Apparently DIY stores are in trouble - their sales have been going down for a year now. It seems that more and more people are getting tradesmen in to do their home improvement rather than doing it themselves. Done For You is now replacing DIY, so much so, that even the large home improvement stores have started to offer installation and handyman services.

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It’s spring again, and the DIY season has begun. It’s the ideal time to freshen-up our homes, repair household items, fix broken appliances & fittings or redecorate some spaces.

The best way to get everything done by the Summer is to get properly organised. Get a notepad and a pen and look around your home – room by room. Write down the things that need to be cleaned, rearranged, fixed or revamped. Then go outside and inspect the windows, doors, pathways, gates, courtyard or garden. Again, write down what needs to be done..

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If you are after a cordless glue gun, why don’t you try out Coldheat’s new light-weight glue gun? It’s ideal for craft and DIY projects such as model-making, photo framing, scrapbooking, decoration, beading, kids’ art & wood crafts.  It can also be used for small household repairs - on broken ceramic objects, picture frames, toys, cork and so on..

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An alcove a very suitable space to utilise for fixed shelves and built-in cabinets. For shelves you could use spur shelving systems or brackets, but a more attractive solution is to have floating shelves, where the brackets or supports are invisible.

Creating a floating shelf in a rectangular alcove is a relatively easy DIY job. It’s basically a piece of timber supported on a frame and the front is covered with a thin piece of timber or decorative edge..

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Easy DIY:

Putting up a shelf is considered an easy DIY job, yet it’s more difficult than you might think. A badly put up shelf just looks dreadful. So before you attach your self-made or ready-made shelf think about the following issues..

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3 - Electricity

In the UK, most homes are supplied with electricity via cables either underground or overhead. This connects to a sealed terminal box located inside of your home, from which two cables run to an electricity meter and two cables run to the consumer unit.  The consumer unit is often located under the staircase, in the hallway or in the garage - it distributes electricity in your home.

Most consumer units include MCB’s  (miniature circuit breakers) that automatically switch off in case of faults or colour-coded fuses that enables you to locate them and switch off the power to a specific circuit..

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Draining water systems

If you wish to move a radiator or need to do some repairs, first you need to drain the central heating system. At the lowest point in the system (often on a radiator) there should be at least one draincock that allows you to drain the water. You might find others by the boiler or in other pipes..

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Identifying services

2, Water

Before you start doing any plumbing work you should identify the appropriate stopcocks to cut off that particular part of your water system.

There are two basic domestic water systems - indirect and direct..

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Before you do any DIY around your house you should know where the main services are located in your home - water, gas and electricity. You must switch these off before you do any electrical or plumbing work. It is also useful to know in case of any emergency.

This series of articles will help you to identify where the main switches are for these services..

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Woodworking: How to make a picture frame

First you should decide whether you want to frame your picture/ image as it is or want to add a border. Borders are useful if your artwork is small or if you want to frame an image in order to create a focal point. Use a mount that complements or contrasts the artwork. You can either buy a suitable ready-cut mount or make your own by cutting piece of  mounting card to the required size and cutting out a window to fit your image. Attach the image to the mount with masking tape..

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