North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Archive for the ‘How to Guides’ Category

An exterior water source is always useful, and fitting an outside cold water tap is a task that can be carried out by any Do It Yourself (DIY) enthusiast.

The most useful place to fit your tap is on the exterior of the kitchen wall. This means that it will be close to the household water supply, and after you have drilled through the mortar wall most of the hard work will have been done. Make sure that you place the tap with enough space to fill a watering can or any other gardening appliance.

Drill a hole from underneath the kitchen sink with a 150 mm masonry drill. Then cut 22 mm of copper pipe to act as a container for the actual tap plumbing. Turn off the house’s cold water supply and then it is safe to access the domestic supply with your new pipes for the outside tap. You must ensure that you have a stopcock and a double check valve in order to make sure that your new external tap doesn’t affect the household’s cold water supply, should water pressures drop.

After you have cut and trimmed all the new pipework and fitted it through the external wall, you can now attach the tap. Make sure that all the compression joints are firm before you reconnect the water supply. It’s also a good idea to apply some sealant between the pipe’s cover and the actual tap pipes.

There are many different types of window blind, but most of them are attached to the window frame in the same way. Whether you have roller blinds, vertical blinds or horizontal slats, installing them is a straightforward job that any DIY enthusiast can master. The basic tools you need are a tape measure, a pencil, and a set of screwdrivers.

Before you buy or order your blinds, you need to measure the exact width of the window and decide whether you want the blind to hang inside or outside the recess. The style of blind you choose, or the design of your windows may be a deciding factor. An inside width measurement needs to be covering all the glass but not touching the sides of the recess. An outside width measurement should be at least a few centimetres wider than the window recess. When measuring the length it is best to allow a little extra, as you can’t do anything with blinds that are too short.

A new window blind should come packaged with a set of brackets and screws with it. If you are hanging it inside the window recess, you often have a choice of positions to placing the bracket, such as wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted. The design and construction of your window is likely to dictate this decision. It helps to know how your window frames are constructed because you may find there is a metal plate hidden under the plaster where you wanted to drill. 

Once you know exactly where the brackets will be positioned, hold them in place and mark the drill holes on the wall with a pencil. Depending on what you are drilling into – brick, plasterboard, or wood – you may need to buy the appropriate plastic wall plugs. You can then screw in the brackets and get your lovely new blind mounted.

Mixing up to 2m³ of concrete is not difficult if a concrete mixer has been hired. In addition to the mixer, the DIY practitioner will need handy sources of water and electricity, a shovel, wheelbarrow, sufficient sand and aggregate and, kept somewhere dry but close, the cement.

Start the mixer and tilt the drum to about 45% above horizontal before putting anything in. As a rule, the mixer should always be empty when switched off or it may prove impossible to start and clean.

Begin putting the appropriate amount and proportions of sand and aggregate into the drum. Neither overload the drum nor under fill it so that maximum efficiency is achieved. The proportions of sand and cement vary according to purpose. A general-purpose mix is 1:2:3 cement: sand: aggregate (1:4 if using combined aggregate). Foundation concrete, however, needs 1:2½:3½, while a paving mix will be 1:1½:2½. Building professionals often use a shovel load as a measure.

When about half the ballast ingredients have been mixed, add some water and mix for a couple of minutes. Now add all the cement. The wet mix will reduce the amount of cement dust expelled from the mixer. Add the remaining sand and stone and, very slowly, water, seeking a point where the mix falls away from the barrel about ¾ of the way up the barrel. The mixture is too dry if it goes over the top and too wet if it fails to rise up the side.

Run the mixer a little longer to confirm the mix then tip the barrel as it runs to pour the contents into a barrow waiting below.

The mixer, barrow, and other tools used with the concrete must be cleaned down if they are going to be left for an hour or overnight. Failure to do so thoroughly will ruin all the kit; loose lime will eat metal and the concrete will need chipping off.

Many of us are interested in composting, but are not exactly sure how to go about it or what is involved. Home composting is not as difficult as you may think and if you are an avid gardener you can save a lot of money by using your own compost rather than purchasing it from the local garden centre.

If you are looking to start composting at home, the first thing you will need to do is acquire a compost bin. You can either buy them from a range of home and garden centres or easily purchase one online at very affordable prices. Another option is to build your own compost bin and you can find plenty of online tutorials or books at your local library that will provide step-by-step instructions on the process.

Once you have your compost bin in place, you can start saving your food waste. The easiest and most practical way of doing this is by placing a small tub on your kitchen counter or windowsill and every time to you prepare a meal put the peelings and waste straight into your collector. Some food items cannot be composted, for example, meat, fish, eggs, cheese and oil, so make sure you do not add any of these items into your waste tub. 

When the waste tub is full you empty it straight into the compost bin. A range of other garden waste can also be added, including lawn cuttings and the trimmings from most plants. Before long you will have your own fresh compost, for free.

There are a number of tasks that need to be completed around the house each year in order to prevent more serious problems from occurring later. The guttering around your property should be cleaned out annually to prevent a build up of leaves and debris.

There are a number of problems that can occur from a build up of leaves in the guttering, including an increase in fire risk and a high chance of blockage, which can lead to further problems. The only tools you will require are a ladder, hosepipe, trowel and possibly a plumber’s auger. The best time to do carry out this task is at the end of winter, when all of the leaves have dropped.

The first thing you need do is get up on the ladder and move along the entire length of guttering, scooping out all of the leaves with your trowel. Once this is complete, you use the hosepipe to blast the gutter clean. The next stage is to check the downpipes for blockages. Simply aim the hose down the pipe and check to see if the water comes out from the bottom. If not, you may need to use the plumber’s auger to free any blockages.

Just by following these easy steps, you will be able to keep the guttering clear and free of problems, which will prevent any serious issues from developing in the future, such as the guttering coming loose from the wall, flooding, rotting of wooden edgings and leaks.

Measuring for blinds is very important as you want to make sure that your blinds fit perfectly to ensure they are as effective as possible.  Many windows are a standard size but it is still important that you measure your window accurately just to make sure.  There are several pointers to take into account to ensure that you get the measurements you need.

The recess measurement is important if you want your blinds to fit within the window recess.  To measure the width of the recess, measure the inside width at the top, middle and bottom of the recess.  Use the narrowest width measurement when purchasing your blinds.

Take the exact measurement if you are looking for blinds which will hang outside the recess which overlaps the window.

A handy hint is to use a steel tape measure and record your measurements in millimetres rather than inches to ensure accuracy when purchasing your blinds.

Make sure, when measuring the drop required for your blinds, that you measure the height of the window on the right, left and in the middle.  Use the shortest height measurement you obtained when measuring the drop when you are purchasing your blinds.

Roller blinds will be fitted inside the recess so you will need to ensure you have this measurement.  Wooden blinds will also be fitted within the recess.

Measuring for bay windows will require a number of additional measurements to be taken, as they will need blinds for the front as well as for the sides.  There might be a small gap where the blinds meet but this tends to be blocked by the window frame at these points so should not offer too much inconvenience.  VELUX windows should come with a code which will allows manufacturers to know which size of blind you require.

Wet rot on a window sill is best dealt with quickly because it penetrates wood, weakening it and making it less secure.

First, locate all the rot. Some areas will be obvious and spongy, but others may lurk beneath the surface. Press a fingernail against the wood, if it sinks in, you have found more rot.

Next, use a chisel and hammer or slot head screwdriver to remove crumbly wood. If it is soft but relatively intact, a reinforcing wood hardener product can be applied.

If the rot is too serious for this, chisel out until you reach sound wood, then rebuild with new wood cut to fit. Use exterior wood adhesive and brass screws to attach new wood firmly, as any movement could allow water in. Once fitted, paint new wood with primer. Obtain a smooth surface using a plane.

Once wood is dry fill holes and cracks with exterior wood filler, using a palette knife. Any big holes can be filled with a two-part epoxy wood filler.

Once filler has dried, sand to a smooth surface with coarse sandpaper and then paint.

It is essential to fit a radiator into place before running the pipework in as the pipework can be adjusted with ease later on. The radiator should be placed about 25 millimetres above the skirting board and there should be a clearance of 100 millimetres between the top of the radiator and any sill.

Galvanised screws should be driven into wall plugs to fix the brackets onto solid walls. On stud partition walls you may have to use a bit of plywood to provide anchorage in the event that the bracket positions do not coincide with the studs. The plywood can simply be screwed to the studs and the radiator brackets screwed onto the plywood mount. This mess will be hidden following the hanging of the radiator. Any insulating foil will be fitted after the brackets have been positioned.

The position of the middle of each hanger is first marked out on the top edge of the radiator with a pencil or felt pen and the radiator then held against the wall so that the marks can be transferred to the wall’s surface. These marks are then extended downwards using a spirit level.

The brackets are then hooked onto the hangers and the distance between the top of a bracket and the lower edge of the radiator measured, with 25 millimetres added for clearance. Mark the top of the bracket’s position on the wall and trace around its baseplate. Finally, drill the brackets onto the wall and hook the radiator onto them.

Custom blinds can be purchased cheaply from a range of DIY stores and designer curtains stockists and you can fit them easily yourself. This article offers information and advice regarding how to install your new custom blinds. 

First, lay out the blinds, along with the tools you will need to complete the task, screwdriver, electric drill and spirit level. Take a pencil and mark on the wall, just below the headrail on your blinds; these marks will be needed when positioning the left and right brackets. Take the mounting brackets and position them in line with the pencil marks you made, below the header. Mark the location of the screw holes, before removing the brackets, drilling the holes and screwing them into place. A great trick is to rub soap around the screw thread, as this will make it easier to screw. 

You can now hang the side mounting brackets onto the wall, using a spirit level to check that they are horizontal. Following this, locate the front lip of the headrail and snap the valance clips in. Place the headrail into the side mounting brackets, closing the swivel brackets to keep the blinds in place. 

Finally, snap the lower and upper edge of the valance into the bracket at the bottom of the blind. All that remains is for you to check that the blind opens and closes correctly, make any minor adjustments that may be necessary and the job is finished.

Tiles have a hard-wearing, tough surface. However, sometimes a hard knock can damage a tile.  Replacing a cracked or chipped tile is an easy enough task – made easier if when originally tiling the area you put aside a couple of spare tiles for just such an eventuality. If not, take the old tile with you to a tile supply outlet and try to buy a matching replacement.

Removal of the Old Tile

Scrape out the grout from around the tile(s) you want to remove. Then, to prevent the drill from slipping, stick some tape on the middle of the broken tile and drill three or four small holes into it. This should help prevent damage to the surrounding tiles.

With a small chisel, chip the broken tile away – beginning from the holes in the centre. Be careful when nearing the edges, to avoid damaging the tiles surrounding the damaged one.

Remove the underlying tile adhesive from the wall using a chisel, doing so carefully to prevent damage of the wall below. Brush or vacuum away any remaining dust or dirt from the wall.