Floor squeaks happen, and when they do, most of us just tolerate them as a part of the “charm” of living in an older house! But as annoying as squeaking floors can be, they have a rather simple cause and solution – and squeaks rarely indicate a structural problem forming under foot.No matter what kind of finish flooring you may have — carpet, vinyl, tile, or hardwood — unless your home is built on a concrete slab, underneath it’s wood.

When basements leak, people panic. The good news about these unplanned indoor pools is this. While wet basements are often thought of as one of life’s biggest home repair headaches, basement water problems are generally easy and inexpensive to fix. Yes, that’s right–easy and inexpensive!The basement is one of the greatest untapped spaces in any home.

Protect your pipes from freezing this winter! Discover essential tips to prevent burst pipes and costly water damage with our expert advice.When the mercury drops, your water pipes become increasingly vulnerable and may freeze and burst. When water freezes, it expands, and the force of that expansion can split a copper pipe wide open.

Lower utility bills by installing weatherstripping. This video shows how to use weatherstripping to seal doors and windows and to stop drafts. Your HVAC system cools and heats your home more efficiently when you install weatherstripping to doors and windows.

Home maintenance is all about being prepared. If you spend a little time now buying ingredients for cleaners, putting together a toolkit, and staying on top of monthly maintenance tasks, you’ll not only prevent small problems from getting bigger, but you’ll also be ready to act quickly in the future if a big problem does crop up.

Tackling DIY jobs and renovations around the house, and keeping your home in tip-top condition, is made easier with the metric system calculators on this handy Cheat Sheet.

Patching mortar on brick walls keeps moisture from getting behind the brick. Knowing how to patch mortar on brick walls can help you to repair the damage to your walls and prevent further structural damage.To replace the mortar, you'll need a chisel with a narrow blade, a stiff brush, mortar mix, a trowel or pointing tool, and a scrub brush for wiping off excess mortar.

Reattaching loose wallpaper seams and edges can prevent further damage: torn wallpaper. To fix loose seams or curling edges on wallpaper, you'll need a knife or craft stick, a damp sponge, a tube of seam adhesive with a pointed nozzle, and a wallpaper roller. Loose seams and curled edges occur when too much adhesive seeps out when you roll wallpaper edges and seams.

It's a good idea to be prepared for things going wrong in your home, whether it's something relatively simple that you can fix yourself, or a more complex problem requiring a qualified professional.Following is advice for both situations. First, we list some non-tool items you'll want to have around for DIY home repair.