All Your Need to Know Questions Answered

Types of showers

If you are looking for a new economical shower there are a number of factors to consider that will determine which is best for your needs, most modern showers are now designed to be flexible for different water pressures. Before you choose a shower it’s important to understand how your water is already heated for your household because some showers cannot be used with some heating systems.

Mixer showers are a popular choice and are easy to install, they mix existing cold and hot water in a valve before it comes through the shower head, they are also suitable for both low and high pressure systems. You can choose from a surface mounted fixture where the pipe work is installed on top of your existing surface or you can have a flush mounted system where the valve is seen but all the pipe work is hidden behind the surfaces. The latter option is ideal to install during the construction of a new shower cubical so the pipes can be built into the wall.

Mixer shower

However there is a drawback to mixer showers and that is that because they are connected to pipes that also supply water to other parts of the house such as taps and toilet cisterns, the flow rate of the shower can be affected as well as the temperature as some people may have experienced in the past.

Electric showers can be used with any domestic water system and in most cases they will be connected to the cold water and an element in the shower heats up the water as it passes through. Electric showers are covered by many regulations and they must be installed on their own circuit and must not be spurred from any other connections or appliances. You have to make sure that your fuse board is capable of providing the necessary current required and that in all cases the shower supply pipes are independently cross bonded to earth.

Electric shower

Tiling your bathroom – Part 2

Now your wall has the correct makings and guides on you are ready to apply the adhesive, it’s important to remember to use a waterproof tile adhesive in your bathroom especially for areas that will be coming into contact with water. You need to apply the adhesive covering 1 meter square, and then using the toothed edge of the spreader, form horizontal ridges in the adhesive.

You can now place your first tile, this need to go on the right angle formed by the setting out battens at the skirting level, for tiles that do not have lugs, you need to place plastic spacers between them to ensure that there is enough space for the grouting and continue to tile along the row until you get to the end. You then can use a damp cloth or sponge to wipe away any excess adhesive you also need to ensure the tiles are set before removing the battens.

After you have completed the main area of the wall you will then need to cut tiles to fit the adjacent gaps on the walls, to do this, place the tile face down and mark where it needs to be cut with a felt pen, making sure you leave enough room for the normal tile spacing. Then using the tile cutter and holding it against a straight edge score across the face of the tile, use the cutter to finish the job.

If you need to place tiles around fittings such as pipes you will be better off to try and set them out so that you can cut a semi circle from the edges of two adjacent tiles, however if this is not possible mark the centre of the pipe on the top and side edges of the tile and draw lines across from these points. You can use a coin, or something slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe, draw around where the two lines cross, then make a cut straight through the centre of the circle and then use a tile saw to cut out the remaining circle, this can be quite fiddly however the neater the circle the better the finish.

The same goes if you are fitting a tile on a curved surface as well, you can make a template from a piece of card and cut small, evenly spaced slits along one edge of the tile and press them against a curve replicate the shape, then transfer the gradient of the curve on to the face of the tile and then cut using a tile saw.

Eco friendly home improvements

If you’re looking to improve your home’s energy efficiency as well as reduce your carbon footprint then there are a few home improvements that can be made that will save you time and money as well as adding value to your home. For some of the home improvements available you may be able to get financial help for under taking them, you will also find that once you have out laid the initial costs of installing eco friendly home improvements you will save money on your future bills.

Make sure your boiler is energy efficient, most old boilers are not energy efficient and the will be wasting valuable energy as well as wasting your money. Many new boilers have high energy efficiency ratings and are eco friendly.

You can install under floor and under tile heating which heats your home better than conventional radiators and can save you up to 40% on you gas or electricity bills.

Draft proofing your home reduces the amount of energy that can be lost, from doors, windows and letter boxes, it’s also one of the cheapest methods of eco friendly home improvement.

Installing solar panels onto your roof can produce hot water, heat and light for your home and they are now becoming a popular addition to people’s houses because people can see results from the energy they produce.

Insulating your home is the most import energy efficient home improvement that you can do, 40% of a home’s heat is lost through its, walls and roof, you need to make sure that any caps in your homes shell is insulated as well as making sure you have underfloor heating insulation if you have underfloor heating.

Tiling your bathroom – Part 1

If you are looking to give your bathroom a bit of an update, retiling it can do just that, tiles are great to lone your bath and shower area and new tiles can give your bathroom a whole new look and it’s a job you can do yourself on weekend.

Before you start there are some essential tools you need for the job, which can be picked up at your local DIY store if you don’t have them already:

• Tile Cutter
• Tile Saw
• Grout Spreader
• Spirit Level
• Tile Nibblers
• Adhesive Spreader
• Tile-Cutting Jig
• Homemade Gauge Stick

Firstly you need to prepare your wall, making sure it’s clean, sound and dry and as flat as possible, if your are replacing old tiles make sure you sand down the surface to remove any old grout, or remove any old wallpaper or flaking paint with a stabilizing primer.

You now need to decide on the layout of your tiles, the size and shape of the bathroom and any awkward fittings will be what guides you setting out the walls.

 A useful tool when tiling is a gauge stick, this is something you can make yourself which can be done before you start tiling. The gauge stick helps you plot the position of your tiles along the wall and is very simple to make, all you need is a piece of softwood, lay several tiles next to the wood marking the position of the tiles along it, making sure you leave space if the tiles are square edged or butting together those with lugs.

Mark the bottom row of tile using the gauge and check with a spirit level to make sure everything is level, you are best off tiling from the middle and lay the tiles out so you get a feel for the number required, then you can re align the tiles to make sure you aren’t cutting both ends. Mark the bottom of the lowest row of tiles and temporarily nail a thin guide batten to the wall, aligned with the mark. Check your wall markings with a spirit level and place a guide batten against the last vertical line and nail it to the wall. If you have to tile around an object such as a window, use that as your starting point so that the surrounding tiles are of equal size.

Fitting new bathroom cabinets

A bathroom cabinet is an essential addition to any bathroom, it gives you extra storage space for those small items you want out of view such as medicines and personal products as well as keeping things out of the way of children, if you are looking to give your bathroom a bit of an update then a new bathroom cabinet is a good place to start.

The first factor to consider when fitting a new cabinet is placement, although most cabinets are light, once they have toiletries in they become heavier so will need to be securely fitted to the wall. Many people like to have their bathroom cabinets above their sink as many come with a mirror on their door, so you need to make sure there is enough room, that it won’t get in the way and that it can be placed at the right height for all members of the household.

Most new cabinets will come with fixtures and fittings so its relatively easy to put up, you just need to make sure you mark it level on a wall by using a spirit level, here it can be good to have someone help you, especially if the cabinet is on the larger side. You always need to remember to fit wall plugs when attaching something like this into a wall, and make sure you use the correct drill bit whether it’s directly onto the wall or through tiles.

Once you have secured your cabinet to the wall you can slot in the shelves and now your cabinet is ready for use. Simple additions such as a new cabinet can give your bathroom an update, along with other new fitting, without having to completely fit a new bathroom suite.

Bathroom cabinet

Look after your lawn during the summer

To keep your grass looking its best during the summer months you need to make sure its watered enough, like any plant your grass can become stress and wither when it gets hot if it’s not watered enough and you will start to get brown dry patches. As long as you have been looking after your grass during the early parts of the year with feeding, regular cutting and aeration you grass should be fine once the weather heats up.

When it does get very hot you will find that it won’t need to be cut as often because growth slows, over cutting during the hot summer months can cause damage and balding so don’t cut it too short. You will also need to keep on top of the weeds as well as these can shoot up during the summer, using a selective herbicide or digging them out of the root should effectively eliminate them, leaving your grass ready for the whole family to enjoy.

Grass

Picture courtesy of Drew_

Home improvements that you can do yourself

There are some home improvements that are easy to undertake yourself and then there are some that you just can’t undertake yourself, however one of the most popular home improvements of recent time is DIY underfloor heating. Now water underfloor heating requires an extensive amount of work and is generally done in new builds or complete refurbishments, however installing electric underfloor heating does not require as much disruption and can be done by a DIY novice.

Electric underfloor heating can be laid under any floor like laminated flooring, tiled flooring, carpet flooring, screened flooring, bathroom flooring and conservatory flooring. It comes in either cable kits or mat kits which can be made to measure for your rooms and these kits com specially designed for the types of flooring you have to make the most out of your heating. The kits are easy to lay and come connected for your room dimensions so all you have to do is connect the remaining two wires into your power supply.

So installing electric underfloor heating could not be simpler, especially if you choose to install it when you are replacing your current flooring, that way it can be laid before your new floors are laid.

How to put up shelves

For those who do not have much or any experience with DIY, putting up shelves is a good place to start because you don’t need any special skills and you don’t need lots of tools.

Once you have decided where your shelves are going to go you need to make sure there are no electrical cables or pipes in the plaster work, you can use a pipe and cable detector to do this. Now you need a couple of cavity wall plugs, these depend on what weight the shelves are and what weight they will be holding. For shelves that are light and only will hold light objects you need to use a screw and toggle fixing this draws the metal toggle against the inside of the cavity. For shelves that are medium to heavy you will have to have them supported with brackets that are fixed directly to the wooden studwork behind the plasterboard. To find the wooden studs behind plasterboard you can use a stud detector or if you don’t have one of those you can alternatively tap the wall with your knuckles nd listen for a duller sound this indicates the position of the studs.

Once you have your screws and plugs or brackets sorted out you can mark the positions of your shelves, to do this mark the heights of where the shelves are to be held, then hold a spirit level at each spot to mark the positions of the fixing brackets. Tip: To stop shelves from sagging, make sure the brackets are no more than 600mm apart. Once your holes are marked and level, you then need to use a masonry drill bit which needs to match the wall plug fixing size and drill into the wall, to the depth of the wall plug. Use a screwdriver to fix the brackets to the wall and make sure the screws firmly fit. If your shelves do not clip into the fixing brackets you will need to attach them with screws or panel pins so that the loaded shelves cannot tip forward in use.

Once the shelves are secured to the wall you are ready to start using them.

New showerheads

There are many different shower heads available that fit individual needs, you can adjust your shower heads setting from fast spray to a more softer spray, some luxury shower heads feel like your standing under a waterfall or in heavy rain, some also have the option of massage setting which can help sooth your aches and pains. Many modern shower heads now also help to reduce water consumption by using less water but still giving a good quality shower.

You can choose from fixed overhead shower heads which can be fixed to the wall or ceiling, or you can have a showerhead that is attached to a riser rail, which has the option of adjustable height. You can also choose from a wide range of shower heads to atach to your shower pump for your bathroom suite which range from classic styles to contemporary which can look like works of art.

From spare room to guest bedroom

For many people the spare bedroom is stuffed full of clutter and old junk that you haven’t got around to throwing out, but how nice would it be to clear the clutter and make your spare room into a guest bedroom for family and friends to stay in for a visit. There are a few space saving options for your guest to sleep on you could go for a sofa bed or a small guest bed both of which don’t take up a lot of room, sofa beds are also good because they can be used as a sofa and as a bed.

Depending on how much space you have you can opt for a guest bed you have a choice of many different sizes and style to fit any size room, from 2ft single beds to 4ft 6in double beds. You can choose from a folding frame bed with mattress or a stopover bed which has a roll out or pull out bed underneath if more than one person is staying. You can get some guest beds with various frames like wood or metal in a range of colours, depending on your colour scheme and furniture style.

If your making your spare bedroom into a guest bedroom its worth looking at storage solutions as well, so any extra things you have can be easily be put away out of view from your guests, it will also help to keep your home clutter free. Extra wardrobes, bedside cabinets, ottomans and shelving can finish off a room but also make great storage solutions.