Home Improvement Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfers

Planning for a home remodeling? Want to do the project by yourself? Well, many of the home owners these days think or plan for a home improvement project by themselves, knowing that they can eliminate the labor expense and chop a project’s cost in half than hiring a contractor. In the first place, do-it-yourself activities are interesting and gratifying. When you do something from start to finish it is immensely satisfying to see the end product. However, engaging in a do-it-yourself task is sometimes tricky; especially if you are not a well-experienced do-it-yourselfer. As what most of the experts often say, there are some precautions that you must follow while undertaking home projects by yourself.

Here are few of the common safety tips for the do-it-yourselfers:

• When working with some hazardous materials, it is best for you to wear protective clothing. There are some safety goggles and gloves that you can wear while doing the home improvement task.

• Use a mask while working in dusty conditions, especially if you are sawing wood.

• If you are considering house painting, keep the room well ventilated and never smoke.

• If you are working with materials that provide off toxic fumes, it is always important to make sure that the room is airy and well-ventilated.

• Employ good quality equipments while working. One thing to note here is to use the right tools for the job.

• Speaking of tools, keep the tools in such a place that they are safe and that children and pets cannot reach.

• If you are using knives, cut away from you. Using after them, keep them locked.

• When fixing or checking electrical connections, it is much advisable to switch off the power and remove the fuse. And, since we are somehow dealing with electricity here, wear rubber shoes while working with electricity.

• While fixing or examining electrical appliances, I think it is best to disconnect the appliance from the socket.

• Every homeowner must keep a chemical fire extinguisher at home. Most of the experts often advice to avoid using water to put out a fire caused by electricity. For them, it is best to use a professional for electrical and gas work.

• Employ a drill that has a plastic body, as it will not conduct electricity. Also, remove the plug from the socket while fitting parts. And, avoid wearing loose clothes or jewelry as they might entangled in the drill.

• Check the ladders you are using. Note that ladders often cause a number of do-it-yourself accidents. So, before assembling a ladder, read the instructions carefully and assemble according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. It is always advised not to lean on one side as you may lose your balance while working.

• Whatever the job on hand, it is critical that you plan out your work carefully. Make sure that you can do-it-yourself, otherwise hire a professional to do the tasks. Just consider your skills. Ask yourself if you really can take the job or not. Do not be in a hurry to complete the job. After all, this is not a race. It is then perhaps best to ask someone in your family or friends to help you out.

• If the job you are about to perform involves the disposal of dangerous material, it is best to contact your local environmental health department for advice.

Now, after reading those tips, are you ready to start working with your home improvement plan by yourself? Why don’t you start working on your bathroom?

The Bathroom Revolution

A lot of homeowners start working on their home improvement projects in the bathroom to give their home a new look. Do-it-yourself improvements for a bath, in the first place, not only provide you your money’s worth. It helps you to make your bathroom terrific at the end of the effort.

How to spruce out your bathroom? Here are a few quick tips for you, do-it-yourselfer:

• Remove the white crust layer that has formed on your shower doors. To do this, you can use kitchen cleaner and CLR or calcium, lime and rust remover. Given these materials, spray them on the shower doors and wipe off. This will remove the crust layer immediately.

• Clean fixtures in the bathroom. Use a CLR bathroom and kitchen cleaner to any remove any soap and mineral deposits. By doing this, you are giving those fixtures a new lease of life.

• Clean the showerhead. Note that over a period of time, the showerhead loses most of its showering ability as it gets clogged with scale deposits. So, instead of replacing it, just clean it using a mixture of CLR bathroom and warm water. All you need to do in the preparation is to blend equal amount of CLR and warm water in a cup and immense the showerhead in it for a few minutes. After that, wash it thoroughly. The CLR is often recommended for such use as it has the power to remove clogs and the showerhead in the end will work like a new one.

• Do some changes on the bathroom decors. If possible, replace or add things to the bathroom. You can use add a potted plant, change the artwork hanging on the walls, use a new soap dish, or change the color and prints of towels.

• Finally, paint the walls of the bathroom in a new color. When you do this, you are renewing the bathroom.

That’s simply it!

Now, let’s take a look at the other do-it-yourself home improvement tips, starting with sanding, to staining, to home refinishing, and to some DIY ideas for lighting and window treatment.

DIY Sanding

Many homeowners plan their do-it-yourself home improvement projects with some sanding processes. But, what is sanding? Basically, sanding has to be prepared to receive the stain, which is the last stage that gives the furniture its new look. According to some resources, staining wood can bring out the natural color, feel, and grain of the wood. It can improve the beauty of old furniture in the house and give the entire room a new lease of life. However, to see such effects, sanding must be considered. Though time consuming, it is an essential step in staining.

Here are few pointers to help you through the sanding process:

For delicate furniture and a fine finish, experts recommend the use of hand sanding. Here, you need to make sandpaper pieces that are large enough to hold with three fingers. If in case you find it more comfortable, wrap a piece of sandpaper around a block of wood that you can grasp with ease. You could also employ a contoured sanding block which is easily available in most of the hardware stores these days. Perhaps it is worth noting that the block has grooves at the end of the block, and it is on those grooves where you can insert the sandpaper.

Inspect the surface of the wood to be sanded. That’s one of the most important rules to be considered. By doing it, you can see pores in the wood that form a pattern. Note that these pores are the grain of the wood. So, sand in the direction of the grain, but never against it. As commonly noted, sanding against the grain will cause scratches that will show up on finished wood especially after the process of staining.

The next move to take is to place the sanding block horizontally on the surface with the grain of wood. Hold the block firmly and apply pressure equally as you move the block too and froe. Note that if you apply more pressure than needed the block, it will unfortunately cause depressions on the surface. And, even while employing the mechanical palm sander, it is important that you hold the block flat against the surface and start exerting pressure on it evenly.

So, you’re done with sanding? Well, before going to the next process, which is staining, the dust must be taken off the surface of the wood. You can use tack cloth or cheesecloth made for removing dust. Once one side of the cloth gets dusty, refold it and use the fresh side of the cloth. And, since you will be working with wood dust, remember to use a sanding particle mask in order to prevent inhalation of dust, which may cause certain harm to yourself.

Continued