Houseimprovements and Garden

Having pictures up in your home can really improve how it looks and make it more personal to you.

But if you have pictures or feature wallpaper up in a room that is particularly sunny, then these can fade quickly, which can be annoying and expensive to replace.

This can especially be a problem in conservatories and rooms with skylights or big windows that let a lot of natural daylight in.

Perhaps you don’t want to stop the light from coming in though the windows, so how can you avoid your pictures fading?

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When you do DIY in your home, you need to make sure you always put safety first.

This can include using wires when doing home improvements. Anything to do with the electrics is always a matter for extreme caution, so don’t attempt anything if you don’t know how to properly and safely do it.

For example, re-wiring a plug isn’t necessarily a difficult or complicated job, but you must make sure that you do you research first and know how to execute the job without any problems.

Also, always make sure that you turn the electricity supply off before you attempt any job to do with the electrics. Double-check you’ve turned it off, then triple-check it, and then you can start your DIY job.

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Having the right kind of furniture in your home can really improve how it looks.

Furniture is something that is personal to the people living in the property; everyone likes different types of chairs, sofas and tables, and so finding the style that suits you and your home is really important.

So, how often should you replace your furniture? There is no hard and fast rule but, of course, if your furniture is starting to look tatty or old or worn, then you might starting thinking about replacing it, whatever its age.

However, there are other things you can do instead of simply going out and buying new furniture.

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Making improvements to your home is something that is really useful to be able to do.

It means that you can adapt how your home looks until it really suits your style and tastes. It doesn’t have to be a big job that takes months but, instead, can be a series of smaller projects that you do when you have the time, which will really change and improve on how your home looks and feels to you.

It can also be useful when it comes to renting or selling your home, as you can make sure it looks the best it can, so you will have achieved a higher property value.

One way to keep your home looking in top condition is by painting it. This is something I have touched on before in this blog, but it is helpful to have some tips on how to do DIY painting, as it can be a tricky job.

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Having a wobbly table leg can be an annoying and irritating thing in your home. But, using some DIY skills, there are ways to fix it.

Tables can become wobbly for any number of reasons. It could be that your floor is uneven, or even changes in temperature: wood can expand in warmer weather or when temperatures or humidity changes suddenly.

Also, if the table was incorrectly built to begin with, then this could be another reason as to why it might be wobbly and move slightly when any weight is put on the table.

It is the same with a lot of furniture; sometimes, general wear and tear can cause a piece of furniture to stop functioning properly, and then you have to decide whether to replace it, get it fixed or fix it yourself. Of course, we like the fix it yourself option!

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Improving your home is a great part of DIY; it’s brilliant seeing your home develop and get better because of your own home improvement skills.

But it’s not just about improving or making new things; you can also make the most of what you already have, such as your heating system.

It’s a very cold time of year, and heating costs are rising, so it’s a good time to conserve your heating so you use less, and therefore pay less too. This doesn’t just mean putting on an extra jumper instead of turning on the heating though; there are other ways to improve your heating use, including the position of furniture.

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A dripping tap can be really annoying but, as well as an inconvenience, it can also make your water bill rise. With some DIY though, you can learn how to stop the tap dripping yourself, and your home will be improved.

Whether it’s in the bathroom or in the kitchen, you can learn how to stop it dripping, but first you need to find out whether it has a cartridge or a washer.

If you have to turn your tap a few times to turn it from full power to completely off, then it has a washer. If you only turn it a small amount (say, a quarter of a turn), then it is probably a newer tap system and it has a cartridge.

If it has a cartridge, then you will need to find out who makes the cartridges and then buy a replacement from a bathroom or hardware store, or from the manufacturers themselves.

How to replace the washer or cartridge in the tap yourself

The most important thing that you definitely have to do, is to turn the water off before you attempt any home improvements.

Once you’ve done this, according to The Sunday Times, you need to “remove the cover plate on the tap handle, undo the screw beneath and, with a spanner, twist out the body anti-clockwise”.

You’ll see the washer or the cartridge then, which will need replacing, then put it all back together again.

For a video to help you, click on this link and then go down to number 7: “How to replace a tap washer to stop a dripping tap”.

Sometimes you might have a really good idea for a DIY project. You may really want to improve your home, but sometimes a job is just too much for one person.

This is especially true if you’re not that used to DIY. For example, you might want to undertake a big project, such as building a new bathroom or rewiring, but these can be really big projects.

At times like this, you might want to call in a qualified tradesperson to do the job. This is a good idea for when the project might involve electrics or water, as the most important thing is that you stay safe. Make sure you get in a registered electrician if you are doing any DIY projects that involve the electrics in your home.

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Many people will be enthusiastically starting new DIY projects in the new year, hoping to improve their homes and gardens.

But if you have a DIY disaster and something goes wrong, you might find yourself in a difficult situation. What many people don’t realise is that their home and contents insurance won’t usually cover any damage caused by home improvement accidents, or DIY gone wrong.

It would be a real shame to embark on a new DIY project, aiming to save yourself money by doing the work without calling in a professional, only to have to shell out to repair any damage you’ve accidentally cause.

Often, accidental breakage is covered (for example, to a bath or door), but not spillages or nails being knocked through pipes, for example. It’s really worth checking what your policy says and, of course, checking what your policy says.

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If you have a garden in your home then it can really improve the sale value of your property.

However, you need to make sure it is in a good condition and that you look after it, so that, when it comes to selling, your garden is a definite positive feature of the home.

And if you don’t want to sell, then it will still be a beautiful garden to spend time in, especially when the weather warms up as we head towards spring and summer.

It’s very important to look after the lawn, and spend time weeding it and taking out any plants that could be destructive to the grass or could weaken any walls or fences.

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