DIY Advice UK

Help For Beginners

If new to DIY, then you may be in need of some advice. Firstly, do not take on anything too ambitious to start with. Start with a small project and when your confidence and experience builds, go on to tackle something more challenging. Plan your project carefully. Assess the space you are working with, what tools you need for the job and what materials you need. For jobs such as tiling, measure the area to be tiled, work out how many boxes you need, and then allow another 10% as an error margin in case you drop and chip tiles. Also it is good to have extra tiles in case tiles get damaged in the future and you need to replace them and it can be hard to match the colour across different batches. This also applies to paint.

One good place to go for DIY advice is to your local DIY shop. Staff are usually very helpful and understanding. Do not be afraid to ask for help if you need it. It is far more embarrassing having to hire a professional to fix a job you have bodged, than to ask for a bit of advice in the first place. Ideally it is handy to have a friend, or family member with DIY experience who can advise you in the beginning and monitor your work. DIY advice is often available on websites of DIY stores . For some aspects of a job you may have to consult a professional anyway. For instance, if doing up your kitchen, you have to have gas appliances installed by a CORGI-registered tradesman.

Make sure you have all the tools and materials you need before you start. It is frustrating to have to break off because you are missing something you need and the DIY shops are shut. Read instructions carefully. A lot of mistakes can be avoided by simply following the instructions. When replacing parts, remove the old part and take it with you to the DIY store. It is incredibly frustrating to get home to find that you have bought the wrong size or type of part. Break the project down into smaller parts and give yourself a timescale for when you want each task completed by. Plan to do the work when the house is relatively quiet as it will be much easier if you aren't being interrupted by people trying to use the area you are working in.

See DIY tools for more information about tools you might need. Generally it is worth spending a bit more and getting good-quality tools that will last longer. To demystify some of the jargon, see the DIY A-Z.

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