Owning a home comes with the responsibility of taking care of it. Sure, you could hire out contractors to do your home repairs for you, and there are certainly things that require you to do so.
There are a lot of repairs that people don’t know they can make themselves, however. If you do what you can to maintain and repair your own home, you’ll save thousands and dollars over the years.
In this article, we’ll cover a few of the home repairs you can make to keep your home in tip-top shape on your own.
Home Repairs to Make on Your Own
These are repairs that almost anyone should be able to take on. Most basic home repairs can be done on your own, but many of them have physical restrictions.
1. Unclog Your Toilet
Many people have the experience of calling a plumber over to their home, just to find out that the solution to their clog was very simple. The cost doesn’t change though; a plumber will charge you hourly, not based on how simple the repair is.
Cut out the middle man and learn to unclog your drain yourself. First things first, try to use your plunger. If the water in the bowl is low, fill it enough to completely submerge the plunger’s head in the water.
After that, give it roughly ten good plunges. Anything small should be taken care of at that point. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need a drain snake, sometimes called a toilet auger.
Run the snake down your drain until it reaches a stop where the clog is. Start cranking and the snake should catch the clog, allowing you to pull it out.
2. Leaky Pipes
Sorry to all the plumbers out there, but here’s another situation where you can do the work yourself. Well, in most cases.
A lot of bathroom and kitchen sink pipe leaks only involve a worn out piece or a broken nut. Identify where the leak is, shut off the water to the sink, and replace the nut or piece that is closest to the leak. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to see the direct spot where the leak is coming from.
3. Garage Door
Many people find that their garage doors are overly squeaky, grind a lot, or don’t move in the correct fashion.
Most issues with a faulty garage door come from the fact that the spring is broken. If the door moves up only 6 to 10 inches and stops, the culprit is the spring. Additionally, an extremely slow pull upward is usually caused by a broken spring.
Read this blog for an explanation of garage door problems and how you can solve them.
4. Smelly Garbage Disposal
If you have a foul odor coming from your garbage disposal, it’s relatively easy to get rid of the smell. The first thing to do is get a disposable toothbrush and clean well under the splash guard. The splash guard is the rubber surrounding the inside of the drain, and it’s visible from the outside of the sink.
If the problem is coming from a jam or clogs in the disposal, turn off the power and the water. Unplug the disposal and take the baffle out(that’s the central tube, and it should be able to slide right out) and look into it for materials. After that, you can use tongs to grab the object that’s clogging the drain.
5. Roof Vents
A lot of times, the vents on our rooftops were installed when the house was built and never changed. That means that all kinds of debris have gone in and out, and maybe some of it never left. Vents are particularly vulnerable to get clogged.
Surprisingly, it’s easy to replace these vents. You need only take off the shingles surrounding the vent and remove the vent itself. There may be nails going through the vent, but it shouldn’t be a problem to remove them.
A little knowledge of shingling and the right choice of the vent will be all you need to make the replacement. Doing this can seriously improve your air quality, which could be affecting your health.
6. Weatherstripping
Spaces between your doors and window can be a huge money and energy suck in the winter. You can decrease your energy consumption in a big way by simply adding weather strips to your doors and windows.
All you have to do is run to the local home store and buy the stripping. After that, you nail the material to the spaces allowing air on the window and door frames.
7. Holes in the Wall
If you live in a place for more than a few years, you’re probably going to put a dent or two in the walls. Especially if you have kids.
The nice thing is, it’s well within your skill level to fix those eye-sores.
When the dent doesn’t pass through the entirety of the drywall, the solution is simple. Find a way to scrape off any debris that might have chipped or come up when the damage happened. Once it is smooth, you’re ready to move on to the spackle.
Try to find spackle that is fast drying, as it is typically just as strong as the slow drying alternative. Cover the dent or small hole with the spackle you buy and smooth it out with a palette knife.
It should take roughly 24 hours to dry if the spackle is fast-drying. Make sure to read the instructions carefully, as there may instructions to mix the spackle with water for it to activate.
Need to Make Repairs in Other Areas?
The home repairs in this list aren’t ones that you would think were particularly easy. The thing is, there are a lot of little life tips and tricks that are as easy, if not easier.
We’ve got a large list of life hacks for you to add to your daily life. Visit our site to learn more.