Repair and construction, landscaping and maintenance, design and architecture

About log cabins. How to build a log cabin. Construction of a log house with your own hands The construction of wooden houses and outbuildings, as they say, «without nails» in Russia has been known since time immemorial. Due to the valuable building qualities of wood (low volume weight and relatively high strength), wooden structures are still widely used in house construction... read more>>>

How to protect a wooden house from rot, mold, insects and fire No matter what new materials a person invents, wood will not give up its place. Wood was and remains one of the most important types of building material, but in order for wooden structures to serve for a long time, they must be protected... read more>>>

Adobe buildings. How to build a house from adobe. Manufacturing technology of adobe bricks Adobe bricks are an affordable building material and if the foundation, plinth, blind areas and wall cladding are competently made of it, then you will get a wonderful house. Villagers often build adobe premises for livestock and birds, sheds, summer kitchens, garages, and other buildings, replacing scarce wood and burnt bricks with fire-resistant and cheap local building materials. Houses made of well-dried adobe bricks are as functional as those made of burnt ones, that is, they are durable, beautiful, and durable... read more>>>

How to make a cinder block — a simple method and technology for making cinder blocks with your own hands In the construction of a garage, residential building or other utility buildings for the construction of walls, the cheapest building material is cinder blocks. They are made almost from waste material. At the same time, cinder blocks are laid in the walls not only on sand-cement mortar, but also on clay mortar, which additionally reduces the cost of construction... read more>>>

How to properly cut tile, tile cutting When tiling the walls and floor of the kitchen, bathroom or toilet, it is necessary not only to cut the tiles into pieces, but also to make round cutouts for pipes in them, as well as angular and other shaped cuts necessary when fitting tiles to the surfaces to be covered. Straight cuts are considered the simplest, angular and side semicircular ones are more complex, and the cutouts inside the tile are the most difficult... read more>>>

How to choose the right wallpaper. What does the marking of wallpaper mean Domestic wallpaper is mainly distinguished by the durability of their surface. There is a marking for this. If the product is marked with icons B-0, B-1, then in front of you is a moisture — resistant wallpaper... read more>>>

How to remove stains on walls and ceiling And the ugly traces on the ceiling, flooded with neighbors from above, it seems, will never hide any repairs. Still, do not despair. The means to successfully combat this kind of stains exist... read more>>>

Installing the door peephole. How to install a door peephole Our life now is such that you can open the door to a guest only by making sure who is really standing on the other side of it. To hear a familiar voice, of course, is good... But, as they say, «it's better to see once...» And there is nothing shameful here — «God takes care!». Therefore, the door peephole is a necessity dictated by harsh times... read more>>>

Single lever mixer: device and repair In recent years, single-lever mixers, characterized by increased durability and ease of operation compared to traditional ones, have been increasingly used. The reasons for the growing popularity of single-lever mixers (in the literature you can find their other names — monocommand, articulated, single-arm and even — joysticks) lie in their design... read more>>>

Layout of a one-room apartment In a one-room apartment with a living room of ~ 20 m, it is necessary to create conditions for work, food and night rest. In addition, it is also necessary to equip a rest area and find a place to store various things. And all this should be done so that the room looks attractive. Consider three options for a planning solution for a small studio apartment... read more>>>

Manufacture of glass facing tiles Glass tiles for wall cladding are either plain (white, blue), or with an ornament or pattern you can make yourself. The area of ordinary ceramic tiles is 150x150 mm, this size is also suitable for homemade tiles... read more>>>

Practical tips for saving electricity in everyday life. Saving electricity at home The proposed list of practical recommendations for saving electricity includes both well-known and indisputable recommendations, as well as new and original ones, which allow creating an effective system of rational electricity consumption in everyday life... read more>>>

Frames for glazing balconies and loggias. Manufacture of frames for self-glazing of the balcony The need for glazing loggias and balconies of houses in large cities is now obvious. Due to the unfavorable environmental situation (especially under the influence of acid rain), the flooring of loggias and balconies is destroyed, intensive corrosion of metal reinforcement panels occurs... read more>>>

Protective cap for pipes and pillars If water gets into the pipe, then in winter it will freeze and ice will break the pipe. Therefore, usually the upper ends of the pipes are covered with film, cans and other improvised materials, protecting them from rain. The design of the protective cap shown in the figure will not only save you from such troubles, but also decorate the site... read more>>>