DIY Home Repairs: Do It Safely, Do It Right
Every year, at least 200, 000 British people end up in the hospital because of DIY-related accidents. If you want to make home repairs yourself, how can you avoid injury?
The most important thing is to use common sense. Never attempt home repairs without being 100% sure of what you are doing. Accidents can occur from using the wrong tool, doing a job wrong, or trying to do a two-person job by yourself. You especially should be careful if your proposed repair requires you to work with gas or electricity. These volatile substances can cause explosions or fires, as well as fatally poisoning or shocking you.
Many people attempt home repairs out of a sense of pride or obligation. Men especially may fall into this type of thinking. Some men think their masculinity itself is at stake if they cannot perform a needed home repair. Women sometimes pressure their husbands or boyfriends to repair items in the home because they also mistakenly think that it’s a man’s job to do this. Similarly, some women may attempt to perform repairs themselves out of rebellion against this attitude.
Simply put, home repair should never have to do with your feelings about yourself as a man or a woman. You should only perform home repair if you are qualified and confident about your skills.
You should also never attempt to do a job yourself that requires more than one person. Some people’s pride requires them to attempt to do everything themselves. But sometimes you need an assistant for safety’s sake. Falls off wobbly ladders or injuries from a garage door falling on you can easily be avoided by having someone else hold equipment or help you to carry it.
Always use the proper tool or tools for each job. Minor shortcuts like using a screwdriver head to hammer in a nail might not seem dangerous, but this is a bad habit to get into. If you use an inappropriate tool in some instances, you can seriously hurt yourself or people around you.
Similarly, take your time when doing home repairs. Don’t rush through a job to prove you can do it or to move on to another job. Instead, go slowly and deliberately. Take the time to put on protective goggles or other safeguards before beginning home repair projects, and be careful when using tools. It is easy to slip while cutting, sawing, or drilling and seriously injure yourself if you are in too much of a hurry. When the job is finished, take time to unplug tools and store them appropriately. Putting knives and other sharp tools into locked boxes and storing them on high shelves may save not only you but also your children from unnecessary injuries. You also prolong the life of your tools by storing them properly, which saves you time, money, and aggravation in the long run.
DIY home repairs can be immensely satisfying. If you use common sense and take safety precautions, you can soon become a DIY guru.
Watch the video related to DIY Home Repair
Learn the basics of how to fix a hole in drywall or sheetrock from a home repair professional in this free online DIY home improvement video. Expert: Greg Lim Bio: Greg Lim is a professional handyman and residential property manager. In the seven years hes been a contractor, he has fully renovated two houses.
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Home repair question for all you DIY geniuses?I have an area rug in my room to cover some nasty paint stains by the door, so obv I cant move the rug..but it prevents me from being able to open my door the whole way .. would a heavy duty stapler work? Anything else I can do besides sanding down the bottom of the door? Cause Im just not willing to do that. lol.
You don't have to sand the bottom of the door, take the door off, get a circular saw and cut about 1/4 inch off the bottom all the way across in a straight line. Make sure you draw a line. This is the only way to do it.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/handbook
Check the timer. I dont think You can fix this yourself unless you want to take a risk.
good advice you might know your stuff. dont waste water!
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Two important points: 1) These residents are getting ripped off unless their taxes have been reduced. This is a public works job in any part of the rest of the country. 2) If you can see down to the underlaying stone (about 4"), the sidewalk should be torn up and replaced with new concrete.
That said, there are several products that can be used to repair damaged concrete. Depending on the depth of damage, either the first or third product on the link here will do the job.
http://bonsalamerican.com/sakreteproducts_view.html?id=16rdW6rO8po%3D
This is by far the cheapest way to repair broken concrete. If you want more info on how to mix and finish the repair, please contact me directly for further instructions and I can provide detailed directions to make your job simpler. A 10' X10' area that is not too badly damaged could cost less than $100 to fix including any tools and should take less than 3 hours.
Good Luck!
diy.net
You can learn a lot from us and watching the DIY shows and books, but nothing beats hands on learning. One project will teach you stuff that will tie into another. Take every thing w/ a grain of salt because there are never 2 projects exactly alike and you ll have to be flexible on all projects. GL
You can go ahead and pull a permit, and you really don't need to be dishonest about the timing- just don't mention it.
Go to your local permit office and apply for the permit. Once you get the permit, just wait a couple days to call in the inspection.
The important thing is to make whatever corrections the inspector recommends, and don't be too dissapointed if it fails inspection the first time. Most inspectors are willing to explain to homeowners what they need to do to make corrections.
If you're going to be drilling concrete, you need a hammer drill. Most hammer drills can turn the hammer feature off, and most of the non-SDS drills have torque clutches as well.
Professional Grade keyless chucks are very good, but, you have to get the 1-hand operation models (1 sleeve). They usually wratched closed and hold very tightly.
Most good drill bits will have flats ground into their sides so slippage shouldn't be a problem.
Brand name comes down to two things: grade (professional or hobbyist) and price (bargain bin or top of the line). Generally, you get what you pay for.
Some trusted professional brand names are DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Ridgid, Hilti, and Bosch. Even some of those companies make hobbyist grade tools (yes, I'm looking at you DeWalt with your cheap-ass 12v toy-drill) so remember: you get what you pay for.
A good, general purpose hammer drill in a professional grade from a good brand name will cost you around $150-300 bucks. Honestly, I wouldn't go that way though. I'd get two drills. I'd get the hammer drill for masonry and big drilling (hole saws, big spades, auger bits, large step bits) and a smaller drill for everything else.
Home Depot has lots of books that are easy to follow. It's a lot of work, but it's not brain surgery. I build fences & decks for a living, and re-mod kitchens and bathrooms. If you are a do it yourself-er, then you can do it. Otherwise, most deck builders charge by the square foot, and where I live, the price ranges from $15 -$20 per s/f. Railings are $17 per foot, and stairs are really expensive. Figure out your s/f that you want to build, and then do the math.
I built my deck. The materials cost $1300 and it took me two weekends to build. Had I charged someone to build my deck, I would have charged over $10,000