Repairs for Your Home You Can Do Yourself

Spring is around the corner and that means that many of us will be thinking about doing necessary repairs to our homes so that they are ready for the warmer weather. Usually when you try to make substantial repairs to your home, it’s recommended that you hire a professional to do the job. But for many smaller jobs, you can do the repairs yourself. if you need more money for home repairs, you may want to consider taking out home equity loans, as that will cover the cost of your required expenses. Learn more about home equity loans here: www.mortgagecwf.com . Continue reading to learn what repairs for your home you can do yourself.

Leaky faucets

A leaky faucet is not that difficult to repair as it just involves replacing the seat washer. First you have to determine what type of faucet you have. Once you are ready to begin, turn off the water to your faucet. Plug the drain and remove each hot and cold water handle. Remove the nut using a wrench, then pull out the stem. Remove the seat washer and replace with a new washer, then reattach each handle.

Repair a hole in drywall

Repairing a medium-sized hole in your wall is not too difficult. First, cut a piece of drywall into a square shape that is two inches larger all around than the hole. Using a knife, score the back of the drywall about an inch from each side. Snap off the gypsum, but leave the paper backing intact. Hold the patch over the hole and trace around the gypsum square. Do not include the paper border in your transfer. Using a drywall knife, cut out the traced square. Apply joint compound to the back of the paper border. Fit the gypsum into the new hole and press the paper edges coated with joint compound into place along the outside edge of the hole. Apply joint compound to the entire patch until you can no longer see the lines. Apply another coat of joint compound if required, then sand until smooth.

Replace the door lock

Replacing a door lock is another repair for your home that you can do yourself. First, unscrew the screws on the door knob base plate on the interior side of the door. Pull out the two door knobs. Remove the smaller screws holding the metal faceplate and latch mechanism in place on the narrow face of the door where the latch “tongue” comes out to lock the door. Pull out the latch mechanism.

Unscrew the screws in the metal plate surrounding the hole in the door jamb that the lock extends. Remove the old strike plate and screw in the new strike plate. Place the new locking mechanism and faceplate into the hole you removed the old latch from, and screw it in place. The sloping edge of the latch “tongue” should face the direction that the door swings closed.

Slide the metal spindle of the exterior door knob through the hole in the locking mechanism. Make sure that the spindle turns the locking mechanism so the latch “tongue” extends when you turn the knob. Place the interior door knob into the lock hole and secure the knob with screws.

Repair the tile grout/caulking

Repairing the tile grout in your bathroom is a pretty straightforward DIY job. First, remove the loose and cracked grout between bathrooms tiles with a grout saw, then and vacuum the gaps. Apply caulking between tiles and run a plastic spoon along the caulking to level it. Let the caulking dry for 48 hours before stepping on tiles.

Replace the toilet supply valve

Replacing a toilet supply valve is a pretty easy job to do yourself. Before you do anything, turn off the main water supply to the house. Then shut off the toilet supply valve. Using pliers, grip the packing nut under the valve handle and turn it clockwise. If this doesn’t stop the leakage, turn the nut counterclockwise, disengaging the valve slowly. Once you have removed the nut, use a flat-headed screwdriver to edge out the washers located in the threaded valve stem. Clean the washers with water and a toothbrush. Replace the cleaned washers and secure the valve stem and packing nut. Turn on the water supply and inspect for leaks.

If there is still a leak, you will have to disconnect the water line from the valve. Use a wrench to loosen the nut at the other end of the valve that is connected to the water supply. Use a dry cloth to wipe the piping. Then wrap the pipe threads of the water line line twice with Teflon taping. Cut the tape, then smooth the taped pipe ending with your fingers. Place the taped piping into its slot and tighten the shut off valve.

There are plenty of repairs for your home you can do yourself. It will require some patience in tackling something new, but if you follow all the steps, you’ll save a lot of money in labour costs.