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Your home’s pipes go through a lot in the winter. With the temperatures outside dropping below freezing on a regular basis, preparing your home’s plumbing for the coming season can help prevent water leaks, burst pipes and other problems. The following tips will help you prepare your pipes for this coming winter. Insulate Your Pipes Pipe insulation helps to shield your pipes from extreme low temperatures, and also helps your home operate more efficiently. Pipe insulation comes in self-adhesive tubes that can easily be cut down to the right size and attached to the pipes in your home. If you’re […]
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From washing the car to watering the lawn, outdoor faucets are important for a variety of reasons. For your convenience, your home should have outdoor faucets in the front and the back yards. Whether your home lacks an outdoor faucet in one of these areas, or you simply need more faucets to be productive while working outdoors, this tutorial will walk you through the installation process step-by-step. With a few useful tools and some know-how, you can install a faucet yourself, without help from a professional. Materials: 1 3/8 inch drill bit Drill Pipe cutter Bucket Pipes and fittings Propane […]
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Leaks in underground pipes can be difficult to detect, because they often produce no water that can be easily viewed above ground. As a homeowner, knowing how to recognize the signs of an underground leak can be very important. Since underground leaks can destabilize the soil on your property and potentially cause foundation problems, knowing when you have an underground leak can help you save your property and prevent thousands of dollars in damage. Excess Water in the Soil If you have an underground leak on the area around your house, the soil around the leak is likely to become […]
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Clearing a green swimming pool takes experience and knowledge of the way swimming pools function. If you’ve never taken care of a swimming pool in the past and have no knowledge of restoring chemical balance to swimming pools, then this project may be a little advanced for you. When it comes to swimming pool maintenance, it’s a good idea to start with simple tasks and work your way up to more advanced maintenance later. That said, if you’re already somewhat experienced with swimming pool maintenance, then this is the right task for you. Clear the Swimming Pool Use your net […]
Read more »Clearing a green swimming pool takes experience and knowledge of the way swimming pools function. If you’ve never taken care of a swimming pool in the past and have no knowledge of restoring chemical balance to swimming pools, then this project may be a little advanced for you. When it comes to swimming pool maintenance, it’s a good idea to start with simple tasks and work your way up to more advanced maintenance later. That said, if you’re already somewhat experienced with swimming pool maintenance, then this is the right task for you. Clear the Swimming Pool Use your net […]
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Leaking sprinkler heads wastewater and create problems for plant life in your yard. Now that spring is approaching, it’s time to start thinking about fixing your broken sprinkler heads. This kind of maintenance is good for your yard and your utility bill. If you’d like to repair the leak from your sprinkler this spring, this tutorial will help. Before you get started, it’s important to understand that there’s more than one problem that could cause your sprinkler head to develop a leak. You may need to try multiple methods to fix your sprinkler head before meeting with success. Clean the […]
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Your home’s septic tank system needs to be inspected and pumped periodically in order to keep it functioning smoothly. In this post, we’ll discuss the best DIY method for septic tank inspection. Your Septic System 101 Before you can inspect your septic system, you need to know a little bit about how your septic system works and what you’re looking for when you inspect the tank. A septic system consists primarily of a tank buried in the ground, connected to a structure (like your home) via drain pipes. When waste water exits your home out of the toilets and sinks, […]
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A French drain is a perforated tube that allows water to enter while keeping soil out. Exterior French drains are buried in the soil and surrounded by gravel. The gravel acts like a filter, allowing water to sift down to the pipe while providing support for the soil. The entry point for a French drain is usually found at the top of a grade, maybe or maybe not connected to a home gutter system downspout. Over time, French drains can be compromised by tree roots, stray soil, gravel and other debris. Regardless of whether or not your French drain has […]
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During long, hot, dry summers, tree roots go searching for water in all the wrong places. Sewer pipes can be very attractive for thirsty trees because they provide everything necessary for survival: oxygen, nutrients and a plentiful source of water. Unfortunately, tree roots can do irreparable damage to old clay pipes. At times like this, many homeowners search for the easiest and least expensive solution to the problem, and that leads many people to try tree root killer. How it Works and What it Does Tree root killer is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: it’s a chemical that […]
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Your in-ground pool is a great pleasure to your entire family…3 months out of the year. Installing a pool heater will allow your family to use your pool heater in times of cool weather as well as hot. We’re posting this step-by-step tutorial to teach you how to install a standard pool heater. To do this, you’ll want to be comfortable working with water and gas lines. If you’re not an accomplished DIYer, seek professional help for this task. Pick Your Gas Heater Picking the right gas heater for your pool isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ll want to […]
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