Home improvement can be tricky at times, but is well worth it. You not only create a better home for yourself on the inside, but improve the look on the outside, to impress your neighbors. Home improvements also, make you feel good that you have done your best to create a beautiful home for you and your family. One of the quickest, easiest and cheapest ways to improve your home is paint. Whether it is the outside or the inside, both areas will look new and transformed. Pick neutral shades and brighter trim colors. Plain white walls tend to make your home look like a rental and not owner occupied. If you have hardwood floors and pets, you know that it is almost inevitable that a urinating accident will or already has taken place. There is a simple solution to saving your hardwood floor. Find the stain on your flooring and take a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Sit next to the stain and start pouring peroxide on the stain slowly. Make sure to exercise caution, because too much peroxide can damage your floors and have a negative effect. If used in the right doses, the peroxide will lighten the appearance of the stain. If you want freedom making decisions about your house, you need to move to a rural area. There the properties are much larger and in most cases, there are no rules or regulations to tell you how to decorate your home or garden. This can be a blessing for those who are creative enough to give a unique look to their property. Keep your home and family safe by properly installing a smoke detector in your home. Smoke detectors detect unsafe and hazardous smoke before you do. Stay on the safe side and purchase a new smoke detector. Make sure to check the batteries every month to ensure that it is working correctly when tragedy strikes. If you have the space and it is allowed under city ordinances, consider adding an extension to your home. www.therousehomes.com can be used as an office, den or family room. Consider putting a skylight in your addition. These add ons will increase the value of your home considerably. If you are a homeowner, you shouldn't hire any contractors who don't have licenses to work on your home. No matter where it is that you currently reside, all contractors are required to have some sort of certification from your state. Of course, this doesn't mean your contractor is competent, but is does show that he has the proper credentials. Proper licensing will protect the homeowner and the contractor's employees from falling victim to unscrupulous builders. If you are planning a do-it-yourself renovation project, make sure to familiarize yourself with the safety precautions of the materials and tools you will be using. Power tools, paint and other finishing products, and even hand tools all carry with them significant dangers. If you're using a piece of equipment that's new to you, don't be afraid to ask for help from a friend or hardware store associate. If you are working on your own home improvement project involving laying brick, make sure you use brick ties in sufficient quantity. Brick ties are metal clips used to anchor bricks to the wall structure (wood studs or what have you) behind them. Many do-it-yourself types are seduced by the apparent sturdiness of bricks and fail to realize that they must be secured to the wall via brick ties. To raise your home's value without spending a lot of money, take the time to replace your light fixtures. Light fixtures are one of the first things that catches a buyer's eye, and a dingy and dated one can change their opinion of the whole room. An inexpensive new light fixture will make the room feel fresh and new. Use high-quality insulation around your plumbing system to prevent your water from freezing during this coming winter. You can purchase weatherizing tape that is easy to apply to your plumbing lines. When you use weatherizing tape, you will avoid damage to your plumbing due to freezing. If you work hard to improve your home in any way, you will really feel good every time you look around at your house or when you walk in the door after a long day. Knowing that your input has improved the quality of life for your family will create immeasurable satisfaction. www.therousehomes.com
