Guest Post: How to Replace a Leaky Shower Head Like an Expert

How to Replace a Leaky Shower Head Like an Expert

A leaky shower faucet is a problem that should be dealt with sooner rather than later. The constant dripping of water from a worn-out shower head can waste a huge amount of water over time. This adds an unnecessary expense to your household energy bill that can be easily avoided.

Shower leaks are usually caused by the wear and tear of an old shower head. As a shower head begins to dry out over time, it becomes brittle which weakens its ability to hold in water. If your shower head won’t stop dripping, it’s best to buy a shower head replacement and fix the problem yourself.

Fixing a leaking shower faucet by yourself is actually a quick and easy task. All you need is a few basic tools, and you’re ready to go. Follow these simple steps to replace your leaky shower head like an expert.

1.     Examine the leak

Determine whether or not you feel confident doing this task yourself. Even though it’s a relatively easy problem to fix, if you don’t feel confident in your abilities you should call in a plumber to ensure you don’t cause any further damage.

2.     Gather all Tools

If you decide that you’re up for the job, there are a few basic tools you will need to replace your leaky shower faucet, including an adjustable wrench, a blanket or towel, some Teflon tape, and a new shower head. These items are available at most home improvement stores.

3.     Turn Off Shower

Make sure the shower is turned off completely and check that the knobs are secured tightly. It’s usually not necessary to turn off the water supply when replacing a leaky shower faucet with a new one.

4.     Lay Down a Blanket or Towel

Next, lay down a blanket or towel on the shower floor. This will stop any small shower head bits from accidentally falling down the drain. It will also protect the floor surface from any falling materials and tools.

5.     Remove the Shower Head

Take your wrench and grip it around the notch of your existing shower head. Most shower heads can be easily loosened up and removed by giving it a few counter-clockwise turns. If you’re finding it difficult getting the shower head off, make sure that you are gripping the wrench at the very end of the handle to get more torque. But don’t give it too much force. You should always be careful with the amount of pressure you use when making electrical and plumbing repairs.

6.     Remove Excess Material

After removing the old leaky shower faucet, you may notice some excess material like dirt, plumber’s tape around the pipe or leftover rubber gaskets. Using a rag, remove all the excess material and residue so that you can get a clean new start.

7.     Wrap the Shower Arm with Tape

The next step is to wrap the threads of the shower arm with a couple layers of Teflon tape. Wrap the tape as tight as you can in a clockwise direction so that the threads are embedded properly. Smoothen out the tape along the threads using your finger.

8.     Attach the Replacement Shower Head

Take your brand-new shower head and insert it onto the shower arm. Using your hand, twist it clockwise as far as it can go to secure it into place. Make sure not to over tighten the shower head, as this can cause damage. This simple procedure is used no matter what type of replacement shower head you are attaching.

9.     Turn on Water & Check for Leaks

Now it’s time to see how successful your shower head replacement project has been. Turn the shower back on and check for any leaks around the seal of the shower head. If you do find leaks, turn the shower off again and reapply the Teflon taping. Try tightening the shower head a bit more and test it again, but make sure not to over tighten it.

Guest Post: Backyard Landscaping Ideas and Tips

This article is granted by Ella A. an avid blogger, freelance writer and home décor enthusiast. She likes to write home maintenance, decoration, interior and exterior design, gardening and landscaping. Her greatest joy is to share helpful tips and advice with readers from all over the world.

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If you have a backyard that feels utterly boring, then you can give it a nice makeover to turn it into something more welcoming and interesting. Regardless of the size of your yard or the property where your lawn and garden need to be improved, you can do so without too many issues involved. You can do a lot of good by working on said space, so let’s cover a few ways you can do this with the following tips:

·     Defining spaces

You need to decide which spaces you will really need, such as a lounge area, dining area, cooking area and more that would make your yard well-organized. Doing this can be as cheap as simply moving furniture around and placing accessories, so consider this and think about ways you can change the garden landscape.

·      Making a garden path

Adding a great-looking meandering path will create a more welcoming look to your otherwise fairly mundane garden space. It will take a bit of work, driving in stakes and considering the shape, then wrapping bender board around it. When the job is done you will have a great path you can enjoy on hot summer days and cold winter ones as well.

·      Using concrete

For anyone who has a concrete patio, there are some ways to make it more interesting that happen to be inexpensive and fairly quick. The first one is to coat the surface with some masonry stain in a color you like, something potentially warm for a more pleasant look. You may even work with a checkerboard pattern if you feel like it. A second option would be to set tiles over the concrete for a more welcoming and elegant look.

·      Using a trellis

You can see trellises in gardens and garden centers for most times, and they can add a lot of style to a place with the right approach. Placing one toward the back side of the garden as a focal point would be a great way of making sure you have this great addition to your garden space. A flowering vine planted on either side of it will add to its style and create a more welcoming environment.

·      Painting

For single story homes painting the back of the house in a different color would be a great way to add a different look without becoming too involved in gardening and renovation work. Make use of neutral shades such as beige, taupe, light gray and you will have excellent results.

·      The vertical approach

If you have a backyard possessing a larger lawn, then you can add some dimension by adding positioning boulders all over the place. You can arrange them individually or cluster them together, depending on how you want to see things. You should not be afraid to use the lawn to accommodate them, but you can leave some space around them to plant some colorful perennials.

·      Mulching

Laying on a similar-colored mulch on the flowerbeds will help give your entire area a unified look, while at the same time protecting your plants, making garden and lawn maintenance a much easier task.

Article written by guest blogger Ella Andrews on behalf of: Gardener Gardening Ltd. Photos supplied by the writer.

Guest Post: Personalised Wooden Door Hanger (Tutorial)

About the Author: 

My name is Beyza Nur Bilge Kircali and I am a nurse. I left my job as a nurse with the birth of my first child, after 10 years. I now have three sons and live happily in Istanbul, Turkey. My interests have changed vastly after becoming a mum. I have completed a certificate course in 'teaching brain training games' through Aydin University. Currently, I am a first year student at Istanbul University, studying Sociology. Whenever I get some extra time from my children, I try to do some homework or take my children to kids activities in Istanbul as often as I can. I love upcycling, recycling and reusing materials at home. I find it very enjoyable to spend time with kids. I recommend it for anyone seeking a happy and fun life. 

This project is something that depending on age and level of readiness, your child can do independently, with some supervision or with you. It would also make a great 'birthday party' activity and gifts to take away for your child's friends on his/her birthday. It makes a wonderful recycling project too. 

You will need:

• A piece of wood to be used as a base in a preferred size (in this project, a piece of recycled crate made of poplar was used)
• Various coloured felt pieces
• Small pieces of cut wood
• Glue
• PVA glue or any type of glue that will stick to wood
• Sandpaper to smoothen the surface of the wooden base
• A pen or anything that will write on wood

Instructions: 

• Using the sandpaper, make sure the base wood is nice and smooth.
• Write the name in the middle of the wood in a large font.

• Using the glue, stick the little wood cubes/pieces on the letters shown in picture below.

• Start cutting your felt pieces for decoration. 

• Cut little squares or rectangles of felt and stick them on letters.

• Keep decorating until it satisfies your taste and then voila! Your personalised door decoration is ready!

Guest Post: Make the Most of the Small Bathroom

About the Author: 

Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls interested in topics related to home improvement, DIY and interior design. In her free time she enjoys reading and preparing healthy meals for her family. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianaSmith82; 
E-mail: dianasmith.dany@gmail.com; G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116091795770131287107/posts

Guest blogger: Diana Smith

While bathroom is a really important part of your home, it doesn’t mean that it needs to be big in order to be beautiful and functional. Truth be told, small bathroom leaves a lot to be desired from this space, but if you make an effort to make it functional and compact, you can make it look bigger than it is and you can really make up for its lack of size. At least, visually, your bathroom can be more spacious, but you just need to think through its design a little bit. Here are some of the ways you can do it and some of the ideas to make the most of the small bathroom place.

 Click here for image source

Use the Vertical Space

Small space usually seems even smaller if you allow for the furniture and details to come into your way and break it into areas. This happens when you have a lot of stuff that you need in that space and little space to store it. Also, if you cannot move around freely without bumping something over, the space is dysfunctional and seems pretty small and cramped up. What owners of small bathrooms usually forget is that they can use the vertical space as well. Be creative about it and use those walls to make the storage space for all the things that will free up the space around you.

Tie the Room Together

When you tie the room together you achieve the effect of unity of the space which makes it seem like it is one big space rather than several areas in one. You can achieve this by tiling. Use the same tiles for the floors and then use them for the lower part of the walls and tile over the bathtub and all the things you can up until the certain level. Visually, this will make the space look much bigger.

Furniture That Goes with the Space

In order to make sure that the space is properly used up, you will need some furniture that will go with the space and that will take up as little space as possible. This means that some of it may even be custom made to fit into the corners and don’t interrupt the line of the space so that it blends in with the walls. This will make the space look more opened up and uninterrupted, so it will appear to be bigger.

Click here for image source

Toilets and Showers

A much better solution for the small bathroom, than a bathtub, is a walk in shower or even the wet bathroom. Walk in shower has no obvious separating from the rest of the room so it doesn’t shrink it up. Wet bathroom makes it even easier to save space, but it cancels out the possibility to freely use walls for storage as the stuff might get wet. However, this can be taken care of with careful choice of storage shelves. Toilets that are perfect for small bathrooms are built in toilets that have the free space beneath them. Sinks as well. However, this means that you will have to call the plumber for every case of blocked drains as it will be difficult for you to take care of it.

Clutter

All the things you do to make the bathroom more spacious will be in vain if you clutter it up with unnecessary details. Small bathroom needs to be filled only with the necessities and all the things like empty bottles, too much details, ornaments and home chemistry should not be stored there. In reality, they will not take up too much space, but visually, it will seem like they do. Entire side of the bathroom where these things are stored will look used up and this automatically shrinks the entire space.

These are just some of the things that you can do to make your bathroom space look bigger than it already is. Giving it a lot of light and making sure that the colors used in it are bright and light, will definitely make it look larger. Also, when it comes to colors, one wall can be painted or tiled in a deep blue shade as it will add another dimension to the entire space.