A problem with leaking water in your house can quickly turn into a nightmare scenario if you don’t get it sorted urgently, and this is one example of when you probably need to call a plumber to get you out of a fix.

Some jobs might not seem urgent and you might even be thinking about tackling a bathroom upgrade yourself, but when should you test your DIY skills and when should you definitely leave the task to a professional?

Here is a look at what plumbers actually do, what warning signs you shouldn’t ignore and when it is time to get help with your drains and sewage smells.

More useful than you might think

It is easy to make the assumption that a plumber is mainly the person you call when you have a leaking water issue or your drain is backing up, but the scope of their work is actually a lot wider than that.

As a typical example, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing will do a lot more than fixing a leaky faucet or clear a clogged up drain.

The most common rooms in the house where you are likely to find a plumber at work are in the kitchen or the bathroom but even in those rooms, they can help with a lot of other tasks beyond a leaking water problem.

Take your kitchen, for instance, a plumber can help with Installing water lines to your refrigerator, fitting a garbage disposal system and even suggest a water-saving system that will cut your home bills.

Whether you call a plumber for some of these jobs might depend on how competent and knowledgeable you are with a range of DIY tasks, but there are clearly some issues that require professional help to resolve a problem safely and efficiently.

No water could be a sign of a big problem

If you have no water supply to your home there could be a plausible explanation such as maintenance work in the neighborhood where they have had to shut off supply for a brief time.

But if you are not aware of any valid reason why you have no water coming out of the taps and the houses next door are fine with their water supply, this should be a big red flag warning that something might be going badly wrong.

The water has got to be going somewhere and when you consider how many hundreds of gallons of water that are used in the typical home each day, if you don’t get to the root of the problem leaking water can soon cause some major structural damage to your property.

This is a classic scenario where it would be prudent to call a plumber in, as you have no time to waste trying to identify the problem yourself.

Regular problem with drains

Clogs are a common plumbing problem and on the face of it, fixing a problem like this should be within the reach of many homeowners who have a plunger and some rods to clear the drains.

If it is an isolated incident then you would be absolutely fine giving it a go yourself and you are likely to be successful in clearing the blockage.

If clogs are a regular occurrence this could be a clue that something is not right with your drains and pipework, which you may not be able to see or identify on your own. A plumber will have cameras and other specialist tools that can not only clear the blockage but also identify what is causing the problem.

A repeat drain problem is something that is worth asking a plumber to investigate so that you can get it fixed rather than keep reaching for the plunger.

Something doesn’t smell right

The smell of sewage is unpleasant but it is particularly disturbing when that pungent aroma is permeating throughout your home.

A strong sewage smell needs to be tackled urgently as it could be potentially damaging to your health but it could also be a warning sign that there is an underlying plumbing problem in your home, such as a lack of proper ventilation. 

It isn’t always that easy to pinpoint what is calling the strong sewage smell but this is another of those plumbing problems that most likely needs professional intervention to solve successfully.

Know your DIY limits and when it comes to water problems in your home, is it really worth taking any chances?

Simon Harrison runs his own plumbing business but is off work at the moment with an injury. He enjoys sharing his insights online almost as much as he likes sharing his expertise to his apprentices.

Even if you are a competent and confident DIY enthusiast you are bound to have some limits regarding what you can attempt on your own, and sometimes it might even be dangerous to attempt to fix a problem that should be left to a professional.

A classic DIY scenario would be if you have a garage door dilemma and the doors won’t open or you can’t get it to lock properly. Do you attempt to sort it out by yourself or should you ask an expert to get to the root of the problem?

Here is a look at some common garage door issues, including what to do when you lose power to the door, why regular pressure adjustments might be needed, and a cautionary note about damaging your sensor, plus a tip to prolong the life of your door.

When you can’t get your car out

It is always going to be frustrating to discover that the power to your garage seems to have been lost and you can’t get your car out because the door is closed.

You might have a moment of panic and think that you are not going to be able to get your car out, but the first thing you should try is to go to the inside of the garage and look for a cord which usually has a red handle attached to it.

This is normally hanging down from the guide track that the opener uses to open and close the door when everything is working automatically. Use this manual override to see if you can get the door open by pulling the cord.

Keep up the pressure

Cold weather can sometimes find a way of causing your door to malfunction or stop working altogether, and a likely explanation is that the freezing temperatures might have stiffened the mechanism, causing it to lose power.

If you have a garage door that has been fitted in the last decade or so it is probable that your door opener has pressure adjustments to raise and lower the door successfully each time. What you might find is that you need to adjust these settings every season so that the cold weather doesn’t catch you out.

Check your manufacturer’s instructions if you want to do this yourself or you might decide to use someone like D&L Garage door repair Las Vegas to fix any problem you have and make the necessary adjustments.

Sensitive sensor

Your garage door depends on a pair of photosensitive eyes in order to function properly and any obstruction to the path of light that is sending the signal will cause the doors to fail to open or close fully.

It is wise to remember that the sensor also provides an important safety feature and without it working properly you run the risk of a person or object getting caught by the door.

It might be a simple case of an object blocking the sensor or there might be some dirt or debris that is making it malfunction. The obvious solution is to clean the sensor, but a word of warning, careless cleaning can cause irreparable damage.

The eye of the sensor is very sensitive and it is easy to be too enthusiastic with your cleaning or use an unsuitable cleaning product, both of which could cause damage that can’t be reversed.

You can attempt to clean the lens yourself but you should take great care and use the recommended cleaning products, or you might decide it is better to get a professional to do this job when they come to service and maintain the garage door.

Seen better days

There will inevitably come a point where your garage door will become beyond economical repair and will need to be replaced, but there are a few fixes to try in order to prolong its life for a bit longer.

A sagging garage door is a classic sign of wear and tear and as it falls out of shape it will become harder to open. You could try and square it up with tension rods which are positioned on the back of the door and is probably the garage door equivalent of a facelift.

The rods are placed diagonally from top to bottom and, once in place, they can be adjusted a little at a time until you find the door seems to be functioning as well as can be expected for its age.

This is a job that you could potentially do yourself and the tension rods are available from DIY stores, but like all maintenance and repair tasks, know your limits and call in the pros if you are not completely confident with what you are doing.

Hi, my name is Sam Halicia, I been working in the Garage Door Industry for over a decade. Where I started as a technician and now is the owner/operator of D&L Las Vegas Garage Doors. As a technician, I worked around the clock for the convenience of all his customers. My business now thrives off the very same principles. Where I provide same day services at no extra cost as well as unbeatable customer satisfaction. No matter how big or small a person’s problem may be it has been my goal to make sure each person gets handled in a timely fashion with no surprises

Each year, around 17 percent of Americans pack up their belongings and move to a new home. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 13 million children are among these moving families. Whether you’re moving a few miles or across the country, house hunting can be stressful, especially if you have kids in tow. What you need to do is develop a plan so your children don’t have to tag along to every single property you want to see. These tips can keep you sane while you’re house hunting with your kids.

Start House Hunting Online

Most real estate agents have full property details and photo galleries for all their listings; some even have virtual video tours. This allows you to look at as many houses as you like while you’re kids are in school or hanging out with you at home. Making initial virtual tours of prospective homes will greatly reduce the number of houses you have to go out and visit physically, so it saves time and means the kids won’t get bored while you’re traipsing around a bunch of empty properties. If you’re looking for a home in or around downtown Kirkwood, MO, STL Real Estate is the place to visit. All their listed properties have full details and a photo gallery right there at your fingertips.

Keep Safety in Mind

When you do have to visit properties with your children, safety should be a top priority. Tweens and teens can usually make it through house hunting without much risk of getting hurt, but if you have toddlers and young kids in tow, that’s a different story. Bear in mind that your children are going to be in unfamiliar surroundings. Young children are very inquisitive. They will want to open draws and cupboards. If you can, leave them at home with a relative, or take a babysitter with you to mind them while you are touring the house. Not all properties will be child-friendly. Many may still be furnished, so make sure your young child doesn’t get into mischief and cause some damage.  To be on the safe side, leave the crayons and markers at home.

Don’t Push the Limits

You may have a child who is very patient and able to keep him or herself occupied while you spend hours looking at different houses. On the other hand, your child may have had enough after thirty minutes. Plan ahead, if you know your child will be ready to have a meltdown after a couple of viewings, don’t try to squeeze in more. It will just make you child miserable and you’ll feel stressed out.

Let your Child Help Out

Often, with older children, giving them a task related to house hunting can make them feel like they have a role in the whole procedure. Ask them to research the locales you’re thinking of moving to, to find out the demographics and history of the town and to look for family-friendly things to do there. This can also reduce their stress about changing schools and moving away from friends. You could also give them a camera and have them take photos of the houses and surrounding areas.

Find a Kid-friendly Realtor

Yes, they do exist. Some like to put out house-friendly toys for children to play with. Some even do magic tricks. While this can be a great help while you’re house viewing, watch out for a realtor who likes to feed kids with candy. Do you really want your child to be having a sugar rush when you still have three or four more homes to view?

Get them Prepared

It’s probably a good idea to feed the family before you leave for a viewing. That will prevent kids from getting cranky, and younger children may even sleep through the whole experience. If you’re planning to make a whole day of it, bring plenty of healthy snacks and bottles of water to keep them hydrated. If your children are old enough, explain to them what the viewing experience will be like so that there will be no unpleasant surprises.

If you follow these tips house hunting with kids does not have to be a stressful operation. Make sure you have plenty of support from friends and family. Try to leave the kids at home as much as you can. When you really do have to take them to a viewing with you, take someone else along to keep them occupied.

Archie Coles is a real estate agent with years of experience of helping people to buy and sell their family homes. He shares some top tips for making the whole process a little easier.

The bathroom in your home gets a lot of use and that means that it probably needs an upgrade more often than any other room in the house.

If you are looking for some inspiration and a hi-tech cleaning solution that is proving increasingly popular, the Bio Bidet BB-600 is an example of the sort of upgrades and innovations that can really freshen up your fixtures and give you a great looking bathroom.

Choose a faucet that does what you want it to do

The great thing about fitting out your bathroom these days is that your choice of faucets is now so wide, that you can get one that does exactly what you need and want it to do.

It was not that long ago that you your choice of features was basically limited to whether you wanted to have one handle or two. Thankfully, your options go way beyond that now (think wall-mounted) so you can impose your own personality and style on your bathroom, and find some faucets that complement your design, as well as providing the functionality that you desire.

Choice of finishes and colors

Another area where design options have improved greatly is that trends now allow you the chance to enjoy a virtual blank canvas when it comes to your choice of finish and color.

If you don’t want to settle for chrome in your new bathroom, you don’t have to. It is just as likely that you will come across fixtures that are made from copper, brushed nickel and even a rose-gold finish, and if your preferred option is matte chrome, then go right ahead and pick something out that ticks your boxes.

The fact that you can get such a diverse choice of colors and finishes, means that you will have much less difficulty matching your fittings up with your decor, than you would have done in the past.

Sink solutions

Selecting a sink is far less stressful than it might have been previously, as you have a variety of styles available to match your design aspirations as well as your budget.

Drop-in sinks are often a good choice if you are on a tight budget with your remodeling plans, but they are not always that popular with homeowners because they are not necessarily as easy to keep clean as something like an under-mount sink.

If you are looking for a statement sink that adds more than a touch of flair to your bathroom, you might decide to settle on a vessel sink. They do tend to come out more expensive than a number of other options, but they can certainly look the part.

Many bathrooms are small anyway, but you might be working with an even more limited area than normal. Even if you do struggle for room in your bathroom, a freestanding pedestal sink is another viable option that makes good use of the space without compromising on style.

Don’t forget that although vitreous china remains hugely popular, especially when it comes down to keeping costs down, sinks are now widely available in stainless steel, glass, marble and a host of other finishes.

So get creative with your sink solutions.

Go beyond functionality

One of the major issues with many bathrooms, is the fact that you have so much stuff that needs to be stored in there, yet there is often a limited amount of storage space available.

That scenario can soon make your bathroom look cluttered if things have to be left out on the side. If you want to avoid your bathroom looking like that, think about combining storage options with innovative solutions.

Cabinet manufacturers now offer you things like LED lighting and one-touch opening and closing, all of which can add style as well as functionality to your bathroom.

Step into your own spa experience

It really wasn’t that long ago that rain shower heads were seen as a great innovation and a big improvement in your showering experience, but now you can get shower control options that deliver an authentic spa experience every time you head into the bathroom.

If you have decided it is time to perk up your porcelain, you really aren’t short of options and there is every chance that your bathroom could become an oasis of calm and style.

Elliot Gibbs is a painter and decorator who has been in the trade ever since leaving school. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and DIY inspiration all over the web.

How you design the layout of your kitchen will make a big difference to how well it works when you are in there cooking up a great meal, but even if you have a tiny space to work with, there are certainly some neat design ideas that can help you to get the most out of your small kitchen.

There are so many little tricks you can use to max the space and functionality available, such as using an upright freezer for small spaces and hanging pots from the ceiling.

Here are so ideas and tips to help you get the best out of your small kitchen.

Using every available space

It might seem such an obvious thing to say, but you need to use every available bit of space in your small kitchen, which means that you need to take a close look at what you have got to work with and work out some innovative ways to utilize that space in the most efficient way.

Examples of the sort of simple tricks you can use, include making the most of the insides of your cabinets. Sticking a cork board on the inside of your wall cabinet and then attaching shopping lists and small but useful items, will mean that you are not taking up valuable wall space elsewhere.

Another idea to free up space in your cupboards and use what limited space you have, would be to hang your pots and pans from hooks on the ceiling. This makes them easily accessible and can add a certain charm to the decor at the same time.

Baskets and shelves

When you are working with a small kitchen and only have a few storage cupboards to put items away into, it is often not enough to just pack as much as you can in there and keep it out of sight.

What you need to do is try and get the most of your cabinets, and you can achieve this with the help of baskets and shelves.

Fitting stackable shelves inside your cabinets will not only create more storage space, but by having everything stacked neatly, it makes it easier to get to what you want without having to pull everything else out to get it.

Another neat trick is to get some baskets, which you can place in the-often neglected space above your cabinets, and then fill them with some extra stuff, which you might otherwise have struggled to find a home for.

Under the sink

Most of us have a range of cleaning products and other such items, stashed under the kitchen sink, but are you using that space as efficiently as possible.

A clever little idea to help you maximize that space and store a whole lot more besides the usual bleach sprays and other items, would be to install a tension rod across the width of the cupboard.

If you fit this rod just below the sink, you can then hang spray bottles from it, freeing up floor space on the cupboard for extra other items. You can even go the extra mile and install some other tension rods down the sides of the inside of the cabinet, so you can slide some trash bags along them and even make it easier to use them.

More dining space

A small kitchen can mean that you are potentially limited for dining space, which might be tolerable when you are dining alone or for two, but when you have friends and family round for a meal, this can present a problem.

A good flexible solution can be to add a bar-height table, which gives you extra counter space when you need it and somewhere for your friends to sit and eat with you when they come round.

You could also consider fitting a folding table to your wall, so that it is neatly tucked away when you don’t need it, but springs into action in seconds, when you are ready to sit down and enjoy a meal.

Get hooked

Hooks are a cheap and easy solution, but they work and when you are faced with limited space in a small kitchen, it really does makes sense to look at all the various ways you can hang things from hooks.

Hanging regularly used items like cutting boards is going to free up space and accessibility is not an issue as you can quickly reach and grab the board when you need it.

If you work on making the most out of the space that you have in the kitchen, you will be able to make some mighty meals that should taste better when you are not working in what might otherwise feel like a confined space.

James Davis is a design student who lives in a tiny apartment in NYC where he enjoys throwing exotic dinner parties for friends. He writes about DIY and decor, especially making the use of all available space, and his design ideas.