Whether it’s from a doorknob, an accident or a poorly hung picture very few things can make your home look as bad as a big fat hole in the wall and most people think it’s really difficult to fix but it’s really not.

What You Need

• Small tub of spackle
• Putty knife
• Wall repair patch (like the one found here)
• Sandpaper
• Paint
• Primer (optional)

Note: If the hole is the size of a quarter or less you might be able to get away without using the wall patch and using spackle only.

Most good hardware stores like Lowes or Home Depot will sell a kit that contains the spackle, putty knife and wall patch, usually for around $10. If you can’t find one at your store or would rather order one online you can find a good one on Amazon here.

Fixing The Wall

1. Clean Out The Hole

Once you have all of your supplies the first thing you need to do is to clean up any debris that remains in the hole. You will probably have a lot of sheet rock or plaster dust in the hole, and possibly other debris that may have found it’s way in there. Clean it out using a knife or screwdriver and use a vacuum to suck up all the dust. This is important because debris will prevent the patch and/or spackle from sticking closely.

2. Apply Wall Patch

This part is pretty simple… just take the patch out of the package. Most patches are a mesh like patch that has a sticky edge around all four sides so it can stick to the wall. Just place the patch as best you can so that the hole is directly in the center of the patch. It’s ok if it’s not perfect, just get it as close as you can. Make sure the patch is stuck to the wall so that there are no bumps or ripples in it… we need it to look smooth when we are all done and any bumps in the patch will result in bumps in the wall.

Note: You may want to use a drop cloth under the hole in case you drop spackle on the floor.

3. Apply Spackle Over Patch

Once you have your wall patch set, open your tub of spackle and grab your putty knife. Using the putty knife scoop out a healthy gob of spackle and apply it to the center of the patch. Smooth it out with the knife so that you get spackle all over the mesh on the patch. Don’t worry if you get some on the rest of the wall… in fact you will need to put a little bit outside the patch so that the patch doesn’t show through later on.

4. Sand The Spackle

Very Important: Wait until the spackle is 100% dry before sanding!!

Once you know the spackle is dry, take some sandpaper and sand the spackle down until it is completely smooth. Be gentle with the sandpaper and take your time. If you are too aggressive you may pull some of the spackle out of the hole and then you would need to start over. Remember you want this to be as smooth as possible so it doesn’t show through later. You may also want to keep a vacuum nearby to clean up the spackle dust because that stuff gets all over everything!

5. Paint The Wall

This step is pretty self explanatory. Get a can of paint that matches your existing wall, or use this opportunity to change your wall colors. You will probably want to get enough to cover the entire wall because it is really difficult to paint a patched area and have it match. If you are a better painter than me you might be able to though. It is probably a good idea to apply some primer to the patched area which will help prevent some dull spots in the wall which happen when you apply wet paint to dry spackle.

Well, that’s pretty much it. Any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments section and I will do my best to get you an answer.

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Cost of Recessed Lighting

Recessed lightning can be used in various ways to either increase the lightning in a room or give your home modern and stylish look. Apart from general lightning, recessed lights can brighten up work areas, artwork, bookshelves and used in open spaces to make them look bigger. The cost of recessed lighting can vary greatly and the installation of such lights is typically done during new construction or renovation projects since at a later stage a section of the ceiling must be cut for each light in a way that does not interfere with the existing wiring, piping, or ventilation.

Regardless if you decide to do the installation on your own or hire a professional, the more lights you need installed, the costlier the whole project will be – and apart from the cost, planning the positioning and the exact number of lights is probably the most difficult part. There a few particulars about recessed lights that you should be familiar with – these light look great, stylish, and can give your new house a trendy modern look, but they do not provide as much light as the classic light bulb. In addition, if you install them in a kitchen or other area, which should be well illuminated, you will have to make sure that you install sufficient number of lights, while in the bedroom you will not need as many. If you have difficulties deciding on the exact number of lights, it is advisable to have more rather than less and in such case you can have two sections of recessed lights installed, each of them with their own switch.

The cost of recessed lighting will also depend on the type of lights that you wish to install – low voltage lights are smaller and you can have more of them, but they are also typically more expensive than the line voltage lights since they need a transmitter. However, while the line voltage recessed lights can be either spot or flood, the low voltage ones can come with more than a dozen beam variations. Then, you have IC and NON-IC lights: the IC lights can be installed where the insulation can touch the can’s housing while the NON-IC lights must have a gap of three inches or more between the can and the insulation.

In most instances you will hear that installing a recessed light would cost you anywhere from $20 to $150 per light, but it is very unlikely that you will pay less than $40 per light even if you do the entire installation yourself. Even though going the DYI route is as always less costly, it is relatively easy only if the ceiling or the walls are torn open and you should do the installation on your own only after taking all the necessary safety precautions. In the cases where you have to call qualified electrician to do all the work, you can expect the cost per light to go as high as $200 and even more. Of course, you should get at least a few estimates and choose the contractor with most experience, proven quality work, and reasonable prices.

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The Cost of Home Remodeling

Home remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to your own home. Though mainly centered on building projects it can also be in reference to improvements on gardens and outbuildings, for instance, gazebos and garages.

Depending on your budget, you could hire a general contractor, specialized contractors or do the work yourself. If you cannot afford to hire specialized help, do not worry. Many people do the renovations themselves. Either way there are key factors that need to be followed in remodeling your house. In most cases most of these if not all have something to do with asking for advice. You can get a free contractor quote here as well.

By learning from other people’s experiences, you find that you will avoid the same pitfalls that they fell into and possibly avoid spending extra cash on unnecessary items. It is therefore wise to ask around before you decide to begin on your remodeling. Do not rush into things in your eagerness to get started. Take the time to ask many questions and you will prevent problems later that can slow you down.

Plot a rough draft on a piece of paper so that you will be able to plan on what you need. Carrying out this step will help prevent the situation of making a mistake that will have to be corrected later on at an extra expense.

Make sure that if you decide to acquire hired assistance that you get the best by performing due diligence. For instance, before you decide to hire a contractor be certain to contact at least three references that will inform you of that particular contractor’s work ethic. Why pay for bad service when it is possible to get better. By planning for problems before they take place you can avoid mistakes that have not been budgeted for. The bigger the renovation the higher the chances of huge and expensive mistakes taking place. Ask your workers to park their trucks some distance away from the work site and keep the building materials out of range.

Make sure that the contractor or whatever assistants you have, share in your vision. This can be ensured by having the contractor sign a contract that stipulates that they agree to perform the work and how long it will take to complete it. This will curb misunderstandings and avoid the inconvenience of having to swap contractors at the last minute, which might mean having to make new payments on your part.

Make sure that you contact local authorities before you start renovating your home in order to find out whether there are any regulations that you need to follow in carrying out your project. There is no need to have your building condemned to demolition after having completed remodeling your home.

Finally, even the best budgeted for renovations can cost more than their initial projections. Because of this, it is advisable to have some cash put away just in case remodeling your home turns out to be more expensive than you had initially calculated. Imagine your house with no running water, just because you forgot to make an allowance in the cost of plumbing materials.

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Cost of Painting a House

Painting a house can easily cost you a few thousand dollars and is a project that you should budget for carefully! The final cost will largely depend on the size of the house or the area that you wish to paint, the type and the quality of the paint, the amount of preparation work, and whether you do the painting yourself or hire a contractor. Your first task would be to carefully measure the area, which will determine the amount of paint that you need – for external painting, you might want to apply two coatings and the same is valid if you paint light color over dark one. The price per gallon of paint varies greatly and can start from as little as $25 per gallon and go as high as $600 per gallon; however, you should not choose the cheapest paint as it won’t last and paying just a bit extra is likely to give you paint that can easily last for five years or more. A gallon of paint is likely to cover around 400 feet, so once you know how large the exterior of your house or the area that you want to paint is, you can determine the amount of paint that you would need. You can get a free contractor quote here as well.

Do-it-yourself vs. hiring a contractor:

It is understandable that if you paint your house yourself, you are likely to save around %60 of what a contractor would charge – in fact, labor can make up to 75% to 85% of the total cost of hiring a contractor. However, the contractor is also likely to do far better job than you are, unless you have previous experience or expertise. Even when you go the DYI route, you should budget for far more than just the paint – you are going to need tools that you probably do not own and have to rent. Renting pressure washer, scaffolding or long ladder, and power washer can cost you anywhere from $120 to $400, depending on your location; add to the final cost the money what you would spend on sandpaper, masking tape, and patching compounds, budget for the unexpected and you will get the finally cost for the project.

Hiring a contractor is costly, but probably well worth it if you have not ever held a brush or a roller – most contractors charge per square foot and you should get at least three or four different estimates before making your choice. Keep in mind that over the phone you are likely to get just a rough estimate and the price per square foot will vary according to the surface type, the amount of prep work that needs to be done, the number of coats that have to be applied, and number of other factors. The most accurate estimate you will get after the contractor makes an on-site visit and gives you his quotation – get everything in writing, including the type and the price of the paint, the cost of labor, cleanup work, as well as the estimated duration of the project.

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Cost of a New Heating System

Your choice of a new heating system is likely to depend on great variety of factors: the weather in your region, the size of your house, its insulation, and last but not least on your budget. The newer technologies have made the latest heating systems much more efficient that the ones that were used even two decades ago, but it is often less costly to simply repair your already existing heating system or even convert it to different and cheaper fuel system when that is possible. When calculating the costs, it is always wise to take into account not only the installation and other immediate costs, but the long-term expenses as well. In cities and states where long and cold winters are the norm, it is often cheaper in the long run to invest in higher-end and more expensive heating system, which is likely to considerably bring down the monthly bills. You can get a free contractor quote here as well.

You will inevitably need a new heating system if the old one has broken components that cannot be repaired or the repair is cost prohibitive; also, if the system is really old and with very low energy efficiency, then replacing it with a new one is likely to pay for itself in the course of just a few short years. In order to save money on such a large and costly project, you will have to familiarize yourself with the different heating systems and the different types of fuel that they use. Natural gas, electricity and fuel oil are the three most commonly used heating fuel types and if you live in colder climate, choosing gas or even fuel oil is going to be far less costly than electricity.

Another important step is choosing the heating system type – you might want to opt in for all-in-one solution that heats your house during the winter and cools it in the hot summer days. Most houses have central heating systems with central warm air furnace systems and hot water systems being the most popular, followed by heat pumps heating systems. From the stand-alone systems the built-in electric units, room heaters and wall, floor and pipeless furnace are the most common.

The least expensive option when replacing an old heating system is to replace it with system of the same type since this will probably allow you to use some of the existing piping or ductwork and actually replace only some and not all of the parts. Since installing a new heating system is something that most people would hire a contractor for, you should take the time to find the best men for the job – ask your friends, family, and coworkers for their experiences and recommendations. Then, call a few contractors and let them give you their estimates and carefully evaluate each bid. Check the contractors’ license, their experience, and ask about the given warranties; always ask for written description of the project before the work begins and make sure that the costs are not only broken down, but provisions for variables and contingencies are also made.

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Cost of a Room Addition

New room addition is a very costly undertaking and one that requires careful considerations; the reality is that adding a new room is more complicated that building a house and the cost per square foot can be up to two times higher than the cost per square foot of a newly built house, although this ratio is normally within the 130% to 150% region. This is due to the fact that the builders will have to make an addition to your house that not only matches its exterior and take into account various construction details, but most likely they will have to work while you and your family are still living there. You can get a free contractor quote here as well.

However, even before you begin, you need to pay your local zoning office a visit: photograph your house from a few different angles, measure the size of the room that you desire to build, and then your local zoning officials will inform you if what you have in mind is allowed by the zoning laws. Once you have taken care of this, you will need to secure the financing of the room addition – unless you have quite a large sum of money lying around, you will probably need to speak to your bank or borrow from your family and if you borrow from the bank, you will be charged interest, which will add up to the total cost of your project. You might want to also visit an estate agent and discuss if a new room addition is likely to increase your house resale’s value and base your decision on his or her advice as well.

The next step is to have your room addition plans sorted out – keep in mind that having kitchens and bathrooms in the room addition will increase its cost quite a bit and if you have a large kitchen and two or more bathrooms in your house, you might want to leave that out. In order to get accurate bid estimates and good price, contact a few remodeling contractors and make sure that you have a checklist in place – this will help you compare the cost of items and labor side by side from the different contractors, and once you take their expertise and your friends’ and family recommendations into account, you would be able to make an educated choice.

The more detailed your specifications and plans are, the less are the chances of the contractor encountering unexpected problems and charging you extra as the work progresses. If at all possible, you might want to purchase the necessary materials yourself (after obtaining the material list from the contractor) since this is likely to cost you less and also do some of the cleaning and the preparation work as well since the contractor will charge you a premium rate for his time. The costs of the materials and the labor largely depends on the state of the housing market and when this market is hot, you would clearly pay more for both; on the other hand, in times when the market has cooled down, you will probably end up saving quite a bit of money.

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Cost of Waterproofing a Basement

If you see puddles in your own basement, wet spots or white chalk substances on the walls, then you might have a problem that needs to be addresses right away. You would you want to waterproof your basement for great number of reasons – in the most serious cases water can cause some damage to the foundations of your house and present electrical shock hazards, but even in mild situations the dampness can promote the growth of mildew and mold that are known to cause allergies and asthma.

If your basement is waterproofed, you can use that extra space for storage or turn it into a lovely home theater or gaming room. Waterproofing your basement comes at a cost, but before you pick up the phone and start calling local contractors or asking you bank manager for yet another loan, take the time to investigate the problem. If you aren’t up for the task you can contact a few basement waterproofing specialists here and compare quotes.

In order to do so, find out where the water is coming from – in the case of seepage, caused by insufficient outside drainage, you can easily rectify the problem yourself by clearing out the debris that block the gutters or the downspouts. You should also make sure that the downspouts extend ten feet or more from the house and the ground wound the house slopes away from the foundation. In this case, you can either spend no money at all or in the worst case scenario pay a few hundred in case you need to replace any damaged downspouts or gutters.

If condensation is the problem, then in order to reduce the cost of waterproofing your basement, there are few steps that you can take and see if you can avoid calling a contractor. You can examine all the piping that runs through the basement and replace or repair any leaking pipes and also insulate the cold water ones; having dehumidifier in the basement and air conditioner that keeps it heated in the winter and cool in the summer will also reduce condensation considerably.

More difficult to fix are problems caused by seepage through the concrete pores or cracks in the foundation and in these cases you are likely to need the help of a local contractor. The costs for the materials and the labor will vary from one region to another, but you can lower these costs by getting at least three different quotes and choosing the one that is the most affordable. You can also ask the hired contractor to pass some of the discount on the materials that he is getting to you, or ask him if you can purchase the materials yourself if that is less costly. In most instances, the local contractors will give you free, no obligation estimate so you can call as many contractors of them as you wish, but you should take their experience and skills into account as well since waterproofing your basement is something that you would want done right and only once.

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Cost of New Wood Floors

Wood is great for flooring since it has unmatched natural beauty and warmth, and is easy to maintain and eco-friendly as well. It also offers great variety – apart from the different species of wood, today you can find great number of styles and colors to satisfy even the most exquisite taste. It has also been proven that houses with hardwood floors on average sell faster and if you add the fact that this type of flooring can easily last for hundred years, you have plenty of reasons why you might want new wood floors in your home.

However, as with any other home improvement, you are likely to work with a budget that will influence your choices one way or another: in order to find the right balance between your personal taste, the best quality possible, and the amount of money that you would want to spend on a new wood floor, you should familiarize yourself with the different available options. The best place to start is to get free local flooring quotes and compare prices and contractors to see what suits your needs and budget best.

Engineered versus solid flooring – in order to get the best value for your hard-earned money, take the time to learn the difference between the two. Engineered hardwood floors are less expensive, but made by attaching one layer of hardwood to another layer, which is typically made of cheaper material. In most instances, the engineered flooring will wear faster than the solid wood, especially if you purchase the least expensive type that has a very thin layer of wood veneer. However, the engineered wood flooring has its advantages as well – it doesn’t have to be glued or nailed to a base and often the pieces can be clicked together and don’t require glue either; the engineered wood is also capable of handling moisture better due to its plywood (or similar material) base, which makes it suitable even for basements and any other rooms, where solid wood might not be appropriate for. Solid wood on the other hand typically comes unfinished, which gives you greater control over the final look of your flooring since you can choose the wax or the varnish.

The cost of your new floor will also depend on the species of wood that you choose: keep in mind that apart from checking out the cost of the material itself, the labor cost is likely to differ from one food type to another and some of the most exotic woods can come with up to three times higher labor cost than pine. If your budget is comfortably large, all you have to do is call a few professional installers, let them give you their quotations and choose the one that appeals the most to you. On the other hand, if you want to bring down the costs, you can take the time to visit the various dealers and stores in your area, learn about the different wood floor types and styles, take note of the material and delivery prices, and find out if you can do at least some of the work yourself in order to avoid paying premium hourly rates.

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Cost of a Bathtub Replacement

Bathtub replacement can be quite a costly endeavor and before you start calling the different local contractors for quotations or applying for a loan, you can take a look at the alternatives as well. Quite a few companies offer bathtub restoration (compare bathtub replacement quotes here) which is likely to cost you just a few hundred dollars, compared to the few thousand that you are likely to spend on removing your old bathtub and replacing it with a new one. Resurfacing can be done on-place and without the need to tear down walls or break the tiles in your bathroom and can repair damage and scratches to your bathtub and make it look like brand new for years to come.

However, when necessary, bathtub replacement should be done wisely since, as we have already mentioned, it is going to cost a few thousand dollars. The exact cost will vary from one region to another and the only way to get an accurate estimate of the full cost is to follow the golden rule and get three different estimates. Even if you are replacing your older bathtub with a new one with exactly the same dimension, this still isn’t a simple task – piping has to be disconnected, sections of the walls might have to be torn down, and the toilet and the cabinets might have to be removed as well. And this is why this complicated task to be left to the professionals – keep in mind that a professional team of contractors might need anywhere from two-three days to more than a week to get all this work done and if you try to go the DIY route, you are likely to need twice as much time. And unless you are demolition expert and a qualified plumber, you are also likely to make quite a few mistakes, which can be pricey to repair.

The total cost of the project depends on good number of factors and apart from labor, the cost of the bathtub itself will make a significant difference as well – steel and fiberglass bathtubs are more affordable than cast iron, but not as durable and don’t retain heat that well. Water jet and jet-air tubs are quite trendy right now, but some of the models can cost as much as five thousand dollars and more and the quality and the type of the fittings that you choose will also have an impact on final cost as well.

You might be able to save some money by purchasing the fixing and the tiles yourself and also doing some of the preparation work if at all possible. However, unless you are well qualified and have the necessary expertise, let the professionals do all the work; it doesn’t hurt to ask them for discounts on material and labor though and with some careful planning and a lot of common sense, you will get your old bathtub out of the way and replace it with a brand new one without having to pay more than you need to.

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