House & Garden 2024, November

Calling a plumber to install a faucet in the kitchen is expensive. Doing it yourself is easy (one of the easiest and most basic things about plumbing jobs). By doing the work alone, only the water will go down, not your money. Start with Step 1 below to learn how to install a kitchen faucet.

A wobbling ceiling fan is loud, unpleasant and, if not fixed promptly, even dangerous. Thankfully, there's no need to call a technician to balance and adjust it; to make it spin smoothly and quietly, all you need is a screwdriver, straightedge, and some lightweight counterweights (such as those included in inexpensive fan kits or coins and clear tape).

This guide will tell you how to repair cracks and fractures in a concrete wall. Steps Step 1. Know the problems caused by water infiltration in reinforced concrete foundations Infiltrations can be caused by: Tie rods not well sealed.

Ornamental concrete floors are gaining popularity as an alternative to tiles or natural stone products. Whether it is an indoor floor, in the basement or in the garage, it is porous and must be sealed to prevent the formation of stains. If the floor is colored, it is especially important to seal it to preserve its color.

Installing a bathtub can be a difficult job to accomplish, and you may need to call a professional plumber. A tub is large and heavy, and the bathroom may have an unusual shape or be very narrow, which can make removing the old tub and installing the new one a real challenge.

Bathroom fans are essential for removing moisture and bad odors from the bathrooms in the home, preventing the formation of mold. By removing excess moisture in the air, you can also prevent wallpaper and paint from peeling off and doors and windows from warping.

Removing the wallpaper can be a very tiring job. Depending on the glue used by the installer, it can withstand the spatula or removal with water. If you can't remove the wallpaper with a homemade solvent, try a steamer or gel solvent. Steps Part 1 of 4:

The space where the wall touches the ceiling is quite cramped, so take precautions when painting that perimeter area of the room or you may end up with unwanted patches and splashes of color. Before painting, make sure you have properly protected the chamber and that the paint is ready for use.

Are you ready to freshen up the walls of your home? Many older homes have plaster walls with one or more layers of old wallpaper. Removing it can be quite a difficult task if you don't know how to do it, but if you use the right technique, you can get it done in no time.

Even if it doesn't look like it, the mirrors are incredibly heavy. Bathroom mirrors are designed to be very large, sometimes taking up entire walls. The mirrors are installed on the wall using brackets or strong glue. Try following these steps to remove your bathroom mirror.

Ceramic tiles are a versatile and durable material that can be laid on the floor or used as a wall covering in virtually any room, but especially in bathrooms and kitchens. A tiled wall resists moisture and scratches much better than a bare wall or wall covered with other materials, and is the ideal solution for humid environments such as bathrooms and kitchens, where the walls are also exposed to splashes of water or food.

Installing a baseboard is one of the best things you can do to significantly change the look of a room. Not only does it give a more professional look, but it can also provide natural coverage to the spaces between the wall and floor that appear as the years pass in the home.

If the prices of Swiffer products baffle you, you certainly don't have to keep buying them. You can create the refills of the dust cloths yourself: it's simple and you will save a lot of money. How you do it? Just get some soft chenille socks.

If you are a beginner perhaps this is not the right project for you. The risk of doing harm could be equivalent to the cost of a professional. However, if you have DIY experience you can install a gas line as safely as a professional would. While the margin for error is small, the following steps only require some electrical and plumbing work.

The controller is the brain of an irrigation system, it establishes both the opening and closing of the valves and the irrigation time. Until about 15 years ago, mechanical timers were used, which with the advent of digital technology have become obsolete.

Brick columns or pillars are often added to courtyards, boundary walls and driveways. They last a long time, even decades, and cost-wise they are affordable compared to other types of fence and column materials. Steps Step 1. Determine the section of the pillar you intend to build, in order to calculate the amount of material that will be needed for the construction For a 30x30 cm section pillar you will need 4 bricks for each layer.

A new window can light up a room almost as much as a fresh coat of paint, plus it will save you hundreds of dollars on your bills. So, if you're still undecided about replacing your old window with a new one because you don't know where to start, here's the solution.

Removing the plasterboard may be necessary when you need to renovate a room, repair damage or fix a house after a flood. Learning to approach this job correctly will help you get it done faster. Learn to prepare the wall for removal and a few simple steps to do the job efficiently.

Unlike smaller furniture, bookcases are usually filled with heavy objects and can pose a safety risk if they fall. Attaching them to a wall is the best way to avoid accidents. All furniture should be anchored in places where children use them for support, or in areas prone to earthquakes or other natural disasters.

Replacing cracked, broken or missing shingles on the roof is important to prevent loss or damage from wind or rain. If it is a matter of a few tiles, you can solve the problem quickly yourself. The prices for a professional replacement can be high, depending on the company you are targeting.

In your home it can happen that nails hanging from the plasterboard walls come out and damage the wall. How to fill the hole they left? Keep reading! Steps Step 1. In the center of the hole, put a nail punch and tap it with a hammer Step 2.

This simple method of unblocking the drain saves you time and money, and better yet, anyone with a plunger or, if necessary, a vacuum cleaner can. No special skills are required. When the bathroom sink drains the water slowly, usually the problem is not the siphon but the stop mechanism.

Tiling the bathroom floor can be a rewarding and cost-effective home maintenance project when you have the right materials and plan well. With a little planning, anyone can do it. Read on if you want to learn how to prepare the foundation, tile and grout the floor so that the work lasts for many years.

The gutters, equipped with downspouts, are drainage systems for rainwater whose purpose is to remove rainwater from the walls and foundations of the house. This helps to keep the building in good condition, helping to prevent erosion problems, damage to external walls and water infiltration to the basement floors.

When you dedicate yourself to home improvements, it can easily happen that you have to perform apparently simple chores, but which in reality can create problems for you; disassembling the door handles is one of them. If you don't know how to do it, don't worry:

The Christmas Cactus is a beautiful holiday plant (botanically known as Schlumbergera or Zygocactus) and unsurprisingly when it blooms at Christmas (and sometimes Easter too) if cared for properly. A month before Christmas you can observe the tips of the leaves starting to grow.

Red roses are a classic, but sometimes your partner would prefer more personalized colors. Professionally dyed roses are sprayed with color, dipped in the dye or allowed to absorb it.The method illustrated in this article, unlike other very expensive ones, requires some easy-to-find tools and 2 to 24 hours of weather.

A bathtub without the necessary precautions will cause seepage into the walls and very expensive damage to repair. For this, it needs to be well insulated. Steps Step 1. Examine the contact point between the tub and the wall Clean up residual traces of old insulation, mold and soap, but be careful not to scratch the surface of the tub.

Shellac is a resin derived from the secretion of a group of hemiptera insects from the coccidia family. If processed, it forms waxy particles which are then dissolved in industrial alcohol to brass the liquid shellac. Due to its characteristics of hardness, brilliance and solubility, it is used, as well as for the preparation of sealing wax, in the production of paints, as a primer and as an ingredient in mastics.

The glue residue left by stickers and labels is terribly annoying. When you buy a new item, you usually remove the price and it remains a sticky area that is difficult to remove. Depending on how stubborn it is, you can use various methods. You can start by rubbing and scratching if the area is not very widespread, or you can use some household products, such as denatured alcohol and vinegar, to help remove sticky substances.

Cleaning a fine surface like wood can be intimidating, especially if you're not sure what the finish is. To clean your hardwood floor without damaging the finish, follow these steps. Patience and a little elbow grease are all you need to get beautiful, clean floors.

Do-it-yourself kitchen installations are increasingly within everyone's reach. While you still need to work hard, perhaps with the help of a friend, here's how to get a great result without too much effort. Steps Method 1 of 6: Preparation Step 1.

Repainting old and dated cabinets is an easy way to remodel your kitchen without breaking the piggy bank. As long as the laminate surface is in good condition and adheres well, it can be repainted. You will need to prepare the surface properly and apply a proper primer to make sure the new paint grips the smooth, slippery surface of the laminate.

According to testimonies from bed bug infestation victims, getting rid of these little vampires is tricky, and the very thought of these horrible bugs crawling over your body and sucking your blood in your sleep is nauseating to say the least.

If you are an avid banana eater, you can have a large number of banana peels. Instead of throwing them away or using them all for compost, you can turn them into a fertilizer rich in potassium and phosphorus. Steps Step 1. Arrange the banana peels on a baking sheet and put them in the oven Turn the outer side of the skins down to prevent them from sticking to the pan Step 2.

Spray paint is very useful, but it can also mess up a bit. It's almost impossible not to get your hands stained every time you use it. Do not worry. You don't have to sweat four shirts to take it off. Here are various solutions to remove it from the skin with household products.

It is very easy to go wrong when using spray paint. Acrylic paints in spray cans are known to go all over the place if they are used improperly. Timeliness is an essential element in removing any type of stain caused by paints and varnishes.

Spray paint is almost always oil-based, so you need to use other products made from this substance to get rid of it from your skin. Paint thinners and chemical solvents can cause severe skin irritation and damage, so instead of aiming for these dodgy remedies, you should open your cupboard and look for something more gentle, but just as effective.

Washing windows is probably a job that many hate, because you have to struggle with dirt, water droplets, dozens of sheets of kitchen paper or newspaper and annoying streaks. There are many techniques and methods available and it is quite difficult to define which is the most effective.

Switching is okay, especially when it comes to your safety! In this case we talk about changing the lock of a door. It's a fairly simple operation that doesn't take much more than a few minutes, but will pay off with great peace of mind. This article gives you the information you need to change a key and bolt lock without latch.