Menards®

Do your spring break plans involve bringing home a new furry family member? If so, you’re probably busy puppy-proofing your house by hiding trash cans, installing gates, and finding creative ways to keep your shoes out of harm's way. However, many new dog owners only consider the puppy phase while preparing their home for a fuzzy new arrival.  Flex Paste Here are four steps to prepare your home for the long haul—not just the puppy phase. Step 1: Protect Your Stairs From Scratches While you can avoid scratches on hardwood and vinyl flooring with proper nail maintenance, your dog will inevitably leave a few marks here or there. Stairs are a frequently overlooked area that are often affected by scratches. Fortunately, you can prepare your stairs to withstand your dog's paws by installing stair treads that are durable and easy to clean. Choose durable materials like: White Oak Hickory Laminate Avoid soft wood such as: Cherry Pine Black Walnut By preparing your home

Change is the only constant in life, and as your family grows, you must adapt your home to accommodate everyone’s needs.  Families grow and change in many ways. You could find yourself bringing a new child into the world, welcoming a parent who’s coming to live with you, or hosting a foreign exchange student. Whatever happens, you must do what you can to make them feel right at home. That doesn’t always mean putting your current home on the market and upgrading. On the contrary, there are plenty of smaller home improvements you can make to enhance your home appropriately. Here’s a look at four of the most valuable ways to adapt your home to accommodate your growing family. Apply Fresh Paint Throughout the Interior There’s nothing quite like a fresh coat of paint. It can go a long way in making living spaces and bedrooms feel like a clean slate. New paint can also help revitalize a worn interior door, window sill, or baseboard. Depending on the wear, of course, replacement is some

More of us are working from home than ever before, and many people have found out the hard way that the convenience and comfort can come with a cost.  Sure, working from home saves a ton of time and money. But, for many of us, wearing our PJs and working from the couch doesn’t quite foster the mindset we need to perform our best. That’s why, if you intend to work from home long-term, you may find it worthwhile to convert one room in your home into a home office. Here are three tips to consider to help you set up the ultimate home office. Make Your Home Office Cozy and Productive We typically don’t think of our workplaces as particularly comfortable or enjoyable. But when you build your own home office, you have an opportunity to craft it to suit your unique preferences and create a space where you’ll actually enjoy working. Of course, if you have a family, you’ll need a way to minimize distractions so you can remain focused throughout the workday. For many, even just installing a

There’s nothing quite like watching your child grow up and leave home. To call it bittersweet would be quite the understatement, but it’s a fact of life parents must face. Of course, once a child has moved on to school, work, or whatever’s next, we all have to answer the same question: What do we do with that spare bedroom? After all, space is valuable, and by adapting that empty bedroom to suit a new purpose, you can add considerable value to your home. There are many ways to use an empty bedroom once your child has gone to live somewhere else. Here are four popular ways to convert a spare bedroom. Build an Exercise Room Whether you’re looking to save money on your gym membership or you’d like the convenience of being able to work out whenever it suits you, an exercise room is a superb way to repurpose your newly empty bedroom. Here’s some welcome news: You don’t have to buy big-ticket workout equipment to enjoy your exercise room. A yoga mat, some resistance bands, and a few dum

As the snow melts, temperatures rise, and we begin to see more sunshine, it’s clear that winter is fading to make way for spring. It’s an exciting time of year for many, especially those of us with plenty of DIY home improvement projects on this year’s to-do list. Now that the weather is beginning to trend in our favor, we can get out there and start working on the things we need to get done. Here are five home improvement projects ideal for the shoulder season spanning late winter and early spring. Replace Worn Stair Treads You wouldn’t intentionally wash your vehicle right before it starts to rain, would you? By the same token, it hardly makes any sense to replace your stair treads right before the wettest, coldest time of year—winter. However, once the snow has melted and things start to dry out, you and your family members will be less likely to track mud and debris through the house, so it’s a fantastic time to update your stairs with attractive new stair treads inside your ho

It’s a New Year, and that means new DIY projects around your home. Right now, you may be making a list of home improvement projects for the coming months. You might be thinking about crawling into your attic to install fresh batt insulation to help with energy savings or painting the living room. Stair Treads Along with aesthetic and efficiency improvements, safety enhancements can be great for homes with kids, the elderly, and folks with mobility concerns. Of course, having a safer home is good all around. As you make your list of home improvement needs, consider adding these safety-minded projects to the mix. Grab Bars for the Bathroom (and Other Low-Traction Areas) Bathtubs and showers can be slippery places. With all that soap and water, there can be little traction under your toes. Bathrooms are prime real estate for grab bars. They provide dedicated hand-holds for anyone who needs extra support. They can also be used as towel bars. You can put grab bars in the bathtub or show

Some home repair projects can easily be put off until you have time to get to it. These are things like loose cabinet hardware, squeaky door hinges, and chipped paint in the hallway. They can be annoying, but they probably aren’t safety hazards or energy sinks. However, some repairs and fixes may need to be addressed immediately.  Flex Paste These kinds of repairs can lead to bigger problems sooner or later. Some of these issues may require little more than a container of Flex Paste , while others may be a bit more involved. If you notice any of these types of issues around your home, make a plan to fix them as soon as possible. Interior Leaks and Exterior Gaps Leaks can go from minor to major in an instant. This includes moisture leaks, as well as air leaks, such as gaps in door frames and windows. If you notice any water staining on a ceiling, water accumulation on floors or in corners, or dripping pipes, try to find the source of the leak. In some cases, fixing the leak may take l