fancyAhouse

Archive for January, 2010

Vinyl flooring is best suited to kitchens and bathrooms as it’s easier to clean spills. Having said this, you could even put it in the conservatory and storage cupboards as an inexpensive way of decorating.

How to lay vinyl flooring?

Before starting you will need the following items:

• A stanley knife
• Scissors
• Rulers
• Pen, pencil or marker
• Glue

Just like laying laminate flooring, leave vinyl flooring in a room for a day allowing it to soften and making it more flexible to work with. Turn up central heating a few degrees to increase vinyl flexibility as this can make a big difference when it comes to laying the flooring.

Prepare the surface before placing vinyl floor covering. Cover floorboards with hardboard, ceramic tiles and concrete flooring with leveling. Make sure there are no gaps on the surface to ensure a flat level finish when applying floor covering.

Make sure the room is clean by removing shoes and vacuuming. Unroll the floor covering against the longest wall in the room and make sure the pattern lines up neatly against the wall. Make sure you leave an overlap of 4in to allow cutting away any excess. Making sure the roll is flat, cut into the corners in a V shape which makes cutting of any excess easier.

If most of the excess is cut away first, it makes the fitting process easier. Some people find it easier to mark off areas and then cut them off with scissors or a stanley knife. Once you are pleased with the fit you can then proceed to glue it to the floor. The easiest way is to roll part of it back, apply glue and then do the other side.

Remember to push out bubbles using a broom and place a door strip over the joining piece in the doorway to cover any joins.

There are some vinyl floor coverings that lay flat and therefore require no glue. Just make sure that you have tucked in the floor covering under kitchen units and skirting boards for a better fit. Some floor covering also have a self adhesive backing making it a little less complicated. As soon as the excess is trimmed, you just remove the backing to allow it to stick to the floor. Some vinyl floor coverings also only require glue on the edge of the floor covering. To get professional results remember to prepare the surface and work in a clean room to avoid any bumps under the floor covering.

Most people buy a starter home and don’t really know how long they’re going to live there. So when it comes to decorating, the majority just leave it a neutral colour as it’s easier to sell with minimal work later. The same applies for young children who have yet to decide how they would like to personalise their room. The answer is simple – wall decals also known as wall stickers, transfers, wall art and even wall tattoos. Wall decals for the home are inexpensive and temporary and you can remove them from wall without stripping of any paint or wallpaper.

The advantages of using wall decals

As they are only temporary, they are easy to stick on the wall and you can take them to your next home should you decide to move. As young children are very indecisive, wall decals are a cheap and convenient way of keeping them happy. When children grow out of their selected wall decals, you can pass them onto any younger friends or family with children of their own. As an adult, don’t feel like it’s only children that get to have all the fun as there are many designs that you can apply all over the house. You can have fun designs, contemporary, modern and even really girly just to annoy partners.

Where to put wall decals?

You can put wall stickers, wall tattoos and transfers in virtually all rooms and surfaces. To give you some inspiration here are some really good places to start.

Living room – if you have a chimney breast or specific area you would like to stand out, you could place long stemmed flower or even tree stickers to liven up the room

Bathroom – to make the bathroom more interesting, you can have water animal stickers to encourage children to bathe or something grown up for any adults living in the house

Kitchen – you can get kitchen themed decals to make cooking more exciting

Dining room – if you have a dining room, why not have a themed decal to make the dining room stand out and be a conversation starter

Children’s bedroom or play room – there are endless designs aimed for children of all ages; stickers are safe and non toxic compared to most paints, so save some money and get decorating today

Hallway and stairs – you could have birds, butterflies or any theme for a hallway or stairs, adding excitement and individuality

As there are so many different wall decals available, explore your options and remember to take them down if you decide to sell your house. Future buyers may be put off of extensive wall decorations so remember to take them with you.

Do you want to add a touch of class and personalisation when decorating your home? The inexpensive and unique way is to buy a wallpaper mural. As we know, wallpaper can be purchased in any colour or design but by purchasing a specific design for just part of a wall you can really add a touch of luxury. Most people do not take the time to make their home unique and show this bit of individuality, so why not take the chance to do something amazing today

How to choose a wallpaper mural and where to place it?

The first thing to think about when purchasing a wallpaper mural is quality, what is it printed on and whether you can return it should it not meet your expectations. When you have found a supplier that meets your requirements, then you can proceed to think about where you would like the mural to be. Some people have a striking mural across a feature wall like a chimney breast, some like to have a attractive mural near the dining area. I have even seen some who purchase corridor murals that stretch the whole corridor passage; you can even have a subtle one for the wall at the top of the stairs. It’s completely up to you to decide where to hand your mural and many of the suppliers have galleries so you can have an idea of what location suits it best.

Children’s wall murals

As we all know children can be quite demanding when they’re old enough to make decisions on how their room should be decorated. Why not purchase a ready-made mural that you just need to glue onto the wall? They are inexpensive and easy to apply and when the children grow out of it, you can always purchase another. Common kids’ mural are princesses, dinosaurs, spongebob, disney characters, underwater marine life etc.

Custom made murals

If you want that extra bit of luxury, then get a custom made mural designed for your home. If you have a favourite picture of you on holiday or a nature picture you took yourself, then have it made into a mural and display it proudly.

Remember you can also get freestanding murals that are affixed to hardback so they can be moved if you decide to change its location. This is also great if you don’t plan on living in the same house for long; also if you have a child’s mural you can give it away or take it with you without having to listen to a tantrum.

We all know that double glazing is a double glass panel that has been proven to reduce noise and draughts coming in. Double gazing is also good at insulating the home by keeping cold air out and keeping the hot air in. Depending on the size of your home and which double glazing company you choose to go with, you may be out of pocket by thousands of pounds. Sometimes the double glazing panels are fine but the rubber lining has eroded so it is no longer present on some windows. You may also have an older style house where double glazing was not available such as single pane windows and there’s no need to have to replace every single window. By acting fast you can save your windows but if cost is an issue, then there are other ways to get temporary double glazing.

What is temporary double glazing?

If you cannot afford to redo the double glazing in your current home, then you may be in luck – you can get temporary kits that are just as effective at keeping in the heat and reducing drafts. You can purchase temporary double glazing in all local DIY shops and you don’t have to be experienced in DIY to install it.

How to install temporary double glazing?

Double glazing kits usually consist of polythene plastic and double sided tape; you will also need a hairdryer handy.

• Apply the double sided tape around the window frame
• Then stick the polythene plastic onto the double sided tape
• Using a hairdryer tighten up the polythene by drying outwards, this will make the polythene stretch and keep cold air out

It has been known that 10-20 years ago, students used to do the same in rented accommodation by using cling film and double sided tape. The cling film method works just as well as polythene plastic but cheaper. Depending on how many windows you have to insulate cling film may be the cheaper option.

How much does temporary diy double glazing cost versus proper double glazing?

If you buy a double glazing kit form a DIY store, it can cost you £8 for 4 standard sized windows. So if the average house has 14 windows, a kit would cost £32.

If you buy double sided tape at a cost of £3 and cling film at £2 this would cost £5 for all 14 windows, assuming you already have a hairdryer.

If you have to buy double glazing and have it installed by the company, this could cost anywhere between £5,000 – £10,000.

So if you only need a short term solution, save yourself the cost of a new car and buy a temporary double glazing kit today.

With the sales of houses on the increase again, the amount of people who require moving vans and help are on the rise. If you never have had to move before, then the task of organising everything to make sure it all goes smoothly can be a difficult task.

The different home removal methods

Employ a home removal company – by employing a removal company, you will get the services of your own personal move co-ordinator. They will visit your home to check how much stuff there is to move on to the new property and at an optional fee you can even arrange for the company to pack everything up for you. This is probably the most stress free type of home removal available.

Van and lorry hire – if you are an experienced driver or know someone who is comfortable driving bigger vehicles, why not hire a van or lorry to bring everything to your new home then? You could potentially save a lot of money and you can be sure that all items will be handled with care and also no home removal insurance will be needed.

Local removal men – by choosing a local removal service, you can keep costs down and even get recommendations from neighbours. Bear in mind that some local removal services have smaller vans so more than one trip may be necessary.

Do I need insurance for home removals?

The bigger named companies come with limited insurance cover, so check the policy out to see if you will need additional cover. For van and lorry hire due to carrying out the move yourself, you may find that you will have full control so insurance isn’t necessary. Local removal men do not have insurance most of the time, so insurance cover for valuables are advised. When you take out home removal cover, check over the policy so you know exactly what is and what isn’t covered. You may find it’s just not worth it.

Problems arising from home removals

The biggest worry to home movers is if the keys are not exchanged on the agreed date. For most companies, they have a cancellation waiver so if it’s not your fault, they will not charge you as long as you still use them when you move. There is also a late key waiver offered by removal companiesv- if you cannot get access after the completion of paperwork, the company will not charge you anything for the first 3 hours. If the waiting time exceeds three hours, you may be charged an additional £60 an hour depending on the company.

Cheapest home removal method

Removal company costs can vary but the average for a 3 bedroomed house is £1200 and this is excluding the pre-arranged packing service. Hiring a van or lorry can cost from £45 and then the labour is your own time or with the help of family and friends. A local removal service can cost as little as £150 depending on van size and the anticipated number of trips.

With a small minority of householders still using a back boiler, the only way of getting rid of it is to change the whole boiler system. Most people opt for a combi boiler due to lack of storage space for water tanks and good high water pressure. Some people think that you can just rip out the back boiler and replace it as simple as that. Unfortunately you can’t as you need to change piping and the plumbing as well. If you are purchasing a home with a back boiler, bear in mind that it will cost a minimum of £2000 to have a new heating system installed. The cost of replacing a backboiler will depend on what kind of heating system you decide to go with.

Are back boilers safe?

As long as back boilers are serviced annually then it is as safe as it can be. Make sure that there are carbon monoxide detectors as this could go on unnoticed for some time before anyone would know there is a problem. As back boilers are no longer an ideal source of heating, there aren’t that many people who are qualified to service them let alone wanting anything to do with them. You may find that getting someone to service a 30 year old boiler is quite a challenge. If this is the case, then ask neighbours as some of them are bound to still have a back boiler and get a qualified CORGI registered serviceman to check it over annually.

Box up back boiler

Most people would like to get rid of their back boilers because they are hideous. You have to work around them and pretty much all of them are brown. The only thing you can do to cover up this eye sore is to ‘box it up’. Boxing up will not only make your back boiler unnoticeable but you can also blend it in with your home decor. The only regulation that applies to boxing up boilers is that there is 50 mm gap all around the boiler. The gap is needed for ventilation and allows fresh air to flow all arond the boiler.

If your back boiler is in the living room as most of them are, you can also paint it the same colour or use the same wallpaper as there is behind to blend it in. Remember to choose carefully how you box it up as you will need to be able to access it in future for cleaning, servicing or on a cold rainy day when you could use the extra heat from the fireplace that it has.

If you have decided to spruce up your home with laminate flooring throughout, the advantages are floors which are easier to clean, more hygienic, hardwearing, easy to lay and cheap. The first step is to decide what kind of laminate floors you like. Laminate flooring can be bought in packs of planks or as strips with grooves on the side for glue-less flooring. Glue less laminate flooring is not waterproof so I would strongly advise against using it in the kitchen or bathroom; I would use vinyl laminate flooring instead. By using glue with laminate flooring this makes it impervious to water so this might be an option if using in the kitchen or bathroom. If glue less laminate flooring gets water in between the grooves, it will swell up and eventually rot the wood so keep this in mind if you are laminating a bathroom or kitchen.

There are a few things that you will need before you lay your new laminate flooring. Once you have calculated how many square metres you require, you will also need to buy the same amount of underlay for laminate flooring. Here are some tips and materials you will need:

• Underlay for laminate will help noise reduction and smooth out any lumps and bumps before laying the floor
• You will also require scotia also known as edging to cover the edges where the flooring meets the wall
• If you have radiators in the room you may also want to purchase pipe surrounds
• A knocking block will also prove useful
• Flooring pull bar can help as well
• Flooring repair kit that will cover scratches and indentations on laminate flooring may be required
• Flooring spacers is essential
• Flooring adhesive could be required in some cases
• A laminate flooring kit will work out cheaper than buying the items individually. The kit includes a knocking block, spacers and a flooring pull bar. Individually is can cost £20 but as a kit can cost under £10.
• Flooring cover strip
• Coloured flooring sealant

DIY laminate flooring is simple – although instructions are provided with all laminate flooring packs, here’s a rough guide to get it done quicker.

• Make sure you have enough laminate packs before you start
• Remove planks and lay them in the room for 24-48 hours before starting, this will make sure the planks don’t swell and are used to the room temperature
• Place underlay first before slotting laminate floor boards
• Place spacers around the skirting board to remind you to place them when slotting planks together
• Remember to cut planks in half as you will need to create and aggravated look then slot them together (like brickwork)

After the floor has been laid you can then start cutting the scotia and covering the radiator pipe surrounds. If there are any gaps remember to fill using coloured flooring sealant. It is important that you lay the laminate floors in zigzag to make the flooring stronger, otherwise it can break easily.

There are many people who have managed to buy a starter home through this dreaded recession and for those who the next step is to start a family, help is at hand. As buying the essentials for a baby is expensive enough, I take a look at decorating tips for a nursery.

Baby nursery decorating ideas

If you are lucky enough to start with a blank canvas, the options are unlimited but if you have a coloured room you wish to turn into a nursery, then this may require a little more planning and a small budget. Most people now just opt for magnolia as their base paint so if you are decorating a magnolia room you can have it decorated in a day. There’s no need to paint a room pink for a girl or blue for a boy and with most women choosing not to know the sex of the baby before birth, you should just go with a neutral colour. Babies need stimulation more than a colourful room as they only use it to sleep. Take advantage of having a new born baby by decorating their room on a budget because in a few years time you will have no choice than to give in to their room colour and decorative choices.

Decorate a nursery by using sponge art; you can keep the existing wall colour if it’s neutral and get some pastel paint to sponge on Disney characters. As time goes on and your child grows, you can add more sponge art.

How to decorate on a budget the room for a child?

As your child grows, he/she will want to decorate their room to suit their personality and mood. You don’t have to agree on everything and remember that children are indecisive and you might find that after spending thousands of pounds on a room, they might want to change it again a few months down the line. Here are a few tips for you:

• When trying to decide on a colour try not to agree on a really bold and bright colour, instead go for pastel
• Never wallpaper, painting is so much easier and cheaper
• Buy stickers to decorate or use sponge art
• If you are keeping the original colour of a room, why not buy a wall mural to reflect your child’s mood and age

Some people give in to their children’s decorating designs and some of them are just too much – you shouldn’t have all co-ordinating fabrics in the same theme as they will get bored after a while. The same goes for curtains – what happens when the matching duvet is in the wash? Will you keep two of the same so the room always matches? Children can be demanding so follow these helpful tips to keep decorating fun and really cheap.

It’s advisable to retouch paint work in the home at least every 5 years but it’s better if its done within 3 years. This will keep your home looking fresh and upkeep to a minimal. It can get quite expensive having to hire a painter/decorator every few years so here’s some tips to help you paint tricky corners and straight lines.

When it comes to painting, it’s pretty simple that even a 3 year old could help. The hardest part is painting above the skirting board, around the door frame and the top of the wall just before the ceiling meets. There are a few simple ways to making sure you use fewer tools as possible and with minimal mess and professional results.

How to paint corners and straight lines?

If you have a main colour in the living room and are painting a bold feature wall just next to a lighter colour wall, you will want to make sure that the bolder colour doesn’t spoil the lighter wall. There are a few ways to do this as I explain below:

Using a paint pad – paint pads come in a few different shapes making it easier when painting a corner or just above the skirting board. The most common paint pad shapes used in the household are the rectangle shape and the triangle. Paint pads uses as little paint as possible and doesn’t drip but the disadvantage is that if you have used a roller before and then used the paint pad in the corners, the texture of the two are highly noticeable.

Masking tape – masking tape is highly versatile and can be used on most surfaces; just make sure the area that it is being applied to is clean and dust free. For better results remove masking tape 20 minutes to an hour after painting because if you leave it too long, the paint underneath can be stripped off. The negative aspect to using masking tape to achieve straight smooth paint lines is that it is time consuming applying it everywhere and messy when it comes to stripping it off.

Paint guard – this is probably the cheapest and easiest method as a paint guard can be bought for under £1 and used over and over again, unlike paintbrushes. Paint guards look a bit like a ruler, only the ends have smaller or curved shapes so you can use in any corner or part of the wall as required.

Paint brush – most experienced painters and decorators use a good old fashioned paint brush to paint straight lines, so unless you have a steady hand use an alternative method. If you do decide to use a paint brush, buy a really good quality one with a good grip handle. Don’t fully immerse the paint brush in paint as you will just have a drippy brush that will ruin your hard work.