Repairing Drywall

A hole in your drywall is never fun, although it may have been caused by fun. Maybe it was from a wild party or maybe someone was making an emphatic "point."

Anyway you look at it (or through it), a hole is a hole and needs to get fixed.

Fortunately there are a few tricks I can show you in How to Repair a Large Hole in Drywall.

For smaller holes caused by doorknobs, kids, toys and other elements of home life there is the tutorial Repairing a Small Hole in Drywall

Don't have holes but just dents, popped nails or drywall tape? Then Tips for Repairing Drywall is the tutorial you need.

And after the repair, you'll have to paint the wall so take a read through Repairing Textured Walls and How to Paint a Room.

Repairing Drywall originally appeared on About.com Home Repair on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 09:08:46.

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Featured Plant: Moss

It's that time of year again, when I start to get questions from homeowners about how to remove moss. I can understand not wanting moss on the roof or the side of the house, but it makes a nice, low-maintenance lawn alternative and you can't beat it for adding character to rocks and stone walls.

I won't pretend to be an expert on the different types of moss. That's something I'm saving for my retirement. But I can encourage you to have an open mind about moss and cultivate the moss you have. And for those of you who just can't share my enthusiasm for moss, David Beaulieu has some ideas for getting rid of it.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Featured Plant: Moss originally appeared on About.com Gardening on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 01:11:27.

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How to Prune Red Maple Trees

One of the readers of About.com's Forestry site emailed Guide, Steve Nix with a problem. "I have a red maple that I believe may need pruning," says the reader. "I'm an avid tree grower, and have done my share of pruning, but this tree has me stumped because of it's unusual growth." Photos of the problematic red maple tree in question (posted in the Forestry Forum) reveal why deciding how to prune it will hardly be straightforward.

Most red maple trees, writes Steve, "if in good health and free to grow, need very little pruning." But this is no ordinary red maple tree, as the branching pattern is less than ideal. Not to worry, though. The experts in the Forestry Forum who tackle this question help the reader figure out how to prune this red maple tree by zeroing in on the best growth to keep as a leader.

How to Prune Red Maple Trees originally appeared on About.com Landscaping on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 08:08:57.

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Concrete Flooring Or...?

Maybe I haven't had enough caffeine.  But I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this one.

Daltile's Concrete Connection™ line of tiles (Dear Daltile:  Not that I don't like it!  Sincerely, Me).  Let's start with what it is, first of all:

It is glazed porcelain tile with the look of concrete.

Concrete has traditionally been a functional, non-beautiful surface used in factory floors and sidewalks.

Then, at some point, the aesthetes got their mitts on concrete and turned it into an apparently lovely, desirable surface for residential flooring and kitchen counters.

So, this cheap material has been elevated to Beautiful Home status.  Fine.

But now we have porcelain tile, which for thousands of years has achieved the pinnacle of beauty, masquerading as a lowly material--concrete?  Is this regressive?

Image Copyright Daltile

Concrete Flooring Or...? originally appeared on About.com Home Renovations on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 03:00:27.

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