the leak is coming from when it appears, so it is better to simply cover off a section of the roof rather than spend time in inclement conditions, trying to specifically locate the leak.

You can make an emergency cover for your leaky roof using plastic sheeting and lengths of 2×4’s.

First, the plastic sheeting should be fairly thick (6-mil is good) and you need to unroll enough of it to cover off the section of roof.  You are looking to have a length of sheeting which will run from the eaves to over the ridge line, and add another 4 feet just to make sure.  Cut the end of the sheeting with a utility or craft knife.  Use a length of 2×4 which is cut to the same length as the width of the sheeting and staple or tack the sheeting to it.  Lay another length over this to sandwich the sheeting between the two lengths of wood and secure this using 3-inch nails.

Next, place the sandwich assembly along the eaves and then run the plastic sheeting up the roof and over the ridge line.  Secure the sheeting on the other side of the roof using another pair of 2×4’s but don’t secure this section with nails or fasteners.

Do NOT nail any part of the temporary cover to the roof!

NEVER go on a roof during a thunderstorm, take care you do not step onto the plastic sheeting, especially if it is wet and do not try to perform this on a steep-pitched roof.

If you let your gutters deteriorate, then eventually water will pour down on to woodwork, siding and create damp around brickwork and foundation of your home. More than this, the weight of accumulated debris and trapped water will eventually lead to a weakening of the gutter fixings which in turn, can lead to the gutters and downpipes coming loose from their mounting.

You can hire someone to perform the service for you, and if you are uncomfortable working up a ladder, and certainly if your roof is more than one story in height, you should consider this option, otherwise you can easily do the job yourself and save some valuable money.

You should clean your gutters at least twice a year and more often if your roof is situated under trees (because of the debris not just from falling leaves but also from branches and twigs). You will need a sturdy ladder; a step-ladder is best but an extension ladder can also be used as long as you are careful when you set it up – it will lean against the gutter and you must not break it. You can protect the gutter to some extent by placing a piece of 2 x 4 inside it. At all times, ensure the ladder is standing on a firm base and is secure before you climb it.

It is dangerous to work from the roof side rather than from a ladder – only if you have a very gently steeping pitch and have good weather conditions, so the roof is not wet, icy or has snow on it and there is no wind, should you consider working from the roof itself.

First step is to scoop out the loose debris and start from the low end of the gutter at the point where it meets the drainpipe. Next, use your water hose to apply a jet of water under pressure to clean away any more stubborn debris and finally, make sure the drainpipes are not blocked (use a plumber’s auger or snake to clear blocked drainpipes).