Page 61 – The DIY Life

8 DIY Projects To Increase Your Home’s Value

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May 18, 2016

8 DIY Projects To Increase Your Home’s Value

Your home is often the single biggest investment you will make in your life. The trick is to find a balance between maximising the return on your investment and your monthly budget. There are a lot of things which can be done to increase the value of your home without breaking the bank. With some research and hard work, you can DIY your way to a more valuable home. Some of these ideas are perfect to do just before you sell your home to squeeze some extra value out of a potential buyer.

What You Can Do To Increase Your Home’s Value

Install Wood Or Laminate Flooring

Installing hardwood wood or laminate flooring is an easy and inexpensive way to increase the value of your home. Wood adds an element of luxury and warmth to your living spaces and bedrooms.

Install A Closet To Add A Bedroom

An additional bedroom instantly adds significant value to your home. By law a bedroom has to have a window and a closet. Simply add a closet to your den or office to add another bedroom.

Add Some Feature Lighting

Lighting can be made into an effective decorative feature. Large chandeliers are expensive however installing one or two in key rooms in your house creates the perception of expensive lighting. Down lights and mood lights installed in the right places also assist in subtly highlighting your homes features.

Install Crown Molding

Crown molding provides an elegant transition between the colour of the walls and the white ceiling. It is really easy to install your own crown molding as it is made from polystyrene and can be stuck up with glue or builders acrylic.

Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets

Your kitchen contributes significantly to your homes value and is usually the first room people notice when looking at your home. A coat of paint on your cabinets makes them look more modern and creates the impression that the kitchen has recently been re-done.

Give Your Bathrooms A Makeover

Adding some colour in the form of new blinds or curtains, towels, a rug and some decor can go a long way towards making your bathroom look more modern without costing a fortune. Cleaning and polishing the taps and fittings also make them look new and improve the appearance of the bathroom.

If you are feeling really adventurous, you could try tiling over the existing bathroom tiles to give the floor or wall a modern update. It is really easy to do and eliminates the mess associated with chipping away all of the old tiles.

Upgrade Your Front Door

Your front door is the first feature of your home people are introduced to when they arrive. Upscale your door and entrance area by adding decor or re-furbishing your door. Adding pine trim can transform your door from old to new and make it look like an expensive moulded door.

Install Baseboards

Like crown moulding, baseboards instantly add a colour contrast and elegance to your walls and provide a transition between the colour of the walls and the flooring. As an alternative, for tiled floors, consider adding quarter width tiles around the edge of the room instead of baseboards.

Do you have any tips and tricks for increasing your homes value? We have written a few more ideas for weekend projects which are sure to increase your home’s value, be sure to check them out.

Faux Panel Door Update, Modernise Your Home’s Entrance

Michael Klements

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May 18, 2016

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Faux Panel Door Update, Modernise Your Home’s Entrance

Update your flat panel door with trim and a coat of paint to make it look like an expensive moulded panel door. A plain flat panel door is not exactly an attractive feature in any room. A coat of paint usually helps bring the door back to life but it still tends to blend in with the walls and furniture. A moulded panel door in a contrasting colour really stands out and becomes a feature as a front door or in a living space.

This is a relatively easy project to do and wont take more than about three hours excluding time for the paint and glue to dry. Buy a little extra trim as well to allow for cutting mistakes.

What You Need For A Faux Panel Door Update

Pine Trim Moulding – About 6m (20ft) Per Side
Nail/Staple Gun or Wood Glue
Enamel Paint 500ml (16 fl oz)
Sand Paper – 120 and 240 grit
Builders Acrylic or Wood Putty

How To Update Your Door

First mark on the door where you need the trim to go. Mark the outside edge of the trim as this is the length of trim you will need to cut before cutting the edges to 45 degrees. Be sure to get equal spacing around all of the outside edges. Use a square to ensure that the lines are truly perpendicular where they should be.

Next cut your trim. I would suggest buying pine trim if you intend to paint over it. Pine is a lot cheaper than oak and also much easier to work with. Only buy oak trim if you wish to clear varnish it to match the door’s wood. Cut the trim to the length of the marked outline. You then need to cut the inside edge of the trim to 45 degrees such that a perfect 90 degree corner is formed when two perpendicular pieces are placed together. A regular miter box makes this step a lot easier and start with the longest lengths, that way if you make an incorrect cut you can re-use the piece for one of the shorter lengths.

Now you need to attach the trim. A nail or staple gun works easier with pine trim. Use the thinnest nail which will fully penetrate the trim and the door panel. You want the head of the nail to be flush or slightly below the surface of the trim. If any nail heads protrude, give them a few taps with a small hammer until they are flush. Alternately you can use a strong wood glue to attach the trim but this is messy and requires patience while the glue dries.

Use wood putty or builders acrylic to fill in any gaps between the moulding or sunken nail heads. Let it dry and then sand it smooth so that the trim flows continuously around all of the corners. If you have used wood glue to attach the trim then its a good idea to leave it to dry overnight before painting.

The door can finally be painted. Paint the trim first and then the surrounding panel. It will usually require two or three coats if you are going from a dark wood to white or a light paint colour. Be patient and allow the paint adequate time to dry between coats to get the best finish. The paint may highlight any high or rough spots in your work, allow the paint to dry in these areas and then re-sand them before painting again to get the best finish.

Black numbers or text on a white door (or visa versa) look more elegant and provide a nice contrast. Plastic or metal numbers can easily be spray painted to a new colour. New door handles and locks also go a long way to making your door look more modern and elegant.

Do you have an old steel door which is not holding its paintwork? Here’s a guide to give a steel door a fresh start.

If you enjoyed this project, have a look at these 8 DIY projects to seriously add value to your home.

Have you given your door an update? Let us know in the comments section below, we would love to include your pictures.

14 Less Common Uses For Baking Soda

Michael Klements

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May 17, 2016

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Baking soda is an extremely useful ingredient to keep around the house. From baking to cooking, cleaning to spa products, it has a broad range of uses. Here are some of the less common but very useful ways in which it can be used around the house.

Here Are Some Things You Can Do With Baking Soda

Unclog your drain by mixing it with vinegar. Mix equal parts in a cup and quickly pour the foaming liquid down the drain to unclog and clean.
Exfoliate by using a paste made with coconut oil. Mix 2tbsp of baking soda with 1/2tsp of coconut oil. Scrub the area to be exfoliated with the paste for 3 minutes before rinsing with cold water.
Clean your stove with baking soda and vinegar. Sprinkle your stove top with baking soda, then spray vinegar over the fine powder. The mixture will fizz and lift the grease off of the stove.
Easily clean up a burnt pot or pan using baking soda as the cleaning agent.
Keep your fridge, shoes or cupboard smelling fresh. Place a cup or old tin full of it in your refrigerator and cupboard to keep them smelling fresh. Alternately sprinkle some in your shoes before putting them back in your cupboard to deodorise them.
Make homemade bath fizz balls. Combine it with cream of tartar and some herbs and oils to create homemade bath bombs without any harsh chemicals.
Relax with a face mask made using 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of honey. Mix into a paste and then spread onto the skin and allow it to stand for 15 minutes before rinsing off with cold water.
Make a re-mineralising toothpaste using 1/2 cup of coconut oil, 3 tbsp of baking soda, 1 tbsp xylitol and 10 drops of peppermint oil. Mix together into a thick paste and use in place of normal toothpaste.
Make boiled eggs easier to peel by adding a teaspoon of it to the water when boiling.
Sweeten your home grown veggies by adding a teaspoon of it to the water once a week. They will naturally get a deeper colour and taste sweeter.
Renew your car’s headlights by lightly polishing them with a mixture of equal parts of baking soda and toothpaste. A quick polish will leave your headlights looking years newer.
Refresh your mattress by sprinkling baking soda over it, allowing it to stand for an hour or two and finally vacuuming it up with a brush attachment.
Clean your jewelry by mixing some with dish soap and hot water. No hard work and intensive scrubbing required.
Remove yellow shirt stains. Allow baking soda to do the hard work in removing yellow stains cause by sweat and deodorant on your white shirts.

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Shared Image: BakingSoda by kafka4prez modified and used under CC BY 2.0

Beer Bread

Michael Klements

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May 17, 2016

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This simple bread has an amazing yeasty beer flavour and it’s best served warm with a fresh crispy crust as a side for a hearty stew or potjie. The actual recipe is extremely easy, all you do is mix beer, flour and some sugar and then bake it in an oven for an hour. The beer gives the bread it’s flavour and assists with the rising of the flour while the sugar brings in some sweetness to contrast the bitter hops flavour in the beer. The choice of beer drastically affect the final product, you can go for a lager if you would like a bitter malt taste or for a more hoppy bread try an IPA or blonde.

What you’ll need:

330ml (11fl oz) Bottle of Beer
400g (14oz) Self Raising Flour
50g (1 3/4 oz) Sugar

To really activate the yeast and get the bread to rise well, you need to warm the beer up. This is best done by pouring it into a saucepan and warming it over the stove, you’ll want to warm it to bath water temperature, it mustn’t boil. Next mix in the flour and sugar until a thick dough is formed. Pour it into a bread tin and bake it in the oven at 180°C (360°F) for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

To try something different, pour melted butter over the bread before baking, add wholegrain mustard to the batter or sprinkle some Cheddar or Gouda cheese over the top.

Reduce Your Electrical Bill By 75%, Start Saving

Michael Klements

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May 16, 2016

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Reduce Your Electrical Bill By 75%, Start Saving

The price of electricity is always increasing and a lot of people are looking for ways to save money and reduce costs. A major household expense is electricity and your electrical bill is also one of the easiest bills to reduce. Here are some ways in which you can reduce your household electrical bill starting with the most effective, the items which will give you the biggest monetary saving.

What You Can Do To Reduce Your Electrical Bill

Hot Water

Manage your hot water demands. Your geyser or water boiler is probably the biggest user of electricity in your home. Although it is essential, you can do a number of things to reduce its consumption. The first is good insulation. Make sure your geyser is either sheltered from the environment or better yet, indoors. Next fit a thermal blanket around it to keep the heat inside the geyser. Every bit of heat that escapes costs electricity to put back in. Secondly, consider reducing the geyser temperature, the hotter the water the higher the losses and they are usually set unnecessarily high. Find out what is the hottest you need water in the house and then set the geyser for that. Why mix cold water with the hot in your shower, rather shower with water straight from the geyser that is the correct temperature.

Estimated Electrical Saving: 60% on an Uninsulated and Too Hot Water Heater.

Air Conditioning

Lower your air conditioning demands. Air conditioning and heating are major electricity consumers for most households. The biggest reason for this is that we have become lazy and are unwilling to adjust our environment for the change in season. Consider cutting back tree’s and foliage in the garden to allow more sunlight into your household in winter to warm it up. Gas heating solutions are also much cheaper and more efficient for heating up your home in winter. In summer, keep windows open or partially close curtains in very sunny rooms to keep the heat out of your house. Also consider replacing your air conditioner with a simple fan which uses a fraction of the electricity.

Estimate Electrical Saving: Gas heating 70% on electrical heating (To cost of gas), Fan cooling 95% on air conditioning.

Change Your Lighting

Switch to LED lighting. LED light bulbs use a fraction of the electricity that incandescent bulbs use and even use considerably less than CFL light bulbs. They used to be a high cost lighting option however the price of standard LED light bulbs has come down significantly over the last year or two. First change the bulbs which are on for the longest period, those used for security or decorative lighting outside are usually on for most of the night.

Estimated Electrical Saving: 90% on incandescent, 60% on CFL light bulbs.

Get A New Refrigerator

Replace your old refrigerator. Old refrigerators are huge electricity consumers. If you’re using an old one in the garage just because it’s there or you haven’t considered replacing your kitchen refrigerator, now is the time to do so. Modern refrigerators are significantly better insulated so they run less often and their cooling technology is much more advanced to further reduce consumption.

Estimated Electrical Saving: 70% on an Old Refrigerator.

Replace Your Appliances

Upgrade your appliances. Modern appliances are designed with better control technology and are much more efficient than their old day counterparts. It may seem like a waste of money now but it can save you money in the long run. A simple appliance like a modern day LED TV can be up to 90% more efficient than a TV of ten years ago. Modern appliances also often have eco modes which are specifically designed to reduce water and electricity usage so you can save money on your water usage as well.

Estimated Electrical Saving: 60-95% on Old Appliances.

Using these tips, I have managed to reduce my electrical bill by 75%. My next project will be to see how much of my household electricity usage I can convert to solar power without it being ridiculously expensive to install.

Kitchen Tips and Tricks

Michael Klements

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May 13, 2016

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Use these tips and tricks to make your life in the kitchen easier and more organised.

Attach a document or file holder to the inside of your plastic container cupboard to keep all of the lids organised and easily available.

Store your utensils diagonally in your drawers. A diagonal insert gives you more length to store your longer knives, utensils, rolling pins etc.

Make use of the space under your sink by installing rollers to keep your dustbin bags. This also makes it easy to dispense a bag.

Pour your hand soap and dish liquid into an oil and vinegar set as a colourful decoration by your sink.

Fix containers to the door of your pantry to saving space when storing tubes, sachets and packets.

Install dividers in a cupboard above the stove or microwave to keep chopping boards, trays, pans and baking tins without having to sort through them all to find anything.

Hang your cups, capsules and sachets on a rail system near your coffee machine to create a coffee station and save cupboard space. Alternately make a pallet coffee cup holder here.

Clear up some space in the freezer by clipping open bags to the freezer shelves. This also keeps them closed.

Simple Medal Holder, Display Your Race Medals

Michael Klements

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May 13, 2016

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Simple Medal Holder, Display Your Race Medals

If you do a lot of running or cycling etc, you’re bound to eventually land up with a box of collected race medals. Instead of keeping all of them stored up in a box somewhere, how about making a simple holder to display them on a wall in your home, this way you’ll have a visible piece of motivation to get you out on that next training run to shave some time off your personal best.

What You Will Need To Build A Holder For Your Medals

A plank of wood (it can be stained to match your colour scheme)
Water Based Wood Stain/Varnish (Optional)
15-20 Wood Nails
White Acrylic Paint
Fine Paint Brush For Lettering

How To Build The Medal Holder

If you are going to stain your wood then do it first as it is difficult to fit a brush or sponge in between the nails. I used a dark water based stain called Gripseal as it is clean and easy to work with.

Paint it on and allow the coat to dry, it necessary, apply a second or third coat until you have reached your desired colour.

Next I did the text. I have done a number of triathlons so I liked the idea of having three hangers staggered in the Swim, Cycle, Run sequence. I printed out the text in a font and size I thought would be clearly visible. I then traced the text outline using a sewing pattern tool to mark the outline on the wood. Tracing paper should also work to get a faint text outline imprinted onto the wood. The marks are visible when looking up close but you can’t notice them from a step away. I filled in the text with a fine paint brush and white paint.

The medals hang on nails which are partially hammered into the wood. I spaced them about 1cm (0.4″) apart in a straight line. Be sure to hammer them all in the same depth so that the nail heads are all in line.

To hang the block on the wall, either use a mirror hook or simply drill a pilot hole through each side of the medal hanger and screw through the wood and into the wall. I hammered thin nails through the wood and into the wall which I then touched up with some of the wood stain, they are now barely visible.

Walking by your wall of medals everyday gives you all the motivation you need to get training and enter your next race! You’ll also wow your guests with your own little wall of fame.

On a side note, I have accumulated one or two trophies as well so I’m working on an idea to build a small shelf on top of the swim holder to store these as well, I like the idea of keeping them all together.

How do you hang up your race medals? Let us know in the comments section below. You can also send us your pictures and we’ll include them on our page for ideas.

Recondition a Lead Acid Battery, Don’t Buy A New One

Michael Klements

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May 12, 2016

146

Recondition a Lead Acid Battery, Don’t Buy A New One

Lead acid batteries often die due to an accumulation of lead sulphate crystals on the plates inside the battery, fortunately, you can recondition your battery at home using inexpensive ingredients.

A battery is effectively a small chemical plant which stores energy in its plates. They are chemically charged with an electrolyte which is a mixture of distilled water and sulphuric acid. When the battery is discharged, the lead active material on the positive plates reacts with the sulphuric acid and produces lead sulphate. When the battery is charged, this process is reversed and the lead sulphate crystals react to form sulphuric acid again. The battery fails when there is an excess build up of lead sulphate crystals which then do not allow sulphuric acid to make contact with sections of the plate. These crystals harden and eventually cause a chemical imbalance in the electrolyte.

In most cases, hardened crystals can be removed using a solution of magnesium sulphate. This method doesn’t restore a battery back to original condition but it will restore it to around 70-80% of its original capacity and can be repeated, allowing you to get a few more years of use out of your battery without having to replace it.

What You Will Need To Recondition Your Battery

The Damaged Battery
400ml (12oz) Distilled Water – Buy Here
200g (7oz) Epsom Salts (magnesium sulphate) – Buy Here
A Syringe or Dropper – Buy Here
A Battery Charger – Buy Here

How To Recondition Your Battery

Take the battery out of the vehicle, motorbike or scooter and put it onto a solid work bench.

Some battery’s cells are clearly visible on top of the battery and are sealed with screw in caps. Others, like mine, are protected by a “sealing” strip. You may need to cut the edges of this strip to get it loose but it is almost always removable. Look for the edge of this strip and try to pry it up using a flat screw driver, if it is glued into place, try to cut around the edges of the strip using a sharp craft knife.

Once this has been removed, you will also need to take the caps off each of the individual cells in order to get to the battery acid. Some batteries have small rubber caps like these, others (typically on larger batteries) have screw in plugs which can be removed with a large screwdriver, they’re not usually very tight.

Using a syringe or dropper, carefully drain each cell one by one until they are all around 50-60% full, if some cells are already lower than this then exchange some acid from the fuller cells. You don’t want to take too much out as you will then struggle to charge the battery again. The liquid you are removing is a strong acid so put it into a glass container and be careful not to mess any of it on your hands or clothing.

Make sure that you dispose of the removed battery acid in a safe and responsible manner. The removed battery acid is extremely corrosive and contains heavy metals, mainly lead.

Now you need to make a saturated solution of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) and distilled water. Do this by boiling water and continuously stirring in more salts until no more will dissolve in the water. Then fill each cell with the Epsom salt solution to the full level line using the syringe or dropper.

When charging the battery while it is being reconditioned, some gas will be released, so it is advisable to leave the caps open. Connect a battery charger to the terminals and let it complete the charging cycle. If the battery is heavily drained or damaged, it may have to be charged overnight with a trickle charger at a very low amperage. If you do not have a battery charger then replace the battery cell caps and covers and reinstall the battery in the vehicle. Jump start it and then take it for a full hour or two drive to allow the battery to charge using the alternator.

The reconditioned battery should now last another 6 months to a year and can usually be restored using this method about three to five times until it is no longer effective.

Edit: As some users in the comments section have suggested, the best solution would be to let the reconditioning process run for a few days to properly “clean” the plates and then drain the Epsom salt solution from the battery and replace it with the recommended 35/65 acid solution. Make sure that your battery is discharged before removing the Epsom salt solution and replacing it with the acid solution.

Have you tried to recondition a battery using this method or a similar method? Let us know in the comments section below.

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8 Creative DIY Pallet Projects, Start Recycling Wood

Michael Klements

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May 11, 2016

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8 Creative DIY Pallet Projects, Start Recycling Wood

Pallets are a really affordable way to redecorate and personalise your home on a budget. Have a look at these awesome pallet projects to add some character to your home. If you are wondering where to get used pallets from, first try tile, stoneware, wood, carpet and masonry show rooms. You are most likely to find clean and unstained pallets from these places as they do not deal with chemicals and staining liquids.

Homemade Pallet Headboard

Give your bedroom a rustic look with a natural wooden headboard. This is the perfect beginners DIY project, its simple and doesn’t require any specialised tools or skills.

Pallet Cup Holder

Hanging your cups makes them easily accessible and makes a perfect piece of wall décor for behind your coffee machine or coffee station.

Media Console Table

A media console on which to stand your TV and keep your movies, games, media players and remotes organised, plus you can make the divisions custom sizes to fit your devices.

Pallet Fire Pit Table

Stay cosy outside with a fire pit surrounded by a functional table for your drinks and snacks.

Natural Wooden Wall

A feature wall for your lounge or dining room brings colour and character to the room, another easy project for the DIY newbie.

Pallet Bookshelf

Give your books and ornaments a place to be seen with a new homemade bookshelf.

Coffee Table

A coffee table would go well with homemade media stand to complete your lounge or living room, this one is even white washed to fit in with the lounges colour scheme.

Kids Tepee Playhouse

Give the kids something to play with outside and they will be excited to help you build it!

Have you tried any of these projects? Do you have any new ideas for project which we have missed? Let us know in the comments section below and we will add them.

Traditional Biltong

Michael Klements

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May 10, 2016

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Making biltong the traditional South African way can be extremely rewarding. The process is surprisingly easy and with a few tricks you will save money and win friends over with your unique taste.

To start out, you need to find yourself 2kg (4.5lbs) of the right cut of meat. Biltong requires a good cut so we recommend using sirloin or silverside which has been trimmed of excess fat. Fat tends to spoil if the drying conditions are not ideal so it is best to go for a lower fat piece for your first few batches. Leave some fat on the meat to give it flavour.

Next you need to cut your meat into slices roughly 20-30cm (10 inches) long and 10-15mm (0.5 inches) thick. Remember that the meat shrinks significantly during the drying process however if you cut the meat too thick, it will take too long to dry.

Now you need to spice and marinade your meat. You’ll need a bowl which can hold slightly more than your 2kg of meat. For the marinade and spice mix, you will need:

200ml Brown Spirit Vinegar
80ml Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup of Crushed or Coursely Ground Coriander
2 Tbs Ground Black Pepper
2 Tbs Crushed Sea Salt

Start by pouring a small amount of vinegar and worcestershire sauce in the bottom of the bowl. Next sprinkle a fine layer of the three spices onto the marinade. Now begin layering your meat adding the spices, vinegar and worcestershire sauce between layers. Additional spices can be added during this step to give your biltong its own unique flavour. Spices which work well are:

Cover your bowl in cling film and refrigerate overnight to allow the meat to draw in the flavour of the marinade. For the impatient among us, the meat needs to spend at least four hours in the marinade before it can be hung to dry.

Now the biltong is ready to be hung. In dry areas like the Karoo or inland areas in the Northern Cape, where the humidity is low, the meat can be hung out in a dry room or in the garage. In areas where the humidity is high, a biltong dryer is recommended to control the environment and prevent flies from visiting your meat. The correct environment for drying biltong is an essential part of the process, especially in coastal regions. Biltong usually takes 4-6 days to dry depending on your personal preferences.

Once your have made your first successful batch, try experimenting with different spices and techniques to give your biltong a unique flavour.

Have you tried making your own traditional biltong at home? Let us know how it went in the comments section below.

The DIY LifeTech & Electronics

The DIY LifeTech & Electronics

What You Can Do To Increase Your Home’s Value

Install Wood Or Laminate Flooring

Install A Closet To Add A Bedroom

Add Some Feature Lighting

Install Crown Molding

Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets

Give Your Bathrooms A Makeover

Upgrade Your Front Door

Install Baseboards

What You Need For A Faux Panel Door Update

How To Update Your Door

Here Are Some Things You Can Do With Baking Soda

Shared Image: BakingSoda by kafka4prez modified and used under CC BY 2.0

What You Can Do To Reduce Your Electrical Bill

Hot Water

Air Conditioning

Change Your Lighting

Get A New Refrigerator

Replace Your Appliances

What You Will Need To Build A Holder For Your Medals

How To Build The Medal Holder

What You Will Need To Recondition Your Battery

How To Recondition Your Battery

Homemade Pallet Headboard

Pallet Cup Holder

Media Console Table

Pallet Fire Pit Table

Natural Wooden Wall

Pallet Bookshelf

Coffee Table

Kids Tepee Playhouse

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