2 Home Improvement Skills Every Homeowner Should Have

Being a new homeowner can be a scary, scary thing, especially when it comes to home repairs that have been handled by your happy handyman for so long. Having these few skills cannot only empower you but keep more money in your wallet.

Painting! 

Painting a room yourself can save you upwards of $100. Painting is not as difficult as it may seem. It is a skill you can teach the whole family to do and will likely save you a good chunk of change. You want to start by prepping your wall, it helps the paint stick better to previously painted walls.

You will want to wear gloves and use a sponge and trisodium phosphate cleaner to scrub the walls. Taping the walls can be tricky because sometimes you may not get the precision or ease you are looking for. Try only taping horizontal borders, especially your baseboards and just cut into vertical borders slowly and carefully with a paint brush.

Even if you have just brought home your paint from the store and immediately use it, you could still have dry chunks of paint or other debris inside. Straining the paint with a paint strainer or stocking will avoid all those bits and pieces getting on your wall. If you would like at this point you could add a paint extender or conditioner to prolong the life of the paint and prevent those ugly lap marks.

Painting your wall with a roller can be a breeze just take it one wall at a time and do not move to the next wall until you have completed the one you’re working on. You will want to roll your brush straight up then roll straight down. You will then roll up 3” to the right and roll down 6” to the left and there you have it, some key basics to painting a room in your own home.

Furnace Filters Need To Be Replaced Monthly

When you forget or neglect to change your filter you are literally killing your furnace slowly. The filter keeps dust and dirt away from the blower and prolongs the life of the furnace. You can choose a basic filter or an electrostatically charged fiber filter which is a little more expensive but it will remove even more particles.

When Installing make sure you replace it correctly. You will want to make sure that the arrows or the filters edge is facing toward the blower.

Learning how to take care of some of your own home repairs gives you a sense of pride in yourself and your home. Learning how to keep up your home slowly can help you to not feel overwhelmed. I recommend learning one skill and when you feel comfortable add a new skill.