Expert Advice on Home Improvement

A window seat not only enhances the look of a room and provides additional seating, but it serves as a great storage space as well. Find out how to make a built-in window seat for your home. Watch this video.

A fireplace mantel often serves as the focal point in a room. While factory made mantels are available, do-it-yourselfers with a well equipped shop can make one themselves from stock molding and medium density fiberboard or solid wood. Watch this video.

Gaps around windows let heated and cooled air escape and increase your energy bills. Find out the best ways to fill gaps and prevent energy loss. Watch this video.

April Asks: “Why does it take so long to dry my clothes?”

When a dryer takes a long time to dry your clothes, often the problem is due to a buildup of lint in the dryer lint screen or vent pipe. This not only reduces the efficiency of your dryer but can be a major fire hazard as well. Watch this video.

Replacing worn or damaged weather stripping around exterior doors will save money on your energy bills. On new doors, weather stripping fits in a groove cut in the casing while older doors require strips to be attached. Watch this video.

Adding compost to your soil is one of the best ways to improve your garden. Make a compost pile from a mixture of organic matter—such as leaves, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, eggshells, and coffee grounds. Turn the pile once a week with a pitchfork to introduce oxygen, and keep it covered with plastic to hold in moisture and heat. Adding red worms to the pile will speed up the process, since they digest and process their body weight in organic matter every day. Watch this video.

The Nature’s Retreat collection of patio furniture from Thomasville is made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified eucalyptus and all-weather wicker. Since eucalyptus is a fast growing tree, it’s more sustainable than many other woods, making it an eco-friendly choice. It comes in a rich, dark Espresso finish that will complement any porch or patio and is available at The Home Depot stores. Watch this video.

The hard plastic end caps on an extension ladder can damage the paint or siding on the outside of your house and allow the ladder to slip while working on it. To keep this from happening, wrap the top ends of the ladder with carpet scraps and secure them in place with duct tape. Watch this video.

Rolls of brown paper come in handy in the workshop, but it can be hard to find a convenient place to store and cut them. One solution is to screw two metal hooks horizontally to the wall of the shop far enough apart so the paper fits between them. Watch this video.

It’s important to replace the air filter on your central heating/cooling system every one to three months to keep the system operating efficiently. Watch this video to find out how. Watch this video.