Table of Contents
Here, Craig gives his top tips for DIY jobs this bank holiday weekend…
1. Garden furniture
At this time of year when the weather begins to change, many people are looking to see what they can renew in their gardens to bring them back to life.
All winter long your garden furniture has been exposed to all sorts of things, but it’s easy enough to give it a little refresh with a little paint.
Craig gives his top tips for DIY jobs this holiday weekend
If someone has metal or wooden patio furniture, it may have rusted or chipped a little, but you can remove this by washing it under running water and then bringing it inside to let it dry.
Once it is completely dry, think about adding any wood treatment on top of the bare wood to make it last a little longer.
Then I would consider using a natural mineral paint, which is good for the environment and quite economical. They have great colors.
I really like a daffodil yellow to brighten up the garden. If you have metal furniture, it’s pretty much the same process, but you don’t need to add the wood treatment.
2. Loft space
Converting your loft space doesn’t always have to be about gaining an extra room in your home, you may just need that vital extra storage space.
We find that most of us tend to hold on to too many things that we don’t use often or may never use again.
My wife Laura still has her wedding dress seven years later, which takes up so much space hanging in our closets that she will probably never wear it again, but she has no plans to get rid of it.
Then you have things like the Christmas tree and decorations, Christmas suitcases, old family photo albums that you probably don’t want to part with and that should be stored in a safe and dry place, and the loft is the perfect place.
Installing raised loft boards means you can improve the insulation of your loft.
3. Energy improvements
The additional benefits of installing raised loft boards go beyond just storage space, they allow you to upgrade your loft insulation to the correct regulations, which will save on your energy consumption, which is better for the environment and also You will save on your utility bills. a situation in which we will all win.
It can also be useful when selling your home, as an EPC certificate will be required, and having the correct level of loft insulation installed improves your EPC rating.
Having the loft space well insulated will benefit the downstairs bedrooms from unwanted drafts and sounds coming from the loft area.
We often have water tanks up there that can make noise or sounds coming from outside.
People often don’t know that many loud sounds from outside can reach their home from the loft space. Often the walls of our house are two rows of thick bricks or blocks and will prevent air noise from passing through them.
However, our roof structure can only be made of felt, battens and tiles on the surface and have a single layer of plasterboard between the attic and the bedrooms.
This is where the additional loft insulation and raised floorboards will help absorb and dampen sound coming into the bedrooms and hallways.
4. Draft test
Adding additional draft protection around door and window frames also makes your home more energy efficient and more comfortable.
These DIY tasks are very quick and easy to do yourself and don’t cost a lot of money.
Weather stripping can be installed with minimal tools and is accomplished in just a few hours.
I always ask people to go home and place their hands around the inside of door and window frames, mailboxes, cat or dog flaps to see if they can feel any cold drafts coming into their home.
If you can feel the cold air coming in, then you are also allowing the hot air generated by your heating system to escape.
Again, this is costly for both your bank balance and the environment.
5. Energy saving
Bleeding the radiators, changing and updating the thermostat on each radiator, and applying insulated reflective foil to the back of the radiators can result in big savings in energy consumption.
Again, these types of DIY tasks can be done on a limited budget and with little experience.
If you are trying to change your radiator thermostats yourself, it is certainly worth watching video demonstrations online to follow the stages step by step and ensure you are doing it correctly and safely.
With the current energy crisis and rising cost of living in the UK, now more than ever people are looking to save energy in every way possible.