Real Home ImprovementThe Home Improvement Blog with real advice

Get Underfloor Heating

Underfloor Heating is one of the most saught after perks to modern housing. It comes readily installed in new builds, but for those of you who have a home over 10 years old then chances are given the latest craze of underfloor heating imports that you do not have it. Perfect in all the bathrooms in your house, and most effective on tiled floooring, electric underfloor heating is an excellent way to improve the value of your home.

Get double glazing

Double glazing is a triple whammy because it makes your home completely secure, helps you save energy and money from your bills and also improves the overall (dependant on how much you pay) value on your home. Pretty much all flats you can rent including student accomodation use double glazing as a selling point of their homes. This is because it is modern, in most cases environmentally friendly and also cheaper in the long run than single glazed windows.

Apply a lick of paint

Those white and cream walls that you painted a year ago ain’t so white anymore – in fact as an example take a new white shirt and hold it against the wall and guarenteed your walls will not be that bright white colour. Of course, this home improvement blog isn’t recommending that you completely paint your whole house white! Ohhhh no, in fact paint it how you like – because personality to your home is key. Neutral colours are the best though.

So there we go – three simple (and 2 in cases pricey) ways of increasing the value of your home. All comments are welcome.

Metal Sheds

With the iPhone marketplace and technology growing fast it should come as no surprise that there are quite a few iPhone and iPod touch apps which can help during home improvement projects. Having tested a lot of home improvement apps, and in the process drawing out the very best ones, here is Real Home Improvement’s recommended home improvement apps for your iPhone and iPod Touch.

1) My Measures Lite (iPhone only)

My Measures Lite is a fantastic tool for anybody within an industry trade and also a fantastic app for anybody carrying out a home improvement project. Quite simply put, My Measures Lite allows you to take a photo of any object building or wall and then add dimensions afterwards – a little bit like a photo editor. With this app, you will never mis-measure anything again!

2) Ben Color Capture (iPhone only)

Ben Color Capture allows you to take a picture of any colour or any surface colour and match to to over 3300 hues which can be re-created in store. Very simple to use, highly intuitive and also completely free, Ben Color Capture is a fantastic app which could save you a lot of time when trying to find that perfect shade of paint!

3) Tapemeasure!

Tapemeasure! does exactly what is says on the tin. The app itself starts up straight away with no load time, and displays a vertical and horizontal ruler in either inches or centimentres. The only draw back to this app is that the maximum length the ruler / tapemeasure displays is 7 cm, or rather 3 inches, which can be toggled through a simple shake. A nice app for a quick measure.

4) Advanced Bubble Level Free

Advanced Bubble Level Free is a pretty handy app for the home improvement fiend in you as it does exactly what is says on the tin. It provides a rather accurate level guide when your iPhone / iPod Touch is placed in a flat surface and lets you see if anything needs tweeking or changing. It also loads up fast and has a quick download time.

5 ) Drywall Calculator ($0.99)

Okay admittedly this app is not free, but this application assists you in easily figuring out square footage of a room. Whether you want to calculate just the walls, ceiling or a slope (triangle), or any combination of the previous you would like to figure. This is a good app which does its simple purpose well.

So there we have it! Five (almost) free home improvement apps for those of you who have an iPhone and are going through a home improvement project .

Painting can be a gruelling and time consuming task. With many people skipping it and paying for a professional because they find it too boring, painting your interior walls can also be an expensive way of improving the value of your home.

But what if you are not actually looking for a professional and want to get stuck in your self? What if it is your first time painting interior walls and you want to get it just right? Well alas my friends, as Real Home Improvement has you covered!

Below is a list of the equipment you are going to need in order to fully create beautifully painted walls:

- Suitable interior paint of a colour you like

- Small brush (for cutting in)

- Large Brush (or a roller and tray)

- Fine sand paper (for if you paint something by mistake and need to take it off when dried)

- Damp cloth

- Masking Tape

And thats it! The equipment listed above is on an as needed basis, with sand paper not really being ‘required’ but recommended as an extra tool for removing dried paint.

First step

The first step to painting your interior walls properly is to prepare the wall first using a damp cloth or sugar soap which you can mix at home or buy from any megastore. This is to remove and dirt, grime, debris or cobwebs from the surface before any paint is applied. It is also hugely important that you move any furniture away from the wall being painted, although if you can not do this then cover all your furniture which might become damaged with dust sheets to protect them from your fingers or the odd splatter of paint flying from your brush. On sensitive or particular areas such as door frames use masking tape to cover the edges to create a clean straight look to your finish.

Second Step

The base coat you apply to your wall is the most important as it sets the overall tone of the higher layers. Using a big brush, or as many people pot for a roller, swiper up and down in the same direction until the wall is completely covered and leave to dry. Note: It is very important that your first layer is not too thick and you make sure that there are no ‘loose’ fibres from your paintbrush stuck to the wall. Leave the wall to dry for approximately 90 minutes (unless otherwise specified) and go make yourself a cup of tea, or better, grab a beer (just joking, RHI can not be held responsible for you painting drunk ).

Third Step

Once your wall has dried and its first coat is there for all its glory, it is important to step back and decide whether or whether not you will need to apply one or two more coats to get the finish you need (this will save you money or time). If you are happy to proceed, then again take your roller to your wall and paint away, paying particular attention not to get paint on the ceiling. After the second coat is on, you can now set to work with a smaller brush cutting in on the ceiling (squaring the finish off).

There are many designs that you can put your home through – but one question always comes up within home improvement and home redesigns > Paint vs Wallpaper: Which suits your home best?

Of course there are many rooms in one house, with bathrooms obviously opting for paint over wallpaper for water damage reasons, but exactly what are the advantages and disadvantages of both materials and what can you do with them both?

Wallpaper Advantages

Wallpaper offers a huge variety of patterns to choose from as well as a huge selection of textures and colors which can be picked up at any home improvement shop or megastore. Plus, textured wallpaper can add more oomph to your walls which paints cannot offer (unless you get a professional painter which can be costly). Some new wallpapers even have beading, sequins, lace and ribbons that add more drama and style to a bare wall.

One of the main advantages to wallpaper is that it can easily hide holes in a wall or deep scratches which could have been caused from a variety of reasons. Also, if you are selling your home and have cracks in your plaster walls from general heating and cooling, a wallpaper session  can add new value to your sell.

Wallpaper is also your only option for fire damaged walls, unless the fire damage is light or you have arms of steel to get the soot off.

Wallpaper Disadvantages

The main disadvantage to all wallpapers is that they are horrible to clean and maintain as they (unless special wallpaper) soak up grease and stains quite easily. So if you have kids armed with crayons and chocolate covered hands your once beatiful wallpaper will quite simply become a mess.

Wallpaper can also be expensive, and the actual ‘putting it on’ time consuming if never done before. Wallpapaer generally also has a lower shelf life as they can fade under sun light.

Paint Advantages

Paint is a low maintenance, cheap and easy-to-apply interior treatment – Having painted walls means that you need not be so worried about maintaining and cleaning your walls. Most kinds of dirt and stains can easily be cleaned of a painted wall or when the stain does not come off completely, you can easily paint that area in the wall the same color to cover up the stain. While cover up stains and fixing unsightly marks on wallpaper can be quite difficult and expensive since you might have to remove one entire panel of wallpaper and replace it just because of a small stain.

Paint has a huge shelf life once applied, and if well maintained will last for years (ceiling paint excluded if you smoke as it will discolour due to nicotine stains).

Paint Disadvantages

Paint doesn’t really offer much texture or design and unlike wallpaper which can instantly create illusions, designs and texture where there are none, using paint to achieve the same effect can be a difficult task. If you want walls with flower designs without using wallpaper, you have to paint the flowers yourself which would take a lot of time and effort and usually only look crap anyway. You can also use stencils to paint designs although these designs would not be as detailed and flawless as those in printed wallpapers.

So which suits your home best? You now know the advantages and disadvantages to paint and wallpaper so take your pick . To be honest a mix of the two is always nice, and if you have a bedroom perhaps paint all round apart from the wall your beds headrest is on would be a good option.

All comments welcome.

Home Improvement Projects can be expensive, and dependant on your budget you can easily go over what you originally planned to spend. And so whether you are renovating to sell your home or have just moved in to your home, or even if you just want to make your home a nicer place to be, here are some of the best ways to save up for a home improvement project.

1. Cut down on luxuries

This can be difficult but if done intelligently very easy. All you need to do is eat out once a week less, buy supermarket brand rice instead of branded or even buy a smaller bottle of whiskey each week or month. There are so many things to cut down on that most of which you wouldn’t even consider a luxury – now I am not recommending not buying shampoo as to be honest thats a necessity, especially if you live in a hard water area, and I am also not suggesting that you never buy chocolate as there is nothing more annoying than needing chocolate and having none. Try to aim to save £100 over the space of a month.

2. Seek out second hand items

This is a double whammy. Not only can you save money during the project by doing this, but even when you have not fully committed to it, or not started it, purchasing a second hand desk to replace the year old one you just broke could save you a small fortune. There are loads of second hand stores to choose from, namely charity stores, and each of them would rip your arm off for a good price – especially during the recession. Try out some second hand stores and see what you think, i’ll bet you find some really good stuff.

3. Sell unused items

Saving money in places where you don’t need stuff is not the only thing you can do to save for a home improvement project – selling household items which you do not need or have been in the cellar for a decade is a good idea to raise needed cash. Car boot sales are a fantastic way to do this, and if you have ever seen a television show called Car Booty then you will recall some substantial turnover from these types of saving projects. Whats more, if you have any antique objects there are thousands of specialists across the UK to offer you a good price for your objects.

4. Plan the project ahead

When you have saved enough money to go through with your project then the last step is to save money on the contractor you hire. This is like dealing with mechanics—no two contractors are the same. Look for referrals from people you know. There is never any guarantee that a job will be done properly though, and referalls from people you know could play a key role. You should also try and shop around for materials you will need for the project, so whether those are taps or paint or door handles then rest assured there are a range of sites giving their best prices for you. If using the internet, type in the product name and serial number in to Google.

Patchett Joinery