Wallpapering

Wallpapering – Equipment and Preparation

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Wallpapering isn’t as difficult as it looks once you are equipped with the necessary tools. In addition to a paste table, brushes and some paste, you will also need shears, a spirit level, plumb line, scraping tools and sandpaper. Stairwells are the most problematic area and they are covered separately.

Calculating the Number of Rolls

To calculate how many rolls you need to buy, get hold of a wallpaper-calculating chart, readily available from most DIY stores. Measure the height of the walls from skirting board to the ceiling, coving, picture or dado rail (depending how far up you intend to cover) and the perimeter of the room. (Don’t deduct anything for the areas covered by doors or windows, unless there is a large picture window or patio door.) On the chart, find the measurement nearest to the perimeter of your room in the left-hand column then read across to find the height of the room in the right-hand column. There you will find the number of rolls required for a plain wallpaper.

If the wallpaper has a pattern you may need to take this into account. A large pattern repeat requires more paper than a random or non-matching design, which doesn’t need to be pattern matched. The best bet is to buy an extra roll on a sale-or-return basis, so that if you don’t need to open it, you will get your money back. Check when buying that the batch number printed on the label of each roll is the same. Even then, a slight difference in shading is possible, so you need to unroll all the paper at home and examine the colours in a good light. If any of the rolls are of a slightly different shade, don’t hang them on the same wall, where the difference might be noticeable.

Preparing The Walls

Before you hang the wallpaper, prepare the walls in the same way as for painting. However, where the old plaster is sound but badly crazed, or has been repaired in places over the years, it is best to hang lining paper first, as this will prevent defects showing through the wallpaper. Lining paper is usually hung horizontally, to prevent the joints coinciding with the wallpaper.

Any existing wallcovering must be stripped off completely. Some papers can be stripped off in lengths simply by loosening the bottom edge and pulling upwards. This leaves a thin backing paper on the wall which should be wetted then scraped off. Other wallcoverings may need to be soaked with water before scraping them off. Adding a little wallpaper paste or washing up liquid to the water helps the soaking process, making the stripping easier afterwards. Some vinyls and washable wallcoverings will need to be scored first, to allow water to penetrate the old paste.

If you are faced with a really stubborn wallpaper, or more than one layer, you can save time and effort by hiring or buying a wallpaper steam stripper. This produces steam through a square plate that loosens the paper when it is held against the wall. It’s a great labour-saving device and quite inexpensive to buy these days. Recently some clever cookie invented a handy little tool called an orbital scorer, which you simply run over the paper in a circular motion, creating little pin holes that allow the moisture from the steamer to penetrate behind the surface. After doing this, use both a broad-bladed and narrow-bladed scraping knife to carefully remove the old paper without damaging the plaster behind.

When all the paper has been stripped off, rub the walls down with sandpaper to remove any little nibs of paper still clinging to them.

Porous walls have to be ‘sized’ to ensure that the wallpaper adheres properly; sizing has the added bonus of making it easier to slide the paper into place when pattern matching across the lengths. Size can be bought purpose-made (a powder that is mixed with water) or you can simply dilute ordinary wallpaper paste, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Brush size on to the wall and leave it to dry for a short while before hanging the wallpaper.

Children's Rooms

Space – Saving Ideas for Your Children’s Rooms

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Often one of the smallest rooms in the house, a child’s room needs clever planning if it is to accommodate clothing, toys and other possessions. It should also leave enough space for play, homework and entertaining friends – especially as most children ‘store’ everything on the floor!

Beds

In children’s rooms, several tiers make sense. A high-rise loft bed creates space below for bookshelves and a study area, while a cabin bed provides generous under-bed storage for big toys. Bunk beds are often the only way of fitting two children into a small bedroom and are ideal for accommodating overnight guests, but they are not really suitable for children under six. If you intend to buy a conventional bed, consider investing in a guest or stowaway bed – which stores another single bed stored underneath – or a divan with drawers. For very small or awkward spaces, consider a tailor-made ‘sleep-and-study’ design or a stowaway bed.

Furniture

While small-scale furniture and a bed that looks like a boat may be very appealing, don’t forget that children’s tastes change as fast as they grow, and full-size furniture in an adaptable design will prove to be a better buy. Self-assembly bedroom furniture aimed at the younger market and made from hardwearing, easy-to-clean materials is versatile and inexpensive, and often offers desk space and storage in one package. A desk requires a comfortable chair but elsewhere children usually prefer to lounge, so squashy beanbags make excellent seating.

Storage

As well as hanging and shelf space for clothes, storage is needed for toys and books that will rapidly grow in number as the child gets older.

Simple, low-level storage is most practical for younger children. Baskets and capacious crates that will slide under a bed or can be stacked against a wall are ideal, while colourful semi-transparent plastic crates allow the contents to be easily identified. Cube storage systems are also useful and adapt easily to changing needs. Try not to fill up most of the floor area, however, as this will still be the child’s preferred play space.

From about the age of ten, toys start to make way for more sophisticated possessions and at this point you can also begin to make use of higher-level storage. Crates are still useful but appropriate containers will be needed for a proliferation of less bulky items. Remember that storage systems relevant to their interests and particularly those with an upbeat look – a state-of-the-art CD rack, jazzy box files or a professional make-up box – are more likely to get used than more mundane or childish options. If you are able to build a window seat into a child’s room, construct it with a lift-up lid for extra toy storage.

Painting a Chalkboard

If you can give space on one of the bedroom walls over to a chalkboard, it offers a child the opportunity to express him or herself in words or drawing – or just to write cheeky messages!

First cut a circular mask out of sticky-backed film. For a perfect circle, pin one end of a length of string in the centre of the film and draw the outline with a pencil attached to the other end. Cut out the shape using a craft knife on a board. Then stick the outer circle in position on the wall and mask off the area all around it with newspaper, as the fine spray tends to spread far and wide.

Using special blackboard paint in an aerosol can, spray back and forth until you achieve a flat, even surface, building up several layers. Leave it to dry overnight, after ? which time you (or your child!) can write on it with chalks.

Shelving Options

Shelving Options – How to Create Open Storage

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Putting up shelves is probably the most common DIY job – and often the most disastrous! This is simply because people don’t use the right support for the weight the shelves will carry. You can fix shelves on to an open wall or fit them into a corner or an alcove.

Creating Open Storage

Apart from choosing shelving that fits the bill, there are three important practical aspects to consider: the material of the shelves; the method of support; and how the support is secured to the wall. Get all of these right and you will have sturdy, attractive storage space.

Shelving Material

The traditional material is solid wood, but this is expensive and usually limited to a width of 225mm (9in). The most popular materials these days are faced chipboard, with a covering of melamine or thin wood veneer, and MDF. If you want really sturdy, large shelves, you could use plywood or blockboard sheet, having it cut to whatever size you want. Plywood looks good if it is well sanded and varnished.

Methods of Support

For an open wall, there are three choices: brackets, upright metal standards with matching brackets (to give adjustable shelving) and cantilever supports. Individual brackets may be metal, wood, wrought iron or plastic. Standards and brackets are usually made from painted steel, though aluminium and wood are also available. With standards, you only need to use a spirit level once when putting up a whole set of shelves and the shelves themselves can be individually spaced using the slots in the uprights. Cantilever supports are designed to take either 16mm board or 6mm prepared (safety) glass shelving. They consist of a triangular section with a slot in it; this is screwed to the wall and the board or glass shelf pushed into the slot.

All these methods can also be used to support shelves in an alcove, but here you have the option of a wider variety of side supports. As alcove walls are rarely true, these shelves have to be individually shaped to fit their position.

Fixing to the Wall

For a solid wall, drill large enough holes to take a plastic wallplug, into which you drive the screws. Use an electric drill fitted with a masonry bit suited to the screw size.

Hollow (plasterboard) walls are more of a problem, especially if you are putting up bookshelves that will take a heavy load. For display shelves, you can use hollow-wall wallplugs, but for anything else you need to find the vertical timber studs (using an electronic joist and batten detector), then fix long screws directly into these. On most partition walls, this will mean having the supports 400mm (16in) apart to coincide with the spacing of the studs.

Rules for Putting Up Shelves

Whatever type of shelf you are putting up, make sure you have enough supports. For MDF or melamine shelving, the maximum distance between supports is:

- 15mm (5/8in) thickness: 40-60cm (16-24in)
- 19mm (3/in) thickness: 50-70cm (20-27in)
- 25mm (1 in) thickness: 70-90cm (27-36in)

If using two supports, the brackets should be placed two-ninths of the shelf’s total length from the ends; with three supports, position the outer brackets one-seventh of the shelf’s length from either end. Use long enough screws – at least 50mm (2in) No 10 and preferably No 12 gauge screws. When fixing the uprights (for adjustable shelving) on a stud wall, use 60mm screws.

How to Install Different Types of Wall Beds

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Ever had that feeling you could fall asleep standing up? Well here’s your chance! If lack of space is a major factor, you might want to consider fitting a bed that folds up against the wall when not in use, as this can be a great space saver. Three simple types of ‘wall bed’, as they are commonly known, are fairly straightforward to install.

There are three main types of wall bed. The simplest design, which is often referred to as a ‘swing-away’, is a plain metal bedstead fitted on a large bracket with counter-balance springs. It folds back to a depth of just 420mm when closed, but remains visible unless you construct a cupboard around it. A more sophisticated type allows you to fold the bed away into its own cupboard. Sometimes called a ‘fold-away’, this has a fake cupboard door front attached to the underside of the bed, so that when the bed is raised against the wall it is completely concealed behind the door. A ‘hide-away’ wall bed takes the process one step further, with mock cupboard doors that show at the end of the bed when it is folded down.

All three types of wall bed are fitted with straps to hold the mattress and the bedclothes in place when the bed is folded up against the wall.

Fitting a Fold-Away Bed

When you buy this type of wall bed, it should come with instructions for making up the cupboard into which it fits when not it use. The cupboard needs to be solidly constructed and firmly fixed, as it will take the full weight of the bed.

Make the cupboard from 18mm sheet material, following the instructions that will be supplied by the bed manufacturer. For the external doors, the side panels may need to be cut away and additional strengthening side panels fitted (unless the cupboard is fitted between other secure cupboards).

It is possible to fit a bedhead to the bed, which will stop things falling down behind it and into the cupboard. This can be bolted to the bed frame, but has to be in two hinged parts with chamfered edges, so that it folds down as the bed is raised.

To finish off the job, fit the fake door to the underside of the bed frame and mount the bed bracket in the cupboard, using the bolts, nuts and brass countersink screws supplied. Finally, adjust the bed until it operates correctly and is centrally mounted in the cupboard.

Fitting a Hide-Away Bed

A hide-away bed is very similar to a fold-away bed, except that the cupboard has to be bigger to take the extra doors that form the bed-end when the bed is down. It needs to be at least 500mm (20in) deep, slightly wider than the bed frame and normal ceiling height – 2.3m (7ft 6in) -though the height of the main part of the cupboard must match the bed frame exactly. The doors are attached to the bed frame and the bottom (main) door is additionally secured to the base of the cupboard (that is, above the cupboard plinth), using a continuous piano hinge. If two doors are used side by side, they should be permanently joined using metal bars. Full adjustment is provided so that the bed operates correctly.

Fitting a Swing-Away Bed

It is a very simple job to fit a swing-away bed. First screw the support bracket to the wall and floor, then slot the bed frame into the bracket and tighten the bolt. The bed is simply lowered into place when you want to use it, its end legs dropping down automatically. The only installation problem you are likely to encounter is where the wall is a hollow partition type, rather than a solid one. Unless you can fix all the screws into the vertical wall studs (you can find these with a joist and batten detector), it will be necessary to provide additional support on the wall. The easiest way to do this is to screw a large batten – say 75 x 38mm – to the studs and then screw the bed bracket to this. If space is so tight that you don’t want to lose the 38mm space taken up by the batten, you could cut away the plasterboard and part of the studs and recess the batten with its front face flush with the wall. Make good with plaster after doing this.

Repair Shutters

How to Install and Repair Shutters

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Shutters are a uniquely architectural window treatment. In period properties, they would normally be installed in an angled reveal, but they can also be fitted outside the reveal or to lie flush to the frame, which gives definition to a window without detracting from its shape or the view.

Traditional louvred shutters offer privacy, ventilation and adjustable light. The louvres of most shutters are around 68mm wide, though European-style shutters have 45mm slats and plantation-style colonial shutters have deep 90mm slats. Solid panelled shutters are another option and are less versatile than those with adjustable slats. Shutters can be made to fit a window’s full height or be installed in panels, tier upon tier, with each one working independently, or as half-height cafe shutters.

Installing Shutters

Face-fixing shutters to the outside of a window allows more natural light into a room as the whole of the window is exposed and it is by far the easiest option. Shutters should overlap equally all round, with the louvres opening inside the reveal, but if the sill protrudes, fix shutters so that the bottom edge is 3mm above it. Shutters can be hinged to a timber batten fixed to the wall with wallplugs and screws, or secured with offset hinges screwed into the shutter frame and wall.

If the window is square, shutters can be fitted directly to the reveal with butt hinges, although offset hinges will allow the shutters to be adjusted if necessary. If the reveal is not square, timber battens are required. If using battens either inside or outside the reveal, try to use timber that complements the shutters or paint it to match.

First make the frame, screwing the timbers at right angles to make the corners. The frame should be 8mm wider than the shutters at the sides and the height should be the same as the shutters. Fix the frame to the window with screws and fix one half of the hinge to the face of the frame. This will cover the screws fixing the frame to the window. Fix the other half to the shutter and join the hinges.

Repair and Renovation

A drop of oil on hinges and a new set of cords may be all that is needed to restore an old set of panelled shutters to good working order. However, if you decide to strip off old paint, use chemical stripper in preference to hot caustic stripping, which can split thin panelling. Where the joints of louvre shutters are loose, carefully pull the components apart, clean up the joints and reassemble them.

How to Install a Walk-In Wardrobe

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A walk-in wardrobe has the advantage that everything is completely hidden from view and you can create a fair amount of storage space, with access to clothes on both sides. You could have a hanging rail on each side or a single rail and shelves and/or drawers on the other side.

As the minimum width for a walk-in wardrobe with hanging rails on both sides is 1.8m (6ft), you will obviously need a largish room to start with. The ideal total space would be around 2m (6ft 6in) square, and preferably in the corner of a large room, this means you’ll be building two partition walls at right angles, with a door in one side.

A partition wall is normally built from 100 x 50mm (4 x 2in) sawn timber (though for this project you could use 75 x 50mm/3 x 2in timber) and consists of four elements nailed together. The floor plate runs the length of the wall and is screwed down to the floor; the ceiling plate runs the length of the wall and is screwed to the ceiling; vertical studs run between the floor plate and the ceiling plate; and horizontal noggings are fitted between the studs, about half way up but staggered (so that you can get the nails in from either side). Studs are normally spaced at 400mm (16in) centres, but for this project, a spacing of 600mm (2ft) for the unbroken wall and 450mm for the wall with the door would be better.

Check out the area. You don’t want to put a walk-in wardrobe where there is a window and, ideally, you don’t want to cover up any socket outlets (though you may be able to make use of the power to provide lighting in the wardrobe). Work out all the details on paper – the location of the partition walls and the door (as well as which way this will open), the hanging rails and shelving. As the partition walls need to be secured to joists, try to make one of the walls line up with a joist above and, ideally, with a joist below, though this is less important.

Install the ceiling plates first. Cut them to length and drill and screw them to the ceiling joists above (or to the noggings fitted between the joists), using long screws. Cut and fit the floor plates next, using a plumb line to make sure the floor plates are exactly below the ceiling plates. Screw the plates to the floorboards or, preferably, to the joists below. (You will need to cut away any carpet so that they sit directly on the floor itself.)

Mark the positions for the vertical studs and cut each one to length individually as you fit them. Hammer the nails at an angle through the sides of the timber down into the floor plate and up into the ceiling plate. At the ends of the wardrobe, shape the studs to fit round the skirting (or cut the skirting away). At the partition corner, fit three studs so that the ends of both internal and external plasterboard sheets will be supported.

Position the studs either side of the doorway to allow space for the door lining, which is 100 x 25mm (4 x 1 in) planed timber. Check this carefully so that you will be left with the correct gap for the door – that is, the door width plus 6mm – once the lining is fitted.

Add noggins between all the studs about half way up (and, perhaps, at the height you want the hanging rails), plus a longer noggin over the doorway and an extra short stud (the ‘cripple’) running from the centre of this noggin to the ceiling plate. Once the doorway is complete, cut away the length of floor plate within it.

Fit and screw the door lining to the studs either side of the doorway. It must protrude 12mm on either side in order to line up with the plasterboard. Then fix the plasterboard to the studs with plasterboard nails – grey side out if you are going to give them a skim coat of plaster, ivory side out if you intend to paint or paper them directly. Each edge must be supported over a stud; fit the full sheets first, then cut sheets to fill the gaps. Apply joint filler to all the joints.

Hang the door. You will need a doorstop for the door to close against, hinges and a magnetic door closer. To finish off, fit a light inside the wardrobe. Decorate by painting or papering the plasterboard walls and painting the door and its frame, then fit out the wardrobe.

How to Improve Lighting in Your Home

How to Improve Lighting in Your Home

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Natural light is an essential component in creating a comfortable home – it opens up rooms, affects the way in which colours work together and helps to create a feeling of airy spaciousness. The amount of light in a room will, of course, be limited by the size of the windows and the direction the room faces, but with a little imagination it is possible to make much more of whatever light is available.

Making The Most Of Daylight

Where light is limited, the rule for windows is to keep it simple. Replace any light-absorbing voluminous drapes and heavy pelmets or valances with neat window blinds, tailored curtains (tied well back during the day), or sheer voiles and muslins that will screen the glass without obliterating daylight.

If the view from a window is not essential, the glass can be sandblasted by a specialist glazier to create a classic etched effect that lets light through while still providing privacy. You can create your own etched glass more cheaply with self-adhesive glass film or by using a glass-frosting spray available from art shops and DIY stores. The glass needs to be spotlessly clean and should be degreased with methylated spirit first. Simple designs can be created by masking the glass before applying the spray, while adhesive films are available in different patterns.

Walls

The imaginative use of glass indoors can dramatically affect the apparent proportions of a room and the amount of light available. Replacing a non-load-bearing wall or creating a partition with glass bricks will allow diffused light to filter from one room to the next, while still offering an element of privacy. Glass bricks also make a stunning but practical material for constructing a shower enclosure. Their semi-industrial look complements that of contemporary interiors; they are available in a limited number of colours as well as clear.

A window set into an internal wall will brighten a gloomy corner by borrowing light from an adjoining room and a non-loading-bearing wall or stud partition offers the perfect opportunity to create a vista between one room and the next. Wooden window frames with a slim profile in a circular, oval or arched shape look best used like this.

Quick Tricks

Using mirrors is a quick and easy way to reflect light and create the illusion of space. One large mirror will double the perceived space in a small room by increasing the light and giving the room depth via a reflected image. For good light distribution, the best places to hang a mirror are directly opposite or, in a long room, at right angles to the window. Using mirrors all along one wall will bounce light the full length of a long, narrow hallway.

Doors

Doors are another way to introduce glass and therefore more light into the home. External glass doors 2 offer not just light but the feeling of bringing the outside indoors, extending your space. Internal glass doors offer privacy without blocking out light and create a sense of continuity from room to room. They are particularly useful for dividing a large room into two, and opening up small spaces where solid doors would make the room seem claustrophobic. A hardwood door with a double-glazed panel is a good compromise between providing security and allowing light into a gloomy hall.

It is possible to replace wooden panels in existing doors with toughened safety glass, but do cost out the job first. Pre-glazed internal doors are available at competitive prices from DIY superstores and it may be cheaper simply to replace the doors rather than incur the expense of having glazing made-to-measure – unless, of course, it’s a period property or your doors are of superb quality!

How to Hang Wallpaper

How to Hang Wallpaper

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The first time I used wallpaper was as a young schoolboy, and that was to cover all my school books. Unfortunately for me, the only wallpaper we had was what remained after papering my granny’s bedroom – a design with huge pink roses on a cream and pink background. Boy, did I get some stick for that! Selecting wallpaper has remained a thorny subject ever since!

You will undoubtedly have more than enough paper (just in case you make the occasional cock up!), all the necessary tools, and of course will be dressed in your decorating overalls.

Normally, you start papering on the window wall, then work back into the room. This way, should any adjoining lengths be inadvertently overlapped (they are not supposed to be), a shadow could not be cast on the overlap and highlight the error. The exception to this rule is where the wallpaper features a large motif. In this case, for a balanced appearance, the motif needs to be centralized on the main focal point. For example, if there is a chimney breast in the room, the first length would be hung right in the middle of it.

Obviously, wallpaper must be hung vertically. To establish a vertical guideline, you can suspend a plumb line from the ceiling at your proposed starting point and, when it stops swinging, use a straight-edge and pencil to mark its position on the wall. The alternative is to use a 1m (3ft) spirit level. Whenever you take the paper round a corner, mark a vertical guideline for the first strip on the new wall.

Measure each length and cut to size with wallpaper shears, allowing an excess of about 50mm (2in) at the top and bottom, depending on the pattern repeat, for final trimming at the ceiling and skirting.

Mix up the wallpaper paste according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It is best to work on a pasting table so you can lay out the whole length to paste.

Every bit of the backing must be covered with paste because, if you leave any dry spots, bubbling will result. First apply paste down the centre of the paper, then brush out to the edges in a herringbone fashion.

Vinyls and lightweight papers can be hung immediately after they are pasted, but other types should be left folded to soak for a few minutes before hanging. Fold the paper by taking the top and bottom edges to meet in the centre.

Without soaking, the paper will not adhere to the wall properly and bubbles will form. In the absence of any specific instructions, allow medium-weight paper about five minutes and heavyweights about ten minutes. Try to keep the soaking times for each length uniform or the wet paper may stretch irregularly when being brushed on the wall and cause problems in pattern matching.

When you are ready to hang the first length of paper, unfold the top half and align the edge with the vertical guideline. Using a clean, dry wallpaper brush, brush down the centre of the paper, then work outwards to both edges to ensure there is no trapped air. Release the bottom half of the paper and brush this out in the same way. At the top of the wall, run the back of the shears along the ceiling-to-wall juncture to leave a crease line. Pull back the top of the paper, cut along the crease line, and brush the paper back into place. Trim the bottom of the paper at the skirting in the same way.

Hang the next and subsequent lengths in the same way, ensuring that you match the pattern if applicable. Butt up the edges closely. When adjoining lengths have been on the wall for a few minutes, run a seam roller down the join to ensure the edges are well stuck. Don’t use a seam roller on embossed paper, however.

Never try to take a large amount of wallpaper round a corner. In an internal corner, measure the distance from the edge of the last length into the corner. Then take three measurements – at the top, middle and bottom – add 12mm to the largest measurement and cut a strip of this width from the next length of paper. (Three measurements are needed because few corners are exactly at right angles.) Hang the strip and brush the 12mm margin around the corner. The remaining strip is then hung on the next wall and its edge brushed into the corner to overlap the 12mm margin.

At external corners, take 50mm (2in) of paper on to the next wall. Hang the matching strip to overlap the 50mm margin. Then, using a straight-edge and sharp knife, cut down the middle of the overlap, peel back the paper and carefully remove the two excess overlapping strips. Brush the paper back into place and the edges of the two strips will butt up neatly.

Where you meet a light switch, turn off the electricity supply to the switch and release the screws holding the faceplate in place, then pull the plate forward. Hang the paper down to the switch, then push the shears through the centre of the switchplate area and make a diagonal cut out to each corner. Using small scissors, cut the paper around the switch, leaving a margin of about 6mm behind the faceplate. Screw the faceplate back in place and restore the electricity supply.

How to Fix Central Heating Problems

How to Fix Central Heating Problems

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Like most householders, you probably take your central heating system very much for granted. You assume that everything is fine, as long as it comes on when it is supposed to and the cylinder is full of hot water when you want a bath. But problems and faults can develop as time goes by. Since calling out a plumber can be expensive (especially at 10 o’clock on a Sunday night), it pays to learn how to tackle the most common minor faults yourself. Here are some of the basics jobs you may need to undertake at some time or other.

Minor Repairs and Leaks

Most central heating systems work by pumping hot water around a series of metal radiators. From time to time you may notice that one or more radiators are becoming cool at the top. This is caused by one of two faults. The system may be losing water as a result of evaporation from the feed-and-expansion tank in the loft, or because of a pinhole leak somewhere in the pipework (probably below the ground floor, where such a leak may go unnoticed). Air is drawn into the system and collects in the radiators, causing cool spots. Alternatively, corrosion somewhere in the system may be producing hydrogen gas, which collects in the same way.

The cure is to ‘bleed’ the affected radiator(s). All you need is a radiator bleed key, which you can buy from DIY stores and plumber’s merchants. On some modern radiators, the air vent can be opened with a screwdriver.

Locate the air vent in the top corner of the radiator, then insert the bleed key or screwdriver tip and turn it to open the vent. You will hear air or gas hissing out. Keep the vent open until water (which will probably be very dirty) starts to emerge. Catch it with some kitchen roll or an old towel before it drips down the edge of the radiator. Close the air vent, using the bleed key or screwdriver. Repeat for the other affected radiators if necessary.

After bleeding the radiators, check that the feed-and-expansion tank is at least one-third full of water. It should be topped up via the ball valve in the tank, but if filling is not needed regularly, this valve may have jammed shut through lack of use. Depress the float arm so that the tank fills up to the required level, and check to see that it shuts off again.

Minor Repairs and Leaks

A leak from the central heating is not a very common occurrence, but if it happens you need to know what to do to minimise the mess and disruption it can cause. The leak may occur at a fitting (commonly at a radiator connection), at a radiator, or somewhere on the system pipework. Because the contents of the system are often heavily contaminated by brown or black sludge, it is essential to contain the leak and fix it promptly.

How to Fix a Squeaky Stair

How to Fix a Squeaky Stair

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Staircases are a great indicator of the build quality of a house. The grander the house, the more detailed the staircase. The reason? Once inside, the staircase is one of the first features you see, so it is important to make a good impression.

Noisy stair treads are caused either by the wood rubbing tightly together or by simple wear and tear. Sometimes, simply puffing a lubricant such as talcum powder into a squeaking joint will cure the problem, but if it doesn’t, you’ll have to try something a bit more technical.

Treads (the horizontal parts) and risers (the vertical bits) are usually reinforced by triangular blocks, which are screwed in place. If any screws have worked loose, just tightening them may solve the problem. If this doesn’t work, insert thicker screws of the same length, or remove the block and refix it with wood glue and the thicker screws. If there are no blocks, cut some from 50mm (2in) square timber, and glue and screw them into place.

In some staircases, tapered wedges fixed both vertically and horizontally hold the treads and risers together. If they are loose or worn, remove them and clean away the old adhesive. Apply new adhesive, then hammer the wedges back into place – the vertical one first, then the horizontal one. If necessary, cut replacements to match the old ones.

If the joint between a tread and riser is loose, you can screw up through the tread and centrally into the riser (or through the riser into the tread, depending on your staircase) to force them together by screwing. Use No 8 screws that are long enough to sink about 12mm (Min) into the second piece. The joints between treads and risers can also be reinforced by squeezing glue into them prior to screwing.

If you can’t get underneath the stairs (or if the underside of the stairs is covered with plaster), remove the stair carpet and drive screws down through each tread into the riser underneath, again squeezing some wood glue into the gap ‘ first. Or secure the back of a tread to a riser using L-shaped steel brackets recessed into the wood, so that both brackets and screw heads are below the surface.

If the front of a tread is loose, drill two or three holes through the front of the tread and centrally into the riser below. Use No 8 screws that are long enough to sink about 12mm (14in) into the riser.

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