DIY Gone Wrong
I am a lover of Do It Yourself projects. Anything that will save me a few extra dollars has my attention. The only thing is, I keep forgetting that those people on TV have years of training under their belt and that's why they make whatever they're doing look so easy. Take home improvement for example; last year we had our bathroom painted. Now, I know what you're thinking: you're thinking that if I'm such a fan of saving a few dollars why didn't I just paint the bathroom myself? The answer is because it was the ugly old gray ceramic tile (rusted and stained in places) and I knew at least that that was one job I couldn't handle. Anyway, in order to save myself an hour on the painter's clock I removed the pedestal sink and toilet tank myself. Ha! That wasn't so hard, I thought. Bob Vila, eat your heart out!
Putting the sink and toilet back, however, was another story. When I was reattaching the water pipes to the toilet tank, I had a little trouble with the 50 year old tap that fed into the toilet. It wouldn't budge without a monkey wrench. So I used one and it moved, really, really easily, until, poof!
It broke off. So I stood there with a monkey wrench clamping a tap realizing with that sinking feeling I couldn't turn the main water supply on until it was fixed. Do you think I learned? Of course not. I actually attempted to fix it myself with the sage counsel of our local hardware salesman. I won't go into the details, except to say that eventually some welding was required and I didn't think my creme brule torch would do the trick.
DIY is great, until you realize you that there's a reason for those licensed contractors. I needed a plumber - and fast! I found one on HomeStars (naturally) who was able to come that day. Needless to say, he knew what he was doing and the water was back on three hours later. Whew!
What's your "DIY Gone Wrong" story? How far did you let things get before throwing in the towel and calling a professional? We all have these stories. Write a review and title it "DIY Gone Wrong." The top 3 stories will be published in next month's newsletter, and the top 10 stories published on the Toronto and Boston Blogs. From comic to tragic, we all have our DIY Gone Wrong stories, so share yours now!
Write a review.Labels: DIY gone wrong, painting, plumbers
Posted by Cathy
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Prepping a house for sale
In this day and age where image is everything, getting your house ready to sell is more work than actually moving. No longer is a simple clean up job going to do the trick. Now people get rid of furniture and knick-knacks, repaint, and hire a "stager" to make their house look magazine perfect. How much you do to sell your home really depends on the amount of time and money you can realistically invest in getting it ready. In a perfect world we'd all like to be able to stick the "for sale" sign in the lawn the day we've decided it's time to move on, but if you're like me, life usually gets in the way and the little things like a broken door knob or a loose stone in the walkway get ignored. While you may have learned to live with your home's quirks, prospective buyers don't have any interest in them.
If you are thinking of selling, there are certain steps you need to take before you can put that "for sale" sign in the lawn. See below for a list of suggestions and links to HomeStars categories for businesses who can help you cross "to do's" off your list.
1. Repair anything that's broken or not to code. Call in
plumbers,
electricians, and
furnace specialists to fix leaky toilets and taps, light switches and furnace or air conditioning problems you might have. Fix doors and windows that may have been painted shut. Contact a
stone mason to repair loose or missing stones in your walkway.
2. Paint. How are your walls holding up? Are there scuffs marks or little hand prints all over the place? Did your cranberry dining room actually turn out raspberry and you never bothered to change it? Now is the time to give your house a fresh look. Paint is the most cost effective way of improving your home's appearance. If you're doing the job yourself, take fabric swatches into your local
paint store for colour advice. If you can't spare the time,
hire a painter and ask for their advice on colour. But remember, a neutral colour scheme is best and attracts the widest audience.
3. Declutter. Less furniture and knick-knacks add up to a more spacious feel in a room -- that also goes for the basement and storage closets. If you're not sure what to do,
hire an organizer. Book a
storage locker or hire a portable storage container (the container is dropped off at your door and picked up when you've filled it), sell anything that's too good for a garage sale via newspaper classifieds, consignment shops,
craigslist,
ebay or other on-line auction houses. Give away goods and clothes to rummage sales, Goodwill or other community reuse centres. For junk that is truly unuseable use a
junk hauling company or a
moving company to take your stuff to the dump. Hold a garage sale if it's during prime season (spring or fall), but don't expect to price your items too high, garage sales are really more about getting the stuff out of your house than making money.
4. Clean, clean, clean. Now you can clean your house from top to bottom, including the basement and the attic if they have usuable space.
Hire a cleaner if you're worn out from all the prep work so far. Don't forget about getting
carpets cleaned,
windows washed and the
garden spruced up. The outside of the house reflects the inside and should be as impeccable as indoors.
5. Hire a stager. Depending on what your goals are, how much time and money you are willing to invest and what the maximum return will be on your house will help you determine whether or not you need a
stager. If you're unsure, ask your real estate agent. An agent will advise you as to whether it's necessary depending on factors such as your neighbourhood, your target market, and the current state of your home.
So, you've finished prepping your home, the open house is coming up, you're completely exhausted and frazzled from all the work you've done. If you can in any way swing it, take a mini holiday or go stay with your parents or other kind-hearted souls for a few days -- especially if you have kids. Imagine trying to keep your now picture perfect home clean and tidy with your little darlings under your feet. Being out of the picture will take an enormous stress off of you and the family.
Labels: electricians, plumbers, preparing a house for sale
Posted by Cathy
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It broke off. So I stood there with a monkey wrench clamping a tap realizing with that sinking feeling I couldn't turn the main water supply on until it was fixed. Do you think I learned? Of course not. I actually attempted to fix it myself with the sage counsel of our local hardware salesman. I won't go into the details, except to say that eventually some welding was required and I didn't think my creme brule torch would do the trick.