Posted inHome & Maintenance
How to Structure your Garden
In all gardens we have to make basic decisions as to how the space in the garden should be allocated. In an ecological garden we can categorise our use of…
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How to Strengthen and Replace Floor Joists
The floor joists of older houses often sag under load and sometimes the floor becomes springy. These are symptoms of defects which are often caused by: overloading the floor joists…
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How to Stop Condensation in Your Home
This occurs when warm air meets a cold surface: the moisture in the air cools and condenses on the surface in tiny droplets of water. Most commonly, condensation occurs on…
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How to Sand Wood
There is quite a difference between sanding bare wood and 'rubbing down', 'cutting' or 'flatting back' between coats. Apart from where you are removing blemishes, always work from coarse to…
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How to Control Rising Damp
Rising damp is rather more of a problem: it is more difficult to diagnose and more costly to treat. It is due to the water present in the ground rising…
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How to Rivet Metal
Riveting is a method for making permanent joints. A rivet is basically a short metal rod with a head on one end. The head may be domed or countersunk. To…
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How to Replace a Wooden Window Sill
It is possible to replace a wooden window sill without removing the frame, but the quality of the job, the strength and weathertightness of the window in the long term,…
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How to Replace Taps
To replace taps, you may need: new taps of the appropriate type spanners - probably a basin spanner and a right-angled adjustable spanner plastic washers for seating the taps plumbing…
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How to Replace Sash Cords
Tools and materials Hammer Pincers Screwdriver Rule Pencil Chisel Knife A long-tailed mouse Waxed damp-proof sash cord or rot-resistant man-made fibre cord 25mm clout nails Oval brads. On a sash…
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How to Replace a Window Pane
It is possible to repair a window temporarily by using a sheet of polythene fixed to the inside of the window with adhesive tape or nailed lightly on with battens.…
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How to Install a Washing Machine or Dishwasher
Some washing machines need both hot and cold supplies; others are (or can be converted lo) cold-till only. Cold-fill only machines are clearly easier to plumb in but may be…
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How to Install a Shower
Fitting a shower is essentially no more difficult than installing any other piece of equipment it usually involves fitting taps or valves, making a branch pipe, running a new waste,…
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How to Install a New Stove or Oven
There is very little incentive to fix old stove/ovens. The cost of new electric burners, for example, is prohibitively high. You can often buy an entire new range for the…
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How to Improve Your Home with Conversions
What can you do if you have analyzed carefully your use of space and decided that you need more accommodation? You might want more space for a variety of reasons,…
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How to Install a Dishwasher
Old dishwashers often get rusted areas inside, especially on the dish racks. Or sometimes they just look old-fashioned. (The newer models are largely digital and look quite elegant in all…
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How to Increase Efficiency of Your Home’s Heating Systems
Choosing a new boiler According to a company like Ally Heating and Air Conditioning - HVAC service, if you either have an existing system that needs a heating repair or have…
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How to Furnish Your Home Ecologically
When we are concerned with furnishing our home ecologically, what are the most important considerations? Here we are concerned with furnishing in such a way as to make the very…
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How to Hang a New Door
The first job is to remove the existing door from the frame without damaging the frame or the hinge recesses do this very carefully, using small wood wedges to take…
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How to Fix Things to Walls
How you should fix things to walls depends on the type of wall you want to fix to and whether the fixing will have to take heavy loads. Ordinary screws…
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How to Get Renovation Ideas
What about Checking with Designers and Architects? It really depends on how big a project you have in mind and how thick your wallet is. A Residential Architect can give…