Building Guides
How to Make Your Own House For Your Dolls
How to Make Your Own House For Your Dolls A dollhouse is a traditional toy perfect for little girls who are old enough to help you with arts and crafts but still young enough to enjoy playing with dolls. Building a doll house is a fairly complex at home craft that your daughter (or son) can help you with. Here’s a quick guide for how to make your own house for your dolls. Select a Scale ...
How to Make a Barbie House
How to Make a Barbie House If you’ve ever shopped around for a house for Barbie, you know the market’s pretty limited. You’d think the people at Mattel would understand that Barbie has a lot of stuff and needs a house that can hold it all. But no–most of the commercially available Barbie houses are too small for Barbie’s extensive wardrobe, not to mention her collecti...
How to Install a Dishwasher
Doing it yourself doesn’t require the services of a contractor, so save money on your next home installation by learning how to install a dishwasher yourself. While dish washer installation isn’t hard, there are one or two safety steps to keep in mind. Turn off the Utilities Turn off the circuit break that controls power to your kitchen, so no electricity is throwing through the socket...
How to Build a Toy Box
Most households with children have a problem with toy proliferation. Kids collect toys so quickly, that your house is likely to have action figures, dolls and toy vehicles laying everywhere. Learning how to build a toy box lets you store toys every night, while building a storage item that is sized to your living space. Steps for Building Toy Boxes We’ve outlined the steps for building toy b...
How to Build a Fish Tank
One way to save money in this economy is to make those household items you would normally buy in a store, so learning how to build a fish tank keeps you from buying a store-bought fish storage tank. Another advantage is the ability to make a custom-made fish tank fitted to your room, while also making fish tanks as large as you wish. Building a fish tank requires the proper materials, but these ar...
How to Repair a Toilet
If you are a homeowner or landlord, learning how to repair a toilet yourself lets you save considerable money on toilet repairs. With a plunger or two and a screwdriver set, you have all you need to handle most toilet plumbing concerns. Commodes aren’t so complicated that you need a professional, most of the time. Inspecting a Toilet First, learn what is affecting your toilet. Remove the toi...
How to Build Stairs for a Deck
Building stairs for a deck is a pretty simple procedure, once you’ve built a deck or patio. So far, we’ve covered “How to Build a Deck” and “How to Build a Patio”, but we’ve only brushed over the building of stairs. So to complete our series, here’s “How to Build Stairs for a Deck“. This is going to be simple, in comparison to the rest of...
How to Build a Log Cabin from Scratch
Those wanting to build a nice structure for camping and seclusion on your farmland or lakeside property can learn how to build a log cabin from scratch, creating a nice live-in residence for relatively cheap. If you pay a carpenter to do the same work, you’ll be out thousands of dollars. Building log cabins from scratch is an elemental undertaking, which takes you back to the frontier days o...
How to Build a Gazebo from Scratch
Discovering how to build a gazebo from scratch lets you add a centerpiece to your yard or garden, or a pavilion for a coming wedding or wedding reception. A gazebo not only gives you a practical choice to keep the sun off you in summer or precipitation of you the rest of the year. A gazebo is an enclosed or open air structure, often octogonal in shapes, you can use for parties, dinners, snuggling ...
How to Build Kitchen Cabinets from Scratch
Once you learn how to build kitchen cabinets from scratch, you can save thousands of dollars on home improvements and design work. Building cabinets isn’t nearly as hard to do as roofing and other home ownership projects, so you can do this yourself, with the proper planning. Graph Out Your Kitchen Space Use graph paper to make a rough sketch of your kitchen. Build the sketch at 1/6th scale,...
How to Build a Closet in a Bedroom
If you have the floorspace, you can learn how to build a closet in a bedroom, adding much needed space to put clothes and other household items. Extra closet space adds value to your home and makes bedrooms a great deal more livable. You could say a private bed room without a closet is no bedroom at all. Building a Bedroom Closet First of all, determine whether you have the extra room to built a c...
How to Build a Wind Turbine Generator
Learning how to build a wind turbine generator is only half of the project, when converting to wind power. You’ll also need to know how to mountain a wind turbine, so we’ll cover both projects in this article. Converting your home to wind generated electricity may not mean you go entirely off the energy coop, but it should lower your electricity bills and help the environment, as well....
How to Build a Patio
Learn how to build a patio from wood decking, to extend your home and give you a place to entertain company and relax with family during the warm-weather and temperate months. Building a patio takes time and preparation, but there’s no one part of the project that a basic handyman can’t accomplish. Planning to Build a Patio Check with your local city zoning officials and housing author...
How to Install Vinyl Siding
Vinyl siding is a great choice for covering your home. The main benefits of vinyl siding are its durability, the ease of maintenance, and how darn cheap it is compared to other siding alternatives. Another benefit is that learning how to install vinyl siding is an easy to understand process. What is Vinyl Siding Vinyl siding is made of PVC ( a chemical known in the industry as polyvinyl chloride) ...
How to Build a Retaining Wall
The standard shape for American backyards is a beautiful long and sloping expanse of green. It looks pretty and leads to an efficient and fun yard, but active yards required level ground to really be enjoyed. If you want to put in a pool, patio, shed, playground equipment or just about anything, you’ll need level ground. A simple way to fix a sloping yard is to put in a retaining wall. In th...
How to Build a Tree House
Treehouses are the stuff of childhood legend — what kid didn’t want to know how to build a tree house while growing up? Having recently bought a home in a wooded area, I began to hear plenty of whining about wanting a tree house, and quickly realized what a cool construction project that would be. Building a Tree House While some treehouses are scarily complex, involving years of plann...
How to Build a Wall in Your House
It’s nice having a large open room in your house, but you can also turn that room into a pair of private rooms, if you know how to build a wall in your house. Large open dens are nice for entertaining, but sometimes impractical, especially for people who work at home and want to have a private work area or computer room. Adding an extra wall lets you set aside some of that space and make it ...
How to Build a Deck
Completing a deck project requires a lot of steps, but none of those steps in how to build a deck are that insurmountable. Once you build your own addition to the house, you’ll want to show it off to the neighbors and family, because you should have a sense of accomplishment in finishing a wood deck. Building Deck Steps – Design The first building deck steps begin with deck design. Kee...
How to Build a Roof
Building a roof on a house can be a complicated, time-consuming and difficult process. Don’t get any illusions that roof building isn’t work. But if you’re wanting to build a pitch roof for your shed or other standing structure on your property, there’s no reason why you can’t learn how to build a roof and do it yourself. Roofing Guide In this roofing guide we’l...
How to Install Laminate Flooring
Laminate offers a low maintenance options that is a lot easier to install than hardwood flooring, so figuring out how to install laminate flooring lets you refurbish your home without an independent contractor. Installing a laminated floor isn’t so hard that you need professional help. Buying Your Laminate Flooring When purchasing your laminate flooring, measure your flooring to determine ho...
How to Build a Picnic Table and Benches
If you want to have a picnic table for cookouts and family get-together events, you don’t want to have to buy an expensive store-bought picnic table. Instead, learn how to build a picnic table and benches of your own, to save money you can use for one of those picnics. To start with, your best option is to select 2×4 lumber to build your picnic table with benches. These are your main lu...
How to Install a Garage Door
Understanding how to install a garage door is as much a matter of safety as anything else. Garage door installation isn’t hard, but because you are working with springs under tension, the job can be dangerous. That’s especially true if you’re replacing your old garage door with a newer model. Because of these safety concerns, I’m going to assume you are reinstalling a garag...
How to Build a Putting Green in Your Backyard
Building a putting green is going to help you improve your short game in golf, but you might not know that practice putting greens also add value to your property. So learning how to build a putting green from this online tutorial is not only going to take strokes off your score, but let you cut costs in adding value to your home’s retail value. You don’t have to be a master greenskeep...
How to Build a Guitar
Before you learn how to build a guitar it is important that you are able to play one. Without any knowledge of how to play a guitar it will be very difficult for you to understand how to build a guitar and all the elements involved, let alone to tune the guitar once finished. You also need to know what size suits you best, what you feel most comfortable with and how long the neck needs to be in or...
How to Build a Rabbit Hutch
Rabbits need somewhere to live that not only keeps them safe from the elements such as rain, snow or heat, but also from unwanted wildlife such as foxes. Learning how to build a rabbit hutch is surprisingly easy, simply follow the six steps below: Deciding How Large Your Rabbit Hutch Needs to Be First you will need to decide how big your rabbit hutch needs to be depending on how many rabbits you a...
How to Build a Mousetrap Car
If you’ve reached this page it’s likely that you’ve been wondering how to build a mousetrap car. The steps are simple and only require a few supplies. Keep reading to learn more about how to build a mousetrap car. Building a Mousetrap Car The first step in building a mousetrap car is creating a chassis, which will be the supporting frame and act as a base for the mousetrap. It ne...
How to Build a Pole Barn
Whether you live an agricultural lifestyle or your shed is simply too small, a pole barn is one of the easiest and most useful outdoor structures to build. In order to teach you how to build a pole barn and provide extra space for your garden we’ve provided the steps listed below. Building a Pole Barn Step by Step In order to start build a pole barn step by step, first you need to pick the r...
How to Build a Rocket from Scratch
Knowing how to build a rocket from scratch and launching it can be very exciting and yet surprisingly simple. Building a Rocket Below are some simple steps to get you started building a rocket. Rocket Equipment When building a rocket from scratch you will need some computer paper, a 35mm film canister, clear sellotape, scissors, paper towels, water and Alka-Seltzer tablets (an aspirin tablet conta...
How to Build an Outdoor Fireplace
Many home owners are seeking to know how to build an outdoor fireplace. Not only does an outdoor fire place add value to the property but also creates a central point for parties and outdoor gatherings. However, building an outdoor fireplace can appear to be a huge project and therefore deter people from taking on the task. Building Outdoor Fireplaces By following these simple steps you will see h...
How to Install a Ceiling Fan
With global warming our summers are becoming hotter and with air conditioning being such an expensive solution, many households are seeking help for how to install a ceiling fan in order keep their homes cool. Some people may think that you need to be an electrician to install something that looks so impressive, but this is not the case. Ceiling Fan Installation As long as you are careful and foll...
How to Wire a House
Understanding how to wire a house can appear to be a very daunting and time consuming task, and calling out an electrician might seem the safest bet. However, this can work out to be very expensive and, in a time when saving money is the key priority, may seem a tad extravagant, especially when by following these four simple steps, you could do it yourself. House Electrical Wiring In order to be...
How to Build a Waterfall
If you are lucky enough to have a large enough garden or are the keeper of some striking grounds, learning how to build a waterfall can enhance the impressive nature of your estate. Not only can your waterfall be a talking feature but also attract wildlife. Therefore, not only will you be doing good for the environment but impress your friends and colleagues in the process. By following these few ...
How to Build a Porch
Building a porch around the circumference of your house can not only add value but also make it more aesthetically pleasing. However, like taking on any building project, figuring out how to build a porch can seem quite daunting, yet it is far simpler than you may think. Steps for Building a Porch By following the few simple steps for building a porch, you too can build something beautiful and enj...
How to Build a Ramp
If there’s not a skate park in your hometown, you may need to know how to build a ramp in order to learn cool tricks and practice your ramp skills. Building Skateboard Ramps Building skateboard ramps is not as difficult as it seems — like anything, when you break it up into steps it becomes easy and even fun. Here are some basic steps for building a quarter pipe or quarter ramp. This i...
How to Build a Bridge Over a Creek
Figuring out how to build a bridge over a creek or stream is much easier than you might expect; you could even use materials found around your chosen location. Building a Creek Bridge To start building a creek bridge, just follow these four simple steps: Making the Foundation Find the narrowest part of your creek and measure the width. You will need two logs that will reach over the creek; they ...
How to Weld
Learning how to weld takes a lot of time and practice. A typical course in welding takes place over a few months, so don’t expect to head out to your garage and learn how to weld in a matter of hours. Still — you don’t have to attend an expensive and lengthy professional course to pick up some basic welding skills. Learning to Weld Welding is a process of joining two metals toget...
How to Build a House
Wondering how to build a house? Most homes in America are built according to standard operating procedures, meaning that there is a step by step process for building a home. Building a House Tips Here are some tips for building a house to get you started, along with a short description. Grading and site preparation — The first step to building a house is making the ground level and cle...
How to Build a Shed
Learning how to build a shed is an easy way to increase your storage capacity. Once you’ve gathered the proper materials, it is really just a matter of completing a dozen basic construction steps. Building a Storage Shed The following are the steps needed for building a storage shed. The Floor Cut the floor frame boards (made up of skids and joists) to the proper measurements. On level groun...
How to Tile a Shower Wall
Tiling your shower is not as difficult as it sounds. Once you learn how to tile a shower wall, you’ll be able to redesign your restroom in a weekend’s time. New tiles in your shower not only makes your bath look brighter and better, but you can also remove mold and mildew that’s accumulated over the years. Tile Shower Installation Guide This tile shower installation guide will sh...
How to Build a Bar in Your Home
Having a bar in your home gives you a place to entertain company, or a wet bar where you can enjoy private time. You don’t have to pay a carpenter a lot of money to install a private bar in the house. Learn how to build a bar in your home without any outside help, which is a great conversation piece when your drinking buddies come over to enjoy a few mixed drinks. Building a Home Bar Here...
How to Build a Fire Pit in Your Backyard
If you’re someone who is interested in how to build a fire pit in your backyard, you’ll soon realize that building a fire in your yard can be done safely. Building a fire pit won’t take more than an hour or so, and you’ll be able to have cookouts and campfire hangouts with your friends and family. Kids love weenie roasts and cooking marshmallows over an open fire, so build ...
How to Install Hardwood Floor
Understanding how to install hardwood floor is not as difficult as it may sound — you can do it yourself with the right materials and enough time. Installing Hardwood Floors The following are steps for installing hardwood floors. Before you install your own wood flooring, stack the wood in the house for a few days to let the wood acclimate to the humidity level of your home. Another importa...
How to Make a Headboard
A bed without a headboard looks plain and messy. Not to mention that using a bed without a headboard means losing your pillows behind the mattress and struggling all night to dig them out from behind the bed. Frustrating? Yeah. In order to help you avoid this frustration we’ve put together this guide for how to make headboard your self. Making Headboards Here’s some easy instructions f...
How to Install Gutters
Rain gutters protect your house from water damage. You can have gutters installed professionally for a huge chunk of money or learn how to install gutters your self by following the steps below. Installing Gutters The following are 10 simple steps for installing gutters. 1. Measure the Slope of Your Eaves Using a level attached to a string, work out the slope of the eaves. Your rain gutters have t...
How to Build a Compost Bin
Everyone is crazy about composting these days — and why not? Compost is good for growing gardens, and composting is an eco friendly way of getting rid of waste. It is also easy to do, and requires little setup or construction to get started. In this guide we’ll show you how to build a compost bin. Composting Process Composting is a natural process (it takes place in nature all on its o...
How to Build a Windmill
Learning how to build a windmill is becoming increasingly popular; especially as Global warming becomes more and more of an issue. Originally used for pumping water and grinding grain, windmills are also an efficient means of creating re-usable wind energy. Building your own windmill is a means of conserving natural power sources such as oil or coal and also a means of creating your own renewable ...
How to Read a Tape Measure
The task of reading a tape measure is not as easy as it may seem. There are loads of little lines, all standing for something and unless you have been told specifically what they all mean it can be quite perplexing. Also there are different styles of tape measures and different lengths, widths, weights and thicknesses. A measuring tape does not only gauge one measurement but instead contains the m...
How to Remove Wallpaper Easily
Learn how to remove wallpaper easily without using a scorer or other paper scraping tools. There are wallpaper removal tips that help you break down the plaster keeping paper on your walls, which make it a lot easier to strip your house walls and start over. Downey or a similar fabric softener is one such substance. Wallpaper Removal Tips The following are some wallpaper removal tips that are simp...
How to Build a Chicken Coop Step by Step
Learning how to build a chicken coop step by step lets you provide low cost housing for your poultry that your chickens will be perfectly happy with. You don’t have to be a master carpenter to build your own chicken coop. All you have to do is provide your animals with their basic living needs to keep them healthy and protected from the elements. Building Chicken Coops Chickens are great to ...
How to Install a Door
When installing a door or completing any handy man work around the house, always remember your personal safety and obtain safety equipment such as safety goggles and protective gloves before carrying out any work. Prepare Before you buy a door you need to ensure that you buy the right one. Therefore, using your measuring tape, obtain the measurements for the height and width of the door opening. I...
How to Build a Dock in a Pond
There are many reasons to learn how to build a dock in a pond. If a pond contains fish, a dock makes for a perfect platform to relax in the sun and enjoy a few hours of fishing or reading. There are also elements that need to be considered such as location and land access. You need to ensure that rising and lowering water levels will not affect the dock. The thought of building your own dock can b...
How to Build a Go-Kart
Making a home-made go-kart can be a safe, family-fun activity if you use the right tools and invest a considerable amount of time including learning how to build a go-kart. Building a go-kart that can accommodate both children and adults takes a lot of money, hard work and dedication. Tips for Building Your Own Go-Kart Every go-kart begins with a frame measurement plan and creative insight. The st...