Every homeowner wants to have a welcoming home where everything is carefully maintained and functional. And that is perfectly normal, but many people are too busy or perhaps too intimidated to solve themselves the little household problems. But this attitude will cost you money. And you know what? Most of the problems that occur in an average household are small-scale problems, easily solved by a skillful and hardworking homeowner. No need to hire a professional to repair any menial. Let’s see how you can become your own handyman.
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1. Tiling
Today replacing broken tiles is an easy and simple task. Long gone are the days when replacing a broken tile requiring several steps such as mixing the adhesive, laying down the new tile, waiting one day to harden the adhesive before applying the grout.
Today due to the technologic advance, retiling is an easy task. No need to use anymore, the classic adhesive that meant a hard and messy work.
Now you can use adhesive on roll for your tiling job. One of this type of adhesive is “Bondera”, which is an amazing self two side sticking adhesive.
Bondera is the perfect solution for a small tiling job such as a backsplash or the replacement of one or two floor broken tiles. You apply the tape on the wall or floor surface, lay down the tile and you may grout in the same day.
2. Shelving
Shelving seems to be a tricky job. You need to make sure, if your shelf is sturdy enough to support the load.
The main question is if you have a sufficient number of brackets. It is also important to know the material, which constitute the wall. It can be made of bricks, wood paneling, concrete or drywall.
If your wall is made of drywall, try to find the studs and place your brackets on these studs. Use for this a stud finder. However, if you do not hit the studs use plastic or metal toggles to place the shelf brackets. Make sure you drill a hole large enough for your toggle.
3. Painting
Painting it is perhaps, the easiest way to refresh and sanitize a room.
If you have patience and some skill, you can do it yourself in the classic way with a tray and a roll.
However, if you want to save time then take in consideration a “Paint Stick”.
This “Paint Stick” consists of a filler tube, which can be filled with paint when you pull its lever back. Apply the paint in the similar classic way. The only difference is that you do not have to use anymore the messy paint tray. You need only to twist the handle of the paint stick.
How to Find a Good Handyman Service | How To Build A House (howtobuildahouseblog.com)
4. Drywall Repairs
Drywall small repair is another easy job that you can do it with little planning and patience. In fact, you need to take in consideration only one thing, the drywall thickness. Usually, in the residential areas it is used ½-inch or 5/8-inches thick drywall.
TIP: Do not measure the drywall hole and then cut a piece to fit in that hole. Instead of that, cut a drywall piece big enough to cover the hole and then trace the outline of this drywall piece over the hole. Cut it out and fix the drywall piece inside.
5. Light Switch an Outlet Covers
If you paint your home, maybe now it is the right time to replace the old switch and outlet cover with brand new ones that match with the new style and color of your home interior.
TIP 1: When you replace the old covers with new ones, it is a smart idea to place insulated inserts behind of these new covers. You should know that outlets and light switch boxes are a major source of air leaks in your home. You can save money on your energy bills, insulating these covers.
TIP 2: Do not tight too much the cover screws. That can cause the cover cracking.
6. Running Toilet
In most cases, there is no need to call a plumber to fix a running toilet. Why to pay a plumber with $ 70 per hour, in order to replace a simple rubber flapper, which costs no more than a few dollars?
7. Be a Smart Handyman
However, there are moments when you need to hire a licensed technician to solve a bigger household issue. In fact, therein lies to be a good handyman.
Only a good and clever handyman can analyze a problem and make a decision. He can do it himself or he need to hire someone. Sometime it is wise to step back and let the experts do their job.
