Old Style Book - DIY/Home Maintenance

Former_MSE_Sue

Hi all - after your MS tips and advice for DIY round the house, everything from decorating to household repairs - have spotted a thread with some great interior design tips but any threads I might have missed please flag up - here's what I'm after - post your tips/advice here
Thanks wonderful people!

* DIY - everything from home plumbing and how to do all those jobs round the house the OS way, fixing broken windows etc, clean your own chimney etc.

* Decorating - paint, paper, interior design, how to make your pad look fabulous without spending a fortune

* Manuals and instruction books - think there's a thread on how to get hold of these when you''ve lost them - can you point me in the right direction or maybe we could start another one?

catznine

If you can get hold of carpet samples they can be patched together with gaffer tape underneath to make great rugs.

Check out charity shops for curtains, bedding, pictures and frames.

2nd hand furniture can look great with a new coat of paint or some new handles.

Will go away and try to think of some more :think:

Hermia

If you live in an area with a large Asian population check out the clothing/fabric shops for fabrics and trimmings. There is usually a huge range of beautiful fabrics at very good prices.

You should also check out Asian shops for cooking utensils etc. I bought a huge curry pot in an Asian shop which is brilliant for soups, stews and chilli etc (as well as curry!). It's great quality and I dread to think what it would have cost in a department store.

There are loads of jazz up your junk type books available and I expect most libraries will have some in stock.

Keep any beautiful glass jars/bottles and other nice containers you get. Scrub off any labels and decant cheap bath products into them. It will make your bathroom look very posh. You can also use them to keep odds and ends in.

Fix household repairs a.s.a.p. - a stitch in time etc. etc.

Aril

If you're planning to repaint in a new colour get the sample pot first and paint a square about 12inches by 12 inches with 2-3 coats. Leave for a couple of days so you get a really good idea of what the colour looks like when it's dry and in different lights. I know they're relatively expensive but it's a darn sight cheaper than buying a big pot and finding you hate the colour once it's on which happened to a friend of ours!
Aril

kiwichick

I keep all the old screw/nails/bolts etc from odd bits and pieces. Just before xmas my Yale lock on the front door had 2 screws fall out and the whole locking mechanism fell off :eek: Said screws must have gone up the hoover or been hidden by kids cause couldnt find the many where. DH checked out the DIY store locally and found another lock for £19.49 :eek: but before purchasing I checked my trusty screws tin and found some that did the job :T

squeaky

You won't find a great deal in the way of DIY stuff posted here in Old Style - that usually all shows up on the In My home (& DIY) board, but anywya, the link for manuals is in big red type on the Appliances section of the MEGA Index should you need it again, and the direct link is below


Manuals thread.

In my home - manuals thread

Jay-Jay_4

It's really easy to re-cover the seat pads on chairs. You just need a staple gun with biggish staples and some fabric. The hardest part is getting the tension right all the way around but it's better than buying a new set of chairs every time you change your colour scheme.


When doing up a nursery or childs bedroom, buy two sets of curtains. Hang one pair and make new seat pads, cushions, a pillowcase and even a cot size duvet cover (for older babies )

catznine

Jay-Jay wrote:

When doing up a nursery or childs bedroom, buy two sets of curtains. Hang one pair and make new seat pads, cushions, a pillowcase and even a cot size duvet cover (for older babies )

I have done this in reverse when doing my dd's bedroom I bought an extra duvet cover and made curtains from it!

nicola1982_2

If moving out for the first time ask friends and family if they have anything in their lofts/garages they don't want - I managed to aquire a washing machine, juicer, kettle, wardrobe, chest of drawers, towels, cheese grater, telephone and even a toilet seat via this method. Take anything, if you find you don't need it you can always sell it or give it away on freecycle.

Lillibet_2

Check out fabric shop oddments bins for huge roll ends which can be turned into curtains, cushions, pillow cases etc. Upholstry shops round here are always selling off rolls of part-used fabric, usually with loads left on them, for around £10 : they get it in per order, charge the poor sap with the knackered sofa the full cost then only use half of it & haven't got space to store it!

Get cheap matching bedroom sets buy buying extra duvet covers & turning into curtains/pelmets. Line with old sheets. Use ribbons as tie backs.

Turn old duvet covers/sheets in pillow cases or co-ordinating bed cushions.

Store spare bed linen/blankets in cushion covers placed on beds/bedroom chairs to save space & keep easily available.

Line behind radiators with ordinary kitchen foil to retain heat, it works just as well as the expensive specially made stuf they sell in DIY shops.

For some reason a stack of freshly laundered folded towles on display in the bathroom always looks luxurious and costs nothing! Mix co-ordinating styles/designs/colours for that changing rooms style. And if you're really sad, watch Anthea Turners Perfect Housewife programme for the perfect towel-folding technique! (Am I the only one who is totally addicted to this? Even if she does insist on pronuncing plastic as pla-r-stic")

Co-ordinate a rooms picture frames by painting different styles all the same colour : Wilko's do some fab metallic look paint in the kids section which I have successfully used to paint wood, plastic & metal frames so far. Using a cheap cardboard mount in the frames really does seem to set photos off & make them look really stylish for minimal cost : if you are handy with a craft knife you could cut your own but they only cost a few pence any way.

Good quality brushes will make cheap paint look better than cheap bruses used with expensive paint. It's worth buying new good bruses for each new paint colour in my opinion.

Clear blocked drains with lots of lemon juice & bicarb, the lemon juice is expensive in big quantites but still cheaper than a plumber!

Attach a radiator key by a keyring to the radiator in the main room of the house, then you'll always know where to find it.


HTH;)

Dobie

If you've a wall that's really uneven & ideally needs plastering you can hide the lumps & bumps cheaply by using paint effects.
I did this in our bathroom when I couldn't afford to tile it. I covered the whole wall in a pale green & then used a sponge & a slightly darker toning paint all over that.
It worked really well & I had to look VERY closely to see faults that had been glaringly obvious before.