Tips On How How To Safely Remove Wall Tiles

In this post we explore how you can safely remove wall tiles from rooms such as your bathroom without causing undue damage to the wall or surrounding areas of your property.
   
Preparation

In preparation for taking on this task the first thing you should do is protect the surrounding area in which you are going to work. I would advise laying down several layers of dust sheets to protect nearby sink basins, toilets etc and save yourself a lot of cleaning up later on. Debris from removing wall towels can occasionally cause damage to polished or delicate areas so please ensure you protect the area well. You will also need a paint scraper or similar tool to help remove any adhesive that remains clinging on to the wall.
   
Tools Required

The primary tool required to help you safely remove wall tiles from your bathroom or kitchen is a bolster chisel (better models will also generally come equipped with a hand guard). You will also need a mid size hammer or lump hammer - as well as obligatory safety goggles and gloves for your own safety.

Removing the Tiles

Firstly you will need to carefully align the bolster chisel with the grout line of the wall tile, and look to ensure you angle the tool as near to the attaching wall as possible. Once the chisel is correctly positioned, you use the hammer to hit the chisel top. Although the first few attempts are often difficult and cause the greatest amount of difficulty in removal, it wont take time for you to establish how hard you have to strike the bolster chisel in order to successfully loosen and remove the wall tile.

     Once the first tiles have been successfully removed, the whole process should become much easier - although as you would expect this can be affected by which adhesive was initially used on the offending wall tiles. Having got the tile off the wall, you should then use a paint scraper to scratch off any remaining adhesive that is stuck to the wall. Be gentle in this process, so as not to cause any further undue damage to the underlying wall.

Add Value and Improve any Property By Stopping Damp

One thing that is extremely off-putting to anyone looking round a home for the first time is the dreadful sites and smells caused by damp. In order to tackle it you will first need to establish the cause and type of damp you are experiencing in the building. This can generally be divided into 3 camps: condensation, penetrating damp and rising damp. Needless to say, if you can tackle the issue of damp early it will minimise the damage it causes.

Condensation

Most damp in property is caused by condensation – that is to say air in the property has a very high concentration of moisture. This can then settle on cool surfaces such as stone, windows and other glass. Stopping this from occurring entirely is extremely hard, but can be addressed by properly insulating the property, ensuring your kitchen and bathroom is fitted with effective extractor fan units and ensuring that your washer/dryer also has ample extraction in place.

Penetrating Damp

Penetrating damp is another form of damp is caused by gaps in the mortar of your brickwork. This damage is often worsened by harsh conditions in UK winters so always try to repair any issues as early as possible. The best way of tackling the problem is by repointing the brickwork.

Rising Damp

This type of damp is caused by water seeping up through the earth and into your property. It can be tackled by fitting effective damp proofing to your home at ground level. Some older homes may not have this fitted but it is most certainly a worthwhile investment.

Great Advice For Buying DIY Materials To Improve Your Property

Are you looking to improve your property with a bit of DIY but find the whole process confusing and befuddling? Well these simple tips can help you approach a DIY task in a more ordered and structured manner.

Draw Up a List of Materials

It may sound a bit obvious, but failing to plan ahead is a key error of many DIY enthusiasts. Before rushing off to the shop carefully consider the materials you may need and plan out a list of things you will need to buy before you jump in the van. This can help stop unnecessary journeys back and forth to the DIY store.

Measure and Plan

Before starting to buy any materials have a clear plan in mind with measurements, scales and materials so you can ensure you don’t waste money by buying too much of a raw material and wasting your money.

Consider Delivery Requirements

If you do not have a van to hand or are requiring some particularly large items for a grand project, you may consider ordering your DIY materials online and have them delivered to your door via a courier or delivery lorry. This can save a lot of hassle and stress.

Compare Prices

Make sure you get the best possible deal for the materials you need by comparing prices between online stores, major retailers and independent shops in your local area. You may be able to get price match deals or free delivery on materials to improve your property – all of which will save you money.

What Causes Leaking Pipes Around Your Property?

It may sound obvious, but for many people the reason they find that the pipes in their property start to leak is simply because they are old and have become dilapidated. In such cases, it may be unfortunately beyond repair and there is no alternative other than to fully replace the pipe work.

     In some instances however, there are ways in which you can avoid getting leaks in your pipe work. If for example, you have sizeable trees in close proximity to your property, it may be the case these are causing the issue – and as such you need to take particular care. This is because large trees and shrubs can often draw out the ground water from the area surrounding their roots, which can cause the earth in which they stand to give way and subside.. This in turn can create additional stress and strain on your pipe work, causing damage that can cause leaks. The roots themselves can also sometime penetrate the pipes and cause them to crack, break and leak.

Although it may sound a drastic solution, the only way of tackling this issue may be to remove the offending tree and its roots – however it can be worth first seeking advice from a qualified expert before taking such extreme measures. Please also consider the legal obligation of felling large trees – particularly in residential areas.

Property Improvement UK Blog

Welcome back to property improvement UK, a home improvement blog for all you British DIY lovers! If like me you love nothing more than to climb up that step ladder and add a lick of paint to your crumbling house walls, (but are not perhaps too clued up on how to do it) than this is the place for you! Please keep checking my blog and share all your DIY delights, bathroom banter, or tiling tips, as well as passing on any home improvement and gardening advice which you feel will be helpful to suit any house - from a simple flat (like mine!) to the grand old British stately homes of yesteryear. Please pass on your home improvement advice as I need all the help I can get if I am to make any sense of my own bizarre desire to do the jobs around the house which should clearly be left to professionals (or maybe my Dad!)

Property Improvements in the Garden

As you may have read in my previous home and property improvement posts, I've been in the back garden recently doing a few general odd jobs, in addition to planting a range of fresh herbs and giving the new place a bit of atmosphere with some solar powered garden lights. I was kind of beginning to actually get into my stride a little bit, especially when considering my limited experience in actually having, never mind having to look after a back garden of any note. Inevitably though, the great British summer once again expressed itself in some style. Rain poured down pretty much all afternoon, thus doing some DIY in the back garden seemed more like a polar exhibition than a lazy slouch around out the back of the house. Not much solar power for those new garden lights then eh? :-)

Simple Property Improvement with Garden Lights

What a delight it is to tell you about the easiest addition I have made to the garden. A little twinkle in the eye! Yes you guessed it, it’s some exciting lighting! Your local DIY shop is the ideal place to pick up a few cheap and cheerful solar powered garden lights. With no wires and very little damage to my rather skinny wallet, these new lights have added a little spark of their own to my new back garden. Easy to pick up, cheap to buy and well, even easier to install, solar powered lights are becoming increasingly popular in UK homes as a way to brighten up those summer evenings in the back garden. They are also much more environmentally friendly than running lights off the mains power supply so why not grab some down the local home improvement store in your area? Even a garden novice such as myself had no problems with the simple style of design outline in the picture below, so why not put a spark in your life with some exciting garden lighting!

Improve Your Property by Improving Your Garden

Today, having got over my recent bathroom and shower related DIY frustrations; my attentions have temporarily shifted to my back garden. Gardening has of course, has in recent times developed a certain stigma attached amongst the younger generation, with its “old man” image not exactly providing a great stimulus for a young man such as myself to dive into the garden and tend to my plants, lawn and other horticultural needs.

     Like many other people however, in spite of the outdated image of gardening, financial circumstances have provided me with the impetus to grow my “green fingers”, pick up my trowel and get out in the back garden - but hey, at least the sun was shining! Having read around the whole subject of horticulture on the internet it seemed as though the easiest (and most importantly cheapest) first horticultural steps for me to take were to plant my very own herb garden. Having visited the local supermarket and picked up the seeds for a variety of weird and wonderful herbs and spices, I set about the surprisingly simple task of planting the tiny seeds in my back garden. According to the instructions it may take several weeks for the shoots to appear, so I opted to sit back in my garden sunshine and enjoy an ice cold beer. It seems this gardening malarkey wasn’t so difficult after all! “Here’s to Alan Titchmarsh” I thought as I swigged on my cool one and dozed off in the afternoon sun.

Finding Courage to Try Property Improvements in the Bathroom

In the forthcoming days it seems I will be forced to begin to trawl through the apparently neverending mass of UK bathroom websites the great expanse of links that is the internet has to offer - now not only for shower parts but for a suitable polish for my once beautiful and spotless bathroom’s laminate flooring. With a bit of luck I will  manage to locate the parts I need and wait patiently for there arrival at my (fast becoming a nightmare) new home.

     When my new shower parts arrive, I think I'm going to rush eagerly to the bathroom only to discover my DIY skills are perhaps not as extensive as I had first anticipated and envisaged. I predict that after trying in vain for several hours to fix the bothersome shower, I will finally decide that calling one of the local plumbers may perhaps be a better option in order to save further embarasment and most likely, damage to my new house. Oh well, we will see. Maybe i will pluck up the courage to try some property improvements in my bathroom after all!

Property Improvement Plans On Hold Due to Leaking Shower

Fate has as it oh so often tends to do has inevitably conspired against me, as within 2 weeks of moving into my new house a serious bathroom malfunction has rather frustratingly occurred, thereby resulting in my shower handle breaking off the wall and ultimately resulting in water leaking all over my brand new bathroom. Try as I might, the shower would not cease from its seemingly never ending torrent, proceeding to make a terrible mess of what I hoped would remain a rather well maintained laminate bathroom floor.
    
     British bathrooms are of course, notoriously difficult to deal with for any DIY lover, but an essential part of property improvement for homeownerse and property developers alike. For a near complete DIY amateur such as myself, I'd rather not face up to a bodged job with a monkey wrench in what is essentailly not my own proerty - but a quick fix with a monkey wrench was the best situation salvaging thing I could do to at least stop my beutiful new bathroom from falling through the ceiling and into the spotless living room below!

Buying Supplies for My Property Improvement Mission

I've just been thinking about how best to spend the rest of my weekend and thought that I might just go to the DIY shop tomorrow afternoon to pick up some supplies. I'm drafting together my first ideas of how to spruce up the house and I thought a trip to the DIY superstore would be a good starting point for inspiration. I'm thinking of improving my home with maybe some boring stuff like a new wardrobe built fromscratch, and while I'm there its almost inevitable that I'll buy some random things that I always seem to end up picking up in that crazy shop! Dog shaped bottle openers, windscreen wiping devices, and erm, Swedish meatballs! You name it, those Swedes must certainly love their DIY and property improvment as much as we do here in the UK.
    
     Having recently moved into a new rented house and having little money of my own to spend, I have naturally begun to be been drawn to the great and wonderful (if not weird) world of DIY and home improvement in a (most likely vain) effort to make the best of my new home and garden. As many of you will know, the first steps in a new home can always be tricky and deciding exactly which jobs I could actually carry out on my shoestring budget and limited DIY experience was always going to be a daunting task. While my property is rented, I hope you enjoy my tips and advice for property improvement over the next few weeks,

Property Improvement Made Easy

DIY and general property improvement remains a highly popular UK past time, and with the long term effect of the credit crunch now being felt by people of all backgrounds in areas across the country, we are all looking for effective ways to improve our dwellings and add value to our homes without forking out hundreds of pounds that we simply mcannot afford. Property Improvement UK aims to inspire people to ward off the negative impact of the credit crunch by offering DIY tips and advice, home improvement ideas, and general ramblings about how I look to improve my place of living.

     With times so hard for homeowners and renters alike, many people are now relying on themselves to meet all their home and property improvement needs in order to save themselves a few quid. But apart from the obvious money saving advantages, lets not forget that DIY can be fun - and most of all, extremely rewarding! You will be pleasantly surprised that a little bit of hard work can change your house or garden in so many positive ways and add value to your home. 

     I personally take great satisfaction in completing a task that I have put my heart and soul into - and so can you, so why not try your own hand at DIY today?! What are you waiting for? Pull out the workbench, dust of that old toolbox and read my property improvement blog pages to learn of the ongoing trials and tribulations of one man on a home improvement mission! Over the next few weeks I will be publishing douzens of useful but easy home and property improvement tips which I hope you take on yourselves.