Welcome to DIY Doctor's blog

So you’ve decided to take the plunge, start saving the environment, make your lawn easy to maintain, green all year round and invest in an artificial lawn. Far from Astroturf, good quality artificial grass is now almost indistinguishable from real grass. The difference is that you never have to cut it, trim it, water it or feed it. Ever. The only maintenance that it requires is the occasional hose down or hoover. Nowadays, you can choose the ultimate in artificial grass and go for a lush spring grass with three different colours in it and the feel of real grass.

How to Install Your New Lawn
What you need:
Spade
Hand Roller/Vibrating Plate
Hammer
Nails
Wood for the border
Spatula

When you receive your new lawn, you can begin the installation process straight away.

For Gardens:
First, you need to prepare your garden. Remove any vegetation and any rocks, so that only soil remains. Then, a layer of sand must be installed. Spread the sand as evenly as possible, either by using a hand roller or a vibrating plate. You should wet this layer a day before you lay the artificial grass. Then, nail a textile weed barrier to this base (having a border of wood helps this part of the process).

If your grass has direction, then make sure that every roll faces the right way. When you’ve laid out your rolls of grass, fold the edges in on themselves. Use the seaming tape to secure the rolls together. First nail the seaming tape to the base, making sure that it is laid centrally between two rolls. Apply adhesive to the seaming tape with a spatula and fold the edges of the grass rolls down and press together so they bond. For the borders, nail the edges to the wooden beams.

For Hard Surfaces:
If you’ve decided to install artificial grass on a hard surface, then all you have to do is give the surface a good clean and remove any surface imperfections. The rolls can be laid loose or secured with a small amount of adhesive.

Brush the grass so it looks its best and sit back and admire your work. Artificial grass can last up to twenty years, so though artificial grass prices may seem a lot up front, they will actually give you great value for money for very little effort.

Through many years of use, it’s easy to see how the door gasket or seal on your washing machine can eventually wear out. This can cause a variety of problems, most notably the potential for the machine to leak when it’s running a cycle. This could be a major problem for both the appliance and wherever it is stored. Most spaces are not waterproof, meaning the leaking water could damage the floor or kitchen units. For this reason, if you find that your door seal is beginning to look as though it might be wearing out, or it has already started to lose its watertight qualities, then you should certainly think about replacement.

Fortunately, replacing the gasket on most washing machines isn’t a particularly tough DIY job; it requires minimal tools, and is generally straightforward. Companies such as Easy Spares are your best bet for finding the right seal for your appliance. You need to ensure a snug fit, or you’ll continue to suffer problems.

Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1
The first thing to do, as with just about any job that involves some form of electrics, is to ensure that the power supply to the washing machine is off. This is primarily a safety measure, as it is never safe to work with plumbed-in appliances when they are also connected to a supply of electricity. You also won’t have the problem of any warning beeps while working on the unit.

Step 2
Turning off the water system is the next thing to do. Again this is a safety measure, but it will also ensure that nothing gets wet inadvertently. All you need to do is turn the main tap off, wherever that might be in your home.

Step 3
It’s important to have a good look at what you’re working with before you dive in and tear off the old gasket. Find out how it is held on and where, and then gather together any tools that you think will be useful in getting it off. There are several extras that you might encounter, including clips and tensioners.

Step 4
When actually removing the seal, undo the outer clamp first. You may or may not need to slacken off any tension bands, and detach clips. You’ll probably need a flat headed screwdriver to ease off the clamp, but be careful not to break anything.

Step 5
Now it’s time to remove the inner clamp. This is the one that attaches the gasket to the drum. Again, there may be clips to undo, but somewhere there’ll be a clamp that needs taking off.
Step 6

With all clamps, clips and tensioners free, it’s time to take off the old seal. It shouldn’t be too difficult to prize it away from its mountings and grooves by hand. Be careful if you use a tool to do this; it’s not always easy to see what you’re doing unless you feel with your hands, and a tool could potentially cause harm or damage the machine. Be aware that there could even be water inside the seal.

Step 7
The final job is of course to attach the new door seal. This bit can be tricky, as some gaskets will have a tighter fit than others, especially if they don’t come with a tension adjustment. Once it’s in place, work round with your hands, fitting the seal into the groove. Ensure that all clamps fit tightly, and that everything is snug in place. It’s a good idea to double check that you’ve done everything correctly before running the machine again.

According to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), more than 5,000 people die and 2.7 million end up in hospital each year due to accidents in the home. Around 220,000 DIY enthusiasts seek medical attention each year with approximately 128,000 being injured by tools, machinery, ladders and stepladders – so how can we keep ourselves safe?

Well, RoSPA advises homeowners to plan each job carefully and wear the correct safety gear – such as gloves, masks and goggles – but it’s also wise to keep a well-stocked first aid kit nearby just in case, click here to see a range from specialist suppliers Seton. While there’s no set list of what should be included, the Health and Safety Executive recommends a basic list of supplies including:

20 individually wrapped sterile plasters

Whether you’re cutting down a table or fitting a carpet it can be easy to get a scratch or graze. In fact, the Home Accident Surveillance System (2002) revealed that knives and scalpels cause around 21,300 accidents in the UK each year, so it’s a good idea to have some sterile plasters to hand.  An assortment of sizes would be ideal and hypoallergenic variants should be used if you suffer from skin allergies.

Two sterile eye pads

If you’re planning on carrying out some handy work – be it sawing chairs or sanding doors – sterile eye pads could come in useful. They’re ideal for minor eye injuries and will help prevent any dust, dirt or grit from causing further irritation. To use, place the pad lightly over the eye ensuring there’s not too much pressure on the socket and secure by tying some bandage around the head.

Four individually wrapped triangular bandages

Every year people are injured by concrete slabs, building blocks and bricks, metal bars and chipboard. Heavy objects can cause broken bones and blood loss, which is why triangular bandages are a must-have. They can be used to secure fractured collar bones and hands and can be easily transformed into a broad-fold bandage for sprains and strains or a sling for upper and lower arm injuries.

A pair of disposable gloves

You never know when you’ll have to help someone else or deal with considerable blood loss, so keep some disposable gloves in your first aid box. They protect the casualty if the first aider has grimy hands and allow people to deal with bodily fluids more easily. Gloves are usually available in small, medium, large and extra-large, so make sure you get the right size.

DIY is a great pastime for many and can save you a fortune on builders and handy men, but keep health and safety at the forefront of your mind.

Unless you’re extremely lucky and live in a house with loads of land around it, or perhaps a very old place with incredibly thick walls, you’ll have come up against the bane of modern living – noise pollution.

Whether it’s noisy neighbours, loud TVs, busy roads or general people noise, it’s almost impossible to not have to deal with some kind of noise when all you want is to get home, relax and enjoy some peace and quiet in your own home.

Most people just put up with it, assuming it would either cost a fortune to soundproof their home, or assume that it can’t really be done. Well, they’d be wrong on both counts. We’re here to talk about how you can take the DIY approach to soundproofing your home and enjoy blissful silence when you want it.

How sound travels
It’s always good to have a bit of science. Sound is made up of low frequency waves, similar to radio waves. They keep travelling until they meet a form of resistance – a wall or some furniture for instance.

There are two things you can do: Noise reduction (by blocking the passage of sound waves by putting objects into the sound path) or noise absorption, by transforming the soundwave itself, which is what happens when it comes into contact with certain materials.

Doing it yourself
It’s totally possible to effectively soundproof your house all by yourself. You just need to get the right kind of products.

There are soundproofing companies who sell materials you’d need and you only need pretty rudimentary skills.

Firstly you need to decide whether you want to keep noise from escaping the room – perfect if you like to have loud parties or play the drums at midnights every night, or whether you want to stop noise from entering the room and would like to make your home a haven of peace and tranquility.

A product like the polyurethane foam sound insulation liner from Wallrock works well when you want to keep noise from escaping. It comes pre-laminated with Wallrock Skim Liner (basically a very thin wall covering) and is ready for painting, so it’s dead simple to use on walls and ceilings. It is important to remember that sound doesn’t, of course, just travel through walls. Noise will also travel through your ceilings and floors and if these aren’t insulated as well then they can act as an amplifier.

As mentioned above, you can either paint directly onto it or use a paste-the-wall wall covering and paint on top of that. Bear in mind that conventional wallpapers like normal lining paper or printed papers are likely to expand and contract as room temperatures and humidity change which can lead to lifting on the product surface over time.

Problem areas for sound entering your house
Obviously windows are pretty big culprits and single paned windows are the worst. Upgrading to double glazing can reduce your noise levels by around 20%, and if you choose double glazed with acrylic frames, this can reduce noise levels by up to 50%.

If you don’t want to do that then you can invest in heavy curtains – it is possible to get very heavy sound-deadening curtains, that would work out cheaper than upgrading all your windows, so that could be something worth thinking about.

Stopping sound entering the room
You want to look for something like Latex Sound Insulation Liner. It’s the perfect kind of DIY product and works well on walls and ceilings. It gives really good protection against lower frequency sounds such as the human voice. Made of technically advanced micro cell latex foam, it’s also easy to paint straight on to.

It’s a paste-the-wall kind of product and will also cover damaged and rough surfaces pretty well. If you’re using it on a ceiling, you’ll need to apply two layers of adhesive.

You can find the DIY soundproofing liners at CoverYourWall along with further product information and the recommended paste for application.

Some quick fix extra tips

• Attack noise at the source – use rubber or cork under the legs of heavy appliances.
• Always have stereo speakers on stands or off the floor to prevent turning your room into an amplifier.
• Hang carpeting or bedding or push mattresses against walls – if you’re really stuck and you really want to keep the noise in!
• Try and have at least 25% absorbent materials in every room – things like curtains, carpets, furniture, drapes – these help to dampen sound a lot.

You may not be able to actually get out into the garden today, but you could spend a few minutes over coffee or at lunchtime making a list of jobs to do in the garden this weekend.

St. David’s Day marks the end of winter for me, and while true Spring is a few weeks away, the 1st of March is a time for getting out into the garden for an hour or two, to get it ready for those longer, warmer days.

The symbol of St Davids Day, the Daffodil, is one of the main markers of spring for me. The ones outside my window are still green, but they are poised ready to burst into life, which is how I think of the whole season of Spring: Its promise of bounty to come, and the hope that ‘this year we will get a proper Summer’.

In readiness for those long hazy summer days in the garden here a a few seasonal suggestions to keep your garden in great shape this year:

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Lawn
You probably haven’t even looked at your lawnmower since you stashed it away at the beginning of winter, but it is worth just getting it out and cleaning it – if you didn’t do that before storing it away.

If it is electric check the cables are in good condition, not split and not damaged by rodents. If you don’t already have one you should buy an RCD – residual current device, to prevent electrocution in case something does go wrong when you are using your electric lawn mower.

If it is a petrol mower check that the spark plugs and air filter are clean, check the fuel level, and make sure the wheels run freely, start your mower now so you can be sure it will be in working order when the grass needs cutting, and if you do find there is a problem you can beat the rush at the lawnmower repair center by getting it in now.

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Borders
Weeds will already have started their life cycle so wander around the borders hand weeding any you know to be weeds, if you have a large garden you may choose to do this using a garden hoe, but they are less discriminating so you might inadvertently uproot something you didn’t mean to. You also don’t get any of those welcome surprises – when something has self-seeded, that you actually want.

Work around the edges of the borders with a half-moon edger, to give your garden a crisp and well maintained look, this will also help prevent the creep of grass into the flower borders.

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Pruning
Several trees respond well to a hard prune at this time of year, including willows and Eucalyptus, as do shrubs such as Buddleia.

You can also trim Winter Flowering Jasmine into shape, although there is no need of a drastic prune here. Roses should be have been pruned already, but if not you can get in quick and do it now. Late flowering clematis should also be pruned now, as it will flower on the new shoots each year.

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Divide and rule
Lift and divide large clumps of Hostas so that they can become established before the slugs set on them in earnest.

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The Herb Garden
Some herbs will survive the winter, particularly if they are in a well drained position, others should be sown or bought each year. You can sow parsley, basil and corriander on a windowsill now ready to transplant into the garden later.

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The Vegetable Garden
You can sow root crops such as carrots and beetroots outside now, as well as brassicas, broad beans, and peas. Salad crops like lettuce, radish and spinach can be sown under cloches.

As it is St Davids Day we should also make special mention that leeks can be sown now. You can also plant onion sets under cover, although personally I don’t grow onions. I must admit to buying them as they are so cheap, but anyone who wants to win prizes at the county show will surely be clutching their head in their hands now!

Pay attention to fruit netting which may have become dislodged or damaged by wind over the winter.

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Feed and mulch
Dig compost into borders, the compost should be well rotted now having spent the winter maturing, but be aware that  this is quite hard work. If you have not been terribly active recently, do it in sections, take breaks or mix it in with other less strenuous tasks.

Feed spring bulbs in flower beds by sprinkling granular fertiliser around the clumps.

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Now the best bit
Go back into the warm (maybe have a bath) then sit with a cuppa, and browse through the seed and bedding plants catalogues and websites to plan a fabulous summer display!