In these tough times, “Do-It-Yourself” is a tempting way to go for many homeowners looking to save a few dollars on anything from dripping faucet to running toilets.
The savings can add up in a hurry when you don’t have to call a repairman, especially for things like painting, plumbing and appliance repair.
There are some home repairs, of course, that an unskilled homeowner should avoid, among them situations where having heavy equipment makes the job go much better, especially outdoors.
Many household repairs and projects can be tackled by a do-it-yourselfer who takes the time to learn what’s required. The Internet is great for learning what to do and how to do it.
When taking on a project, begin by finding out where in your home you turn off the water and gas, and how the circuit breakers work. If you need a professional to show you, hire one.
Some of the jobs a do-it-yourselfer can learn include repairing drywall, replacing a deadbolt, or installing a new light fixture or ceiling fan.
Good rule of thumb: Avoid jobs where you could injure yourself or damage property. Other than that, do your homework, and go for it. Happy repairs!
An average home loses up to 30% of its heating and cooling energy through air leaks. The most significant air leaks tend to occur around windows and doors. To stop air leaks and prevent your home heating and cooling dollars from vanishing in the wind, it’s important to seal any air leaks around windows and doors.
Check for Air Leaks
With windows and doors closed, hold a lit stick of incense near window and door frames where drafts might sneak in. Watch for smoke movement. Note what sources need caulk, sealant, and weather-stripping.
Seal Air Leaks Around Windows
If you have old windows, caulking and adding new weatherstripping goes a long way toward tightening them up.
- Bronze weatherstripping (Around $10 to $12 for 17 feet) lasts for decades but is time-consuming to install.
. - Self-stick plastic types are easy to put on but don’t last very long.
. - Adhesive-backed EPDM rubber (About $8 for 10 feet) is a good compromise, rated to last at least 10 years.
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Nifty gadgets called pulley seals (About $9-$10 a pair) block air from streaming though the holes where cords disappear into the frames.
Seal Air Leaks Around Doors
Check for air leaks, and replace old door weatherstripping with new.
- Foam-type tape has an adhesive backing; it’s inexpensive and easy to install. If it comes loose, reinforce it with staples.
. - Felt is either adhesive-backed or comes with flexible metal reinforcement. It must be tacked or glued into place. It’s cheap and easy to install, but it has low durability.
. - Tubular rubber, vinyl, and silicone weatherstripping is relatively expensive and tricky to install, but it provides an excellent seal. Some types come with a flange designed to fit into pre-cut grooves in the jambs of newer doors; check your existing weather stripping and replace with a similar style.
Check exterior trim for any gaps between the trim and your door frames, and the trim and your siding. Caulk gaps with an exterior latex caulk (About $5 for a 10-ounce tube).
Seal Door Bottoms
If a draft comes in at the bottom, check the condition of the threshold gasket. Replace worn gaskets. If you can see daylight under the door, you may need to install a new threshold with a taller gasket (Around $25 for a 36-inch door). Or, install a weather-resistant door sweep designed for exterior doors (About $9). Door sweeps attach directly to the door and are easy to install.
A home warranty is not much different from a warranty you might have on your car, your computer or your home entertainment center. A warranty on your home usually covers all of your home’s major mechanical systems, including hot tubs, pools, wells, septic tanks and all of your appliances. Some policies even cover the roof of your home and almost anything else you’d like to include, as long as it’s specified in the policy.
Home warranties, similar in some ways to insurance, are obtainable for most any dwelling, including mobile homes, condominiums, town houses and manufactured homes. They can be purchased by either the buyer or the seller; some sellers will include a home warranty policy to make purchasing their home more attractive. Including a home warranty with the sale is an excellent idea, especially if the home is older and the systems and appliances are aging. Since the policy can be purchased at closing, the seller doesn’t have to come up with the premium out of pocket. Further, the cost of the policy can be split between the buyer and the seller, depending on the terms of the sale.
Home warranty policies are generally effective for one year and are renewable. However, you can expect to pay a little more for coverage each year, as the items covered continue to age. This is reasonable. Policy costs vary according to the list of things covered, but an average cost would be between $350 and $500 per year. Obviously, when obtaining a policy it is important to be specific about coverage. You can expect to pay a small co-payment (or deductible) when the repair person responds to make a repair. This is an industry standard. Your payment will range from $35 to $55 per visit.
According to a Gallup poll, 79% of buyers and sellers surveyed rated home warranties as one of the most important aspects of buying a home. These policies are not like hazard insurance, which covers losses due to fires, storms and accidents; home warranties cover normal wear and tear breakdowns. A new home and its major systems are usually warranted by the builder for at least one year; thereafter, your home warranty policy coverage will take effect.
Be sure to understand the limitations and intent of your home warranty. For example, should your microwave oven catch fire and damage your kitchen cabinets, your home warranty would cover the cost of the microwave; your home owners insurance would pay to fix the cabinets.
Before buying your home warranty policy, you should shop around and find the best and most cost-effective provider. Get recommendations from your real estate agent, your mortgage company, your builder, your friends, and from the Better Business Bureau. Obviously, some companies are better and more reliable than others. Ask specific questions: Do they subcontract their work? What is their normal response time? If your freezer stops running you need someone to respond quickly.
When trying to decide whether or not you need a home warranty, the rule of thumb is: the older your home, the more you will benefit from a home warranty. Most systems and appliances covered under a home warranty can be expected to last at least 5 years. Therefore, during the early years of your new home, the home warranty policy may not be necessary. As the components of your home age, the need for a home warranty policy becomes more critical. It is obviously more attractive to pay $400 or $500 in policy premiums than shell out several thousand dollars for a new furnace or even several hundred to a thousand or more for a new refrigerator. The policy will easily pay for itself if a major home system has to be repaired or even one major appliance has to be replaced.
If you’re the owner of rental property, you should definitely consider a home warranty policy. Unlike the appliances and systems in your own home, you have little, if any, control over the frequency and manner in which these things are used by your tenants. Odds are you will have to replace or repair items and systems more frequently in your rental property than in your own home. As a landlord, your home warranty policy may very well save you money, but just as importantly, it can buy you peace of mind.
Summer chores you should tackle now, and where to find free supplies!
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1. Compare The Cost Of Moving To Remodeling. Moving is expensive, typically involving a 6 to 7% commission on the sale of your current home, plus another 2-4% for closing, moving, and other costs. If you like the present neighborhood then look into what improvements you could make with 8-10% of your home’s current value before you decide to move.
2. Design Ahead. You don’t want to come up with an additional brilliant idea right after the job is complete. You can reduce the risk by doing some advance research. Read up on design, talk to friends with knowledge and experience with the type of remodeling you’re considering, and get suggestions (and references from architects and remodelers while you’re in the early stages of planning. If you’re changing current floor plans get some graph paper or a floor planning kit and play around. Start a file for literature about components and finishes.
3. Don’t Over Improve. This may be of less concern if you plan to remain in the home for a long time, but it’s very important if you’re remodeling to sell your home. Some remodeling jobs, such as a prudent overhaul of a very dated bath or kitchen, or the addition of a second bath to a one bath home, can return more than 100% of the cost at the sale of the home and also help you sell it faster. However, if you want a different look, you’ll probably not recover the investment in a home that is already significantly more valuable than most of the others in the neighborhood.
4. Allow Plenty Of Time For The Job. Murphy’s law applies to remodeling. If you are an expecting a contractor to compress a six week job into four weeks, you’re asking for trouble. Also, you can save money and probably get the job done faster if you have the ability to schedule it in the off season when contractors have fewer jobs to bid on.
5. Check The Remodeler’s Credentials – Carefully. Are they licensed and insured for workers compensation, property and personal liability? If in doubt, ask to see their insurance certificate. Do they belong to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council, and/or any of the more specific trade associations in the remodeling sector? That’s a sign of commitment to the trade and to professionalism. Most also offer certification and/or management training and keep their members up to date on the latest products and techniques. Ask for recent references on similar jobs (employee and sub-contractor turnover is often fairly high, so recent jobs are a reliable indicator of their current capability). Check their record with the Better Business Bureau while you’re at it.
6. Request A Comprehensive Bid. It should detail as many of the specifications as possible. Get bids from three remodelers. If one of the bids is unusually low, make sure they have included everything. If they have, make sure you’ve thoroughly covered tip #5.
7. Consider Doing Some Of The Work Yourself. If the bids are higher than expected and too much for you to afford, you might be surprised how much money you can save. But make sure you’re not getting into something you don’t have time to do. Things that come up near the end of the job, such as painting, finish carpentry, etc. are good bets since the other parts aren’t dependent on their completion. Some can even be done after the issuance of the final occupancy permit.
8. Get A Comprehensive Written Contract. It will greatly reduce the likelihood of disputes with your remodeler. Most disputes arise over issues that were not resolved in advance. Make sure it covers the description of the project, timetable, payment schedule, etc., with general provisions defining the responsibility of the contractor and the sub-contractors, defects and correction, change order procedures, warranties, right to termination, and alternative dispute settlement mechanisms (since more than half of the costs of lawsuits represent legal fees, homeowners and contractors will almost always be better off with mediation, conciliation, and/or binding arbitration clauses should a disagreement arise).
9. Consider Buying Certain Building Materials In Advance. Styles for appliances and other building materials and suppliers are subject to change and are often heavily discounted when they go out of production. If there’s a style you like very much, it may not be available next year, so consider buying and storing them when you see a really good deal. With the advent of the larger super discount home improvement stores, prices are down to the point that remodelers often can’t get much better prices from other sources, even with their business discounts.
10. Be Careful About Financing. If you’re financing the project, you want the lowest rate possible and you want the interest to be tax deductible. Only certain types of loans will give you an interest deduction so check with an expert. In some cases, refinancing your mortgage can be the best bet.