After a long winter, Spring is finally settling in and that means it's time for fixing up the yard, deck and exterior of the home.

I've assembled the most popular tutorials for exterior home and yard repair in Top Tutorials for Yard & Home Exterior.

It includes articles on:

• Wood Deck Cleaning
• How to Refinish a Wood Deck
• Replacing a Deck Board
• Proper Deck Board Installation
• Organic Yard Care
• Tuckpointing Brick Mortar Joints
• How to Replace a Damaged Brick
• Cleaning Gutters and Downspouts
• Common House Paint Problems & Their Repair
• Repairing Damaged Vinyl Siding.

So take a read and pick your project!

Upgrading a ceiling light fixture is a great way to change the character or look of a room. In older homes however, you may find some surprises in the wiring when you remove the old fixture base. Problems like dried, cracked or crumbling wire insulation are common and dangerous if left unchecked. You can also run into some surprises with the mounting bracket that attaches the fixture to the ceiling.

Well don't worry, I've got you covered in the tutorial How to Replace a Ceiling Light Fixture. In this detailed, photo rich tutorial, I'll show you how to handle all these issues and more.

Sometimes you come upon a home repair project that you decide to tackle with a checkbook instead of a hammer. You may decide to hire a professional contractor for a major roofing project or exterior home painting or any number of possible projects. In those cases, it is important to pick your contractor carefully.

In the tutorial How to Screen a Home Repair Contractor You'll find a 10 point pre-screening checklist that covers screening everything from a valid contractor license to checking for bankruptcy and sex offenses. I've also provided some links in the tutorial for you to do just that.

Another issue you should become familiar with when hiring a pro is Getting Contractor Bids and Evaluating an Estimate, something you need to know how to do to protect yourself and end up with a successful project. It's also not fair to a good contractor who does a detailed proposal and includes a full scope of work, to have their price compared to a fly-by-night company who throws a low-ball number out there just to get your business.

Most contractors are hard working and knowledgeable pros who want to do a good job and an informed consumer is often their best customer.

So read How to Screen a Home Repair Contractor and Getting Contractor Bids and Evaluating an Estimate and learn how to screen a contractor, scope a project and understand what to look for in the bids of different contractors like painters, roofers, plumbers, etc. You'll learn that what is "Excluded" in a bid is often as important as what is "Included" in the proposal. And don't forget to read about how to evaluate price, payment terms and what it means if your contractor is proposing "incentives" to you.

With a little preparation you'll know you picked a pro, you'll be able to communicate much more successfully with your contractor, and you'll both enjoy the process.

It's April! Time for spring cleaning and home fix up projects! As the windows and doors to our homes once again open for Spring we get to start those home "fix up" projects. Chances are you'll soon be entertaining friends and family, and a new coat of paint in the dining room, living room or family room can go a long way to freshening up your home. Or maybe you just want to put a fresh coat of low VOC paint in the baby's room.

I've outlined some easy helpful tips the pros use on how to paint a room that you can also use to make interior painting a breeze.

Also, you'll want to check out: