Common Home Repairs

Homeownership isn’t always barbecues and block parties. Eventually something goes wrong and it’s up to you to decide whether to make repairs yourself or call for professional help. Fortunately, many of the most common home repair jobs are manageable for the do-it-yourselfer. Here are some quick home repair tips:

Leaking faucet

Faucets usually leak because of old gaskets or O-rings and corroded valve seats. This assembly must be replaced. Begin by turning off the sink’s water supply. Wrap the jaws of your wrench with tape to protect the sink nozzle’s finish. Once you’ve unscrewed the nozzle tip, remove the aforementioned parts and take the pieces to your hardware store to ensure that you purchase the proper replacement parts.

Peeling or cracking caulk

Caulk is used throughout your home, typically to seal gaps between the bathtub, toilet and floor, around sinks, between sinks and backsplashes, and gaps around windows. Once the caulk begins to crack and peel, it must be replaced. Regardless of where the caulk is used, the old caulk must be removed before a new layer can be set. There are special tools and chemicals that can help you remove the old caulk. The type of caulk you use will depend on the type of job you’re doing.

Running toilet

You flush the toilet and the tank begins to fill, but it doesn’t stop –- ever. There are two ways to approach this problem. In either case, shut off the toilet’s water supply and flush so that the tank empties. You can try to identify the problem by methodically checking all the tank’s parts: reseating/repositioning the tank stopper in the flush valve; bending the float arm down a little; replacing a bad float ball; replacing the flush valve seat; or replacing the fill tube. The other option is to simply replace the entire assembly.

Electrical failure

If you suddenly lose power, most likely you’ve blown a fuse or tripped a circuit breaker. Simply replace the blown fuse or reset the breaker by switching it back into the “on” position. If this fails to work, or if it the problem persists, you may be demanding too much juice from your electrical system and this could be a dangerous situation. As we become more reliant on technology, we draw more electrical current. Rolling blackouts specific to your home, or a section of your home, may indicate that your power needs exceed what your electrical system can safely supply. In this case, it’s time to call a licensed electrician.

One of the trickiest home repair tasks is knowing your limits and when to call for professional help. If you suspect a job is too big to handle, you’re probably right. Hiring a licensed professional to diagnose and repair the problem is probably cheaper than hiring that same professional to pick through the remains of an unfinished job in order to figure out and repair the problem.