House Renovation Tips

Spring or fall is the best time to set new container plants into the ground. Starting from a fence corner or other reference point, measure off the planting distances indicated in your plan. Set each container in position, then adjust placement if it looks ungainly. Use tall stakes to represent plants you’ll be adding later.
Your [...]

If your hot water looks red-brown, rust and minerals are probably building up in the tank. It’s time to drain the water heater. Turn off the main gas burner or the electricity to the water heater. Close the inlet valve. Remove the aerator, if any, from the hot-water faucet closest to the heater and open [...]

If you are sure that the leak is coming from the tank and not from a pipe or fitting, the tank body has corroded with age and the whole heater has to be replaced. Often the trickiest part of the job is getting the old heater out of the basement and the new one in. [...]

If the water heater leaks from the drain valve, try more muscle to turn it off. If that fails, you can buy a brass hose cap with a hose washer inside. If you tighten the hose cap with pliers, it will stand up to typical water pressure.
If the leak is from the T&P valve, check [...]

It’s usually easier and better to replace a few damaged shingles than to patch them. Each shingle is held by 2 sets of nails: one under the shingle above, the second 6 inches farther back.
Raise the shingle tabs that overlap the first set of nails and pull them with a flat pry bar. If you [...]

Use a chisel to split the defective shingle, then pull out the sections. Slide a flat bar up and flatten the nails with a few hammer blows.
Trim a replacement shingle to fit by allowing a 1/4-inch space on each side. Tap it into place with a hammer. Stop when the butt is about 1/4 inch [...]

It’s easy to patch a small hole in a flat roof that’s covered with built-up asphalt or roll roofing. Sweep aside all gravel and dirt. With a straight edge and a utility knife, cut out and remove a rectangular section around the damaged area.
Cut a matching patch of asphalt shingle. Spread plastic roofing cement inside [...]

The sign of a good replacement job is a taut, wrinkle-free screen. Use C-clamps to hold the screen to the frame on one side while you stretch the screen across and attach it to the opposite side.
Install the screen by using a spline roller, which has two wheels: the convex wheel presses the new screen [...]

Here’s a trick to help you install screening flat and taut. Begin with a piece of screen that is a few inches longer than the frame. Staple it at one end. Take care to keep the weave even with the frame. Then staple the screen at the long end to a scrap of wood held [...]

Though the parting strip probably wasn’t nailed in place, you may have to cut through numerous layers of paint to free it. Score the paint line with a utility knife or scraper. Now, with the upper sash raised, loosen the bottom of the parting strip. Grasp it with locking pliers and wiggle it back and [...]