Menards®

Before asking “how” to do a home improvement project, most people ask how long it will actually take. The answer depends largely on the specific project, whether you’re dealing with a small fix or tackling a larger one, and whether you’ll need an extra set of professional hands.   TL;DR: A garage opener remote is the quickest upgrade on this list, often finished in just a few minutes. Vinyl floor planks for home use are typically a weekend project thanks to their easy installation. The timeline for a bathroom vanity upgrade depends on whether the plumbing needs to be moved, which can turn a weekend job into a longer one. How Long Does It Take to Program a New Garage Opener Remote? Programming a new garage opener remote is typically a quick job. Most new remotes just need to be programmed to sync with the existing opener system, a process that usually takes a few minutes once it's out of the box. It doesn't require rewiring or special tools, just the instructions that come wit...

Getting a home ready for winter doesn’t have to mean a big project. A handful of small, practical moves, some costing next to nothing, make the season easier to handle once the temperature actually drops. TL;DR Weather stripping the doors and windows stops cold air from entering the home and making your heating system work harder. A basic winter supply kit means the first storm is a minor inconvenience and not a scramble to the store. Electric fireplace heaters add warmth to a room without a full heating overhaul. A large room oscillating space heater covers the one space that never seems to warm up. Clearing debris from the gutters now helps prevent ice dams before they start. 1. Weather strip the Doors and Windows That Let the Draft In Cold air sneaks in around doors and windows more than most homeowners realize, and it’s one of the cheapest fixes on this list. A quick pass with weather stripping or a door sweep seals the gaps, keeping the furnace from working overtime. 2. Put a Wint...

According to the New Mover Trends Report, 84% of millennial new movers tackle a home improvement project after settling in. Let's take a look at the early checks that catch problems while they're still simple to fix. TL;DR:  A few safety and function checks are worth doing before the boxes get unpacked. A bathroom floor often reveals problems first, since it's exposed to water daily. A vanity built for the last household's habits may not suit a new one. Central heat rarely reaches every room evenly, and that gap often surfaces slowly. Before You Unpack a Single Box Before arranging furniture, a few checks pay off. Locate the main water shutoff and the breaker box. Test every outlet, run each faucet, and flush every toilet to catch a slow leak early. Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well, so you can have peace of mind.  Why the Bathroom Floor Is Worth a Second Look The bathroom is usually the next place to reveal issues, since it deals with water daily instea...

Fall means football on the weekends, cooler nights, and the first round of holiday gatherings starting to fill up the calendar. A handful of small updates can make your home feel warmer and more finished before the first guests show up. A few of those updates lean practical, a few lean toward decor, and most of them take at most an afternoon to actually pull off. A Few Small Touches Change the Whole Feel of a Room Swapping in textured throw blankets, layering a thicker rug, or trading bright overhead lighting for something softer is an affordable and quick way to elevate any room. These are the kind of inviting updates guests notice every time they're over.  The Room Where Everyone Ends Up Needs to Actually Be Warm Every house has a room where people end up when there's a crowd over: a sunroom, a finished basement, a three-season porch. It's rarely the room that the furnace handles well. Small space heaters fix that fast, without waiting on a bigger HVAC project, so the ro...

It's not always the biggest project that gets tackled first. What usually pushes a fix to the top of the to-do list is a small but noticeable daily slowdown. The parts of your home that see plenty of foot traffic, like the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms, tend to be where those home function hiccups get noticed fastest.  Here are a few smaller DIY projects that you'll notice in daily life. The Small Slowdowns Everyone Recognizes Homeowners everywhere know the feeling: a creaky door that never shuts right, a drawer that sticks every time you open it, a faucet handle that's gotten a little loose. None of it is a big deal on its own, but these small slowdowns are usually what make it onto a weekend to-do list first, long before a bigger project even gets discussed. A House That's Outgrown Its Original Plan Households change faster than most people account for. A kid comes home from college, a family friend stays for a while, or a partner's schedule shifts back to match...

Most home equipment doesn't fail on a convenient day. It usually shows up dead, jammed, or missing a part at the exact moment it's needed, whether that's the first cold snap or the first heat wave of the year.  A quick seasonal check-in on the gear sitting in a garage or shed is a small habit that saves a real scramble later. Fall: Getting Ahead of the First Snow Fall is the easiest time to find out whether a gas snow blower actually starts, long before the first real snowfall makes that answer urgent. A quick test run, with fresh gas if it's been sitting since last winter, beats finding out during an actual storm. Winter: The One Thing Worth Testing Before It's Actually Cold Along with scheduling a furnace tune-up, it’s worth checking whether your portable electrical space heater still works as it did last year. A plug-in check on a mild day beats finding out a unit's dead during the one week it's needed. Spring: The Reset Nobody Puts on the Calendar Spri...

Fall weekends have a different energy. The morning air is crisp enough to enjoy being outside, and the to-do list that got pushed aside all summer suddenly feels doable again.  It's not energy for a full makeover, but just enough time and decent weather to finally get to the smaller stuff that's been waiting since June. The Weather Finally Cooperates Anyone who has spent any time in a garage in August temperatures already knows the appeal of fall. The same goes for January, when cold hands make even a quick repair take longer. Fall sits right in the middle, mild enough to actually get something done without fighting the weather.  This makes September and October a good time to tidy up the space, bring in the seasonal decor, and even test the batteries in your universal garage opener remote .  Small Swaps Now Make a Big Difference Later Wondering where to start indoors? A guest bathroom is one of the easiest places to feel a big payoff with just a few small swaps. Installi...

A snow day sounds simple until the whole family is suddenly home at once, the driveway is buried, and you need to keep everyone entertained. A heavy duty gas snow blower makes quick work of the one task that can't just wait. The rest of the day gets easier once that part's handled. Here’s what you should know.  Plan on Clearing the Driveway More Than Once A snow day rarely means one clean pass over the driveway. Cars come and go for errands, kids head out to sled, and the mail still needs somewhere to land. A heavy duty gas snow blower handles repeat trips through heavy, wet snow without bogging down. This matters when the driveway gets used all day instead of just once before work.  Keep the Room Everyone Piles Into Actually Warm Once everyone's home and the day slows down, one room usually becomes the default gathering spot, and that's the room a furnace struggles to keep comfortable on a genuinely cold day. An electrical space heater adds quick, supplemental warmth...

The first real snowfall of the season has a way of announcing itself, quiet overnight, then suddenly everywhere by morning. Rather than staring at a buried driveway and wondering where to start, the homeowners who feel ahead of winter already have a plan. Clear the driveway with a gas powered snow blower , then head back inside to a house that actually feels like a reward for the effort. Clearing the Driveway Doesn't Have to Eat the Whole Morning A few minutes with a gas powered snow blower before work beats 30 minutes with a stiff back and a shovel, especially once snow starts piling up storm after storm. Running it while the snow's still fresh and loose, rather than waiting for it to pack down or partially melt and refreeze, makes the job faster and easier on the machine.  Starting the season with fresh fuel and a quick check of the auger helps too. It means the machine's ready to go the first time it's actually needed. Handling the Spots the Blower Can't Reach A ...