Home Improvement and DIY Guides

Skirting boards are an essential part of any room, providing a neat and tidy finish between the floor and the wall. Over time, they can become worn, damaged or simply outdated, and it may be necessary to replace them. Fitting and replacing skirting boards can seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools…

Skirting boards are a common feature in many homes and buildings. They are the boards that run along the bottom of interior walls, covering the joint between the wall and the floor. Typically, they’re made from wood or PVC but you can also buy metal, tile and laminate skirting boards. Skirting boards serve both functional…

Are you looking for attic conversion ideas to make the most of your roof space? With a little creativity and planning, a converted attic can add significant value and functionality to your home. Whether you need an extra bedroom, a home office, or a space for hobbies and entertainment, a converted attic offers endless possibilities….

Home improvements are a great way to increase the value of your property. However, not all home improvements are created equal. Some can even decrease the value of your property if not done correctly. According to Zoopla, some of the home improvements that have the biggest impact on the property price include adding an extension,…

In this article, we’ll look at everything you need to consider when thinking about a loft conversion in your home. Typical examples of converting a loft include adding an extra bedroom, a hobby room or a home office. For many people, converting a loft for additional space is the next best option to building a…

Every home needs a basic toolkit to do simple jobs around the home. Think of all the DIY tasks you need to do such as painting and decorating, measuring windows for curtains or blinds, hanging pictures, putting up shelves, assembling flat-pack furniture and fixing your kid’s bike. Without a basic toolkit, all of these things…

Every year, many homeowners face the problem of dry rot, leaving them to spend a considerable amount of money on home renovations and dry rot treatments. Meticulous homeowners stay on the lookout for all kinds of structural problems such as water damage, plumbing, or foundation problem. Some of these structural problems can cause, or be…

Building an extension on your house is an excellent way to improve your home. You’ll gain light, space and comfort. When moving house means hassle and costs, from stamp duty to legal fees, extending your house sounds like an excellent alternative. This guide will help you: Understand all the stages Identify the planning requirements Evaluate…

In this article, I’ll explain how to board your loft the correct way, whilst achieving the recommended insulation thickness. Boarding out a loft helps increase the amount of storage space within your home. It’s the ideal place to store items you do not need regularly, such as Christmas decorations, collectables, or stuff you cannot store…

Home heating systems play a pivotal role in your home, and there’s plenty to consider when you’re trying to compare the options. In this article, we’ll be looking at the pros and cons of electric radiators to give you everything you need to decide if it’s the right heating solution for you. Electric Radiators: Pros…

The appearance of damp in your property isn’t always caused by neglect or falling behind on household maintenance jobs. It can occur from external issues out of your control. For example, damage that occurs to property exteriors from high winds or flying debris can quickly lead to a damp problem without the household ever being…

Remember when you first tiled your bathroom or added a neat kitchen backsplash? The gleaming white grout looked great, didn’t it? Now though, after a couple of years of daily showers or washing dishes, it’s starting to look far less attractive. It’s likely pink in some places, black in others and off-white everywhere else. In…

This is a guest post by Grant Findley. Choosing and hiring the right building contractor for your latest home project is no easy task. The last thing you want to do is hire a cowboy builder or con artist, so you’ll need a way of vetting potential contractors until you’re feeling confident and comfortable with…

This guide explains the process of draining down a sealed or unvented (pressurised) central heating system, so you can carry out repairs or maintenance – like replacing radiators or fixing pipework – without worry. This could save you a good wedge of cash if you know how to do it properly, but if you suspect…

It may seem like a simple decision to make at first, but once you start looking for internal door handles you’ll soon realise, like with many products, there’s much more to door furniture than meets the eye! All of a sudden you’ll find out that there’s quite literally hundreds of models, styles and finishes of…

There are several reasons why you might want to take a central heating radiator off the wall. Maybe you are fed up with struggling to wallpaper behind it or perhaps it is rusty, and you need to replace it. You might find that it no longer gets hot at the bottom even though you bleed…

When it comes to DIY projects, dry lining is one of the most popular for homeowners to tackle on their own. Although you don’t need to be particularly skilled to install dry lining, it is however important that you have all the right materials, tools and knowledge, whilst working in a methodical manner. This guide…

Whether you’re a beginner exploring a new DIY hobby or a keen amateur ready to tackle a plastering project, having the right plastering tools at your disposal is crucial for achieving a professional finish. This guide is designed with you in mind. We’ll take you through the basic plastering tools commonly used in the UK,…

All electrical items in the home should have a plug top fitted with the appropriate fuse rating, the load (amps) of electrical equipment and appliances can be calculated thus :- WATTS ÷ VOLTS = AMPS 1 KILOWATT = 1000 WATTS                  VOLTS = 240v So if you have a 240 volt heater rated at 3 KW (3000…

Replacing a damaged or faulty electrical socket outlet should be a fairly straightforward task, but if you aren’t completely confident in your ability then use the services of a qualified electrician. Beware – electricity can kill so make sure you’ve switched off the power going to the socket before doing this job. I always switch…

Repointing brickwork is a labour-intensive process that most DIYers can do themselves. What’s more, you don’t need many tools and the ones you do need are relatively cheap to buy if you don’t already own them.  The biggest cost for taking the DIY approach to repointing a house or large two-storey wall is scaffolding, which…

Assembling flat-pack furniture can be a nightmare, but if you’re methodical and yes, you follow the instructions, you should be able to build your typical flat-pack furniture from IKEA and other stores without too much hassle. If you’re able, especially if you’re putting together a large item such as a wardrobe, work in the room…

Should you discover cracks or patches of loose plaster on the internal walls of your home (usually found when you redecorate), you will have to repair the walls before painting or wallpapering. Small cracks can be repaired using an appropriate flexible filler (like the Ronseal one below), then sanded to a smooth finish. Larger patches of damaged…

Do you need to install a PVC gutter or downpipe? Read on. This article is for you. Start by measuring the length of guttering and downpipe you need for the project. Make a list of any connectors, stop ends, set angle pieces of gutter, gutter outlets, clips/brackets (usually spaced around 30″ (760mm) apart) and fixings…

In this article, we’ll be looking at how to lay bricks. If you’ve never laid bricks before it’s good practice to build a small sample wall first. A four brick course (row), three bricks high is sufficient. The bricks can always be cleaned and reused later. When you are happy with your ‘practice’ wall, you can start…

Here are some helpful diagrams that show how lighting operating on a one-way switch can be changed relatively easily for two-way switch operation. Turn off the consumer unit and remove the appropriate circuit fuse / miniature circuit breaker first before working on any electrical circuit, once the cable is installed make the connections to the two-way switches…