The causes may be loose pipes, water logged air chambers, or water pressure that's too high. Pipes are usually anchored with pipe straps every 6 to 8 feet for horizontal runs and 8 to 10 feet for vertical. If your pipes bang when you turn on the water, you may need to add straps, cushion the pipes with a rubber blanket, or both. When you anchor a pipe-especially a plastic one, leave room for expansion and don't use galvanized straps on copper pipes.

The causes may be loose pipes, water logged air chambers, or water pressure that's too high. Pipes are usually anchored with pipe straps every 6 to 8 feet for horizontal runs and 8 to 10 feet for vertical. If your pipes bang when you turn on the water, you may need to add straps, cushion the pipes with a rubber blanket, or both. When you anchor a pipe-especially a plastic one, leave room for expansion and don't use galvanized straps on copper pipes.

The first step in fixing a leaking or sluggish faucet is identifying which of the two basic types of faucets you're dealing with. Compression faucet, older design with two handles or washer less faucet, more recent design, usually with a single lever or knob that controls the flow and mix of hot and cold water. These faucets may be one of several type: disc, valve, ball, or cartridge. Because models vary with the manufacturer, it's important to get identical replacement parts.

Tub faucets can be compression style or washer less. To take apart any style tub faucet, pry off the cap, unscrew the handle, and remove the escutcheon. In a compression faucet, you'll see the stem and packing nut. You may need to use a deep-socket wrench to grip and loosen a recessed packing nut. To repair a washer less tub faucet, remove the stop tube and draw out the retainer clip to get at the cartridge.

Before trying any drain-clearing methods on a plugged drain, check that the tub's pop-up stopper is opening fully and is free of hair and debris. If the stopper isn't the problem, then the drainpipe is probably clogged. First, try a plunger or chemical drain cleaner. If these fail to do the job, you'll have to clear the trap with a snake.

A higher than normal water bill might be your first indication of a leaking pipe. Or you might hear the sound of running water even when all your fixtures are turned off. When you suspect a leak, check the fixtures first to make sure all the faucets are tightly closed. Then go to the water meter, if you have one. If the dial is moving, you're losing water somewhere in the system. Tips to locate a leak:

• The sound of running water helps. If you hear it, follow it to its source. You can buy a listening device that amplifies sounds when it's held up to a pipe.
• If water is staining the ceiling or dripping down, the leak is probably directly above.
• Occasionally, water may travel along a joist and then stain or drip at a point some distance from the leak.
• If water stains a wall, it means there's a leak in a section of pipe.
• Any wall stain is likely to be below the actual location of the leak and you'll probably need to remove part of the wall to find it.
• Without the sound of running water and without drips or stains as evidence, leaks are more difficult to find. Using a flashlight, check all the pipes in the basement or in the crawl space.
• If the leak is major, turn off the water immediately, either at the fixture shutoff valve or the main shutoff valve. You'll probably have to replace the leaky section of pipe. If your experience working with pipes is limited, you'll probably want to call in a plumber to do the job. If the leak is small, the ultimate solution is to replace the pipe, but there are temporary solutions until you have time for the replacement job. These methods work for small leaks only.
• Clamps should stop most leaks for several months if they're used with a solid rubber blanket. It's a good idea to buy a sheet of rubber, as well as some clamps sized to fit your pipes at a hardware store and keep them on hand just for this purpose.
• A sleeve clamp that exactly fits the pipe diameter works best. Wrap a rubber blanket over the leak, then screw the clamp down over the blanket.
• An adjustable hose clamp used with a rubber blanket stops a pinhole leak.
• If nothing else is at hand, use a C-clamp, a small block of wood and a rubber blanket.
• In a pinch, try applying epoxy putty around a joint where a clamp won't work. The pipe must be dry for the putty to adhere. Turn off the water supply to the leak and leave the water off until the putty hardens completely on the pipe.

If you don't have a clamp or putty, you can still stop a small leak temporarily by plugging it with a pencil point.

It is always the fun to laying the tiles by yourself, but you must remember to prepare the surface under the tiles properly. It's always more rewarding to lay down tile yourself, but there are some key things you must remember if you plan on doing it yourself. Any tiles looks good if the surface it is sitting on is smooth, flat and rigid . Sometimes plywood is used, but the better choice is cement backer board. Backer board is a thin layer of concrete with fiberglass mesh on both sides. It is designed specifically as a setting surface for all kinds of tile.

After the surface is prepared, you’ll need to prepare the layout to make sure your tiles will be installed properly. For a professional looking installation, the layout lines must be square. To maintain the right gap for the grout joints you need to do a dry layout of the tiles first, and place spacers upright between them.

To install the tiles always begin at the center of the room and work your way out. Keep tiles aligned with spacers and follow your working lines. The key to a perfect job is simply working carefully. If you put a tile down crooked, pick it up right away and reposition it. Every tile job involves cutting. You have two ways to set up your cut tiles. First, you can make the cuts as you go along with your job. Second install all the full tiles first, wait 24 hours to let adhesive get dry, and then do all the cut tiles at once.

The last part is grouting. This is the process of filling the spaces between the tiles. The grout comes in powder form in premixed colors. You must follow the manufacturer’s instructions to mix it. To get strong, colorfast and the right consistency grout, always use the least amount of water possible. Only make as much grout as you can use and keep any leftover dry grout for possible future repairs. Remember, before grouting, let the tile adhesive dry and cure for 24-36 hours. First remove the spacers with a spacer puller and clean any adhesive out with a bristle brush before applying the grout.

When your grout has dried 24 hours you will need to put a sealer on the grout. They have two different options for applying the sealer. They make a stand and seal, it's in a spray can and you just stand and spray it on the grout line and let dry. This is the easiest way. You can also buy it in a bottle and then pour small amounts into a small bowl and using a small brush you brush it into each line. Sealing your grout is very important to insure that dirt doesn't get trapped in the grout. In order to keep your grout nice and clean I recommend that you reseal it once a year, more depending where your tile is and the amount of use it gets.

When your painting a wall a different color and you want to get a perfect line at the ceiling or down a wall without getting a bleed through the tape, here's the trick. You take the blue tape and put it on the opposite wall your painting making it straight or in the crease. Use a white latex caulking, I find the cheap ones work very well. Make a small hole in your caulking tube and run the caulking along the tape and the wall your painting. Take your finger and smooth the caulking so that it's half on the tape and half on the wall your painting. You only want to caulk about 4' at a time. Paint with a brush right over the caulking, then pull the tape off immediately. Make sure that your caulking does not completely dry, if it dries when you pull the tape the caulking will come with it. Then you will have a perfect line.

It is a messy job to do, so make sure everything is covered with plastic and taped off. First you need to wet the ceiling, not dripping wet but wet. Then you can take a putty knife or a scraper and run it along the ceiling. Be careful not to scrape into the drywall. Continue wetting and scraping until it's all removed. Let dry for 24 hours. Take a drywall sander and sand it down until it's smooth and even. Also fill in any marks that were made when you removed the popcorn. Once all sanded you are then ready to texture it. It can be a big job so prepare yourself a living room area would take about 3 full days to do.