Sam

If you are thinking of ways to increase the size of your home without adding an extension or moving house altogether, you may want to consider adding a loft conversion. Loft conversions are a fantastic option for growing families, by adding an extra room to your home you provide more space and privacy for your children that may be sharing a bedroom.

Attic bedrooms make a great space for teenagers, you just need to make sure your attic can be converted. Ideally, you should seek help from a professional tradesman that can carry out the conversion safely. The attic flooring needs to be able to take the weight of the bedroom furniture, so may require reinforcement. The roof must have appropriate ventilation and insulation to create a safe place to live and sleep in. Depending on the attic door, you may also want to consider adding permanent steps, instead of a foldaway ladder.

If you want to update the décor within your bathroom, you will need to start by stripping the current tiles off the walls. Tiles can be easily removed with a chisel and a hammer, you must start by creating an edge to lift up. Use the chisel to create an anchor to lift the tile away from the wall.

Once all of the tiles are removed, you must make sure wall is completely clear of tile glue and flat. You can run a flat ended scraper along the wall, knocking off any large bits of solid glue. When the larger lumps are clear, you can then run over the wall with sand paper, making the wall completely free of lumps.

You can now start adding the new tiles, you will need tile glue, and spirit level and trowel. Some tiles may need to be cut to fit in certain areas, a tile cutter is necessary for a clean smooth cut. Once the tiles are in place and dry, you can begin grouting.

If you’ve recently encountered problems related to dampness of your walls, you may have a fair bit of work to do if you’re keen to protect your building’s structural integrity.

The good news is that re-plastering small parts of your walls doesn’t have to require expert help. Highlighted below are the key steps to go about it.

Scrub off the old paint first. As the initial step, it is important to note that dampness is caused by salt accumulated by water (perhaps used in the previous paint) so starting a fresh is important. Brush the walls thoroughly to ensure no residue is left on the wall, avoiding contamination with pre-existing salt.

Add salt neutraliser (two coats and then wet the wall). Any holes present in the wall should then be covered or repaired. For non- porous stone it is advisable to add adhesives for the paint to stick against the wall. You should always use a trowel or metal float to smooth the surface (plasticiser), and this should be used at ratio of 1:40 renderproof against water.