DIY Network

Fixtures, Faucets and Beyond Why hire professionals when you can do many simple repairs around the house yourself? From "Today Show Tips" episode DTST-118

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Replacing a Bathroom Faucet the Easy Way

Start by turning off the shutoff valve under the sink. If there is no shut-off valve, turn off the water at the main shutoff for the house. Disconnect the water-supply lines and drain pipe.

Use a utility knife to cut the countertop free from the grout. Then pull the countertop off the vanity. It will be much easier to replace the faucet now that you can reach the underside of the counter without having to climb into the vanity.

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Installing a Light Dimmer

If there's one thing that can make a room look glamorous in two seconds, it's lowering the lighting. When you're choosing a dimmer, you need to know if it's a single pole or a double pole, as well as the wattage it will control. That depends on how many light bulbs the dimmer will handle.

Since you're dealing with electricity, you need to be careful. Spend $4.00 on a tester so that, once you flip the breaker switch off, you can make sure there is no electricity in the circuit. Any time you're working on electrical, you must make sure the power's off. Follow the instructions for the tester to ensure that there is no juice flowing.

Once you've determined that there is no power to the switch, unscrew those two screws. You'll be left with two wires. The dimmer also has wires. Twist the two black wires of the dimmer onto the two wires coming out of the wall. If you have a metal box, you don't need to worry about the ground wire; just screwing the black wires onto it will ground it. If the box is plastic, though, you must connect the green wire.

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