South West Florida House

Ways to Hide that Ugly Wood Paneling in your Home


You hate the old paneling in your home, and its to expensive to replace it, but you cant stand living with it any longer. In fact its so bad that it depresses you, and youve actually thought about selling the house just to get away from it. Dont despair youre not alone with that ugly wood paneling; there are a million others that live with it too. There are a few repair tricks that you can do that will get rid of the ugly wall paneling in your home. Take some time and learn about some steps to solve your wall paneling dilemma.

The list below is just a few of the ideas that you can use to brighten up your dingy 70s wall paneling situation. Be prepared for some elbow grease, but itll be better than looking at the wall paneling.

1. Painting the Paneling. The number one rule to remember with painting paneling is that you just cant slap some paint on it and expect it to look professional. It will look tacky if you do. Paint will run and paneling will show through as it absorbs the paint which could also cause yellow streaks to run in the paint. Surface preparation is the key to all of the paneling in your house. Begin with a good cleaner that will degrease the muck and build-up on the paneling. Youll need a gloss remover after you apply the degreasing solution to the paneling. Never apply the gloss remover over large areas. Rub the area in the direction of the wood grain over smaller sections. Let set for about 30 min. and then apply the primer. Dont try to remove the gloss remover. This will need to stay on. Next apply the primer over frame areas and baseboards. If the wood paneling is showing through after the first coat, let it dry, and go back over it with a second coat. If you dont it will come through your regular paint, and your effort is wasted. Keep applying the gloss remover over small sections and priming until youre finished. Let it dry over night and then add the caulking in the unsightly grooves of the paneling. Remove excess with a putty knife. Let dry completely over night. Youre then ready to start painting your first coat of paint. Let dry according to directions and then put a second coat on.
2. Painting Wallpaper. In some of the nicer wallpaper stores you can find wallpaper that can be painted. This will give the appearance of a painted wall. Its a wonderful idea to be able to pick what color you want and get rid of that dingy awful looking wood paneling. You can add other colors to give it a 3-D effect too. First clean with a good degreaser and let dry. After drying go in and fill in each groove with a caulk to get rid of wall paneling ridges. Clean excess caulk with a putty knife and dispose of. Its necessary to do this because your lining and wall paper will not have a firm surface to stick too. Next buy a good primer at your local hardware store, and prime all of the paneling. An extra step is needed when papering your walls by applying and sizing to them. Its sticky and will keep the wall paper sticking to the paneling. Hang your wallpaper according to directions. Youll need to soak the paper in water, and then hang after a few minutes. Youre ready then to paint your wallpaper with your favorite color or colors. Take note of special instructions for painting wallpaper from the paint manufacturer.
3. Glazing the Paneling. You can add a nice shine to your paneling too by glazing it. First clean the paneling with a degreaser. Next add a color that you like and paint it. Let it dry overnight. Secondly mix a satiny top color with a glaze in the correct proportions. Read instructions with your paints for a correct mixture. Paint over small sections of the paneling, preferably one or two sections at a time. Depending on how much shine you want wipe off excess glaze with a clean rag. When done always clean your brush with mineral oil, and let drive over night before storing them for future projects.

Through mortgage payments, rising real estate prices and sweat equity, you can watch the value of your home rise.

Hot Water Heater Hook-Ups Made Easy


Hooking up a hot water heater is one of the most common home repair jobs there is. However if you dont know what you are doing, or dont know the first thing about hot water heaters, well then you could be in hot waterquite literally. But installing a hot water heater can actually be a rather easy thing to learn. You just have to make sure you read all the directions before you start so you dont get in over your head before you even start. The last thing you want to do is realize you cant do this and then be stuck without any hot water!

The first thing you have to do is the most obvious. You have to disconnect and remove your old hot water heater. Doing this is pretty easy. You just have to be careful. Remember it is full of hot water still. So, first turn off your gas or electricity that is connected to that water heater. You will then need to drain the water from the old unit. There should be a drain valve located on it. On a gas heater, separate the vent pipe from the draft hood. The hood should lift off after you remove the sheet metal screw that holds it. After checking that the pilot light is out, disconnect the gas line at the heater and cap it.

Next remove the water heater from the water pipes. Be careful when doing this because the pipes may still have hot water in them. This water is hot enough to burn you if you are not careful. You may need some pipe wrenches to get some of them off, but there should not be many connected so this step should not take too much time or effort. You may now take out the old hot water heater and throw it away. Many local and state laws have certain restrictions on the disposal of these, so check with the local authorities on the disposal requirements.

Now that you have the old unit out, it is time to install the new unit. Move your new hot water heater to its new home by using a dolly. You dont want to walk it or drag it. There are delicate parts inside that can be damaged if it is jolted or subjected to too much shock. Position your new heater so that the pipes will easily reach it. If you are using gas, you want to be especially careful that the gas pipe can reach easily to avoid any potentially dangerous gas leaks.

Next connect the hot and cold water. This is usually a simple process of connecting the new water heater to the same connections as the old water heater. Then you connect the third pipe to the main water line that distributes the water to the rest of the house. Refer to the user manual if there are no connections, or if you are confused as to which pipe goes where. This is the most common mistake made in installing a hot water heater. If you turn on the water and your cold water turns hot, and your hot water never heats up, go and switch the pipes.

Next you need to locate the relief valve on your newly connected hot water heater. The temperature and pressure relief valve is a very important part of your hot water system. The relief system releases excess heat and pressure automatically so that your hot water heater does not explode. It is a very important and a valuable safety feature that comes standard on all hot water heaters.

The last step in connecting your new hot water heater is connecting it to the power. You have to connect it either to the gas line or the electricity for it to heat the water. Refer to the instruction manual on how to do this.

If you follow the directions there is no reason that you can not successfully connect your new hot water heater. It is a fairly easy job. It just takes a little time and patience and anyone can do it. It is simply a matter of reconnecting to the new hot water heater, everything that you disconnected from the old one.