I tried a lot of other service companies and none hold a candle to House Doctor… Countertops can be a tell-tale sign of a dated house. Participants of a Maytag survey prioritized upgrading their countertops to something more on-trend. If your laminate kitchen countertops are worn but still sound, give them a fresh, new look by resurfacing them.
- Keeping up with caulking maintenance in bathrooms and kitchens saves many water-damage repair costs later.
- The best time to get a skylight installed is when you’re getting a new roof.
- For products to be rated as Energy-Star certified, they have to meet strict high-efficiency standards and don’t cost much more than unrated products.
- Set enough easily-available emergency money aside, even if you’re sure that nothing will ever break, to cover the costs.
- The minimum amount of equity you’ll need to leave in your home when you refinance varies by loan type and by lender.
- With the advent of the internet came new opportunities to get rid of stuff—namely, house fixtures for sale on neighborhood websites.
A good optical illusion will get the best of most of us, so why not use tricks of the eye to your advantage? Hanging mirrors in your small home will reflect light, as well as the room itself to make it feel bigger. Small homes come with even smaller nooks and crannies that feel dark, dingy, and end up making the room feel smaller when they’re ignored. Consider building corner shelves in the bathroom or small built-in shelves for that neglected nook. Select affordable brick, concrete, or clay pavers to create a livable patio space. The key to perfecting this DIY project is making sure that the ground is level, then follow Oregon State’s detailed tutorial on how to lay down pavers in your yard.
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Professional home improvement is ancient and goes back to the beginning of recorded civilization. One example is Sergius Orata, who in the 1st century B.C. Is said by the writer Vitruvius to have invented the hypocaust. The hypocaust is an underfloor heating system that was used throughout the Roman Empire in villas of the wealthy.
Best TV Shows About Home Improvement
They can be nearly impossible to hold onto while installing them. Give your fingers a break by rubbing a strong magnet several times over the tool’s shaft to magnetize it and temporarily give it the ability to hold onto tiny screws by itself. An audit simply tells you what you can do to improve the energy efficiency of your house. But, following the advice presented in the audit results can save tons of money on future energy bills. For products to be rated as Energy-Star certified, they have to meet strict high-efficiency standards and don’t cost much more than unrated products. The number of kinds of certified products today is vast.
If you have a few worn/discolored areas on the hardwoods, touch them up yourself with a little water-based stain to make them less noticeable. And don’t forget about the charm of a nice throw rug when needed. Another PBS series, “Hometime” made its debut after “This Old House,” expanding on some of the tropes that made its predecessor so popular. Each episode takes a deep dive into DIY or contractor-performed home improvement projects, choosing to focus on a single installation rather than the renovation of the entire home.