Category: DIY

We’ve previously written a brief guide on preparing walls, but here we go into a little more detail on how to smooth the surface by applying filler and sanding walls to help you get that genuine pro-standard finish…

The main thing that separates the average amateur DIYer from the professional decorator is the attention to detail during the essential preparation stage. When it comes to painting or wallpapering a wall, every extra hour spent ensuring that the surface is as perfect as you can make it will increase your overall sense of satisfaction upon completion.

Washing the walls

The first step is to wash away some of the grime and paste left from previous wallpaper by sponging down with a sugar soap solution. This is a good idea even if the walls haven’t been papered before, because any wall in a living space will attract dust and grease over time, so don’t be tempted to skip this step!

Filling in the blemishes

If money is no object it’s always worth having the walls skimmed by a master plasterer before painting or decorating your walls, but this is an expensive solution and unnecessary if your current plaster is in reasonable condition. Fortunately, there are products on the market that make filling smaller to medium holes relatively easy for the layman.

Gyproc Easi-Filler is easy to mix and use, dries quickly and sands down with the lightest of touches, making it ideal for the kind of blemishes you’re likely to find on your walls. It doesn’t shrink and sticks to most dust-free surfaces, but it has a tendency to dry out quite quickly so work fast! Oh, and wear a dust mask during the mixing stage because it’s a very fine powder.

Apply it with a plastering trowel for larger areas or a smaller decorator’s knives/wallpaper scraper for smaller holes. It’s dry to the touch within the hour on smaller areas, but large holes will need to be left overnight.

There are plenty of fillers on the market though, so do have a look in your DIY store to see what’s on offer!

Sanding walls down

This is a satisfying job that will transform a tired old wall if you follow our advice and this is an essential step if you’ve had to fill holes in the plaster:

• It’s important to wear a quality dust mask for this job – please don’t forget this!
• The grade of sandpaper you require will depend on the state of your walls, but a general starting point of 70-grade will quickly remove the worst of the debris from your walls
• Use a sanding block to ensure a flat sand, and work in a circular motion as you move across the surface
• After your first fill and sand, check the walls again and fill any spots you missed
• Repeat the sanding process but with 120-grade paper
• Go over the entire wall, as a quick sand will help create a key for paint of paste
• Once you’re happy that the walls are smooth you can wash them down again

If your wall’s very big, it might be worth using a quality brushless random orbital sander to make this job easier. Make sure that it has the option to plug into a vacuum cleaner unless you want to make a lot of mess!

Follow this simple guide to filling and sanding walls and yours will soon be in perfect condition for your wallpaper or paint – but if you’re unsure or uncomfortable with the process and live in the Leeds or Harrogate area, you can always drop us a line and ask for a quote to do it for you.

Giving your kitchen or bathroom a new lease of life is a great way to upgrade your property, but a complete refit can be expensive so that may be out of the question. The simple and much more cost-effective solution is to update tiles already in place for a fast and funky refresh, and this week we’re going to share our top tips on sprucing them up without breaking the bank.

 

It’s all about the grout

 

Freshly laid tiles always look beautiful because the grout is clean, but after a period of time high traffic areas start to appear tired or downright dirty. Even regular cleaning of the tiles and grout can’t completely revitalise them and keep that perfect white finish, so the question is, “what are our options?”

 

Grout pens

 

Grout pens offer a simple and cost-effective solution to the problem, but it’s still important to do the job properly. Clean the grout beforehand with a toothbrush and abrasive kitchen cleaner – the longer you spend on this step, the longer the effect of the pen will last. There are downsides to pens, however: after a while the nibs wear down and need to be replaced, and the result can look a little amateurish if you’re not careful during application.

 

Regrouting

 

For a quick touch-up, grout pens are fine, but if you really want to do the job properly it’s worth buying a grout scraper and getting that old stuff out! Go for a steel scraper because even though they’re not as strong as carbide, they’re a touch softer and less likely to damage your tiles if you slip. You’ll also need a Stanley knife with lots of spare blades for areas the scraper won’t fit. If you have a big bathroom or kitchen to regrout, we recommend a grout grabber – an attachment for a reciprocating saw that will make the job whizz by!

 

When regrouting mix the grout in small batches because it’s a race against the clock to get it on the wall. As soon as it starts to firm up (between 5-20 minutes depending on the weather and subsequent conditions) begin sponging it down to create a smooth finish.

 

Tile paint

 

If you’re not happy with the colour of your tiles, you can also find lots of different coloured tile paint in DIY stores. You can choose to paint alternate tiles, then alternate again on the next row for a checkerboard effect, or simply paint the whole lot – loads cheaper than removing them and replacing them, and much less labour-intensive too.

Something different?

 

White is the standard colour for grout, but what if you fancy changing the feel of your room? Switching from white grout to black will give your bathroom or kitchen an art deco look for almost no money – a great style change that will get your visitors talking. Or you may have your own colour scheme in mind.

Another way to update tiles is to use some transfers – there are loads on the market so you’re sure to find something that suits your personal taste.

 

As long as you take your time, all of these jobs are possible for the enthusiastic DIYer, but, of course, if you think that it might be a little overwhelming you can call a professional… just like us!

 

 

In your ideal home space is probably not a problem, but not all of us are living in the house of our dreams just yet! That’s why it’s useful to know how to create the illusion of space, turning that tiny little box room or study into an environment you feel happy spending time in. This week we’ll give you our top decorating tips for doing just that.

Keep things light
Try to keep a smaller space as bright as possible by painting your walls with light colours and avoiding dark floorboards or carpets. Dark colours absorb light and make you feel closed in, where light colours reflect the light in the room, making it feel airy and giving the impression of openness and space. Light blues, greens, creams and greys are great choices.

Use stripes!
Every woman knows that the careful use of stripes in clothing can make you appear taller and slimmer, and you can utilise the same approach in your room, by painting stripes on your floor to give the illusion of depth. This trick works with your walls to add the appearance of height too, but don’t try both together unless you want your room to look like a boiled sweet!

Use your ceilings
We rarely think too deeply about how our ceilings are decorated, but in a small space every surface counts. Adding a bolder colour to the ceiling, or stencilling in some conversation pieces (stars look great) will help to draw the eyes upward and further enhance the illusion of spaciousness.

Ditch the overhead lights
Wall uplighters spread around the room work much better in a cramped environment than a single overhead light source, because they give the eyes more focal points to dance around. The bonus is that is also allows you much more control of the ambience too – switch individual lights on and off to adjust the atmosphere from bright and vibrant, to calm and relaxed.

Use colour cleverly
What do you do if you want to give the illusion of height to a room but don’t want to turn the ceiling into a feature? That’s easy: just add a little colour to the very top of your walls to draw the eyes upwards and give the impression of height. You can be as creative as you like with this decorating tip – go for anything from a single block of colour to a softer more organic ‘splash’ effect.

Follow these top decorating tips and you can convert your tiny room from an oppressive and stuffy space into a more open and inviting area that’s a pleasure to use.