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Home improvement can be very fun, for the novice and professional alike. Don’t place all your faith in what you see on television. Big jobs aren’t the only home improvement jobs. The following suggestions can help make home improvement seem like less work and more play.

Spend some time in your prospective neighborhood driving and walking through. You should have some idea about the kind of maintenance your new neighbors apply to their homes. If the area seems run down with overgrown yards and untidy homes, you will want to rethink moving into the area.

Place candles throughout your house. Candles can create a wonderful effect in your home. The effect will be heightened if the candle is scented with a good fragrance. You can place candles in bedrooms, bathrooms, and dining areas. Bathrooms especially benefit from the use of scented candles. Scented candles will give your house a homey feel.

Use carpet samples to carpet a whole room! Retail stores often throw away their samples. Cut each sample up into smaller pieces and tack or glue them into place for free floor covering. Cut them in identically sized pieces for a tile effect or cut them in irregular geometric shapes for an abstract look.

When choosing a contractor, make sure to interview them and check references. There are few things more painful than a home improvement project gone wrong. At best you’ll have to live in a house that makes you unhappy and at worse you could find yourself without a place that’s safe to live in. Perform your due diligence upfront in making your choice so that you won’t be surprised at the results at the end.

Before you embark on a home improvement project, consider the impact on your home’s resale value. For example, converting your garage into a living room may make sense for your immediate needs, but many home buyers are turned off by this sort of addition. Even if you don’t plan on selling immediately, circumstances can change, and you may have to spend additional money getting your home back to the way it was.

The kitchen is usually the room that sells the place. Take a look around and see if there are any inexpensive things you can do to your kitchen to make it look recently update. Get rid of that wallpaper or add hardware to your cabinets. Do whatever is simple and quick, but effective. You will be able to mention the update in you listing and buyers like seeing that.

Build your own utility shelves with furring strips, plywood, and screws. Build two identical ladder-like sides using the furring strips and screws. Connect them perpendicularly by screwing on additional furring cut to the width of the shelves. Finally, screw plywood panels in place to make the shelf surfaces.

A leaky toilet can waste as much as fifty gallons of water in a single day. To determine whether or not your toilet has a hidden leak, remove the lid of the tank and place just a few drops of colored dye into the toilet’s tank, but do not flush. If you notice dye seeping into the toilet bowl, this indicates that you do have a leak.

Do you need your renovation project to be completed quickly? If so, then you should know that you are probably going to have to pay some extra money. If you talk to a contractor, many of them would be happy to work more on your projects. They deserve more pay when that is the case. Fast work is usually more expensive.

Replacing any old or torn up window blinds with new ones, can greatly improve the looks around windows. Over time, window treatments may become dull, cracked or bent after years of abuse from children, pets or other accidents. Installing new blinds gives your windows an instant face lift and is a great beginner home improvement project.

Every six months, you should drain your home’s hot water heater. This will help keep the heater running efficiently for as long as possible. Fortunately, draining it is not difficult. All you have to do is attach a hose to the drain valve and turn the valve the same direction as a spigot would require.

When you want to paint the outside of a house, you have to get high quality paint for it. Using a quality paint means the paint job is going to last longer. Even though quality paint has a higher price tag, it will be more durable and it will cover the surface of your house more quickly and easily. If you choose a low-quality paint, you will probably have to paint your house again a few years from now.

When repainting the exterior of your home, use plastic sheeting and masking tape to avoid getting paint on unwanted surfaces, such as your windows. Use drop cloths to protect your driveway, porch, and shrubs from dripping paint. You will also want to use 3-inch masking tape to protect the trim while you are painting the siding on your house.

When you look for help with home repairs, be prepared. Have your “A Team” and your “B Team”, just in case something goes wrong. As you’ve heard it time and time again, do not place all your eggs in a single basket. This can help you to improve the chance for success during your project.

When moving any type of furniture through your home, it’s important that you protect your floors. A lot of people with hardwood floors will definitely make sure to protect them, but you also need to protect carpet. Most carpet can easily tear if you’re dragging heavy objects across the surface.

Sometimes home improvement is necessary for reasons beyond our control. The roof may have been damaged during a storm; the foundation may have developed a crack; or maybe the cold weather caused some pipes to freeze up and burst. Most of the time these are unexpected repairs. Check with your homeowner’s insurance to see if the repair is covered.

When you upgrade your home, the job can be large. Although it takes a bit of knowledge and learning in the beginning, anyone can become really good at lots of different home improvement projects. Just remember these tips and begin the improvements in your home.