Southern England Homeowners are a resourceful bunch, and trying their hand at DIY jobs around the house can save them a lot of money. While there are homeowners that are confident DIYers, many of us are novices.
However, you shouldn’t be scared of taking on some DIY jobs, as many can be very straightforward. Here we look at eight simple DIY tasks you can do around your home today that even a novice DIYer can easily tackle by themselves.
1: Eliminate draughts
We are all trying our hardest to make our homes as energy-efficiency as possible. Eliminating draughts is an effective way to retail more heat in the house and cut down on energy bills.
You can buy inexpensive draught excluding kits from DIY stores, or you can make your own from a spare piece of fabric that is longer than the width of your door. Roll up the material into a tube and push it up against the bottom of the door to block draughts.
2: Fix leaky taps
Leaky taps are annoying, but they can also waste a lot of water. If you are on a water meter, you will leech money with every drip! Most leaky taps will only need a washer change to solve the problem.
Remember to turn off the water before you attempt to fix the tap. There are plenty of ‘how to’ videos on YouTube that show you how to change a tap washer, and most taps are easier to fix than you may think.
3: Reseal your bath or shower
The sealant around your bath or shower tray will deteriorate over time and cause leaks that can damage walls and flooring. Removing and replacing bath and shower sealants is an easy job, and it
is impressive how clean and fresh your bath or shower will look afterwards.
You can buy sealant kits from DIY stores, and some will come with a cartridge gun, or you can buy a cartridge gun separately. Removing the old sealant is easy with a Stanley knife. Slice away the top and bottom edges and peel them away.
Remember to fill your bath or shower tray with water fully before resealing. This will make the gaps between the bath edge and the tiled wall their largest. Apply the sealant and leave it to dry for a day before using the bath or shower.
4: Clean out the kitchen sink trap
The U-shaped pipe under the kitchen sink is the sink trap. This is where years of food waste and gunk get trapped, one of the leading causes of blocked kitchen sinks.
Most modern kitchen sinks are fitted with plastic waste pipes with screw connections. This makes it easy to unscrew the sink trap and clean it out by hand. Some older pipework made from metal can be more stubborn, so you may need to use a spanner to release the trap.
5: Clear a blocked drain
Bath and shower drains can start to drain more slowly after time, which is a sign you have a blocked drain. While there are many commercial drain treatments you can buy from the DIY store, you could first try a simple home remedy to see if that will do the job.
Use bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to treat slow draining and blocked drains. This combination can cut through soap scum buildup in the pipe. It can also help to use an old metal coat hanger to catch and draw out any trapped hair down the drain. About 99 per cent of bath and shower drain blockage is caused by trapped hair.
6: fix plaster cracks
You may notice small cracks in your plasterwork, but they worsen over time. Most cracks start to develop around movement areas such as doorways and windows. You can get tubs of filler from the DIY store to solve this problem.
You will also need a tool to apply the filler, and once it is dry, some sandpaper to sand the repair smooth and flat before repainting it.
7: Hang pictures without nails
Hanging treasured family photos and attractive pictures is an easy job, but many homeowners don’t want to hammer holes into their freshly painted walls. Many also worry about putting a nail through any hidden electrical wiring in the plasterwork.
Both of these issues are easily solved by using self-adhesive picture strips. The beauty of using these strips is that you can easily change your mind about the position of your chosen pictures or even replace them without worrying about filling, sanding down and painting over unwanted nail holes.
8: Treat condensation
You may notice condensation building up on your windows. This can cause a problem if left untreated. You can do simple things to help reduce condensation build up in your home, such as open your windows daily to air out your home, allowing the moist air to escape.
You can invest in a home dehumidifier that is an excellent tool for drawing moisture from the air and preventing mould and mildew buildup in cold bedrooms and bathrooms.
However, if you have trouble demisting double glazing, this could signify that your double glazing has failed. While many DIY tasks are easy to do, we would never recommend trying to replace failed double glazing glass panes.
If your windows are still under warranty, contact your installer, and they should replace a failed panel free of charge. There is no need to replace all of your double glazing.
