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Home improvement choices are somewhat personal in nature. If you will be living in your home for along time, then you can make decisions about what you like the best. If you are selling within arelatively short period of time, then there are a lot of factors to take into account. This article willgive you ideas on how you can make good decisions when it comes to your home-improvementprojects.

When improving your house, there are some projects that you can do yourself and others that youcannot. If you feel like you can complete a simple task like repainting the kitchen, then by all meansdo it, in order to save yourself some extra money. Just be sure that you know what you're gettingyourself into before you start a project. You don't want to try and remodel your bathroom and findout half way through that you're not sure if you can complete the task without hitting a pipeline.

Considering the cost of hiring a plumber, you will probably want to do some of the simpler plumbingtasks yourself. An essential tool is the pipe wrench. It is adjustable, so it can fit a pipe perfectly, andit provides an excellent grip and leverage. This one tool will more than pay for itself.

If your rooms are looking rough because of nicks and dents in your wall, then you should try puttingtoothpaste in the hole to patch it up. Toothpaste can fill small nicks easily and can keep your roomlooking great. This is a cheap alternative and a quick fix.

If you have a small bathroom, consider finding ways to save space as your next home improvementproject. It is easy to use an adjacent closet or to reformat an old kitchen cabinet into a new storagefacility for your bathroom. Always make sure not to remove any structural support that the roomhas.

Basements generally don't get much in the way of natural lighting. If you want your basement to bevery comfortable, you should start with a good lighting plan. If you have some luck, you will have abasement with high walls that stick out above ground level. If this is the case, putting in windowsmight be an option.

Don't be frightened of large open spaces because you can easily divide them. Divide large spaceswith a ceiling mounted shade or curtain that you are able to pull down. It can cost effectively dividea large area and you can just pull your divider back up when you're having a large gathering orparty.

If you are working on your own home improvement project involving laying brick, make sure you usebrick ties drilling tools in sufficient quantity. Brick ties are metal clips used to anchor bricks to thewall structure (wood studs or what have you) behind them. Many do-it-yourself types are seduced bythe apparent sturdiness of bricks and fail to realize that they must be secured to the wall via brickties.

Covering every surface of your bathroom or kitchen with decorative tiles is a very expensive projectin terms of both time and money. Instead, add visual impact to these rooms by using glass tiles ormosaics to create a focal point around the sink area. The project can be done in a single day and will

require far less materials.

Choose wallpaper patterns carefully. Avoid usingoverpowering patterns in small spaces;conversely, using a bold design in a very largeroom will make it appear cozier. Never use apatterned wallpaper if you have patterned carpetor window coverings. For a room full of awkwardcorners and recesses, pick a wallpaper with arandom design that the eye doesn't tend to follow.This will help to disguise any imperfections in thewalls.

If you are looking to purchase new furniture, try not to get anything too big. The bigger the furnitureis, the more cluttered a room will look. Instead, try to go with smaller, tasteful pieces. Arrange themin a way that the room is still easy to navigate in and out of.

To improve the look of the exterior of your home without breaking the bank, give your garage dooran update. Frequently, the garage is one of the biggest elements of your home that people can seefrom afar. You can create a fresh new look for only a few hundred dollars by simply installing a newgarage door.

A good tip is to put some insulation on your plumbing, so that your water will stay hot in the linesand will not freeze during winter weather. It's easy to find weatherizing tape or foam insulation touse on on your pipes. When you use weatherizing tape, you will avoid damage to your plumbing dueto freezing.

Any time you must remove your toilet, have a new wax ring on hand for replacing the old one. Theserings are very inexpensive, and it's worth the peace of mind to maintain a good seal between yourtoilet and the drain pipe underneath it. Old wax rings or those that have been removed and reusedcan disintegrate, causing nasty leaks and damage to your flooring.

If you can't stand the smell of wet paint, try mixing a fewdrops of real vanilla extract into each gallon of paint--solong as you aren't using white. The lovely smell ofvanilla will overpower the paint fumes, so painting aroom or piece of furniture can become a much morepleasant task.

Do not get too personal. When you over-personalize yourhome to fit the way you want it to look, it is verydoubtful that you will be able to recover yourinvestments once you attempt to sell your home. Optinstead for a timeless look that you still enjoy, and youwill quickly make your money back if you have to sell.

Educate yourself before starting any home improvementprojects. Be sure to research building codes and thehistory of the structure before you tear anything apart.Many projects are left uncompletedhttp://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh due to a lack of

understanding of how something goes back together after it has been taken apart.

Unless you are an experienced electrician, don't try and do the electrical work yourself. You may betempted to run a bunch of extension cords, or change the number of prongs on an outlet, but youshouldn't attempt it because it can be dangerous if you do it incorrectly. For safety, hire aprofessional electrician to do all of the electrical work.

If you are making home improvements near places that require gas lines, be extra cautious. Mostgas lines will have a shutoff so that you can turn the gas in the line off. Be sure to turn this off beforestarting a project near a gas line. If you fail to turn off the line, you could have serious trouble.

Using the ideas presented here to make decisions about how, when and why you are going to makeremodeling changes or updates to your home or investment property, will net you a greater returnon your investment and give you some leeway in making greater gains in your home equity.