Over the bank holiday weekend many of us turn our minds to DIY for the first time in the year.
Home and Garden on Female First
Whether you are painting the kitchen, fixing a shelf or getting the drill out - if you want to take advantages of the long weekend, Tommy Walsh has created his top 10 tips for all DIY and home improvement enthusiasts.
1. Don’t just jump in
First things first – spend a moment to get yourself in the right frame of mind and write a plan for the day. If you charge into the first job you may end up making even more work for yourself and spending more money than you need to. If you are thinking about making any energy saving improvements to your home then The Green Deal Cashback Scheme could be for you. You can get up to £1,000 from improving things like your insulation, double-glazing and new boilers.
2. Start prepping for the winter – get a new door
We have had a long old winter, and as the weather improves you might not want to think about the cold just yet. However, the May bank holidays are a good time to get you prepared for next winter, and a cool summer for that matter! You could consider replacing your front and back doors with high performance ones which are built with energy efficient frames and materials. Most DIY shops will be able to help you choose one and there are so many designs you will be able to find one for any age of house. Also have a look at the Green Deal as this is one of 45 improvements it can help you pay for.
3. Don’t be a hero
The best DIY’ers know their limits and when to bite the bullet and get the experts in. Unless you are properly trained and 100% know what you are doing, I wouldn’t recommend trying any electrical work, plumbing, or roof repairs on your own.
4. Think long-term
Making a big change to your home requires a fair amount of preparation and planning, something that a lot of people are put off by. However, making large-scale improvements to your property that may initially cost more and require a bigger upheaval could actually add greater long-term value than quick-fix changes. If some of these improvements are energy –efficient ones, you can look to the Green Deal to help cover the costs. Ultimately, the bigger the sacrifice in the short term the bigger the reward in the long-term.
5. Become inspired
Ever considered placing solar panels on your roof? Doing some DIY during May can get you thinking about other improvements that you might not have considered previously. Do some research and get inspired by alternative solutions. There are some innovative ways of heating your homes and making it look good while adding value at the same time.
6. Get painting early-doors
Giving your place a lick of paint is one of the most popular DIY jobs people do over a bank holiday. If you are painting your front door, make sure you paint it as early as possible in the morning and keep it ajar throughout the day. Then when you close it for the night the paint won’t stick to the frame and ruining all your hard work.
7. Painting isn’t always enough
If you have a serious mark on your walls such as bad grease or water marks. You need to clean your walls first, then apply a stain blocker over the worst areas, allow that to dry, and then get painting with emulsion. Following this process will make sure the stain on the wall can’t seep through your nice new paintwork.
8. Clean up as you go
DIY can lead to a lot of mess and I can’t get across enough how important it is to clean up as you go. If you don’t clean up where you are working soon it will start to affect your work and spoil your DIY. For example – if you are working with wood, make sure you get rid of all the dust and shavings before moving on to the painting.
9. Don’t just drill
Drilling into walls can bring about some of the biggest home improvement disasters and cause you to do yourself a mischief. Before drilling, you should use a cable and pipe tracer to make sure you don’t drill into anything dangerous. You can get a tracer from your local home improvement store.
10. Keep your energy up
Give yourself little rewards throughout the day to keep your energy and motivation levels up. Taking a short break every hour or so will mean you aren’t worn out by midday and will help you enjoy your DIY more
Free and impartial advice about the Green Deal is available by calling the Energy Saving Advice Service (England, Scotland and Wales) on 0300 123 1234 or visit www.gov.uk/greendeal
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