Lowes Complete Home Improvement

Save time and money doing your own repairs before a new tenant signs a lease. I am not suggesting that you try to do the job of a Plumber or an Electrician. I am however suggesting that you consider doing repairs like caulking a shower or tub, fixing a garbage disposal or installing dimmer light switch.

Sometimes calling a professional for a quote and to perform the work can take a lot more time and money than you may have. Many professionals have a service charge just to tell you the problem. Once the problem is diagnosed, you usually have to schedule another appointment to have the work completed days or weeks later.

Some retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's have recognized that people want to know how to do certain types of projects and repairs on their own. Both retailers offer in-store or online workshops weekly.

Home Depot offers tips on how to install cabinet doors or troubleshoot an electrical problem. Their website offers more than 150 home improvement projects with tips and ideas. There are in-store clinics and online workshops available for projects including: tiling floors and walls, simple ways to manage your lawn and installing laminate flooring.

Lowes allows you to sign up for email newsletters. They also offer step by step tips on projects for installing a ceiling fan and to how to perform simple toilet repair. There are in-store clinics for projects including: how to install hardwood flooring, how to update your bathroom and how to decorate with crown molding.

Before you try to do a repair you should determine if a professional is needed. The next thing you should do is decide if you feel comfortable doing the work yourself.

Recently, I decided to install some dimmer switches on several areas where there are recessed lights. I went to the store and found the switches I wanted. I asked the Salesperson for assistance to make sure I had the necessary tools and parts. Once I got home, I read the instructions on how to install the switches and then proceeded to install them. I ran into problem with the lights that had double switches. Fortunately for me there was a 1-800 number for the manufacturer. I called the number and Representative in the technical support department was able to answer my questions within minutes.

I was also able to use a 1-800 for the manufacturer of my ceiling fans. I had an electrician install three ceiling fans that were the same model. When the electrician installed the ceiling fans he did not set each transmitter on a different frequency signal. Every time I turned on one fan, it would also turn on another fan.

Had I called the electrician to install the dimmer switches or to change the frequency signal I probably would have been charged $75 per hour for about two hours of work. Both jobs took me under 45 minutes to complete.

The following is a list of repairs that are fairly easy to complete on your own. As always, if you have any concerns consult a professional.

* Caulking - bathtubs, showers, window sills, door jambs, stringers on stairs

* Painting - rusted porch railings or mailboxes, touch up paint and front doors

* Plumbing - unclogging a toilet or drain, changing the sink or shower fixtures, resetting or unclogging a garbage disposal

* Yard Work - cutting grass, edging up around sidewalks and driveways, applying new mulch, trimming or cutting bushes and trees

* Installations - microwaves, wall shelves, blinds, tool racks and crown molding

Whether you are handy or not, the next time you have a repair consider doing it yourself. Not only will it save you time and money, but it will also teach you how to complete a repair if necessary when a professional is not available. If you do hire a professional, having completed a project in the past will allow you to have a better understanding of how much time the project may take.

For more information or assistance with setting up a real estate investment team (REIT), mortgage planning options or property management, contact Jennifer Johnson, your trusted real estate investment advisor.

Copyright© 2006 by Jennifer V-E Johnson. Others may not copy this material without written permission of Jennifer V-E Johnson. The views expressed in this RE News are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinions of RE/MAX. If you currently working with a Realtor® this is not intended as a solicitation.

Tropical beaches, clear blue ocean, sunny sand filled beaches, palm trees, these are all things that typically come to mind when someone says Hawaiian. If you would like to create a Hawaiian style in your home, you want to think breezy and open. This would be the typical feel to a home or room in Hawaii.

To begin with, it you’re painting the walls, you will want a white or other bright and open color. The earthy tones that you might find elsewhere will not be found here. For Hawaii, we want to think of openness and white walls will help create that feel. If they are painted a color at all, make sure that color is bright without reaching into the neon categories. A soft, bright yellow or green may also create the open feel you’re trying to achieve. Doorways and moldings should be a rich brown such as an oak or cherry. These will contrast nicely with the painted walls while keeping the open feeling in the room.

Decorative touches should include some sort of large green plant. If you can do a palm inside this would be perfect. Another nicely large and green plant would be the elephant plant. This has large broad leaves and can grow several feet tall. This will further add to the tropical feel that you’ve already created through the use of paint on the walls. Other accessories may include shells that could have easily come from the beach, light, airy curtains that can sway in a breeze with an open window, and pineapple shaped glasses in the kitchen or other pineapple shaped kitchen appliances or utensils.

This style of home should be furnished with a heavy use of bamboo, wicker, and/or rattan. The use of this type of furniture will encourage the light, airy feel you’re trying to achieve. This tropical atmosphere will be completed with the use of this type of furniture. The furniture can be painted white or it can be in its natural state of wood. Either way, this addition will help to complete the Hawaiian look.

Fans and in the ceiling whose blades are shaped like palms are a nice touch when creating the Hawaiian feel. You can find them in stores like Home Depot, Lowes, or any retail hardware store that carries ceiling fans. These fans can be used indoors in a kitchen or dining room as well as outside under a canopy. This type of fan would make a great finishing touch.

The Hawaiian feel is one of relaxation and enjoyment. In order to create this feel in your home short of moving to Hawaii, use the above tips. You’ll feel like you’re on the beaches soaking up the sun in no time.

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While installing a rain gutter may not seem all that important to many homeowners, it certainly is significant in keeping your home from experiencing water damage when it rains.

Gutters and downspouts provide protection in many different ways. They prevent wood rot, mold, leaky roofs, siding damage and water in your basement among other things.

A rain gutter collects water off your roof and down the closest downspout and away from your home. This will aid in preventing fascia boards from rotting out and water collecting around your homes foundation.

If you're looking to install a rain gutter, it's not that difficult of a home improvement project. If you're a weekend handyman you can easily complete the project in a day. Stores such as Home Depot or Lowe's all sell gutters and downspouts to fit any home.

Now, if climbing ladders or doing home improvement is not for you, that's no problem. You'll find numerous gutter and downspout contractors that will do it all for you at a very reasonable cost.

You can do a search online to find several companies. Look in your local yellow pages, or even talk with your home improvement store for recommendations.

Finally, after you have installed a rain gutter, be sure to clean them out at least once a year. If your rain gutters are full of leaves, water will just back up and overflow down your house. You can have your gutters cleaned out for as little as $50.

Having a good rain gutter and downspout system installed on your home will go a long way in preventing future water and foundation problems.

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You have decided on a home renovation or remodel project and for whatever reasons, you are not prepared to undertake the construction on your own. You now have to enter the realm of the unknown and identify a reputable contractor.

Identifying contractors is relatively easy, classified sections of major and local newspapers and the yellow pages will yield hundreds of names. However, finding a “reputable” contractor, someone that you can trust to complete the project according to the schedule, within the budget, work safely and provide a quality finished project may be a lot harder.

There are some obvious ways to try to identify reputable contractors:

• Talk to your neighbors, it is usually quite obvious if someone has had a contractor work for them recently – you have seen the contractors trucks parked on the street and driveways.
• If you have a local hardware store, not a big box retailer, talk to the owner and ask if he can supply some recommendations. He wants your future business so it is unlikely that he will recommend someone that he knows is not reputable.
• The big box retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes provide contractor services for most home renovation and remodel projects, from installing wall to wall carpeting, kitchen and bathroom fixtures and cabinets to roofing and everything in between. The services are sub-contracted to local contractors who must pass certain requirements with respect to licensing and insurance. Your contract is with the big box retailer, who has a long-term vested interest in making sure you are a satisfied customer, not the sub-contractor. Usually the big box retailers are somewhat more expensive than a non affiliated contractor, primarily because there are two levels of profit, the contractor and the retailer.
• If it is a major project you can ask your bank manager. Bankers are always lending funds for home renovation and remodel projects and they will be aware of problem contractors.

For more detailed information on finding and qualifying a contractor click on the links following this article.

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