Here, Craig give his top tips for DIY jobs this Bank Holiday weekend…
1. Garden furniture
This time of the year when the weather is starting to change, a lot of people are looking to see what they can revamp in their gardens to bring them back to life.
Throughout the winter the garden furniture has been exposed to all sorts, but it’s easy enough to give them a little makeover with some paint.
Craig give his top tips for DIY jobs this Bank Holiday weekend
If anyone has metal or wooden garden furniture, it might have got a bit rusty or flaky, but you can remove this by jet washing it down and then bringing it indoors to let it dry out.
After it’s completely dry, think about adding any wood treatment on the bare wood to make things last that little bit longer.
Then I would consider using a natural mineral paint, that’s good for the environment and quite inexpensive. They have some great colours.
I really like a daffodil yellow to brighten up the garden. If you have metal furniture, it’s pretty much the same process, but you don’t need to add the wood treatment.
2. Loft space
Converting your loft space doesn’t always have to be to gain an additional habitat room in your house, you may just need that vital extra storage space.
We find that most of us tend to hold on to too much stuff that we don’t often use or may never really use again.
My wife Laura is still holding onto her wedding dress seven years later which takes up so much space when hanging in our cupboards, she’s probably never going to wear it again however she’s got no plans to get rid of it.
Then you’ve got things like the Christmas tree and decorations, holiday suitcases, old family photo albums that you certainly don’t want to part with that need to be stored somewhere safe and dry – and the loft is the perfect place.
![Installing raised loft boards means that you can upgrade the insulation in your loft](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/14/85296749-13455857-Installing_raised_loft_boards_means_that_you_can_upgrade_the_ins-a-24_1716557223138.jpg)
Installing raised loft boards means that you can upgrade the insulation in your loft
3. Energy improvements
Additional benefits of installing raised loft boards goes beyond just storage space, it allows you to upgrade your loft insulation to the correct regulations which is going to save on your energy consumption, which is better for the environment as well as savings on your utility bills, a win/win situation for us all.
It can also help when selling your home as an EPC certificate will be required, and having the correct level of loft insulation installed improves your EPC rating.
Having your loft space well insulated will benefit the bedrooms below from unwanted draughts and sound coming from the loft area.
We often have water tanks up there that can be noisy, or sounds coming in from outside.
People don’t often know that many loud sounds from outside can work their way into your home from the loft space. Often our house walls are two courses of brick or blocks thick and will stop air bound noise travelling through.
However, our roof structure may only be felt, batten and have tiles on the surface and have a single layer of plaster boards between the loft and the bedrooms.
This is where the additional loft insulation and raised floor boards will help to absorb and dampen sound traveling though into the bedrooms and hallways.
4. Draught proofing
Adding additional draught proofing around doors and windows frames also make your home more energy efficient and comfortable to be in.
These DIY tasks are very quick and easy to complete yourself and don’t cost much money.
The draught excluders can be fitted with minimal tools and are achieved in just hours.
I always ask people to go home and place their hands around the inside of your door and window frames, letter boxes, cat or dog flaps to see if they can feel any cold draft entering into their house.
If you can feel the cold air coming in, then you’re also allowing hot air that’s generated from your heating system to escape.
Again, this is costly to both your bank balance and the environment.
5. Energy savings
Bleeding your radiators, changing, and upgrading the thermostat on each radiator and applying an insulated reflective foil to the rear of your radiators can all make great savings to your energy consumption.
Again, these kind of DIY tasks are achievable on a budget and can be done by with little experience.
If you’re attempting to change your own radiator thermostats yourself, it’s certainly worth watching online video demonstrations to follow the step-by-step stages to ensure you are doing correctly and safely.
With the ongoing energy crisis and cost of living increase in the UK, now more than ever, people are looking to save energy in every way possible.