There is no doubt that home improvement work is a great way to add important personal touches to your living space. Do your research to avoid harming yourself or loved ones, or losing money. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you get started.

One great way to make the inside of your home sparkle is to put new molding in. New molding helps create a fresh sense in your living space. You can purchase special molding with beautiful carvings on them to add a unique touch of elegance and style to your home.

Put in an outdoor motion detector for your outside lighting. This way the lights will only be on when they are activated and not all day or all night unnecessarily. Most people don’t need their outside lights other than when they come home or leave after dark.

When looking to improve the value of your home, remodeling a bathroom can be a great step to take. Simple bathroom remodeling steps can include painting, changing out fixtures and installing new tiles. More elaborate efforts can include replacing bathtubs, toilets and sinks. Whatever route you choose, you’re sure to see an increased home value when you update your bathroom.

When removing cabinets as part of a kitchen remodel, make sure you don’t just unscrew and yank them off the wall. You will more than likely end up taking some or all of the drywall off with you. Take time and care to remove each and every screw, and use a utility knife around the edges to break the caulking that was most likely used to seal between the cabinet and the wall.

Think about adding a microwave above your range if you have limited kitchen counter space. These microwaves stand in place of the range hood and have additional features and a variety of prices. A lot of units use a filter and not a vent; these are meant for those who do not need a lot of ventilation.

Sometimes traditional and economical methods of dealing with squeaky doors may work for you. Here is a cheap alternative that you can try: Remove the hinge pin as normal, and rub it with regular bar soap. Then replace the pin and open and close the door to let the soap disperse on the hinge parts.

For an energy efficient upgrade, replace your hot water heater with a tank-less model. The new tank-less heaters only heat the water as it is needed as opposed to keeping 50 gallons or more heated at all times. This change will help your utility bills and the environment.

Use school glue on your wall paper repairs. This cheap glue dries clear and works whether you are repairing a turned up corner, a tear, or a bubble that wasn’t properly addressed when the wall paper was hung. The squeeze tip bottle even allows you to easily insert the glue into small places.

Home improvement projects can be laborious yet rewarding. That said, it is worth every second and penny spent. So, do yourself a favor by doing your research and applying the above tips to your home improvement.