Do It Yourself Around The House

Doing some painting around the house?

Don’t forget to use primer! If you have a dark wall that you want to paint a lighter color, primer will reduce the amount of coats you will need to paint over the darker color. If you use primer, you don’t have to worry about any of that old color showing through. Additionally, make sure you pick a roll of painter’s tape so you don’t accidently paint unwanted areas like your ceiling or floor.

Do you have unwanted marks on your tile?

Sometimes kids like to use your nice tile floor as their art studio. Not to worry; there are a couple of ways you can get those unwanted permanent marker stains off your floor. First try using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (this is non-abrasive and won’t do damage to your home), if that doesn’t work you can try Arm & Hammer toothpaste and a tooth brush. As a last resort, a little nail polish remover is sure to trick! The acetone is not a very nice chemical to use, but it is a great stain remover for surfaces like tile. Make sure you wipe it off the surface as soon as the stain is removed (the acetone can peel off the coverings on many tiles).

Planning to plaster a wall?

1) Pick your plaster carefully-often times people opt for a quick drying plaster, but these can be hard to work with and cause your more trouble than they are worth.

2) Measure a little extra plaster than you think you will need; you would rather have extra then find out you poured too little. Make sure carefully follow the directions when mixing your plaster; if you use too much water, you plaster will be runny.

3) Thoroughly mix the plaster ingredients; you can use a paint stir stick-there should be now powder left at all.

4) Using your putty knife, you know smear a good amount of plaster over the area you are trying to fix. Scrape off the extra plaster and let it dry-the surface does not need to be perfectly smooth.

5) After the area has dried (you should let it dry over night, just to be safe), take a piece of sand paper and smooth out the surface.

6) Then paint to blend with the rest of your wall!

New England Design & Construction is an award-winning architectural design and remodeling company in the Greater Boston area. With over 25 years of experience, and countless happy customers, we are recognized as the most- trusted team to design and remodel your home.