Repairs you can DIY
Fixing a leaky kitchen or bathroom pipe. Here we are talking about the ones you see when you open the cabinet door right under the sink, not the pipes deep within your walls. When your pipe is leaking, often you simply need to tighten a slip-nut near the P-trap. That’s an odd sentence, so here is a photo to show you what we mean…
Cleaning out or replacing the sink trap. The curved piece of pipe can become clogged with hair, food, dirt, and grime leading to poor drainage or eventually damage to the pipe. If you just need to clean it out, you can loosen the slip-nut and pull this pipe off, dump out the gunk, and put it back in place. It is important to note, it will be connected pretty tightly, so don’t attempt this if you don’t have good grip strength. If you need to replace it completely, Home Depot made this great video.
Patching small holes in your drywall. Filling nail holes is an easy way to make old drywall look new. Using a spackle knife, fill in each hole with lightweight putty and scrape the excess off the walls. Wait for the putty to dry and sand the spot down until it’s smooth. Then, paint the repaired spots with a primer. You can find the putty, sparkle, and primer at any hardware store.
Scratched or squeaky floor boards. There’s few things more frustrating as a homeowner than seeing your gorgeous hardwoods scratched up or avoiding that one spot in the hallway because the squeak is so loud that you’re worried you might wake the neighbors. Luckily House Beautiful has this great article with tips on how to fix both issues, DIY style!
Replace door knobs and locks. This can simply be to update the look of your knobs or because one is broken. These are surprisingly easy to replace on your own, and this video from eHow will walk you through it, step by step.
These are just a few examples of repairs you can DIY to save money and learn more about the way your home functions! Many of these do require specific tools, but at Humphries & King Realty, we recommend every homeowner has a basic to intermediate set of tools handy.
