Homeowner Tips
Finding Great Websites That Offer Home Improvement Advice
Which sites on the internet are best for finding tips for new and long-time homeowners?
Buying a new home or maintaining an older home can be overwhelming- and being a homeowner for awhile doesn't make it much easier. There are seasonal maintenance issues, general home repairs, cleaning, organizing, yard work, electrical and plumbing upkeep and countless other issues.
So where can homeowners go for help?
Let's take a look at a few websites that offer tips and advice to homeowners.
Home Tips
This website, Hometips offers free do-it-yourself (DIY) tips and home improvement articles. The site is efficiently broken down into a number of specific categories like Air Cleaners, Decks and Patios, Energy Saving and Conservation, Roofing and Gutters and a number of others. The site is run by home improvement specialist Don Vandervort, who is the home advisor for MSN.com and is also host of HGTV's how-to show "The Fix". The website is a fantastic resource for homeowners as it answers questions on everything from maintaining your septic tank to weatherstripping your front door.
This Old House
For property owners of historic homes, This Old House is a treasure trove of helpful information. In fact, the site has plenty of information for homeowners of brand new homes as well! Once you get past the fact that the site is a bit commercial and flashy and self-promoting of the magazine it represents, the information itself is incredibly helpful. Topics range from Small Space Solutions, Seeding a Lawn and Installing Baseboards to Green Renovation or How To Hire a Tiling Contractor. The personalities behind the site, in the advice department , are Tom Silva and Norm Abrams, who are familiar expert faces to those who watch the This Old House tv show.
Homeowner Talk
If you are looking for an interactive, ask-and-answer site, Homeowner Talk is the website for you. Sometimes homeowners aren't necessarily looking for 'expert' advice, simply some words of wisdom from others with similar concerns. This site, which is amazingly commercial-free, offers homeowners the opportunity to share tips and tricks of home maintenance or to seek advice from other homeowners. Topics like which home improvement projects increase property values, mortgage and property financing, and landlord/tenant issues are just a few of the many topics on which homeowners can share information.
Martha Stewart offers outstanding homeowner tips on her website.
Of course, there are tons of TV shows (on HGTV, DIY Network and other channels) that offer great homeowner advice, and many books on home improvement topics as well. But the internet, including some of the above mentioned websites, can be a great resource of information for homeowners.
For information on seasonal home maintenance, click here.
