Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, can be incredibly useful tools. Before you call an expensive professional to your home, take a look at these great apps, many of which are free or inexpensive, to help you with your do-it-yourself projects. These apps can really show you how to get things done.
Houzz Interior Design Ideas
Houzz provides one of the largest databases of home design ideas on the Internet, with more than 700,000 high resolution photographs. It's a great way to find fantastic interior decorating ideas. You can search for photographs by style, room, or location and you can save photographs to your virtual idea book. It's easy to navigate and fun to use.
Use Houzz to find local designers, contractors, and architects. You can also chat with the authors of the articles. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
iHandy Carpenter
With iHandy Carpenter you get five tools: Bubble level, surface level, protractor, plumb bob, and ruler. The plum bob makes it easy to confirm the verticality of lines, the surface level allows you to level any flat surface, the bubble bar performs like one from a carpenter tool kit, the protractor allows you to easily measure angles, and the ruler allows you to measure in either inches or centimeters. These functional tools are available for the iPhone.
DIY Calculator
It's no fun getting near the end of a project only to realize that you don't have enough materials. The DIY Calculator app for the iPad and iPhone helps you estimate the amount of materials you'll need for common DIY projects, such as wallpapering, painting, flooring, and tiling. The app includes wallpaper, paint, tile, and flooring calculators. With this app, you won't have to worry about wasting materials either.
Electrical Wiring Pro
This app includes more than 40 electrical code and design calculators and more than 40 useful electrical calculators and tools; every one of them could easily be a very useful app by itself. The app is specifically designed for working professionals.
Home Design DIY Interior Room Layout Space Planning & Decorating Tool - Mark On Call
Redecorating and remodeling can be very daunting. This app allows you to plan your room scheme from the beginning to the end, and it helps you cut down on guesswork. Place photographs of furniture and furnishings in a virtual design to see how they look and fit in your rooms before you purchase them. Take photographs of attractive flooring and fabrics and place them in your floor plans. The app helps you find the best layout for your space, and all of your deigns are automatically saved.
The app allows you to create, experiment, and implement detailed visual plans. You can make sure your renovation looks right before you get out the tool kit. This handy app, which is available for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, helps you solve design problems in your existing space, or even create a dream room.
ColorChange
Find out which colors look best on your walls. ColorChange lets you take a photograph of an area or object and change the colors in seconds by lifting a paint brush. The "Magic" selection tool uses a combination of edge detection and adaptive smoothing to help you choose areas of an image to change. It's designed to work with the normal lighting of iPhone photographs and you can adjust it for bright and dark images. The app is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
About the Author
Brian Jenkins writes about electrician careers for the Riley Guide. However, with the Electrical Wiring Pro, you may never have to call an electrician again!
