Owning a home may seem like a dream come true for many and indeed it is, at least for a couple of years. At first, everything is in tip-top shape, the colors are fresh and vivid, the fixtures in excellent condition and the water installations are running smoothly. However entropy avoids no one and will set in as time passes. Things will break down, you’ll notice your walls turning lacklustre and your faucets dripping water.
In order for your home to feel just as inviting as it did during the initial years, you will need to be able to do some quick home repairs and create opportunities for new DIY projects to shape up. Here are a few tips on the home repairs you can do by yourself:
Prepare to Repaint Like a Pro
If you’ve already owned your home for a couple of years, a fresh coat of paint is probably already due, regardless if it’s for a beaten down cabinet or for the walls of your bedroom. Regardless of the surface you want to paint, it’s important to remember that preparation weighs just as much as the paint job itself. When done in a hurry or simply inadequately, a paint job can leave behind roller marks, smudges, peeling and cracked paint.
The first step in prepping is to efficiently clear the area you want to paint in. Don’t leave any obstacles in your path, you’ll only need to paint around them and ultimately cover them, which will prove to be unaesthetic and time-consuming. The next thing you’ll need to do is to clean the walls with a damp sponge or dry cloth, in order to remove any dirt and grease. Additionally, you’ll need to even out any imperfections with a spackle – this will guarantee a more professionally-looking end result.
Afterwards, apply a primer on all areas you’ve sanded or use a paint that has an incorporated primer. Be sure to pick the right colors for your paint job, just so you don’t end up with a room that screams dullness or anxiety, for example. Once you’re done painting, be sure to allow sufficient drying time before you move everything back where it was and to clean any unwanted splatters. A job like this will feel rewarding, while also stimulating your creativity.
Tend to Your Doors
Doors are some of the most overlooked parts of the home, but they require just as much maintenance as everything else. This is mostly because they are impacted by seasonal climate changes. For example, if there isn’t enough space between the door and the frame in order to accommodate expansion, the door may swell up.
Doors may also stick, especially during more humid months or during the rainy season. If this happens, take note that it may need to be planned. In order to do this, you’ll need a carpenter’s plane – this will help remove a thin layer of wood off the door’s edge. If you’ve identified this tight spot to be at the top of the door or on the handle end, you can do the necessary adjustments without taking the door off its hinges. However if this tightness is on the lower side, you will need to tap out the hinge pins and set the door on its side.
This task and so many others around the home require precision and if you don’t feel confident about performing them, you may want to take an online carpentry course. Such a course will bring you the skills you need to perform any basic carpentry projects around your home in order to make it feel more inviting.
Create Functional Woodwork Projects
In case some of your furniture is too old to simply do with another coat of paint or in case you’d like to create your own wood items around the house, consider sprucing up your carpentry skills and look into creating your own projects.
With a bit of research, patience and the right materials, you can build yourself a shoe storage stool or organiser, a small bench, a coat rack or minimalistic shelves. They may not come out excellent from your very first try, but they will be your own work and will serve you until your next projects.
To this end, there’s nothing more rewarding than adding your own work to your home. In fact, these sorts of projects may even unearth a hidden passion for carpentry that you never knew about, giving you the opportunity to explore this fascinating line of work in depth.
Ultimately, a home cannot do without some sprucing up and you’ll need to choose between hiring a professional or taking care of things yourself. If you choose to do these home repairs and adjustments by yourself, you’ll not only feel fulfilled for having created something by yourself, but will also gain new invaluable skills that will help you save a lot of money throughout the years.
