I have been a single woman for several years now, and I have found good ways to get work done around the house, without spending a lot of money. The best suggestion that I can give any single woman is to pray before you start any project around the house, because God will give you inside information that you will never think of or imagine.


Once I needed my air conditioning changed. So I started getting bids from companies in the $2000 plus range, but my budget only allowed for $900.00. After praying, I felt in my spirit that all I needed was someone take out the old unit and install the new unit. First, I began searching the web to look for someone just to do what I really needed. I came across this website called Service Magic (www.servicemagic.com) to search for a plumber or heat/air condition company. After filling out their online form, in the note area I put in my search request that I only was looking for someone to take out the old unit and install a new unit. Service Magic sent me a list of contractors in my area to choose from. I enjoyed the rating system they offered, which allowed you some insight into the company or handyman you were trying to choose.


Secondly, I looked in the phone book for heating/air conditioning supply stores and asked them a lot of questions concerning the type of air conditioning unit I currently had and asked for advice on what was new on the market that would benefit my situation. I explained that I was looking for a air conditioning unit that would fit the square footage of my house. I was told that my house only needed a 3 ton unit. At that point, I called around for the best price I could find for that size unit. I found a supply store in Homewood, IL that would deliver the unit to my home for free. The unit only cost me $550.00. I called and set-up an appointment for the plumber to come out the same day the unit was being delivered to my house. The plumbers fee was $200.00, which was to take out the old unit and install the new one. I saved $50.00 on my budget cost because since I was an electrician, I was able to wire up the unit myself. However in a single woman's case, she could find an electrician the same way she would find the plumber.



Now that home improvement is a booming business, there are handyman sites online that you can use to request help with one aspect of a project. Also, Home Depot and Menards has a section in their "Contractor" department where they allow local companies and handymen (and women) to leave their business card for contracting their services. There are many ways to save money, but the biggest way to save is to look to your Savior.

The best definition for a load-bearing wall in layman’s terms is a wall that holds your building structure together. The best way to check which walls are free from holding your building structure and a wall that is load-bearing is to go in your basement and look at the direction your 1st sub floor ceiling beams are going. For example, if the beams are facing the front of your house, any wall going in the opposite direction is NOT load-bearing, but any wall going in the same direction IS a load-bearing wall. If you are considering a wall on the second floor of your house, check your attic beams and follow the same principle to determine which walls can be removed.

The best solution is to use a track lighting system. Find the track in the correct length that will fit over your kitchen island and follow the directions for installing the track or hire a qualified electrician to install the track lighting. Track base can be as small as two feet long and up to eight feet long. Once the track is installed, purchase hanging track pendant lights and install them in the track base over your kitchen island. The good thing about track lighting is that you can switch out the fixtures when you crave a new look.

There is a saying we use out in the construction field, "Measure twice, Cut once (or Drill once)." First, one trick I use is I mark where the first rod hook will go, then I measure from the ceiling down to that mark. Then I measure the distance for your next rod hook and use a pencil and make my second mark, but to make sure the rod will be level, I use the ceiling height measure from my first rod hook, which will give me the level mark I'm looking for.

There are several things that you can do to get started.

Q. Over the past few years, when I change my outside light bulbs, I have noticed that they are beginning to rust and they are becoming harder and harder to remove. Is there any thing I can do to prevent them from rusting out completely?

Yes, you can do something to stop the rusting of your outside light bulbs.

Q. I need to purchase a new washing machine. How can I tell if the new machine is compatible with the type of power I currently have?

Q. The cord to ceiling fan that turns the light on in my son's room is jammed. The fan cord is ok. Does that mean I may need a new light fixture? My son is thinking about taking it apart and maybe he’ll be able to just straighten out the light cord....what do you advise???