Tips and Tricks of the Trade...

Welcome to the Tips page. Here you will find a selection of tips and tricks that I have picked up over the years, relating to various DIY tasks.

Decorating

When wall-papering use a small craft knife to cut the paper at the top and bottom, as opposed to using scissors and following the crease. This way you will achieve a better finish which will follow the contours of the room more accurately.

Also, if you use a Decorators caulk which can be bought in a tube and apply this to where the walls and ceiling meet, and allow to dry before starting to paper, you will then have an even better surface to cut to. This is especially useful in older properties where there are usually fine cracks between the walls and ceiling.

Light Switches and Sockets....

Before applying the wallpaper, loosen the screws holding the switch or socket cover to the box which is recessed into the wall. Paper over the socket being careful not to brush the paper too hard around it and thus avoid ripping the paper. Once you have "located" the socket, using a pair of scissors cut an "X" starting in the centre of the socket and reaching out towards the corners of the socket, but not quite cutting all the way. Next, cut the points off the four triangles of paper ( This helps to avoid electrocution ! ) Then tuck the overlapping paper from in front of the switch to the back. Screw the cover back on and hey presto !

Papering a Ceiling....

When papering a ceiling I always try to paper away from the main window in the room, by this I mean that the seams between each length of paper should be at right angles to the window. By doing this, the light from the window does not travel accross every seam but instead travels along the lengths of the seams, and thus shows less imperfections to the eye.

Painting....

When applying emulsion to walls and gloss to skirtings, paint the walls first. It is much easier to "cut in" the skirtings than the walls because you are looking down whilst painting skirtings and if you do happen to stray slightly onto the wall then it will be less noticeable than if you strayed onto the tops of the skirting.