Home repairs that you do yourself include a variety of projects that while requiring some knowledge of how to use tools, do not require the specialized knowledge of a professional. In addition, such repairs are unlikely to compromise the integrity of your house, and if, for some reason, you are unsuccessful in your attempts, you can still call a repairman to do the job for you.
1) Add Chimes to a Doorbell
This simple DIY project requires some basic knowledge, specifically where to connect the wires for the new chime. Then it is just a matter of adding a second cable from the new chime to the transformer that controls the power to the doorbell.
2) Refinish Hardwood Floors
As long as you have the time and the determination, refinishing your own hardwood floors is a relatively easy task to do yourself. Keep in mind that the whole process from stripping the floor to refinishing can take anywhere from a whole day or more, depending in large part on whether you need to sand the floor or not.
3) Fix a Slow Toilet Leak
If you have a toilet that continues to run after you flush it, you might need to replace the chain or the float valve. Relatively easy to fix, you can usually find the tools you need for such a project at a local hardware store and even at retailers such as Walmart.
4) Fix the Lawn
Over time your grass can thin out, requiring you to reseed and fertilize it. If you decide to care for your lawn yourself, the hardest part is determining what kind of fertilizer you need and how much to use.
5) Replace a Faucet
Replacing a faucet is relatively easy. All you really need are a few tools to disconnect the various hoses and know where the water shut-off valve is for the facet you want to replace. Once you have removed the hoses, remove the old faucet, clean the area where it was mounted, put in the new facet, and reattach the hoses, making sure to tighten them.
6) Clean the Dishwasher
If you notice your dishwasher has started to stink, cleaning it might be your best option. Luckily, this is a task that you can easily accomplish yourself.
7) Fix Cabinet Doors
Many people hate the sound of their cabinet doors as they slam shut when closed. In order to keep your cabinet doors from banging shut, install small felt bumpers, which you can find at your local hardware store.
8) Fix the Garbage Disposal
An easy way to fix a garbage disposal is to use the Allen wrench that came with it, or buy a 1/4-inch Allen wrench if you do not have it. The Allen wrench fits into an Allen screw in the center on the bottom side of the disposal. This screw, when loosened, frees up the impeller inside of the disposal, allowing you to clear blockage more easily.
9) Install Weather Stripping
One part of a house that you will probably have to replace eventually is the weather stripping around your doors. When completing this project, you basically remove the old weather stripping and replace it with new stripping.
10) Fix a Sticky Drawer
To fix a drawer that is hard to open, use paraffin wax, which is most commonly used in the food-canning process and when making candles. You can get it in blocks that you can rub along the drawer slides and other areas to reduce friction, making them easier to open and close.
11) Patch a Hole in the Drywall
The difficulty of patching a hole in your drywall depends in large part of the size of the hole you want to repair. For smaller holes, a little bit of putty and a putty knife should do the trick. For bigger holes, you will need a patch kit; though in this case, unless you know what you are doing, you are probably better off hiring someone for the job.
12) Tighten Cabinet Knobs
After years of repeated use, the knobs on your household drawers and cabinets can come loose, and even though you tighten them, they easily loosen after only a short time. To prevent this, apply a drop of thread adhesive to the screw to ensure that it stays in place.
13) Fix Wobbly Furniture
If you find that a piece of your furniture has a slight wobble, you can easily fix it using nothing more than a few pennies and a hot glue gun. Once you determine which corners are causing the wobble, turn the piece of furniture over, and attach a penny to those corners using a drop of hot glue.
14) Fix a Broken Toilet Lever
Sometimes the handle on your toilet breaks. If this happens to you, the fix is pretty simple and easy to perform. All you need to do is remove the lid on the back of the toilet, remove the nut on the backside of the tank holding the handle in place, and remove it. To replace it, simply insert the new handle in the hole and tighten the nut back into place.
15) Repair Wallpaper
Repairing small rips and seams that are coming apart on your wallpaper is easy. Apply a warm, damp rag to the area of the tear or seam for a few minutes to reactivate the paste. Then apply seam sealer to the area and press the paper down using a roller. Use a sponge to clean off any excess sealer.
16) Adjust Oven Knobs
Calibrating your oven is one task you might have to perform when moving into a home that already has an oven or if you find yourself buying a new one. Fortunately, it is a task that you can easily perform yourself.
17) Regrout Tile
For homeowners with a little DIY knowledge, replacing the grout on your tile is an easy project. Simply pick the right type and color of grout that you need, remove any damaged grout, and fill in the damaged areas with new grout. Use a sponge to wipe up any excess grout.
18) Straighten Window Blind Slats
If you have window blinds that are all mangled up, try using a mini-blind slat straightener before you replace them. The straightener slides over the damaged slat, allowing you to straighten them using pressure.
19) Restore a Deck
Another task that many homeowners can complete themselves is restoring a deck. If your deck is in relatively good repair, then all you really need to do is apply a coating of wood stain to bring out the colors of the deck wood.
20) Fix a Leaky Pipe
Fixing a simple leaky pipe in your kitchen or bathroom is another easy project. For the most part, this only requires you to tighten a loose fitting or replace a section of pipe with a small leak. For more serious leaks, such as those coming from a non-visible source, turn off the water and call a professional plumber.
Bonus
Recreate this simple floating shelf by attaching a round wooden plate and yarn together.
Turn an old door you no longer need into a corner door shelf.
Collect various sized mason jars and paint them white to recreate these rustic bathroom storage accessories.
Make your very own and very colorful personal calendar out of paint chip cards.
Transform an old ladder into a clothes rack.
If you’re a part of a cyclist household, make a bike rack out of wooden pallets.
Turn cheap vintage looking picture frames into the borders of chalkboard to hang around the house and write memos on.
Recreate this unique rustic shelf by gluing actual tree branches to a shallow rectangular shelf.
Or use a big single branch to create a necklace holder.
Replace your shower’s floor with black river rocks to create a spa-like atmosphere.
Hang up a magnetic rack in your bathroom to easily organize all your metal accessories and tools.
If you have multiple kids who are in school, make an entryway storage/organizer to organize each kid’s school items.
Easy to grab on the go and easy to hang back up once home.
Organize all that clutter in your cabinets with plastic containers.
Make cutouts of whatever shapes you want onto your roller blinds to recreate this creative and unique look.
Replace your window screens with lace so they can look stylish and keep out the pesky bugs at the same time.
Stack paint cans or PVC pipes on top of each other to create shoe shelf.
Turn pretty rocks and pebbles into door and/or cabinet knobs around the house.
If you have a spacious backyard, build a fire pit out of stones and lava rocks for evening get togethers.
If you live in a household of coffee lovers, build your very own coffee bar equipped with various coffee tools and ingredients.
And add a big chalkboard to draw out cute coffees of the day.
Make a cute and creative pendant light out of ping pong balls.
Use spray paint to paint them different colors.
Hide that unattractive trash can of yours by building a trash cabinet for it.
Glue fabrics of your favorite prints onto plates to recreate these decorative dining table accessories.
Cut out the pages of a few old books and glue the shallow book covers together to create a wifi router cover.
Because routers aren’t pretty.
Stack old magazines together with a pillow on top to create a stool.
Use two belts to secure everything together.
Cut an old coffee in half and turn it into a mudroom bench.
