One of the most cost effective ways to renovate your home is to “do-it-yourself.” From sanding and painting to digging and planting, there are many projects that a determined homeowner can accomplish. There are some jobs, however, that are better left to the professionals. These jobs are too heavy, too labor intensive or require specialized tools and skills.

Case in point: installing new granite countertops. The weight of the granite alone is enough to send anyone running to a phone to call for professional help. If you have new countertops on the way complete with the manpower do get it done, you are probably thinking you get the day off. But don’t lay down your tools just yet. There is a way to cut costs on this otherwise costly project—by doing the demo work yourself. Some contractors charge as much as $550 to remove the old countertops, a relatively easy job that even the most inexperienced handyman can handle.

First, remove all the drawers from your cabinets. This makes it much easier to gain access to your work area. You will also need to remove the contents of your cabinets so you can get underneath to work. Fortunately, these are things you will need to do before your new counters are installed anyway, so you are already ahead of the game.

It will also be necessary to remove your old sink. To do this, simply detach the plumbing from the drains and faucet (don’t forget to turn the water supply off), and remove the fasteners from the underside of the sink. There will be some sealant around the edge of the sink, but it should easily lift from the countertop.

If you look at your existing laminate countertops, you will see that they are in sections. Each section is attached to the cabinet base by screws drilled through the underside of the countertop. The next step to removing the old countertops is removing all these screws. This requires getting down on the floor and inside the cabinets at all kinds of uncomfortable angles. Luckily, a power screwdriver can speed this process along (although a manual screwdriver may still be needed for those hard to get to angles).

Next, remove the sealant from the edge of the backsplash. You can use a putty knife or screwdriver to do this. Be careful to remove as much as you can from any surface that you plan to save, so that when you pull off the counters, it doesn’t damage the wall.

Before you try to remove the countertops, make sure you have removed any outlet covers that may be attached to your backsplash. Also, keep in mind that there may be some glue adhering the backsplash to the wall, requiring a little more elbow grease to remove.

Finally, you are ready to take the old counters off. Have someone assist you with the lifting and removal. If you have trouble getting a section off, double check that all your screws have been removed. If the backsplash adhesive is giving you trouble, try sliding a putty knife behind the backsplash to break the bond.

Now your old counters are gone, your kitchen is ready for the new ones, and you saved yourself a little money. Now, all that’s left to do is watch the professionals get to work.

Ki helps individuals looking for houses in the Austin real estate market. His site has information on mortgage interest rates along with a graphical search of the Austin MLS.

Perhaps the most common home repair is fixing a hole in the wall. When I was young, my grandfather would baby sit my brothers and I while mom and dad were of earning a living. What our parents called child care, my grandfather interpreted as napping and most afternoons we had the run of the house. Now on more than one occasion, something was said and something was thrown, and some how we ended up with a hole in the wall. It happens to the best of us. Not wanting to risk losing our afternoons of freedom or our grandfather’s reputation, my brothers and I became experts at repairing holes in the wall. As and adult with kids of my own, I’ve found that the holes keep coming whether we want them to or not. The only thing we can do is know how to fix them properly. It is a very easy repair that can be performed in a few hours. I should also note that the directions below refer repairing fairly large holes. Small holes can often be painted over or repaired with a bit of patching plaster. There are two primary methods of hole repair that we will cover here. The first involves using a simple plaster patch. Begin by marking out a rectangle on the wall around the hole that you wish to repair. Using a small saw carefully cut out the rectangle. Next you will use the rectangle as a template to make an outline for a duplicate, replacement rectangle out of a piece of plaster board. After making your outline, use a ruler to extend the rectangle two inches larger on each side. Once you cut out your two-inch larger rectangle you will have created your patch. Remove the paper from the backside of your patch around the two inch overlap. Apply patching plaster to the overlap area and place the patch in the hole in the wall. Make sure to apply adequate pressure to the patch to make sure that it sets correctly. Finally, sand over the overlap area to ensure that it is flush with the wall and finish by painting over the area. The second method for repairing a hole in the wall involves using patching plaster instead of the patch. Begin by cutting out a piece of metal screening a little bit larger than the hole that you intend to repair. Insert a few wire ties through the screening and into the hole. Using the wire ties, affix a piece of dowel vertically across the outside of the hole, this will help hold the screen in place. Next, plaster over the entire area using your patching plaster. Let this coat dry and then remove the dowel and wire ties. You can now add a finishing coat of plaster over the area. All that is left is to sand the plaster patch and apply a fresh coat of paint. Knowing how to repair a hole in a wall may be one of the most valuable skills to learn in home repair. It is a fairly simple procedure that can be accomplished quickly and easily. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Austin real estate market Ki can help. His site provides information on Austin condos as well as a free search for Austin Homes.