Home | Home Improvement Tips
How to tips and interior design advice for your home’s needs. Home improvement tips and tricks to keep your house clean and up to date. Carpenter and Home Improvement contractor in Suffolk County, NY for over 30 Years.
- How To: From storing Christmas lights to cleaning hard wood floors, here are home improvement tips that will help you keep your home clean and lively all year round.
- Interior Design: Updating your home can be as easy as adding a coat of paint. If you are looking for a quick Do-It-Yourself project or want to tackle an entire room over the weekend, check out these tips that are sure to help bring new life to your interior decor.
Click on a photo below to view how-to tips and design ideas to keep your home fresh and up to date.
How To Tips
Keeping up with your home can be a difficult challenge. Here you can find helpful home improvement tips that range from making small household repairs to storing seasonal decorations.
Cleaning Moulding and Trim
When we think of cleaning around the house, molding and trim tend to be last on the list, if not forgotten due to all of the hard to reach places and crevices. While it may be difficult to clean and seem like a hassle, it is important to keep up with it to prevent future damage to your beautifully expensive molding. Here are some tips to help make cleaning molding and trim a little easier.
Repairing Water Damaged Wood Furniture
Water, even though it is necessary for life, can be terrible when it damages your furniture in your home. Before you think about getting rid of your water damaged furniture, there are steps you can take to try and salvage your item. Here are some tips that you can follow to help you repair water damaged furniture.
Cleaning Wood Floors
When it comes to cleaning wood floors, there are a countless amount of options to choose from. However, many of these options will often leave behind residue and damage the floors that you have spent hours trying to clean. Here are some tips to help you keep your floors tidy and give it that fresh and clean shine.
Property Value: Five Design Ideas
Anyone who has ever sold a house knows how important property value is and how “curb appeal” can make or break a sell. According to real estate experts, small updates can be made that cost less and are less time consuming than a complete re-do on the exterior.
Christmas Lights: Storing for Next Year
Here is a helpful list from housekeeping.com on how to store Christmas lights, without them getting all tangled for next year!
Christmas Tree Safety
Throughout the month of December, it is important to check your live Christmas tree and water it daily. According to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) fire departments respond to an average of 210 structure fires caused by Christmas trees.
Summer Storm Preparedness
Ah summer, so good to be back. There’s just something about it: the warm weather, sunshine, and a summer storm? A summer storm has the ability to be quite dangerous and can leave your family suffering if the house is not prepared.
23 Tips for Keeping a Cool House
Is the hot weather getting you down, but you can’t get yourself to put in the air conditioners just yet? Well then these tips are for you! There are so many thoughts when wondering how you can keep a cool house during summer: Should I use window fans? Which windows should be left open during the day? Awnings vs. shades? This is a helpful list from Annie B. at Care2 that can answer those questions and help you keep your cool house all summer long.
Getting Rid of Ants Naturally
By this time, you have noticed if you have a full-on ant problem. Its okay, it happens every year when the warm weather moves in. Yes, we know that those ant traps laying around the house are an eye-sore but there’s no other solution, right? Wrong. Ants can be deterred from your home using some products you already have in your house. Getting rid of ants can be quite simple. Here are a few ways to get rid of those pests naturally.
Repair Sun Damaged Hardwood Flooring
Everyone loves hardwood flooring, it has a nice look- and completes any room. However, exposure to sunlight from a window or door can speed up the oxidation and the aging of your hardwood flooring, and take away the original beauty. Before ripping up the entire floor, look to see if the damage is confined to just a board or two. Removing the finish and looking at the bare wood will help determine how bad the damage truly is.
Demolishing A Wood Deck
Have you started planning a new deck, but still have your old one standing? Thankfully, demolishing a wood deck is a lot more fun then building one. Bonus, you can do it yourself! Nailed on decking is easier to remove than screwed on deck boards, but the right leveraging tool takes care of both. The demolition tools used to tear a deck down can be found at most hardware or home improvement stores.
Eco-friendly Spring Cleaning Tips
Its time to open up all the windows, shake out the cobwebs and start that spring cleaning! You may want to consider some eco-friendly spring cleaning tips this year. Many chemicals found in conventional cleaning products can be more dangerous then the dirt on your floor. The common cleaning method (including lots of paper towels) is not the most eco-friendly way to clean. Thankfully there are eco-friendly spring cleaning alternatives that can help your home become squeaky clean and green.
Ice Dam: What Is It?
An ice dam develops on the edge of your roof, however they can form elsewhere depending on slope and style of the roof. Look closely at the icicles around the exterior of your house, are they confined around the gutters? If so, and there is no water trapped behind them- you most likely will not find an ice dam. Regardless, icicles are a precursor to ice dams. Icicles also pose a danger, because they can fall off the roof, so you should remove them. Check for water stains or moisture in your attic and alone the ceiling and exterior walls.
Winter Home Improvement Tips
It is cold, but there are things you can do to keep your heating bill from going through the roof. Here is a list of 6 winter home improvement tips to keep the heat inside your house this winter.
Home Maintenance for Fall and Winter
The cold weather is upon us, that means it’s time to begin the home maintenance for fall and winter. Most of the work that needs to be done can be accomplished by yourself. Follow these tips and you will surely lower those utility bills and protect your investment!
Cleaning Your Gutters
Cleaning your gutters is one of the most important projects on the household to-do list, however, it usually is the last thing to ever be done. Many people end up waiting too long to clean their gutters and they cause damage once it’s too late. Cleaning your gutters just a couple of times a year (one in the fall, one in the spring), is more beneficial and the job gets easier every time. You may think “what’s the problem with clogged gutters? All it does is spill excess water over when it rains, and make giant icicles in the winter.”
Cleaning Painted Doors
Your front door is dirty and you are not sure how to properly clean it without removing the beautiful paint job you had done last month. Have no fear, cleaning painted doors can be done in just a few steps. Whether it is made out of metal, fiberglass, or wood, they can all be cleaned with the same gentle cleaner. You want to use a gentle cleaner because a harsh cleaning agent will remove the paint from the door.
Protect Wood From Humidity
One of the biggest concerns when remodeling wood projects in the home is humidity. So how can we protect wood from humidity?
Excessive moisture in the air (humidity) ruins the beautiful and natural look of wood. If you live in a predominantly humid climate, there is no need to worry. All it takes is just a little bit of planning to make sure humidity doesn’t sweep in and destroy those wood projects you have spent so much time working on. Condensation on the glass of windows, for example, can cause moisture damage to wood window frames.
Interior Design
Whether it be decorating for the fall or making a small room appear larger, click on a photo below to explore simple ideas that you can easily incorporate into your house.
Displaying Collections
Curio cabinets are a wonderful way to display your collections and antiques. However, displaying collections in your cabinet can be tricky. You want to display things but you also don’t want to appear to be shoving clutter in your cabinet. Here are some ideas to help you display your collections beautifully.
Built-ins Decorating Ideas
Built-ins are a great way to utilize space that would often be lost in a room. They add an elegant touch and are a great addition to any space in your home. But what happens when it comes time to decorate and organize items on your built-ins? Many start with the best of intentions but end up creating a cluttered mess that draws the eye in a negative way. Here are some tips that will help you decorate your built-ins and avoid some of the clutter.
Designing Your Living Room
Designing your living room can become easily overwhelming when you are faced with a big open space. Whether you are looking to make a dramatic change or some simple small tweaks, here are some tips and tricks to help you design your living room and look good doing it.
Make a Small Room Look Bigger
A small room can feel confined and uncomfortable. But there are certain tricks and interior design tips that you can follow, to make your room seem much larger than it actually is.
Hardwood vs. Laminate
Every week there is a different sale advertised on TV or in the newspaper for laminate flooring. While laminate is a cheap alternative to hardwood, there are pros and cons of each. Here is a list to help you decide between purchasing hardwood or laminate flooring for your home.
Moulding: Your Guide to Buying It
Moulding is a great way to hide small imperfections whilst complementing the style of a room. There are three different styles that can suit your decor needs. However, your options are limitless. Here is a handy list on how to choose what type of moulding you need, and how to go about buying it.
Determine Where It Will Go:
Decorating Your Mantle
So you have just had a new mantle installed. Isn’t it beautiful? But how are you going to keep up the good looks all year long without having it look bare? Decorating your mantle is a quick and easy way to spice up your home. The mantle is often the focal point of any room and can really transform an entire space. If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace in your house, take the opportunity to turn that mantle into a shining star!
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