Home repairs don't have to make you crazy.
Home repair can run the gamut from painting over what looks like alligator skin to fixing a flaw in aluminum siding. Packing a few tips inside your toolbelt alongside such vital pieces of equipment as a power drill and circular saw is a good way to keep down the time spent repairing. Learning from others' mistakes and heeding the advice of those who have gone before you will make your home repair experience that much less frustrating. Does this Spark an idea?
Cutting Bricks
Home repair can often mean cutting bricks to fit in a garden wall or alongside a weak part of an exterior wall. Cutting bricks to an exact size is best accomplished with a tool known as brickset. While it's easy to use, be sure to wear safety goggles to protect against the potential for getting a piece of flying brick in your eye.
Homemade Level
You may not always have a level handy when you are doing home repair jobs, but if you have a marble, you can create your own level that will keep you from repairs that are off the mark. Place a 3/4-inch board across the straight surface and put the marble on it. If the marble rolls, the surface is definitely not perfectly level.
Drywall Seams
Repairing drywall eventually means smoothing over the seams. Dampening the drywall seams with a wet towel or even a sponge allows you to smooth over the seams with much less mess so that they are not as noticeable. If the seams are still visible, it should take only a small amount of sanding to work it down.
Maximizing Screwdriver Potential
You can maximize the driving potential of a screwdriver by slitting open a tennis ball and fastening it over the handle. The ball provides more leverage so you can work in extra turning power, and it also takes much of the strain off your hand.
Resizing Doorway
Some repairs become necessary when you move into a house and begin to furnish it with more elaborate items. You may need to resize the opening of a doorway in order to fit appliances or furnishings through it. Replace any interior door that does not swing open enough to allow easy access of such items with a door that can be lifted from its hinges and rehinged with little trouble.
Prevent Peeling Paint
Installing air vents at the top and the bottom of outside surfaces can help prevent moisture from penetrating your house's siding. This kind of moisture is a primary cause of paint beginning to peel from wood siding after several years. A few small, round and louvered vents inserted into the holes bored into the siding can help put off for a few years the need for another coat of paint.
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