We made even used plastic landscaping borders to shape the end into a semi-circle and put small hanging lanterns right into the cement around the edge.

A hand-me-down re-sealed table and a few chairs later, we have an outdoor area we use and enjoy daily.

HAHA! I hear ya!!! NOTHING in our house is square and plumb!! We have decided that when we tile the dining room & kitchen floor, we will use a diamond pattern instead of a square pattern – so if the rooms/walls are not even (and I fully suspect they are not even!), it will not be as obvious. Forget where I heard this tip from – maybe HGTV.

As for the drywall, I’ll put up the sheets, but leave the “mud” work and finishing to someone else. They’ll get the work done much more quickly and nicely than I ever could.

(#13 – “…know your limitations.” Well said!)

The hardest part of the carpentry work is making things square and plumb when the house itself is not so.

i prefer the built in primer paint. i’m a fan of benjamin moore Aura paints, and don’t think i will ever use anything else.

Funniest story? To the extent that fruitless drudgery is funny: During a past recession, Former DH and I moved into a vast old house that had been allowed to run down by its nearly bankrupt owners. It needed a lot of work, most of which was to be done by the Little Woman…i.e., moi. This place was in an upscale neighborhood; the previous lady of the house was a Junior Leaguer, and though I was not the sosh type, my corporate lawyer hubby did run in those circles.

This house had a big country kitchen and an adjacent breakfast nook, separated by a bank of hanging cabinets. Whenever you’d walk in there, you’d feel a little disoriented, for reasons that were unclear. Toxic fumes? Asbestos seeping from the ceiling?? Ghosts? Finally we realized it was the ceiling, all right: someone had papered the ceiling and soffits with busy floral wallpaper that had a pattern. This pattern went one direction in the breakfast room and another direction in the kitchen–90 degrees to the pattern in the breakfast room.

Nothing would do but what, after I coated the deep royal blue wall in the master bedroom with four layers of white paint and made new curtains to replace the dirty monsters that were in there, BUT WHAT I had to peel off the wallpaper in the kitchen and breakfast nook, and then repaint the walls, cabinetry, and ceilings.

So I started to peel. And peel. And peel. And….so on to infinity. There must have been eight or ten layers on the damn walls! The ceiling had only two layers, but the stuff was horrible to get off–it didn’t pull off in sheets but chipped off in little pieces. No amount of steaming or squirting with wallpaper remover gunk helped. Most of the work had to be done while balanced on top of a ladder holding a hot steamer overhead in one hand and a scraper in the other.

Came a day the doorbell rang. I clambered down from the ladder and stumbled to the door.

One of DH’s partner’s wives was standing there. She looked at me blankly and asked, rather haughtily, if the previous owner was home.

I said no, she didn’t live there any more (these people were so embarrassed about losing their shirts that they folded their wallpapered tent and snuck off into the night, telling none of their friends where they were going). Only when she heard my voice did she recognize me from the last firm retreat or Bar association shindig or art museum to-do or whatever torturous event we had last attended together.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! I though you were the cleaning lady.”

Yup. Said a lot about my life as a society matron.

When it came time to peel the chartreuse and silver giant plaid-patterned wallpaper off the family room walls, I hired a guy to do the job. He didn’t charge much. He got the gunk off in less than a day and did a better job of painting the walls than I did in the kitchen. No money was ever better spent.

I would say. Never do anything that you’re going to get jailed for if someone dies. Hence I don’t do electrical, structural or gas work. Appart from that everything is up for grabs.

Tiling, painting, laying floating floors, are all pretty easy.

I have done some plumbing — seating toilets, replacing p-traps for tubs and sinks, replacing faucets and gaskets.

For anything major we like to get a contractor for because I don’t actually know the building codes, and an inspector will come to check the work. If you don’t get a building permit for remodeling work, your home insurance may not cover it when it breaks.

I think it helps to start off with a “wish list”, but don’t be set on the specifics and have an open mind. For example, if you want curtains for the kitchen, don’t be set on the color, style, size, etc. Be open to possibilities–like a piece of fabric, or lightweight sheet or blanket that can be made into curtains.

When searching for items on Craigslist, move outside the “normal” headings and instead consider other categories of where items may be placed for sale. For example, I was recently looking for a dehumidifier for my basement. Was it listed under Appliances, or even Household? Nope–try furniture (go figure). I frequently browse through the ads on Craigslist to catch these hidden gems.

Also, use the internet to learn just about anything. There are many sites which provide free videos and written details on how to do anything from change out a ceiling fixture, to replace a bathroom sink. Don’t forget to read the comments! Often these comments can provide “first hand experiences”, or details the original post may have excluded.

Of course before you do any plumbing work, you should make sure you know where the main shut-off valves are.

- Painting: Time consuming but easiest way to make something old look nice and new
- Replace light fixtures: These can be inexpensive but really add some pop
- Replace sink/counter top: This is simply a matter of measuring and ordering. The only tricky part is if you attempt to cut the sink hole yourself. Most places do it as part of the purchase.
- Replace doors/hardware: Prehung doors make this on easy but time consuming. If you can measure and cut you can easily replace a door without having to replace the entire door frame.

Of course friends can certainly help and I’ve called a few to help with wiring and plumbing and learned sometimes thing’s aren’t as hard as I thought.

I gotta say – I’ve gotten REALLY good at painting! That contractor’s guy also gave me more tips & tricks on painting – including what types of rollers & paint brushes to use when. I’ve also figured out that if you learn how to use them, some of those sureline tools can REALLY cut down on painting time! But the downside to me painting – I’m a bit of a perfectionist and will not allow ANY one else to paint certain areas (like the trim on the newly installed windows). As a result – it takes FOREVER for some things to get painted! My husband keeps offering to finish the jobs, but I keep telling him NO! I will try to ease up a bit this weekend when my mom comes to help paint my daughter’s room (mainly only because I won’t spend enough time in my daughter’s room to notice any imperfections! ha!)

Our professional painter friend swears by Sherwin Williams – good choice there.

I’ve loved doing these projects (just wish I had more time to do more!). I’ve joked around that if anything happens to my husband, I swear I will meet my next one at Home Depot! (which is dangerously close to our house! 2 minutes away!) OH – another trick – if you wear short shorts and a tank top to HD, you can easily get more tips & tricks from just about any off duty contractor who is shopping there. At least, it’s worked for me I LOVE it!

The more you can do yourself, the more money you can save. Stores like Home Depot offer “classes” on Saturday that are free and can show you many things – such as how to tile a floor.

I am a big fan of do-it-yourself home improvement.