DIY

Floor Redesigns – Tips for Painting a Concrete Floor
DIY

Floor Redesigns – Tips for Painting a Concrete Floor

When it comes to flooring, polished concrete floors are great materials, which are more commonly used. However in homes it's not something you would want to leave unfinished or uncovered. Many people prefer to have their flooring either laminated, carpeted, or tiled with hardwood or tiles, rather than keep it with the plain old slab flooring. But on the upside of things, and for a big change, concrete can actually look quite good if it is finished properly.Tips and tricks to painting concrete.The first step before considering any tips and tricks is to figure out what type of concrete you have. Do you have polished concrete floors, or perhaps terrazzo floors? This makes knowing what type of paint to go with much easier.The tips of painting both polished concrete and terrazzo floors include ...
How To Renovate A Basement
DIY

How To Renovate A Basement

This is a short article about how to renovate a basement and it contains just the basic information that you will need before you start doing it.Renovating a basement sounds rather intimidating, but really it's not much different from renovating any other room. The only difference is that a basement is a room that is below ground level, and as a result is typically rather damp and musty if it is not kept in good order with regular maintenance.The first job is to remove all rotten woodwork and masonry and clean up any moisture and dirt. Make the whole place as dry as possible.The cause of any dampness is most likely not so much the fact that it's below the ground, as because ventilation is difficult and it's easy for the air to stagnate, leading to damp and mould problems.Of course damp wil...
How to Prep Your Staircase
DIY

How to Prep Your Staircase

If you are planning to refurbish your staircase you'll find that good preparation pays dividends. Whether you are going to lay a new carpet, paint or stain the stairs or replace the balustrade, you will achieve a more professional-looking finish if you take the time to thoroughly prep all the wooden surfaces beforehand. This may include, among other things, stripping off old varnish, wood stain or paint, extracting nails and staples, sanding down the staircase and getting rid of the old stair carpet.Removing stair carpetStarting from the top step, lever up the carpet using a pry bar and divide into manageable sections with a sharp utility knife, cutting from the back. If you are going to lay new stair carpet, you can leave the tack strips in place - just prise up any damaged or rusty ones....
DIY

Tip to Choosing the Best Cloakroom Sinks

Cloakroom sinks are specially designed to save on space. Your cloakroom should be a functional space comprising of a toilet, cloakroom basin and not much else. It is often referred to as a guest toilet and is the place where your guests can go to relieve themselves when visiting, rather than them having to use your en-suite or family bathroom.The main benefit to cloakroom sinks is that they help you save space. In most instances, a cloakroom barely fits a toilet, so finding space for a full sized bathroom basin is completely out of the question. The cloakroom sinks have been specifically designed to provide you with the space you need to move around with comfort and without compromising too much of very limited floor space.There are a few options available, though it is important to note t...
DIY

Things You Must Know When It Comes To Bathroom Renovations

Undertaking a renovation project is not that easy. Similar to a new construction, you have to consider a lot of important factors to make sure that the project will become successful. Good thing there are tips provided by experts that can help you make this task easy yet efficient.Bathroom Renovation TipsMake a list - Evaluating your current bathroom is very crucial. You must determine what you like and what you would like to change. You have to list all the features that you have always wanted. For it to be organized, you have to group them according to must-haves and nice-to-haves. It is also important for you to know their functions and importance. You can scan magazines and websites or perhaps visit a couple of homes and showrooms for you to get some ideas and inspirations.Set your bud...
DIY

Design Tips For The Ideal En Suite

Most homes will have a single shared bathroom. However, an increasingly popular option is to have a small en suite off the main bedroom, along with a large family bathroom elsewhere in the house.If you have an en suite bathroom, or you are considering installing one, you will know it has its own unique design considerations.These tips will help you plan your en suite bathroom, and ensure you get the most from it.Decide on the room sizeIf you are planning to create an en suite bathroom, the first thing you have to do is decide on the space you have available. After all, you don't want to give up too much of your bedroom.Once you have decided on the placement of the en suite, and the dimensions, you can start thinking about design.Plan the floorplanAn en suite bathroom is unlikely to have a ...
DIY

Fireplace Mantels – The Early Styles

In the early evolution of the fireplace mantel - from the primitive wood or peat fire lit on a slab of stone during the Saxon times through the mediaeval period when the fireplace mantel evolved into a considerably more efficient edifice - the most important room was the common hall.The Saxon dwelling, whether it was a royal castle, a manor house, or a lowly one-room cottage, was built around the fireplace. Rooms could be added on at different stages of the life of the house, but the fireplace was the hub of early English domestic life, providing heat to cook food, boil water and warm the inhabitants. The common hall was usually on the ground floor, and was open to the roof. The fire would be placed in the center of the room and the smoke would drift out through open windows, crevices in t...