Home Improvement

Home additions can be intimidating due to the size and complexity of the process. Bathrooms are one of the most sought after home additions, and for good reason. Additional bathrooms add value and comfort to your home, but how much does it cost to install one?

Once, not too long ago, I saw something a little strange happen to a friend’s house. The lights started to dim. Getting any type of electrical equipment seemed to be a big issue. The entire house seemed to be suffering from low voltage, despite the electrical wires outside being totally intact. One of my friends suggested that a bad breaker could be the cause, but is this really a possibility?

The shock of a massive electric bill is enough to make any homeowner want to curb their energy consumption. Whether it be in the dead heat of summer or the harsh cold of winter, you can’t simply go without heating or cooling. Luckily, there are some great ways to reduce your electric bill and save energy.

People form opinions about your home (and you) at first glance, just like they do when they see how someone is dressed. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling your house or not; it’s about wanting your home to look its best. It’s easy to boost curb appeal with a few quick changes, so your home makes the right first impression.

No matter how careful you are, you’re bound to find some fat and oil in your kitchen sink drain. This is easily fixable in minor cases, but it can be devastating and expensive in severe cases. So, what breaks down fat in drains?

Arizona is a popular retirement destination for many people. In many instances, starting with a new residence involves adding or remodeling a new home. Anyone anticipating a room addition to a home in Arizona can expect to spend an average of $57,461. Location in the state, labor costs, material costs, and the type of addition can affect this average cost.

You might assume that shopping for a garbage disposal is a quick, in-and-out kind of job. However, what you might not realize is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of options for you to choose from. You’ll generally find models grouped into two categories – batch feed and continuous feed.

Concrete slabs are necessary for a variety of different projects. Maybe you need a concrete patio for your summer night parties- or a foundation to build your shed. Perhaps, you have another project in mind.

The decision to subdivide land usually comes as the result of one of two different circumstances. Typically, landowners are looking to either sell a portion of the land off for profit or distribute the property amongst family members. Most commonly, real estate investors subdivide the land to increase the overall value of the property.

If your interior door has never closed easily or at all, then there is a good chance it was not properly aligned when it was installed. If your door is not aligned correctly, several problems can occur. 

Laminate flooring is stunning and designed to have a long lifespan, but it cannot stand up to water. Whether your sink sprung a leak, or you were a victim of a flood, when your laminate floor gets wet, it can become ruined quickly.

If you’re a handy homeowner, your garage probably isn’t just a place that you park your car. It’s actually a place where you park everything from seasonal storage, gardening gear, tools, kids’ toys, and wood saws. Without space-saving shelves to help contain all of these supplies and tools, your beautiful garage can end up looking like a disorganized mess.

Whether you’re building a new house or want to do some work around your old one, it’s a good idea to have something around your foundation. Having something around the foundation of your house is an excellent way to improve its looks and provide protection. But are there certain things that are better around a home than others?

If you’re moving to a new home and you want to bring your pool table along with you, you should consider hiring professionals for the job. Moving pool tables is serious business. Not only are they often one of the heaviest items that people own, but the disassembly process is also very long, tedious, and complicated

Radiant floor heating is a luxurious feature to have in the home and a current popular trend in new constructions. While it’s hard to deny that underfloor heating is the most comfortable way to warm your home, many folks find themselves wondering if it’s worth the hassle and associated costs. There are a number of radiant heating systems to choose from, with Warmboard being one of the best on the market.

Are you creating a DIY lamp, repurposing an amazing flea market find, or needing to make adjustments to an existing lamp? If you’re fixing, making, or buying a lamp, the right size harp makes all the difference. The harp hides the things you don’t want to see, but how do you know what size to get for a lamp?

If you’re getting ready to install a new toilet, you’re going to have a lot of options to consider when it comes to style, features, sizes, and flushing styles, too. Nowadays, flushing systems can be categorized into two main types: button flush and handle flush.

You come home at the end of a long, tough day, looking forward to taking a hot shower. You climb in and find out that your shower has either stopped distributing water completely or with the painstakingly low-pressured flow.

Cement board, widely known as Hardie board, is a form of fiber cement that is commonly used on the exterior of buildings or as the backing for walls, floors, and tile applications. The boards are incredibly durable and highly resistant to fire, rot, and mold and mildew growth. When used as an exterior building material, you may be wondering: “can you paint cement board?”

Are you planning to install new lights in your home and are unsure which type of wires should be used for lighting – 12-2 wires or 14-2 wires? You’re not alone. This is a question that often stumps many homeowners. Fortunately, we’re here to help answer: “Can I use 12/2 wire for lights?”

Housekeepers and neat-freaks alike are constantly fighting the water stains on bathroom mirrors. Installing a splashback behind your bathroom sink can help eliminate some of this mess, but is it necessary?

If you’ve experienced “phantom flushing” before, then you know this phenomenon is startling and perplexing, at first, but eventually incredibly annoying. The phantom flush is a common toilet malfunction, and a range of things can cause it.

Microwave ovens are a modern luxury we often take for granted. You can easily heat leftover meals without creating a pile of dishes. They are also amazing at heating and cooking meals, making a dinner that is hot and ready in five minutes. While microwave ovens are amazing, sometimes the sounds they make are anything but. If you have a particularly loud microwave oven that is prone to constant beeping, you have probably wondered if there is a way to silence it.

So, you live in Illinois, and you are updating or remodeling your home. As you begin the demolition, you immediately find that all the electrical wiring inside the walls is metallic conduit.

Stabilizing your home is the main job of your foundation and that’s why maintaining it properly is crucial. Any issues affecting your foundation can quickly affect the rest of your home. Don’t be surprised if certain parts of your home sustain lasting damage due to problems plaguing your foundation.

When you’re laying out a nice, new layer of porcelain tile, there are certain things you expect. For example, you expect your tiling to stay put. The problem is, using the wrong bonding agent can make it hard to keep your tiles in place. That’s why there’s an ongoing debate between using Versabond versus using Flexbond thinset mortars when you’re laying out tiling. So, what’s the difference between the two? Is one better than the other?

There are many aesthetic eyesores that most homeowners will do anything to avoid. One such eyesore is the sight of messy TV cords dangling freely around and beneath a nice TV. Understandably, many homeowners struggle with how to hide cords when mounting a TV.

Like any other outdoor room, porches are simply a continuation of your living space. Although all porches provide a space that bridges the gap between the outside world and the inside of your home, not all porches are created equal. Some porches are meant to greet visitors, while others are designed more for relaxing and enjoying the outdoors in an enclosed area.

The difference between cubic centimeters (cc) and horsepower (hp) is a complicated relationship with many factors. One main difference is that cc refers to the size, or volume, of an engine while hp is the measure of how much power the engine puts out.

Over the life of a roof, particularly one that uses shingles, replacements and repairs will need to be made. In most cases, this is just a handful of shingles that can be damaged in storms or from general wear and tear.

Bathroom remodels are one of the most popular home upgrades. New styles in fixtures, finished, and color schemes can brighten a bathroom and add value to your home. Many homeowners planning a bathroom upgrade wonder if they can put engineered hardwood products in their bathrooms.

No fixture is more synonymous with the modern bathroom than the toilet. When this essential fixture is working properly, it provides a much-needed function. When a toilet malfunctions, however, the problem is either major or minor.

You notice that your Sloan Flushmate toilet has developed a leak in the tank.  Immediately after flushing the toilet and the tank has refilled, the valve begins to trickle water into the tanks causing an overflow into the toilet bowl.  What can cause a Sloan Flushmate to leak water into the tank?

Gutters are the most commonly used system to divert rain away from your home. They are inexpensive, can be installed quickly by professionals, and exceedingly effective. Gutters not only collect and channel water, but they also keep your home free of mud-spatter and help to prevent any water damage from occurring near your foundation.

Mobile homes give people the chance to own a home without having to spend a fortune on a brick-and-mortar house. However, it can sometimes be hard to get some privacy, especially if you have big windows and lots of neighbors nearby. That’s why we assembled seven tips to enhance your mobile home privacy.

When installing a bathroom fan, it is always easier to have access through the attic. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. And while it may be easier to install the bathroom fan with attic access, it also isn’t the only way. So, if you don’t have access, how do you install the bathroom fan?

Le Creuset cookware is not only one of the best performing brands on the market, but it also looks amazing. Even if you aren’t known to cook gourmet meals in dutch ovens all that often, you might still want to own a Le Creuset simply for its shiny and colorful enamel.

Flooring is one of the most basic parts of your home’s build and design. Choosing the right kind of flooring can make or break you’re home’s look, feel, and durability. That’s why more people than ever before are getting picky about the wood they choose for their flooring. Pecan wood is one of the many flooring types available to you, but is it really worth the money you’d pay for it?

Many homeowners get confused about their electrical system when talking about neutrals and grounds. This confusion can lead to questions about how the circuit breaker box in your home is wired. Is it permissible to have the neutral wires and the ground wires in your home’s electrical system connected to the same bus bar in the electrical panel?

Vinyl siding is extremely popular, even if you’re in a location that is famous for being rough on siding. When you’re trying to get new siding, you’re going to be presented with vinyl options as well as options that are less common. One of the rarer ones is composite siding. For the right home, composite can be the best choice ever. For others, it’s all about vinyl. The question we’re asking today is, which is better overall?

When constructing your home or making renovations, it’s important to choose the best option for the material of your walls. Sheetrock, more commonly known as drywall, is the all-around best choice for cost, ease, and safety. However, this excludes the bathroom or other moisture-heavy rooms.

Are you planning a DIY project to remove linoleum flooring and glue from a concrete subfloor? If you are, is the issue of extracting stubborn glue buildup making you procrastinate? You can actually forget your worries and complete this task with confidence by using some simple steps for glue removal.

Doors don’t get enough attention for the impact they can have on your home. They protect against the elements, security against individuals with bad intentions, and they also offer some much-needed privacy. Beyond those more obvious benefits of doors, you also cannot overlook the fact that they can help bring your home’s design together.

The available housing options today are more diverse than they’ve ever been.  You can stick with a more conventional house if you prefer, but going with something different is an option for many people. If you are interested in unconventional homes yourself, then you should take a longer look at building a pole barn house.

You might think it’s a ridiculously simple question. Who cares what direction you choose? Is there a wrong way? (Unfortunately, there is…)

In new homes, if you open up your outlet, you will usually see two wires. One entering and providing power to the outlet, the other exiting and providing power to outlets downstream. There may sometimes be a third wire to ground the outlet, or to provide power to a downstream line in another direction.

If you are working on a project that involves drilling screws into a hard surface like a hardwood or even metal, you probably need a drill bit. You don’t want to drill the screw right into the hard material, as there are all sorts of bad things that can happen. Drilling pilot holes is an important and simple process. It does, however, involve some planning and research. So, when you plan on using #8 screws you need to find the perfect size drill bit to make pilot holes.

Trough sinks in bathrooms have come into their own in recent times. The popularity of trough-style bathroom sinks has grown. In many new homes, a trough sink has replaced the double sink installation in master bathrooms. What is the best option for a trough sink in your home?

From time to time, the bathroom can use a little bit of a renovation. That project can be as simple or complicated as you like and one of the easiest ways to change things up is to change out the bathtub for a new one.

If you found the perfect color paint but find it too thick to paint with, you might wonder how you can make it more workable. Or perhaps you have an old can of paint you need to use for touch ups, but find that over time, it has thickened up too much to use. Either way, this thick paint will have you wondering if you can add water to your paint, and if so, how much?

If your slippery floor problem seems to have developed out of nowhere, then your cleaning products may be to blame. Some cleaning products claim to be universal, but when it comes to cleaning floors, there are specific products you should and should not use.

It takes hard work to stop a driveway from flooding, but it’s a worthy investment. Most methods involve excavation, which is best done by contractors. The best ways to prevent driveway flooding include:

As a homeowner, you are the one who welcomes people into your humble abode. You host your family members, your friends, and maybe even some of your colleagues and share good times with them. Of course, there are certain house guests you didn’t invite who are making themselves at home anyway.

Your circuit breaker is a crucial part of your electrical panel that functions as a safety precaution should too much power pass through the wires. Rather than letting the power surge through the wire, it will temporarily shut off to protect the breaker and the electrical panel.

With the increase in vinyl siding’s popularity, people are increasingly focused on finding ways to ensure that their siding can last longer than ever. That’s why people put house wrap underneath their vinyl siding. Of course, the wrap is known for being expensive. Is it really worth it? Do you even need it?

Toilet flush systems often end up with issues that need immediate repairs. You do not want your nature’s call to be messy due to a broken toilet, now do you? One such problem that has been frequently witnessed by people is an inefficient toilet flapper that closes too soon. As a result, the necessary amount of water does not flush down the toilet bowl to clean it.

Dimmer switches can often take people by surprise with the heat they emit, particularly if they aren’t used to using them in the house. It can be shocking, true. However, there is a difference between a warm dimmer switch and one that it hot enough to make you go “OW!” Are you one of the many people curious about the reasons why dimmer switches seem to turn up the heat.

Flickering lights can be a scary sight to behold in both horror movies and real life. Your lights can flicker for a variety of reasons, but it’s hard to pinpoint the cause if you are inexperienced with electrical work. Many homeowners ask themselves: why are my lights flickering and how do I fix them?

Updating your home’s tile flooring can cost a pretty penny, even if you can lay your new floor over existing tile. On top of the costs of the new floors, you also have to pay for installation. If your tile floor is in good shape, painting tile floors can give you the fresh look you want.

The last thing you want to deal with when you have to use the bathroom is a wobbly toilet. You end up feeling like you’re doing some strange balancing act, hoping you don’t go tumbling to the ground. You certainly don’t want to hurt yourself in a fall, taking the toilet down with you.