Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. Wallpaper can be a beautiful and a long-lasting d cor solution, but when it s time to remove it you need patience, perseverance and a little know-how. There are different techniques for removing every kind of wallpaper, but the tools and preparation are much the same. First and foremost, realize that this is a wet and messy process. Removing or re-covering everything in the room with plastic and masking off trim and windows will eliminate a lot of cleanup hassles. Start at a top corner of the wall and try peeling off any loose areas of the outer layer. Once you ve peeled off everything you can, run a perforation tool over the rest. Mix your removal solution according to the manufacturer s instructions and spray it on with a spray bottle or garden sprayer. Wallpaper remover is an enzyme designed to dissolve the adhesive. Let it sit 5 minutes or so before you start scraping with a putty knife. To avoid damaging the plaster or drywall as you scrape, use only the knife s flat edge and not the corners. You may need to spray again a few times to get it all. Buying or renting a wallpaper steamer can make tough jobs much easier. Use this tool carefully because soaking the drywall or plaster will damage it. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. You can get several years worth of grime off your deck and your home s exterior in an hour with a pressure washer. Whether you buy or rent, it s a great tool to have. But go easy. Pressure washing with more than 1,200 psi is useful for stripping loose and flaking paint, but it can easily damage your siding. For cleaning, volume is more important than pressure. When using a pressure washer, stand several feet from the house and work from the top down. Use a wide-angle spray nozzle and keep the spray at about 30 degrees from the surface to avoid leaving marks. Narrow nozzles and high pressure at a right angle to the surface will damage your siding and can hurt you, too. Always wear safety goggles and protective clothing when you re pressure washing. Unless it s specified by the decking or siding manufacturer, avoid using chlorine bleach, which can be harmful to wood surfaces. It ll turn cedar and redwood black, and your plants won t like it either. Instead, spray any mildewed areas with an oxygen-based bleach solution or other natural cleanser to loosen the grime before pressure washing. If all of this seems like a lot of work, your local pressure-washing service can clean and finish a standard deck for $200-$300 in a couple of hours. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

If you need to insulate your attic, blowing in cellulose insulation is an easy job you can do yourself by renting a machine at your local lumberyard. To install the insulation, blow the cellulose in up to the level of your floor joists. Cellulose is made from recycled newspaper and treated with Borax, a natural pest repellent and fire retardant. For best results, be sure to distribute the cellulose in an even layer. In an attic with two-by-six joists, you can achieve an insulation factor of R-19.