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Making DIY Easier With Helpful Home Improvement Tips There are many home improvement projects which are easy to complete, even for a novice. As an added bonus, even the smallest improvement project can really boost your home's value tremendously. Use the advice offered below to help you get started on those big and small home-improvement projects. Minor home improvements have a small but cumulative effect on property value. Setting and achieving modest goals for repair and improvement projects is a good way to keep home value moving upwards. These "little fixes" are cheaper and faster than major renovations and can even make a fun leisure activity for the handy homeowner. Put in an outdoor motion detector for your outside lighting. This way the lights will only be on when they are activated and not all day or all night unnecessarily. Most people don't need their outside lights other than when they come home or leave after dark. In northern climates where heavy snow covers the ground all winter, you may lose track of where the borders of pathways are. To avoid this it is a good idea to put a 4' X 4' lumber bordering the paths. Then, when you are shoveling snow, you will know exactly where the edge of the path should be. Try your best to color coordinate your rooms when you are repainting them. You don't want to throw people off when they come visit your home with colors that don't match. You want to show people that you know style, one of the best ways to do this is with a good color combination. A great way to reduce your chance of mold growth in your household is by making sure your bathroom is well ventilated. Bathrooms that don't have a window or some sort of vent usually get steamy, but are unable to be rid of the humidity. Eventually this humidity contributes to extensive mold growth. You can stop heat loss from your hot water heater easily by covering it in a jacket. The jacket, which can be found at any hardware store, stops heat loss by 70%, making your home more energy efficient.This saves you money in the long run, as you can quickly regain the cost of the jacket in as little as 6 months. If you're thinking about putting down carpeting for your home, make sure to choose carpeting in dark colors only. Light colors such as beige, white, or light brown tend to pick up dirt and stains, making your carpeting appear cheap and used. Opt for colors like dark green or dark brown to hide what shouldn't be seen and prolong the life of your carpet. Make sure before you get started in remodeling your basement that you have kept in mind heating, cooling, proper ventilation and dehumidification of the area. If you have enough headroom, your heating, cooling and much of your electrical equipment can be hidden behind a false ceiling. Prepare to hire a heating contractor to help you with your basement project. Do not forget that you need to have proper ventalation in your bathroom. Humidity from showering with hot water creates the perfect place for mold to cultivate. Painting the bathroom is a good way to hide the mold but it will not treat the problem. Instead, you need to try things that get rid of it once and for all. Put a window in, or ventilate the space so you can dehumidify it. Use a cleat on the wall as you are installing the upper cabinets in your kitchen. A simple board that is screwed into the wall and is level will save you a great deal of http://m97.pl/k when hanging them. It will keep the cabinet from slipping as you are screwing it in and it will make it so you do not have to check your level with each unit. Decals are a great facelift for boring furniture and appliances; getting them off is a different story. If you're out of ideas on how to remove old decals from surfaces the following tip is sure to help. Spray the decals you wish to remove with WD-40 spray. Try to lift the edges to get the liquid underneath. Let it sit in the solution for a minute or two and then gently scrape the decal with an old credit card or a plastic knife. Avoid hiring an architect for minor home improvements and small renovations. Check your local building codes; in most areas architects are unnecessary for jobs below a certain size. Working with a competent contractor on these small-scale projects makes an architect unnecessary. When an architect is unnecessary and not required by local ordinances, save yourself some money by working without one. A great home improvement tip is to hire a good architect or designer if you are not one yourself. Even though this will cost you money, you need to spend money in order to make good plans that work. In addition, you may need a permit or license for certain zoning or environmental restrictions. Professionals are needed to let you know of these things and to give you the information on the permits or licenses that are needed. Before you begin painting the exterior of your home, it is critical to repair and prepare the surfaces you plan on repainting. Your paint job will not be durable if you do not prepare the surfaces properly. If your house has siding, any section that is damaged must be repaired. If the surface you are repainting is wood, remove any peeling, flaking, or blistering paint, before applying a new coat. This difficult job of removing paint can be done by scraping or sanding. Be sure to wear safety equipment, such as a dust mask and protective goggles, when removing the old paint. As you now know, home improvements can be made without being a stressful nightmare. When making such repairs, remember to always keep an open mind. Using the above article, you will find that the tips will increase your home improvement skills. Start your projects while keeping in mind this article, and your projects will be done sooner than you had expected!