North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Archive for the ‘How to Guides’ Category

Putting up wallpaper is not the easiest of DIY tasks, but it is possible for almost anyone to do it and have the finished job look great.  The main things that are required for a professional and tidy look are that the paper is cut neatly, and hung without any creases or air bubbles.

To start with, you should measure the wall from the ceiling to the top of the skirting board, and add between four and six inches so that you can trim the paper for a snug fit.  The extra length will also make it easier to match the pattern precisely as you work your way around the room.  To help you get a straight edge, you can fold the paper and cut along the crease with a knife.  It should be noted that you can cut more than one piece of wallpaper before you start to hang it, and this is often a good idea.

To hang the wallpaper, start by attaching it to the wall at the top and work your way down, smoothing it as you go, ensuring that there are no creases or air bubbles.  It is best to take your time when doing this, and it is particularly important to ensure that you use the proper amount of wallpaper paste according to the instructions that are provided with the product.

Allow the wallpaper paste to soak into the wallpaper before hanging it on the wall, according to the product instructions.

Measuring and marking out accurately are essential and basic skills that every DIY enthusiast will have to master before long, and time spent on them is never wasted. The more accurately you can mark and measure, the better and more professional the results will be, so think of time spent on these as an excellent investment of time. The rule to bear in mind is that you want to measure twice and cut once for any operation. To do these things effectively you will need to purchase good quality tools, as cheaper ones will quickly wear out and lose their accuracy and will in the long run prove to have been a false economy.

Large sheets of manufactured board like plywood, block board and MDF (medium-density fibreboard) can be marked out with a T-square. This has to be used on a perfectly straight edge, and any discrepancy will be magnified across the sheet’s width and length.

A spirit level is essential when fitting cabinets that have been previously assembled to a wall.  Existing lines such as architraves around doors should not be used as guides, because they will probably not be truly horizontal.

Use callipers to mark off a series of equal spacings, together with a flat wooden or steel ruler to step off the divisions.

A marking knife with a bevel along one edge is ideal for marking out fine work, and it is always worth having one of these in your toolbox, as it can be used for all sorts of jobs.

There are two ways to cut tiles, either by using a tile scriber or a ceramic tile cutter, both of which can be bought in any DIY shop.

Using a Tile Scriber

Lay the tile, glazed side up, on a solid flat surface, such as a table or wooden board and mark off the dimensions required.  Take a steel rule or similar straightedge and align it with the marks on the tile.  Using the tile scriber, score a deep line across the face of the tile, keeping as close to the straightedge as possible.

Place the tile, face up, on a flat, thin straight piece of wood or similar material, with the score mark running along its edge.  Press firmly down on either side of the groove and the tile will snap along the length of the scored line.

Using a Tile Cutter

This is a more efficient option, especially if you are cutting a number of tiles.

Lay the tile on the cutter board and align the cutter with the score marks previously made by using a scriber.  Position the cutter blade on the edge of the tile and draw it towards you.  This creates a groove in the tile.  Finally, bring the handle down to split the tile.

Using a tile cutter takes a little getting used to, so it is advisable practice on old or broken tiles, before moving on to new ones.

There are various different ways of joining plastic pipes, depending on the material and whether you’re dealing with a supply pipe or a waste pipe. You have to use the correct technique for each situation to get a sound watertight joint.

The push-fit fitting is the simplest type of join for plastic pipework. These can be easily dismantled if necessary to do repair work and remove blockages, and they are used for both waste and supply pipes.

Polybutylene supply pipes can be connected, using push-fit joints that incorporate a steel grab ring or collet, after first cutting the pipe ends square.

In the case of grab-ring fittings, a metal support sleeve is first inserted into the cut ends of the pipe and some silicone lubricant applied to the insides of the fitting and the outside of the pipe ends. The pipe end is then pushed into the fitting and, at this point, you should try gently withdrawing it to ensure the grip is effective.

With collet-type fittings, the pipe is pushed into the fitting until it abuts the internal depth stop, and the grip checked by trying to withdraw it.

Waste pipes should be connected using fittings that use a flexible O-ring seal, especially when working with PP fittings, as these cannot be solvent-welded. Push the end of the pipe onto the fitting to the depth stop and be sure to withdraw it by 10mm or so to allow for expansion when hot waste water flows through it.

When you are about to begin painting it is essential to do some groundwork first.  If you try to cut corners here the results will invariably turn out to be disappointing.  It is a bit of an irony that some groundwork might take longer than the painting itself, but it can make the whole process of decorating a lot easier and the finish you end up with will look truly professional, so it is worth doing.

You need plenty of room to manoeuvre, so clear out as much furniture as possible.  Pack ornaments away, take down curtains, shelves and mirrors and give yourself room to think.  Bigger pieces of furniture can be covered with dust sheets and moved to another part of the room.

Protect light switches and other appliances with masking tape and cover all the radiators with dust sheets.  Also protect the floor with old sheets or newspapers, but avoid using plastic sheeting as it is easy to slip on it.

Keep all tools and equipment within easy reach, and also get a stepladder ready for accessing higher parts of the walls and the ceiling; it is also handy to have a tray attached to it for holding tools and paint cans.

Always wear a pair of safety goggles when painting ceilings, or a pair of old spectacles.  In older houses that have lead paint on the walls you will need to take care when stripping this.  Never use a heat gun on lead paint; wet abrasive paper is best for sanding it down to keep dust to the minimum.  A face mask should also be worn.

Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of having a ring slip down the drain.  Fortunately, there is a way to get that jewellery back without having to hire someone to tear your pipe-work apart.  Doing this job yourself will take about 15 minutes and will save you around £100.

The first thing to do is find the trap section of the pipe beneath the plughole.  These are very easy to take apart and put together again.

Get a bucket and place it beneath the trap to catch any water that spills out.  Unscrew the plastic fitting that holds the trap in place.  If you cannot unscrew it with your hands, you will need pliers to grip the plastic piece.

When released, tip the trap over the bucket.  Your jewellery will most likely be there provided it has not been flushed completely through the pipes.  Once you have found your jewellery, reassemble the trap.  Make sure to replace any washers that you removed, as these will help to prevent leaks.  You can usually tighten the plastic joint by hand, but if you cannot, feel free to use the pliers again.  Make sure not to over tighten the joints because the plastic could break.

Retrieving lost items from the drain is a fast and simple do it yourself project that will reward you with your lost jewellery, minus the expense of hiring a professional, in just a few minutes.

The main vice in the DIY workshop needs to be sturdy and heavy.  It should be screwed to the underside of a workbench next to one of the legs rather in the middle.  When buying one, make sure that it is also designed for woodwork and that it has a quick release action that allows you close and open the jaws quickly.  You would then use the handle to make the finer adjustments.  To prevent bruising of materials such as wood, you can fit false wooden jaws.

Magnetic vice jaws with cork facings are another way of protecting the material you are working with.  These are made of rubber or aluminium and fit neatly inside the main jaws of the vice.

The swivelling bench-top vice is a cheaper option to the woodwork vice and is more portable and multi purpose.  You can quickly fit it in place and remove it by means of the screw clamp.  Smaller pieces of material are easily held down with this vice, for example, in the case of carving, but you can’t use strike anything hard using this.

The mitre clamp is a type of bench clamp that is most useful for picture framers.  Anything that needs clamping at a 45-degree angle can be suitably held in place with a mitre clamp, and the best ones are constructed from metal so they will not flex when pressure is applied.

Without doubt, if there is one DIY job that frightens most people it is plastering.  However, while plastering is not an easy job to do, it is not beyond most DIY enthusiasts.  What matters most is proper preparation.

If you intend to re-skim an old wall, it is advisable to pre-cover the wall with a small amount of water-based paint mixed with PVA.  Doing this ensures that the new plaster will adhere properly and also prevents what are called suction spots.  The PVA/water solution should be a 50:50 ratio mix, which will ensure that the wall will be adequately prepared; it also gives you time to apply the plaster without it drying out too quickly.

Assuming the wall is not subject to damp, in which case advice should be sought from a professional, remove any old plaster still clinging to the wall.  This is important, not only because you need a relatively flat surface, but also because the old plaster may contain salt.  This can cause moisture spots to appear on the wall, regardless of how many re-plastering attempts you make.

Next, any holes should be completely filled.  Over-fill rather than under-fill the holes and sand the surface down.

When applying the plaster, make sure you use clean tools; a dirty trowel will not do the job properly.  Do not be afraid to apply a liberal amount of plaster; just make sure it is even.  Finally, make sure the area you are working in is safe and items such as furniture are covered or removed from the room.

Woodworm and rot are every homeowner’s worst nightmare, eating into the timbers and, in the worst-case scenario, causing the house to physically collapse.  However, you can take just a few simple steps to help prevent this happening to you, and even if woodworm or rot have already set in the damage is usually easy to repair with the tools and materials on the market without summoning a professional.  If you act quickly at the first signs of infestation you can swiftly identify and eradicate the problem, and save your home from some fairly serious potential damage.

Woodworm affects roof timbers, joists and floorboards, staircases and other structural woodwork.  It also goes for the parts of wooden furniture that are unprotected such as plywood, wicker and the backs of cabinets and chairs.

The furniture beetle is the most common culprit, its larvae creating boreholes of up to two millimetres in diameter, and larvae of the house Longhorn beetle can create them up to a whopping six millimetres.  The infamous Deathwatch beetle loves structural timbers as well.

Woodworm fluid can be used for treating localised outbreaks and furniture infestations, but if the wood is actually crumbling, it will have to come out altogether.

Boreholes have to be treated with an aerosol spray first if the surface is polished, to allow the fluid to penetrate.  A large scale infestation will have to be tackled professionally as it may have compromised the strength of the timbers and spread all over the building.

Damaged plaster walls or ceilings can be a serious eyesore.  The damage can be relatively harmless or be an indication of a more significant problem, such as wall subsidence or an unsteady ceiling.  Generally speaking, if the cracks appearing in your plastered areas are small and without a definite pattern, it indicates wear and tear, or drying out.  Larger cracks and especially damage that appears with a pattern, such as long horizontal or vertical lines, indicates a potentially larger problem that will need to be addressed.

Given the above, repairing damaged plaster can be an easy or a more complicated task.  For small cracks, use a sharp knife to cut out the underlying plaster debris.  Brush out the affected area and use wall filler to repair the cracks.  Once the filler has dried, use a paint brush to remove any remaining dust or dirt; most plaster is white so it should not be too difficult to find suitable filler that will not end up looking out of place in the affected area.

If the problem looks to be more than can be solved using wall filler, it can be best to check with a professional architect or property surveyor.  It is best to treat wall subsidence or an unsteady ceiling as early as possible.  This stops it getting worse; a badly damaged wall or ceiling can seriously affect the market value of your property and even make it unsafe to live in.