Handyman & Home Improvement

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.

  • Reasonable and practical, given the age of your home and the condition it’s in.
  • Those personal flourishes are key in establishing a character’s personality.
  • A common DIY home-improvement mistake, especially when finishing a basement, is making access to essential plumbing valves difficult.
  • Spend a few hundred dollars on lighting instead of many thousands on tearing the place apart and putting it back together.
  • Stripping and staining cabinets will give your space a major facelift.

Ask a real person any government-related question for free. They’ll get you the answer or let you know where to find it. If you have a problem with a home equity loan, you should contact the lender first. If you cannot resolve the issue with the lender, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . Lump sum – This is a one-time, closed-end loan that usually has a fixed interest rate.

Classic Carriage Doors on the Cheap

In addition to the amount of cash you can gain, getting a cash-out refinance can come with other benefits, too. Some jumbo products may not be available to first time home buyers. You can subtract your current loan balance from the appraised property value to determine how much equity you have in your home. And a lot of home improvement happens right before and right after a sale. She projects that home improvement spending will grow 17% this year nationally, partly driven by inflation.

You Could Secure A Better Loan

Even if you’re not planning on moving, adding these can promote a sense of wellbeing. Conventional wisdom among estate agents is that kitchens and bathrooms sell homes, so if you’re thinking of improving with a view to selling on, this is a good place to start. A new kitchen can add 5% to the value of your home while a new bathroom can add 3% according to figures from Zoopla. To quickly and easily rehabilitate your existing fireplace, a gas or wood-burning insert adds energy efficiency to your home without tearing apart your hearth and mantel.

What else do I need to know before starting a home repair?

Give your bathroom vanity a makeover, replace the toilet and faucet if needed, update the shower head for a better shower experience and re-caulk the bathroom tub. After sealing the attic bypasses, push the insulation back into place with an old broom handle or a stick as you back out of the attic. Then finish up by sealing the access hatch with self-sticking foam weatherstrip. You may have to add new wood stops to provide a better surface for the weatherstrip and enough room for hook-and-eye fasteners. Position the screw eyes so that you slightly compress the weatherstrip when you latch the hatch.