Installing an Outdoor Faucet


From washing the car to watering the lawn, outdoor faucets are important for a variety of reasons.  For your convenience, your home should have outdoor faucets in the front and the back yards. Whether your home lacks an outdoor faucet in one of these areas, or you simply need more faucets to be productive while working outdoors, this tutorial will walk you through the installation process step-by-step. With a few useful tools and some know-how, you can install a faucet yourself, without help from a professional. Materials: 1 3/8 inch drill bit Drill Pipe cutter Bucket Pipes and fittings Propane […]

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How to Replace a Shower Door


Replacing the shower doors in your bathroom, while not terribly difficult, does require some elbow grease and a few hours of your time. This is a very doable DIY project that many homeowners can handle easily on their own. A word of caution before you get started: Not all shower doors are designed in exactly the same way. Read the installation instructions before you start on this project, and follow all manufacturer’s recommendations. Materials Screw driver Drill Masonry bits Anchors Painter’s tape Putty knife Caulk Shower Door Installation Procedure Remove the shower doors from their track. To do this, lift […]

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When Is It Time To Replace A Water Heater?


Depending on who you talk to, the expected lifespan of a typical water heater is between 8 and 15 years. The lifespan of your water heater at home can depend on quite a few factors, including the quality of the water heater, the amount of care you put into the water heater, whether or not you have hard water, how hard you use your water heater and so on. Unless you have psychic abilities, you have no way of knowing when your water heater will finally give out. It’s a good idea to start inspecting your water heater on a […]

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How To Install A Dishwasher


When you purchase a new dishwasher, you’ll probably have to pay a fee to have the dishwasher installed by a professional. Performing the installation on your own can help you save money and may also give you a sense of personal satisfaction. While dishwasher installation is a multi-step process, it’s not as complicated as you might think. The following tutorial will help you remove your old dishwasher and hookup the new unit. Get Prepared Before you can get started on your installation, read the manual that came with the unit. Not all dishwashers are the same and some units may have […]

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How To Detect A Leak In An Underground Pipe


Leaks in underground pipes can be difficult to detect, because they often produce no water that can be easily viewed above ground. As a homeowner, knowing how to recognize the signs of an underground leak can be very important. Since underground leaks can destabilize the soil on your property and potentially cause foundation problems, knowing when you have an underground leak can help you save your property and prevent thousands of dollars in damage. Excess Water in the Soil If you have an underground leak on the area around your house, the soil around the leak is likely to become […]

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Choosing Your Next Faucet


So, a faucet is a faucet, right? Wrong! Faucets come in all different shapes, sizes and mount styles. Picking a faucet can easily take hours if you don’t know the advantages of each different style. In this post, we’ll talk about the different benefits of each type of faucet, what the different materials look like, and which type of faucet matches up with which type of sink. Wall Mounted Faucets Vs. Sink Mounted Faucets Wall mounted faucets make counter cleanup very easy, and also look great in vintage-style settings. Sink mounted faucets can be a little more tricky to cleanup, […]

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10 Tips For A Pittsburgh Home Inspection


Performing a home inspection is an efficient way to identify problems with your property, so you can make necessary repairs and boost your home’s property value. The following tips will help you inspect some of the most complex and major systems in your home, so you can keep your property in good repair. 1. Inspect Your Attic Joists for Rotten Wood Wood that is rotten is generally soft, stained and cracked. Once you find a piece of wood that looks damaged, you can find out for sure if the wood is truly rotten by performing the screwdriver test. Poke the […]

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How To Clear A Green Swimming Pool


Clearing a green swimming pool takes experience and knowledge of the way swimming pools function. If you’ve never taken care of a swimming pool in the past and have no knowledge of restoring chemical balance to swimming pools, then this project may be a little advanced for you. When it comes to swimming pool maintenance, it’s a good idea to start with simple tasks and work your way up to more advanced maintenance later. That said, if you’re already somewhat experienced with swimming pool maintenance, then this is the right task for you. Clear the Swimming Pool Use your net […]

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Cover A Water Stained Ceiling


Ceiling leaks are inconvenient for a variety of reasons. Not only do they ruin possessions and cost money to repair, but the stains from plumbing leaks can be difficult to cover up with standard paint. Knowing how to cover stains from ceiling leaks so that the stains will stay gone is an important part of the clean up process when a leak is repaired. The following tips will help you get the job done. Gather Your Materials Stain-sealing primer Ceiling paint Paint scraper Sand paper Rags Paint brushes Paint tray Stir stick Tarps Paint Over the Stain Allow the stain […]

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Unclog An Ice Maker Water Line


A clogged ice maker water line may sound like a bad problem to have, but most of the time the process of unclogging the water line isn’t very tough. The greatest challenge about this project is finding the cause of the problem, because unfortunately, there are many small things that can cause the refrigerator to stop producing ice. Getting Started Unplug the refrigerator and move it out from the wall. When you do this, you’ll also need to close the water line that leads to the ice maker. The valve should be near the back of the refrigerator. Then, disconnect […]

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