Once you cut it to size and put it in place, it’s installed. It’s an ideal solution for covering surfaces such as painted concrete, to which adhesives don’t adhere well. If it’s time to replace your dated mantel, choose one with enough depth to let you display pictures or other decorations. If you buy a ready-made mantel, don’t be afraid to paint it or add moldings. A simple fireplace makeover can begin with items you already have in your home. Shop your existing inventory of accessories and display a few on your mantel for a quick, no-cost refresh.
Spruce up every room in your home with our collection of quick and easy do-it-yourself home improvement projects. Each one can be completed in just a weekend and increases the function—and style! Make a worn dining table or old countertops look luxurious by transforming them into chic marble focal pieces. This unique and crafty DIY combines leftover project paint, ultra high-gloss epoxy and basic craft supplies to recreate the veining lines and texture found in real marble.
- Homeowners are recommended to perform checks such as verifying license and insurance and checking business references prior to hiring a contractor to work on their house.
- You should also check you have the right amount of cover through your home insurance when the work’s finished.
- Save several scraps of carpet, whatever kind, for use on the top of sawhorses, as a creeper mat for working on the car, to pad your knees while fixing your plumbing or use as drop cloths.
- “Homeowners sheltering in place during peak COVID regulations developed a renewed interest in their backyards, really, as an extension of their home.”
Improve lighting and ventilation by replacing an existing light fixture with a ceiling fan. A ceiling fan will help you save money by not running the air-conditioner on those days when all you need is air movement. To keep your family comfortable and energy costs low, set your fan to spin counterclockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter. The clockwise motion in the winter makes cool air rise and redistributes warm air.
Replace Your Kitchen Island
These are the builders that have specialized credentials, licensing and experience to perform renovation services in specific municipalities. Energy-efficient thermal insulation, replacement windows, and lighting. Upgrading rooms with luxuries, such as adding gourmet features to a kitchen or a hot tub spa to a bathroom.
Add good acoustic insulation when you renovate, and it’s easier to have peace and quiet in one part of the house when there’s noise in another. Contractors who work on the exterior of your home know not to leave ladder scratches and dents behind. They purchase special ladder bumpers and stabilizers to protect your property. They aren’t expensive, but if you don’t have them, you can save a trip to the store in a pinch by wrapping an old towel or t-shirt around the ladder ends and securing them with painter’s tape.
Create extra storage in a snap with kits for bookcases, shelving, or cabinetry that you assemble yourself. Try a combination of open shelving and cabinets for a mix of storage and display space. Arrange wall-mount shelves above a desktop framed by cabinets or file drawers to fashion a home office or a kid’s homework station. With flagstone or cement pavers, you can easily make an outdoor patio in a weekend, no mortar required. Add potted plants and outdoor seating, such as a bistro set or an eclectic mix of colorful chairs, to create a quaint backyard escape.
Add Ceiling Details
You might also need to get approval for building regulations, planning, listed building or conservation area purposes. Another PBS series, “Hometime” made its debut after “This Old House,” expanding on some of the tropes that made its predecessor so popular. Each episode takes a deep dive into DIY or contractor-performed home improvement projects, choosing to focus on a single installation rather than the renovation of the entire home.
Buhr says this kind of resourcefulness is part of the new normal, finding alternative sources for material, finding workarounds and just doing more with less. He says the pandemic has forced many people to prioritize family life and adopt a more agile approach to their well-being. Musselwhite says the supply of treated lumber, the kind that’s going into all those new decks and fences, shrank early in the pandemic, as stay-at-home orders slowed production. With the huge spike in demand, prices for deck boards and fence posts more than doubled — and supply dried up. Similar with framing lumber, the type used to make the skeletons of single family homes. “Deck construction is up 275%,” Anderson says, quoting increases from March to July of this year.
“A lot more people are focusing on their family, their homes, you know, the stuff in our immediate vicinity. People’s bubbles have shrunk.” “Demand for outdoor living products is surging,” says Nancy Musselwhite, a building materials industry analyst for Principia Consulting. “Homeowners sheltering in place during peak COVID regulations developed a renewed interest in their backyards, really, as an extension of their home.” Whether it’s a conservatory or another kind of conversion, adding more space to your home will dramatically increase a property’s value. Just make sure the style and shape of your extension fits in with the rest of your house. Our remodeling experts will help you choose from a wide selection of doors that fit the look and feel of your home.