You might be used to the smell and the shedded hair, but it's new to your guests. This goes for you, too, small dog people. Because they do. Never fool yourself into thinking your pets Do not stink. Bad yards make the neighborhood look bad and bring property values down, plus they're an eyesore.

You'll get the whole neighborhood quietly hating you, making passive aggressive comments, and then one morning you wake up to find the whole block cleaning up your yard, as you stand on the porch in your robe with bed head. Every street has one, but Do not be that guy! Do not be the person who doesn't take care of your yard. You've got to keep the money you put into your house realistic compared to the average price of houses that are similarly sized in your immediate area; otherwise it is extremely difficult to get your money's worth. However, you need to keep your remodeling within the general costs of your neighborhood.

Now you might have so much money that you just need to get rid of it, and if so, might we recommend a few charities that do some good work? Do not remodel too much. Not a good idea. Same as with number one, except that you have the added danger of getting electrocuted.

Do not do your own electrical. Of course, if you like the texture of pocketed space, more power to you, but also more cost to you. The reason not to do this is simple: The cost per square foot of this improvement is so high that you might as well opt for a more sizable addition at a much lower cost per square foot. Bump-outs are when you move a wall out a few feet just for a little extra space (like a bay window, but to a greater degree).

Do not do bump-outs. However, if you are doing it yourself, you need to ask an engineer or a solid contractor. Certainly, if you are working with a quality contractor, this professional will know which walls can come down and which can't. Do not remove walls between rooms without knowing if it is load-bearing.

Plus we just wanted to let you know that we didn't miss this one. But, you'd be surprised. Now we know what you're saying, anyone who cares enough about their house to read an article about things you shouldn't do to them already knows not to do this. Do not park in the yard. Plus, if you mess something up, water gets everywhere and might ruin a great many things.

It's not so much that houseowners can't do this or can't learn, but most houseowners are not familiar with the safety requirements laid out in the Uniform Building Code (UBC). But even if you are an ambitious and skilled DIYer, just leave this one to the pros. If you already know how to do it, then this is just a list of the top seven things you shouldn't do. Do not do your own plumbing.

Our apologies if you've already done one of these (or several). Of course Do nots include set it on fire, paint it all black and take off the roof are givens, but we've come up with the top eight items to be avoided that many people already do.  The list for things you should do to your house are endless -- change furnace filter, clean gutters, leave a faucet running when it's freezing out -- but there are likewise many things you shouldn't do.

Let me explain. There are two main parts in an air conditioner, the evaporator and the condenser. You've never seen the evaporator. It quietly sits inside the ductwork and absorbs heat from inside air into the refrigerant. The condenser sits outside of the house and looks like it's doing all the work. Actually, it's only doing half the job. The condenser squeezes heat out of the refrigerant into the outside air.

Parts of existing central air systems aren't good at all at adjusting to each other's needs. If the evaporator absorbs too much heat from the house, the condenser will overheat. If the evaporator doesn't absorb enough heat, it will freeze. The only way make sure an air conditioner will work properly is to match its two main components - the evaporator and the condenser.

It's fairly easy to match components when you install a new air conditioner, as you can see in this article: http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/article.cfm?articleid=196994. However, it's much more difficult to match the components of aging systems. Virtually all the systems that may require condenser replacement today were designed to work in 6, 8, or 10 SEER air conditioners. All the air conditioners on the market today are 13 SEER and up. Good luck matching 10 SEER (or even 8 or 6 SEER) evaporator with 13 SEER condenser.

This is why; if you have to replace your old air conditioner, replace everything.

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