Mary Rose Quigg - Mary Roses 1001 Country DIY Hints

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Devizes
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Text 2003 Mary Rose Quigg
Design and layout 2003 TAJ BOOKS Ltd
Cover Drawing 2003 Brenda Quigg

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher and copyright holders.

ISBN 1-xxxxx-xxx-x
Print ISBN: 9781844060177
Electronic ISBN: 9781844062331

Printed and bound in China

PUBLISHERS NOTE

The publisher and author do not take any responsibilityfor implementation of any recommendations, ideasand techniques in this book. Any use to which the recommendations, ideas and techniques areput is at the readers sole discretion and risk.

I would like to dedicate this book to my father Frank as he is quite handy at the DIY. My thanks to Joe for his help with the book and for putting the hints into practice around the house. To Karen, Arleen, Orla, Cathal and Brenda, I am grateful for their support and encouragement.

Ability is what youre capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.

Many people look on DIY as a hobby but in reality for most people it is part of our daily lives. Whether it is fixing a leaky tap or wiring a plug it is useful to know how to do it yourself rather than always having to call a plumber or electrician.

This collection of valuable hints and tips includes information on decorating, plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, building and car maintenance. Some hints are informative while others are constantly useful and should make DIY tasks more easily completed. Natural products are used when appropriate.

Safety in the workshop and on the job must always take first priority and no risks should be taken. Always call on professional help if in doubt about your ability to do any work especially electrical.

The chapter on tools gives a factual look at what implements would be helpful to have around the house or to give to someone starting up a new home. The poems and proverbs included always give me great delight and I hope they make the book more enjoyable.

I have had great pleasure in compiling this practical book from hints and tips that I have acquired over the years. I hope that there is something of interest for you in it and that you find it helpful, interesting and entertaining. Most of all let it be useful to you whether DIY is a hobby or a regular chore.

MARY ROSE

If at first you dont succeed,
Remove all evidence you ever tried.

Make up your mind to be happy.
Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
Make the best of circumstance.
No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow.
Dont take yourself too seriously.
Dont let criticism worry you - you cant please everyone.
Dont let your neighbours set your standards - be yourself.
Do things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt.
Dont borrow trouble.
Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.
Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish grudges.
Avoid people who make you unhappy.
Have many interests. If you cant travel read about places.
Dont hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows
and mistakes.
Dont be the one who never gets over things.
Keep busy at something.
A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Robert Louis Stevenson

P LANNING

Before commencing decorating it is useful to compile a decorating file to help co-ordinate a project. This can hold magazine pictures, photos, paint colour cards, samples of material or wallpaper and any sketches with measurements. This information will be useful to take on shopping trips.

Make a measured floor plan of the room to be decorated. Use graph paper and sketch the room, recording the room dimensions, window and door sizes and placement, and the location of radiators, electrical outlets and any other permanent fixtures.

Acquire a light 10(3m) tape for carrying around while a 25(10m) tape is more useful for measuring at home.

Add several pens or pencils and a large pad of paper or spiral notebook for taking notes, sketching furniture possibilities, and marking pages of sample books.

A diary can be very helpful to keep track of dates for carpet installation, when your wallpaper order will be in, or what day the painter will phone with an estimate.

Keep a list of phone numbers for a project, including the paint store, the carpet salesman, the upholsterer, etc.

A small roll of tape and a small pair of scissors can be useful to snip fabric o r carpet samples.

Always have a sample of anything staying in the room, including carpeting, upholstery fabric, paint samples, tile, wood, etc. With upholstery, take an arm cover or a cushion cover or a good colour photo of the item and try to snip a small piece of fabric from inside a seam or underneath in an inconspicuous area, tape these to the back of the photo.

Take a small piece of leftover carpeting or snip some carpet fibres from several hidden areas of a room (behind doors, in corners, under a metal door strip) until there is enough to see the colour. Then tape or staple them to a piece of white cardboard and keep it safely in an envelope.

Bring a few plain envelopes in your bag. They are useful to keep samples from shops separate and easily identified when any relevant information is written on the envelope.

Post it notes can be placed on magazine photos to make notes or used to mark pages under consideration in wallpaper books.

Speed and accuracy do not agree

P AINTING P REPARATION

When painting a room with good surfaces the preparation and clean up will take half as much time as the actual painting. If the surfaces are in poor condition then the nonpainting time could take longer than the painting.

The best conditions for decorating are working in daylight in a well-ventilated room. Turn off the heating as circulating air is the best for drying. Heat can cause uneven patches if an area dries out too quickly.

Generally ceilings should be painted first, then walls and woodwork. The only exception to this is, if the ceiling is to be painted a darker colour than the walls then the lighter colour should be applied first and it will not be as noticeable if it strays on to the ceiling as the darker colour will cover it. Make sure the light paint is completely dry before painting the darker colour.

Before painting or papering a room make sure the surface is well prepared and smooth. Defects in wall plaster will be more noticeable when the wall has a fresh coat of paint.

Counter sink any visible nails and dab the nail heads with oil paint and allow too dry before applying emulsion paint.