With a chill in the air and winter fast approaching, we thought it might be time for a brief reminder of what we can do in the home to keep warm, save energy and also save money.

We hear it all the time, but it’s true – loft insulation is the most cost effective way to keep your heating bills down. You can lose over 15% of your heating if you have no insulation, and it doesn’t have to be a nightmare job to do. There are also grants available – check out the Energy Saving Trust’s website.

Do a window audit. If you chose to have double glazed windows fitted, this can half the heat lost via them. Obviously this isn’t a cheap option, but it is a good investment, just make sure you get a registered installer – you can get free quotes via out Find a Tradesman section. Other possibilities can be to fit secondary glazing or even plastic film on the inside of the glass, although this isn’t usually a long term option. If you aren’t replacing any windows, do still check all windows for draughts, as you are often losing more heat through badly fitting windows. Make sure you plug and gaps and fill any rotten wood.

Continuing on the draughtproofing idea – go round the whole house and fill and plug any gaps you find including round doors, loft hatches, skirting boards and floorboards. Arm yourself with silicone sealant and some adhesive foam strips and away you go!

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A great resource for gardeners is the BBC’s Gardeners’ Calendar, which gives you reminders of what you could/should be doing in the garden at any given time of year and advice on how to do each task.

So far for September, their diary includes improving your lawn (you may also like to take a look at our Repairing a Damaged Lawn project and our Laying Turf project), which can be done through out September, harvesting beetroot, planting out container-grown trees, propagating your strawberry plants, adding herbs to pots, harvesting sweetcorn, taking pelagonium cuttings and dividing your perennials.

That should keep you busy for the rest of the month!!

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A new word was brought to the attention of DIY Doctor at the weekend.

Oikodomophobia. Apparently this term was coined in 2006 and comes from the ancient Greek ‘oikodomo’ meaning building, but the word oikodomophobia now refers to a fear of tradesmen!

According to an article in the Daily Express last Saturday, nearly five million men in Britain suffer from oikodomophobia.  Symptoms include nervousness, sweaty palms, difficulty breathing and sweating, which according to the article is brought about by their lack of knowledge when dealing with builders, electricians and plumbers. 

The statistics were gathered via a survey conducted by Thomson-local, with 30% of men saying they felt ‘intimidated and confused when speaking to tradespeople’. One in four admitted to needing help with DIY but admitted they were more likely to turn to friends for help rather than professional tradesmen.

Let us know if you or anyone you know suffers with oikodomophobia or you have any views on the subject!

If you do want to find a tradesman to  then click here to get to get free no-obligation quotes for your home improvement projects from reliable and insured tradesmen in your local area.

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If you are expecting guests this bank holiday weekend, you may well be cleaning and preparing a spare room or a comfortable place for them to sleep. But don’t forget that if you are placing any orders that delivery days and times are also affected by the shorter working week.

In terms of the choice of sleeping solutions for guests, Comfy Living have made some recommendations:

Chair Beds
Chair beds are constructed from a firm foam-like filling and are best suited to children up to the age of around 10 years old. These are often called ‘Z beds’ or ‘flop out beds’ due to the simple nature of construction and children are easily able to use these in their bedrooms.

Futons
For small rooms where space saving is paramount and to accommodate guests would be a struggle with buying a spare bed, consider buying a futon to help with holiday sleepovers. Futons are versatile items of furniture, quickly changing from a sofa to a bed within seconds. Futons are available with a metal or a wooden frame and are suitable for adults of all ages.

Divan beds
Divans are a seen as a permanent addition to a spare room. Budget divans have no storage in the base and come with a mattress suitable for occasional use. Options with upgrading divan beds include storage options (drawers or slide storage) with a mattress which is deeper than a budget range, perhaps to a hand tufted variety, or memory foam.

Delivery recommendations
Comfy Living have released order times for the forthcoming August Bank Holiday and would like to inform all customers of the following dates and order cut off times:

• For delivery Friday 26^th August order online by 3pm Thursday 25^th August.
• Orders taken after 3pm on Thursday 25^th August and by 12 noon on Friday 27^th August will be delivered on Tuesday 30^th August.
• Orders taken after 12 noon on Friday 27^th August will be delivered on Wednesday 31^st August.

Comfy Living telephone support will be up to 2pm on Friday 27^th August, after which time the telephone lines will re-open on Tuesday 30^th August. Over weekends and Bank Holidays there is no telephone support as the office is closed at these times.

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There have been some interesting findings in a recent survey conducted by Which?

The results suggested that over 2.5 million people have had a dispute with a builder or tradesman in the last 3 years, and a quarter of those actually took formal action. When you look at the reasons for disagreements between client and tradesmen, the cowboys are definately rearing their ugly heads. The most common disagreement was regarding the quality of work, but other problems included not turning up when agreed, delays over completion and general untidyness.

Other feedback from the Which? survey showed that a quarter of people didn’t get a written quote before start of work, and 4% were asked to pay the upfront for the whole job.

Obviously here at DIY Doctor HQ, we aren’t exactly surprised by the results of the survey, and their executive director, Richard Lloyd has some wise words

“To avoid problems, you should always have a written agreement between you and the trader. And it’s important to do your homework – make sure you get several quotes before deciding who to use, choose a recommended trader and check they’re a member of a professional body.”

So with the DIY Doctor free ‘Desired Outcome Building Contract’, you shouldn’t find yourself in dispute. The contract protects homeowners against rogue traders while protecting good tradesmen from rogue homeowners (yes, there are such people!).

There is no better test of anything than to put it in the hands of the people who will use it the most and we are happy to say (as you can see from the video below), the Desired Outcome Building Contract passed all tests with flying colours.

The homeowners felt that they had full control of their job and had no fear of ‘surprises’ while the builder knew he was going to get paid, the right amount and on time.

The Desired Outcome Building Contract proves what we have said all along. With the right tradesman both parties have exactly the same agenda. The right job, for the right price.

If you are looking for reliable, insured tradesmen, click here

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Restore your deck to top condition

Summer is here, the timber decking however is probably still a little under the weather with the constant monsoons we have been enduring. Time for a clean up befor the BBQ comes out and the Pimms gets decanted…………..Or whatever it is you do with a mixture of alcohol and vegetables!

The first thing to do when cleaning a timber deck is to wash it down thoroughly and this is best done with a power washer. If you don’t own a power washer you can hire one for the day (or even sometimes for half a day) from your local tool hire shop.

Follow the DIY Doctor project on using a power washer to get the best results from your cleaning.

Having washed the deck down you can apply any number of products to enhance and preserve it. Our personal favourite is shown in the image above (Click on this image if you would like to buy some) and gets right into the grain bringing out the beauty of the wood as close to the original condition as age will allow.

Staining a deck will enhance the timber colour

You can also colour the deck if it is a little faded and our recommendation for this is the range of colours from Cuprinol which stain, rather than paint, the deck. The difference being that stain soaks into the grain to give the timber it’s ,colour while paint, although soaking in a little, does so purely for adhesion to the surface. The colour element sits on the top of the timber. Again, click on the image if you would like to buy the stain.

Timber decks fade almost without our knowing and when we have spent a day restoring them it is always amazing to see how faded and grimy they had become. A rejuvenated deck will help you enjoy those lovely summer afternoons and evenings even more. For more information see our project on How to Stain Decking.

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Top on-line magazine and website, DIY Week (.net) are once again holding their great competition to find the Uk’s top DIY products, suppliers and retailers.

The very best in DIY getting together to compete for great prizes

The awards will be spread across many categories including gardening, hardware independents, suppliers, manufaturers, wholesalers and retailers.  

The black tie awards ceremony will be held at the Deansgate Hilton in Manchester on Thursday, 24th November.

Closing date for entries is September 23rd 2011 and entries can be submitted by clicking on the DIY Week awards image.

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Following feedback from you, our users, we’ve moved back indoors for our most recent new projects.

The bathroom seemed to be the main focus of your feedback, so we have several new projects in this area.

If you are considering changing your lighting, then our guide to bathroom lighting will give you some hints tips and advice on the regulations around this.

We have also covered various methods of bathroom heating,  plus how to replace a damaged tile, changing a toilet seat and fitting a shaver point.

How to hang pictures and heavy mirrors are popular requests, so have a look at our projects on these too.

Do keep letting us know what else you would like to see on DIY Doctor – and what you think of these latest projects!

If you prefer to employ someone to do your home improvements, click through to our Find a Tradesman for free, no obligation quotes from reliable, insured tradesmen in your area.

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As summer progresses, there are plenty of jobs in the garden that need constant attention. Mowing the lawn becomes part of the summer ritual as it is usually done on a weekly basis.

Many of these outdoor jobs involve the use of electrical equipment – lawn mowers, strimmers and hedge trimmers being the most common items in regular use.

Here are some simple rules to follow to ensure you don’t become a shocking summer statistic!

• Never use electrical equipment in wet or damp conditions
• Always use a socket fitted with an RCD – and check it regularly!
• Wear appropriate footwear – sandals will not offer any protection to your feet
• Wear safety goggles and gloves when using a strimmer to protect your eyes and hands
• Check cables and connectors are sound and not damaged before use
• Ensure cables are kept away from the area you are working in to avoid damage
• Extension cables should be fully unwound to prevent overheating

The most important piece of advice is to ensure any electrical equipment is unplugged before attempting any cleaning or repairs. This may sound obvious, but the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) reports that this accounts for 13% of all electrical accidents.

After use, ensure your garden equipment is clean and stored in a dry environment.

This will prolong both it’s life and potentially yours too!

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