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Opting for DIY Home Improvement

DIY Home Improvement Ideas

Each one of us wants a prefect abode but delay our home improvement plans as the cost incurred is too high. Spending $50,000 just to remodel a kitchen does not seem to be a good move when your old kitchen furnishing is doing just fine.

Moreover, these home repair & renovation jobs are quite expensive and hiring a professional contractor further adds to the costs. However these days, you do not have to spend so much to enhance the aesthetic appeal of your home, especially if you are ready to put in some effort yourself. Do-It-Yourself or DIY task will allow you to save significant amount of money as you do not have to pay any professional for the job.

In order to improve your home you can paint the walls, update fixtures, or install energy saving solar panels, insulation or even flooring. Any of these will do wonders to improve the aesthetics of your home and increase its value. Installing floors is a great option to give a delightful visual effect to your abode. Further, tiling, grouting, carpentering are also other options for floor improvement.

Availability of highly effective do-it-yourself or DIY kits present in the market have made it all the more easy for homeowners to renovate their homes rather than seeking professional help. Homeowners who availed the services of expert professionals in the past are also opting for DIY home improvements nowadays. The reason for the surge of user-friendly DIY home improvement kits is that these are easy to use and come with detailed procedure description that allows even first time DIY enthusiasts to complete the task with ease.

This trend got tremendous boost due to easy availability of various government grants and refinance options. These finance options allow people to spend their savings on enhancing the look of their homes and get financial incentives that help in offsetting some of the cost incurred on the task.

Performing the DIY tasks is convenient, provided you have patience, skill and adequate tools to complete the task. One of the simplest DIY tasks is installing new floor as it can drastically change the overall look of the house. For installing new floor, you need to choose from the different flooring options available. Tile vinyl, laminate floor and epoxy are few alternatives that can be installed in no time. After you have decided what flooring option you want to install, you need to ensure that all the tools are working properly and have all other essential things that is required for doing the task. While installing new floor or doing any other task, make sure you follow all the instructions carefully, along with following safety tips.

Doing task on your own and seeing the outcome, you realize that all the effort was worth as it adds to the aesthetic appeal of your home as well as increase its value. Moreover, opting for DIY home improvement helps save substantial amount of money as well as avoids dealing with annoying professionals. Furthermore, you gain immense satisfaction on seeing how all your efforts have improved the appearance of your home. Owing to all these factors, more and more people are opting for DIY home improvement.

1-DAY APPRENTICE STONE RESTORATION TRAINING

1-DAY APPRENTICE STONE RESTORATION TRAINING – FREE ENTRY

Date: January 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Location: 5047 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90016 (corner of Jefferson and La Brea, off the 10 fwy)

Please reserve in advance Seats at this event usually fill up quickly.

This course was designed for anyone interested in performing quality stone and tile restoration services. This one day event covers the most popular entry level Stone & Tile restoration services in a more hands-on environment than any other one day event. This is a minimal classroom, maximum hands on event meant to allow attendees to work with various types of equipment and processes to gain confidence in order to actually go out the next day start generating revenue.

FOR MORE INFO CALL
877 880 8453 or 323 731 8453

Come and learn how to turn those “Before” to “After”

Counter top before and after

Floor Before and After

Shower Organization Ideas in Thinset and Tile

Shower Organization Ideas by TileWare Products

Innovate – Engineer – Connect

Expending the function and use of tile.

The Attach to, Not Through Tile Fastener System

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Shower Organization

Study the great ideas below to organize your personal care products. You could easily spend thousands of dollars building a beautiful custom tile shower and omit organization. The images below will help you make intelligent planning and purchasing decisions before starting your new building or renovation project. Enjoy – these concepts should be both personal and practical while having the capacity to last for decades. Let us know if you like our ideas.

Small Soap, Shampoo and Extra Deep Shampoo

Arrange these baskets together on one long wall, especially when thermal barriers may prevent a niche from being installed or when the plumbing wall offers no space for organization products.

Small Soap, and Shampoo

Arrange these baskets together in smaller showers where space is limited. This solution will keep your personal care products within arm’s length, no more stooping down to pick up shampoo off the shower floor.

Shallow Corner Soap, Combination, Extra Deep Corner and Extra Deep Shampoo

Though this seems like a significant amount of shower organization, it’s typical of most U.S. households, especially when we share shower space. Combining the corner and the plumbing wall allows you to maximize your shower organization potential even in smaller spaces. Also, observe the location above and below the valve trim; this is an exclusive and permanent location offered by tile professionals only.

Shallow Corner Soap and Extra Deep Corner

For those that love utility in the corner space, here’s your look – simple and effective. This solution will keep your personal care products within arm’s length, no more stooping down to pick up shampoo off the floor.

2 – Extra Deep Corner

This takes organization to a deeper level… these two baskets offer space with depth. If you buy personal care products in volume, these baskets will have the capacity to hold that weight and more. This solution will keep your personal care products within arm’s length, no more stooping down to pick up body wash off the shower floor.

Shampoo and Extra Deep Shampoo

This is such a logical location to arrange baskets. Both the shampoo and extra deep shampoo are scaled the same except for the basket depth. Arrange smaller containers above and larger containers below. These locations are exclusive and permanent – offered by tile professionals only. Think about it, have you ever seen an integrated solution below the valve – now possible because our system will not puncture piping.

Combination and Extra Deep Shampoo

Same concept as above only with a combination basket. The combination provides space for his and her soaps.

Combination only

The combination basket provides space for his and her soaps and personal care products. This is a great basket to integrate with a niche and will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Extra Deep Shampoo only

The extra deep shampoo basket provides space for extra-large containers. This is a great basket to integrate with a niche and will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Small Soap, Combination and Extra Deep Shampoo

This is such a great trio, total utilization of the plumbing wall. His and her combined utility, storage for extra-large containers with one small soap. Integrate these baskets with a niche, it will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Small Soap and Extra Deep Shampoo

This is such a great duo, total utilization of the plumbing wall. Storage for extra deep containers and one small soap. Integrate these baskets with a niche, it will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Small Soap and Combination

Another great duo, total utilization of the plumbing wall. His and her combined utility with one small soap. Integrate these baskets with a niche, it will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Deep Corner and Combination

Another great duo, total utilization of the plumbing wall. His and her combined utility with one deep corner, in case you need a bit more space. Integrate these baskets with a niche, it will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Deep Corner, Combination and Extra Deep Corner

Another great trio, total utilization of the plumbing wall. His and her combined utility with one deep corner and one extra deep corner for large containers. Integrate these baskets with a niche, it will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

2 Combination

Truly his and her unique organizational space. Integrate these baskets with a niche, it will certainly add necessary organizational space once your niche is filled.

Installation Instructions – Video

Installation Instructions – Read

In Stock Ship Same Day

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Quick Pitch System with Composeal and Ebbe Drain Installation

Projects build by Home owner with a help of a friend contractor using our Composeal DIY kit

I loved the result. The process was very easy, resulting in an accurate installation, with a perfect shower base. It is an amazing bathroom remodeling. “Thank you”.

Pictures provide by Mr. Duffy Violante, New York

Credit for to this beautiful project to ON-SPEC. BUILDER CORP. GARDINER, NY 845-883-7453

To buy this kit or similar kits go to this page DIY Shower System kits

In this project material was used are due to the shape and size of the shower additional items was require such as Extra and Extensions in both Quick Pitch and Pre Pitch

Pre Pitch Kit with some Extra and Extensions pieces
Quick Pitch Kit with some Extra and Extensions pieces
Kirb Perfect.
Composeal Blue Waterproofing Membranes with Inside and outside corners.
Universal Center ring (require when using any type of Square Drain.
Ebbe Square Shower Drain.

Installation Instructions – READ

Quick Pitch with Roll-on or Vinyl – READ

Video Library Section – English and Espanol

Dealing With Cracked Grouts

Dealing with cracked grouts is a common problem being faced by almost every homeowner these days. Cracked grout is a common issue associated with all kind of tiles, which gives a very bad look to the floor and walls.

Reasons for Grout Cracking

There are many reasons for grout to crack and most of these are because of poor installation methods. One of the reasons of this can be excessive use of water or polymer additive in the grout mixture. Another reason can be excessive evaporation of water content in the grout mixture which leaves behind pinholes that lead to grout cracking.

Grout cracking can also occur if thinset is not used sufficiently during the installation of tiles. This is because, if the layer is not thick enough, it will pull away from the tile, leaving behind gaps of air under the tile, which subsequently leads to the breakage of tiles.

Repairing Cracked Grouts

Problem of grout cracking is an issue that can occur even in properly installed walls and tile floors. You can take up several measures to repair the cracked grouts, one of which is using grout caulk. Caulk is a substance that matches the color of the grout exactly and is available in the form of tube. One can squeeze the tube and apply it to the cracks to fill the gap. This method usually works on the cracks which are small in size, however, it is one of the easiest ways to get rid of the cracks.

Another option that one can opt for is to find the matching grout for the floor. It will be an easier option if one has some grout left over from the original installation. But, if this is not possible, then one should look for the same brand and color as the original installation.

Next step is to mix the grout and apply it on the cracked area. For this, water and grout are mixed together in a bucket in proper proportion. An important thing to be kept in mind while preparing the mixture is that right quantity of water should be used in order to obtain the perfect consistency. After applying this to the crack, wipe off the excess grout present outside the grout line and leave it for drying.

In case, the grout doesn’t stick to the surface, then one should take a saw and remove the grout present between the tiles. While doing this, one should keep in mind that pressure should not be applied to the tile, else it will break. When the grout is removed, the mixture is applied to the cracked area using a sponge, which provides a uniform and clean look.

Replacing the cracked grout can be another way of curing the cracks. It is the best way to overcome the problem of cracked grouts. Though it is an expensive procedure as compared to repairing the cracked grouts, but it ensures that the tiles will continue to serve well for a longer period of time. As a matter of fact, replacing grout will save you from the problem of re-tiling the floor and walls again.

Wrapping Up.

Depending upon your requirements, you can choose to either repair the cracked grouts or replace them to solve your problem. This would definitely add beauty to the interiors and would provide a clean look.