Great Spruce Up Your Home Hunt

toblerone_2

mean.machine wrote:

Thanks, toblerone. Not sure how the combination of a dehumidifier and radiator works, but I will take your word for it!!

Now, what do I do about COOLING the damn thing??

the dehumidifier takes in damp air in the conservatory gets all the moisture out,then puts the now dry air into your room the oil filled radiator only has to heat a dry room not a freezing cold damp room which is what we had previously.we have no mildew or anything now and we did in the first year the conservatory was built also we dont have steamed up windows any more.the room is alot more pleasant.as for cooling the room we are in the shade so cant help you there except for get a fan or open doors and windows .

THRIFTY_CHICK_2

When we moved into our house, the bathroom had white tiles interspersed with "feature" tiles i.e. pink floral ones! As this didn't go with my intended colour scheme I tried tile paint but this just peeled at the edges. Next I tried tile transfers but they peeled off in the steamy bathroom. Then I spotted some mirror tiles in B&Q that were the same size as the tiles in my bathroom and came with sticky pads to attach them. They now look fantastic and have covered up the pink flowers. I have even put them up in the shower and they have remained stuck in place for a couple of years now and look fab!! Much cheaper than re-tiling.

Also a top tip for reviving grouting is to spray with bleach spray and rinse off later.

happy_miser

When we moved into our house we couldn't afford to update the old-fashioned bathroom straight away, so we just painted over the old white tiles and 'accent' brown flower tiles, straight over the grout, with a tile primer and coloured tile paint from B & Q and it looked amazingly clean and tidy.

cannyscot_2

dustycat wrote:

Hi

"I recently refurbished my kitchen on a shoestring. The units were in good condition, just very dated knotty pine, so I bought a product called Easy Surface Preparation which cleans and primes the doors, then painted them inside and out with an oil based eggshell paint. "



Why oil based? I'd like to do something with our units but I ws thinking of spraying as in another house we painted the doors and it was terrible.

Bionic_Ann

strangel wrote:

Can you please help me??? I live in a council house that is always freezing, heating is on all the time and radiators feel hot but they just dont heat the rooms up, council wont replace them as there is nothing wrong with them (apart from all being painted strange colors!!!) and I cant afford to replace them. Im open to any and all ideas.
Thanx

Secondary glazing - even if it is only cling-film.
Kitchen foil behind radiators to reflect heat into room.
Thick curtains. Draft excluders to door bottoms. Is the heat disappearing up chimneys (don't block off all air though). Thick carpet. Is the loft lagged up to 4 inches thick, if not, you may be able to get a grant from Council to do so.

mallymal

We did ours recently - just cut MDF panels to fit inside alcove - and use it as a wine store. Plastered as best I could (not brill) and deliberatley left it "rustic". Cos just on the chimney breast looks OK. Will email you a pic if intesrested.

Good luck!

bluemoon_3

One small, cheap tip that makes a huge difference is to use decorator's caulk around the gaps before painting your walls. You know the gaps I mean: between the woodwork and the walls and between the walls and ceiling and sometimes in the corners.

It only costs a couple of quid for a tube of caulk and an extra couple of hours of your time as the last step of prepping the walls before painting. It gives the room such a finished look.

ajd3

littlebigfeat wrote:

If you don't have a brother who's a gas fitter but are feeling creative, how about nipping down to your local diy shop, buying a bit of wood and creating a screen to cover up the hole. A bit of trellis with some nice fabric behind it, a picture, some dried or real flowers...... this list is endless.

Incidentally I have a few questions:

1) I have a living room with dado rail. How can I get rid of it without having to replaster bits of the wall?

2) How can I spruce up some very dated kitchen units?

3) What can I do about an old bathroom suite without having to shell out for a new one?

Thanks xx

Wildchild,
If kitchen cupboards are melamine paint them. There is paint specially made for this purpose. I successfully used it on horrible dark brown units that are now a lovely light mint green. I didn't even need to take the doors off to do it, remove handles wash, the doors then paint - using a roller gives a nice finish.
Depending on what your bathroom suite problem is depends on the solution. If it is a colour thing you may want to invest in a cheap white suite. If it is just looking tired a good clean then detract form the suite with colourful accessories can be a cheap way to do it.
A good magazine for ideas is 'Your Home' it's only £1.80/mnth
Also, I am a designer and do a side line in helping friends & relatives revamp their rooms inexpensively so if you want more help please get in touch

ajd3

strangel wrote:

Can you please help me??? I live in a council house that is always freezing, heating is on all the time and radiators feel hot but they just dont heat the rooms up, council wont replace them as there is nothing wrong with them (apart from all being painted strange colors!!!) and I cant afford to replace them. Im open to any and all ideas.
Thanx

Have you tried bleeding the radiators? Check and see if there are any cool spots when they are on. Also, it could be that the system is needing flushed. If there are a lot of layers of paint this will stop the heat too.

vfm72

Sprucing up your house can be achieved for next to nothing.
There's a site called Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org) which is for recycling, well, anything! Basically you sign up for a yahoo group in your area (mine has about 4000 members) and you can 'Offer' unwanted items you may have or post 'wanted' if you need something specific. Most of the stuff on offer are household goods, fridges, tables, beds, fireplaces etc (but plenty more- unused paint, computer equipment, books... anything!) So it's a GREAT place to get the things you really need (but don't want to pay for!) and also to declutter by getting rid of items which are perfectly good but you don't want anymore.
The best bit is it's all FREE. :rotfl:

Now how cool is that?