DIY Supermarket

Removing an old sink or bathroom suite is pretty simple if you follow the right order and ideally get someone to help, because it can put strain on muscles.

Turn off all water at the mains and thoroughly drain the system, which is the usual preliminary task to most plumbing work. Alternatively, use an isolation valve if one is fitted. Leave the bath and sink taps turned on to let all water drain away.

Remove the bath’s supporting framework, such as bath panels, and use a tap spanner to remove waste outlets and taps from the sink and bath. If you cannot undo the nuts, just cut through the pipes, but leave enough piping for later connections.

Lift the sink off the wall after undoing its holding screws and then take the pedestal off the floor. If it is fixed via screws, you may have to remove them using a hacksaw if they have rusted into place.

Use a cold chisel and hammer on the brackets, holding the bath to the wall before lifting it away.

In order to keep outdoor decking looking its best, it is advisable to give it a clean twice a year. Taking the time to maintain your outdoor decking pays dividends as it adds years to its life as an attractive garden feature.

Spring is a good time to spruce up the decking in preparation for the increased use it will get over the summer. Another clean in autumn is also recommended before the harsh winter months kick in.

Pick up some specially formulated wooden decking cleaner from a DIY outlet. You will find specialist products designed exactly for this particular job.

It is important to clean the decking surface of the general dirt, algae, moss and grease that has collected over the months. Using decking detergent will not only make the surface of the deck look much brighter and cleaner but will ensure slippery and hazardous areas are removed.

Apply decking cleaner according to the instructions on the packet. Scrub with a stiff brush immediately after application. Leave to stand as per instructions, then rinse with a hose thoroughly. Leave for two days before coating with a protective wood treatment.

When you are in the process of redecorating your home or changing things around, you need to consider your window dressing.  This is a mistake of many people, who simply forget about their blinds and change the entire interior of the room.

Blinds are the ideal solution for any room, available in a superb range of colours, designs and materials.  The advantages include the fact that you can buy any colour blinds that you want with ease, they’re an affordable choice, easy to maintain, easy to install and they look absolutely fantastic.

Add a splash of colour

As you design your new room, whether you are moving into a home for the first time or you just want a change, take the colour of your furniture into account and then look at the blinds available.  Often white minimalist rooms will look fantastic with bright red blinds that add the splash of colour the room desperately desires.

Roller blinds work very well in these areas, as they offer dark and warmth at night, while opening up the window completely during the day and allowing the natural light to enter the room.

Sometimes new electrical devices come with a plug which needs attaching, or existing home gadgets have old plugs which need replacing.  Wiring a plug is a simple and safe process if the machine and the plug are kept well away from the socket throughout the job.

Use a small screwdriver to remove the inside panel and expose the wiring.  When rewiring a plug you will need to unscrew or release the wires from their current connections.  In most modern plugs the exposed wire is wrapped around the corresponding terminal, which then snaps into place securing the connection.

Once you have the new plug, make sure that you have enough exposed wire for a solid connection by using wire strippers to peel away the protective plastic layer, before working out which wire goes where.  New plugs often come with instructions, but the important thing to remember is that the terminal at the bottom right is for the brown or live wire, while the terminal on the left is for the blue or neutral cable.  The terminal at the top is for the earth wire, which is green and yellow, although some devices do not have this one.

Sliding doors are becoming more and more popular as people try to make as much use of the space they have as possible. However, as they have moving parts they do require more maintenance and care than regular doors. Even the smallest bits of paper or rubbish stuck in the track can cause your sliding doors to get completely stuck or just become difficult to open and close. Regular dusting and vacuuming in the area around the bottom and top of the unit can help prevent this.

Removing Sliding Doors

If the door has become completely stuck, then you may need to remove it from the track in order to see what is causing the obstruction. Sliding doors can be easily removed from their runner by sliding it a short way open and then tilting it forward, though this is probably a two-person job. The track can then be checked for obstructions or damage. Once the problem has been fixed, the door can be slotted back into position by reversing the process used to get it out of the frame.

The old adage says “measure twice and cut once”; basically prepare thoroughly and you will not make any mistakes.  Whether you are building a piece of furniture from scratch, cutting wood for shelves, or even shaving wood from a door so that it hangs better, getting out the saw before the measuring tape is always a bad idea.

Any DIY toolkit should contain a tape measure and a metal ruler to carry out and check measurements of varying lengths in different areas of the home.  Once you have made your first measurement, make a small pencil mark in the wood where you want to cut.  After re-checking the size that is needed for your piece of furniture or shelving, go back to the pencil mark and measure once more before starting to cut.  It only takes seconds to double-check, but it can save hours of wasted DIY time.  It can also save you money as you are less likely to make mistakes and have to discard useless pieces of wood.

Measuring is not just about the size something needs to be cut, however, it is also about making sure that things like shelves, pictures and doors are straight, both horizontally and vertically.  A plumb line can help DIY enthusiasts check the vertical line, while a spirit level checks the horizontal.  Although these devices will always tell you when something is perfectly straight, before fixing anything in place permanently, it is best to also check with the eye that it looks right.  Many older houses, and even some newer ones, have barely visible slopes in the ceiling or in the floor.  It is more important that a shelf or door looks straight in its setting than that the spirit level says it is perfectly straight.

Seeds have to have warmth, moisture and air if they are to successfully germinate. Different types of seeds require different levels of soil warmth to germinate, which is why they are planted at different times of the year. Weather conditions are more important than the calendar in this connection, so you may have to postpone sowing if this is unseasonably cold for example.

Prepare a seed-bed first, to ensure that the seeds have sufficient moisture and air and that the fragile roots when they appear can get a good foothold. Choose a day for seeding when the soil is dry on top but moist underneath, then lightly tread it down and give it a good raking over.

Seeds can be spread over the surface but more usually they are sown in drills, the depth of which will be determined by the size of the seed. Covering the seeds with soil to twice their depth is a good rule of thumb. Also, spread bio humus along each yard of drill to keep the seeds moist. Sow seeds thinly, and if they are very small mix them with sand first to help spread them out.

Dripping taps are not only an annoyance but they waste water and can end up staining your bathroom suite or kitchen sink.  Many people just ignore the problem, yet most causes of a dripping tap can be fixed in just a few minutes.

The first step is also the most important; turning off the water supply.  After that you can safely remove the external part of the tap, having put the plug in just in case any small parts fall into the sink and down the drain.

Most of the time, a dripping tap is caused by damaged washers inside the tap.  These are small discs which control the water flow and can let a small amount through when they become worn, causing the annoying drip.  Washers are available from all DIY stores, and most British sink taps use half-inch washers, while bath taps tend to use the quarter-inch type.  You can always remove the tap cover before you go shopping to make sure.  If this does not stop the dripping, you might need to replace the whole tap, which is a more complicated procedure.

You may be surprised when you first start looking for blinds for your home, that you are offered a huge choice of designs, styles and colours.  So why are roller blinds so popular and the ideal choice for any home?

Roller blinds are easy to install and maintain, they can be cut to fit the size of the window easily and with a little DIY knowledge, you can have them up and in place within minutes.  The great thing about roller blinds is that they will compliment any room, whether it is a bedroom, kitchen or living room, roller blinds will add colour and style.

Carefully choosing the colour of your blinds to compliment your furnishings and room is important, a completely white room will look fantastic with a red, blue or green blind to add that colour splash it so desperately needs.  In the living room with dark brown furniture, choosing a lighter coloured roller blind can make all the difference.

Blackout blinds

The biggest advantage of roller blinds is that you can buy them as blackout blinds.  This means even the lightest colour choices will completely block out any light from outside when they are closed.  They work amazingly well and are perfect for bedrooms and living rooms, where you may have a street light outside your window that keeps you from seeing the television or sleeping at night.

The other advantage of choosing roller blinds as your window covering is that during the day, you pull a cord, they roll up to any height you want, allowing the natural light to flow through the room easily.

If you think about it, when you went to view your home, the first thing that caught your eye was how light and bright it was, roller blinds let you keep this lightness when you want it and remove it when you don’t.

Wattle hurdle fences have been around for hundreds of years and make a very sturdy and natural style of barrier that can look great in a variety of garden settings. It is possible to make your own wattle fencing if you have the wood available, but if not, it may be better to purchase ready made panels to install in your garden.

The fence is made by weaving together lots of thin strips of wood into panels, which can then be joined together. Some ‘on site’ fences are woven as a complete fence, rather than individual panels; this helps to create strength and adds a less uniform appearance to the fence. 

The most common materials for making wattle fences include hazel or the green shoots from coppiced oak, as they materials are pliable enough to weave in and out of the upright posts. It is also possible to grow plants and hedge shrubs into the fence to create a natural and rustic boundary to your garden.