Home Maintenance: Replacing Worn Paint and Carpeting

Not everything that has to do with home maintenance has to be difficult, tedious or expensive. Some simple maintenance projects can be fun for the do-it-yourselfer, such as new paint or new carpeting.

Home Maintenance: Interior Painting

A new paint job can bring new life to a home. Before painting, make sure you properly prepare the surface. Then, follow the six step process listed at www.doityourself.com:

1. Apply a prime coat in order to make the new paint adhere to the surface.
2. Begin painting the ceiling, first covering the perimeter and unpainted areas around fixtures.
3. Moving widthwise in sections about six feet square, use a series of overlapping 'W' strokes from left to right, then back from right to left. Repeat these same steps with all of the walls, covering them to within 1.5 inches of all edges.
4. Mask the ceiling perimeter with painting tape, then paint the upper perimeter of all walls with a paint roller.
5. Wait until the first coat of paint has dried before you apply a second coat (if one is needed).
6. Protect newly painted wall surfaces with painting tape or a paint edger while painting the woodwork.

Home Maintenance: Installing Carpet

Installing your own carpet can also be an interesting and manageable part of home maintenance. The most difficult part of this process is selecting the type of carpet. Your choice should be based on the sort of strength and durability that your home carpetign needs. Also, try to remember how long the previous carpet lasted, or when the next time will be that a redecoration occurs. This can help you gauge how much to spend on the new carpet.

After selecting the carpet, you will need to pepare the floor. Start by prying the old carpet up. Next, completely clean off the surface of the floor by sweeping or vacuuming and make sure to check for moisture problems if the carpet covers concrete to avoid ruining the new carpet.

According to www.doityourself.com, when nailing carpet into concrete, make sure to know where the heat ducts under the floor are located to avoid puncturing them. To locate the ducts, moisten the floor among the wall and turn the heat up. Whichever area dries the fastest is where the pipes are. Marking this area with chalk or marker will ensure further avoidance.

The tools you need include a saw or shears, tackless strip, masonry nails, a hammer, carpet padding, heavy scissors, a utility knife, a staple gun, duct tape, a row cutter, seaming tape, a seaming iron, a rolling pin, a knee kicker, a power stretcher, a trimmer, a stair tool, and a gripper edge.

Home Maintenance: Hiring a Professional

Projects such as these can be the more exciting and interesting aspects of home maintenance and redecorating. Homeowners should not hesitate to contact a professional should they have questions or run into problems attempting these tasks themselves. It can often be safer and sometimes more cost effective to hire a professional anyhow, and the homeowner could always watch to be prepared for the next time!