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How To Plasterboard A Brick Wall

Do you want to cover your brick wall with plasterboard? The key to success here is the preparation. You must ensure that brick wall is prepared well enough to receive the plasterboard. To get started, there’s the need to attach wood furring strips to the wall which serves as studs in a wood frame structure. This way, the plasterboard will be prevented from getting in touch with the brick. You can always hang pictures or any other forms of decoration in between the gap between the walls. Let’s have a look!

lAttach Furring Strips

• Get a 2 inch by 4 inch wood stud and apply a bead of construction adhesive.

• Using a masonry bit, drill a pilot hole through the wood stud’s base as well as the brick wall.

• Hit a 3 inch fluted nail through the hole using a sledgehammer

• Using a construction adhesive, bind a horizontal 2 inch by 3 inch stud to the upper edge of the wall.

• Using an adhesive, bind the length of a 2 inch by 3 inch stud on its wide side.

• Use a masonry drill to drill a hole on the wood stud and 1 1/2 inches into the brick wall.

• Hit a 3 inch fluted nail through the pilot hole.

lApply Plasterboard

• Hold a plasterboard sheet against the furring strips.

• Use plasterboard screw to hold the drywall sheets in place.

• Use fibreglass to cover the joints where the two plasterboard sheets meet.

• Use a thin layer of the joint compound on the tape. Once done, screw it using a 6 inch taping knife, then allow to dry overnight.

• Use a sandpaper to smooth the joint compound.

• Use a fresh coat of the joint compound to block the holes and joints. Once done, allow the compound to dry.

• Use a light sandpaper to smooth the final coat.

Plasterboarding a brick wall is a simple task but the preparation part must be done right to protect your investment. Therefore, we’d recommend you hire the services of a skilful professional, who can guarantee the best results especially if you lack enough training and experience to carry out a DIY project.

Are you interested in extending your home to create more living space? If yes, then you’d probably want to know how much value it can add to your property in order to compare the building costs to the potential value gain. Well, as long as you know what you’re doing, your house doesn’t necessarily have to be a money pit. So what are your options when talking about home extensions and what’s the associated value to be gained?

• Bathroom Extensions

Although you should have it in mind that bathroom extensions isn’t usually that cheap, but once done, it can increase the value of a standard UK house within the range of £12,000 to £15,000. Meanwhile the finishing cost of a bathroom can range from £2,500 to £7,000.

• Single or Double Storey Extensions

Single storey extensions are always huge when it comes to increasing the value of your home - giving about 4 to 7 percent increase. If it goes that far, then literally nothing beats a full spectrum, double storey extension which can give up to 11 percent increase in the value of a property - equalling about a whooping £33,000 for a standard home in the UK.

• Conservatory Extension

With conservatories becoming more and more popular in the UK due to the weather conditions, several buyers are now including it’s availability as part of the criteria for purchasing a house. Wonder why? This is simply because everyone wants to enjoy their garden all throughout the year. As a result of this high demand, adding this type of extension to your house can go a long way to increase it’s value. However, it’s very important to incorporate high quality materials during construction. With glass conservatories offering, on the average, up to £5,000 increase in value, the cheaper PVC alternative offers much less value and can also deter potential buyers.

The periods at which noisy work is permitted do vary across the nation because the Control of Pollution Act 1974 provided Local Authorities with the authority to regulate noise from construction sites and similar areas. At the same time as these do differ across unalike councils, the average hours throughout which noisy work is tolerable is usually between 8 am and 6 pm from Monday to Friday. This is usually based on the impression of ‘noisy work’ being carried out, so labours could start earlier to prepare things for the day but then not start carrying out their work until 8 am.

On Saturday’s builders are usually allowed to work between 8 am and 1 pm, but this can differ to some extent with different councils. It does mean that workers can start at the identical time as the rest of the week, but they are generally required to finish a lot prior. On Sundays and Bank Holidays there is not as much of detailed direction on hours, but most councils say that there should be no noisy work taking place. Although these are decent strategies, it is worth examining your Local Authority website as they can change slightly. Noisy work is commonly described as ‘noise audible at the site boundary’ and it may be the case that workers are there outside these hours but are setting up before carrying out noisy work.

Local Authorities also recognise that now and then it is unescapable to work separately to these hours, such as work on railway tracks that must be done when trains are not running. Though, local councils do have the authority to serve an announcement on individuals carrying out building or demolition works and tell them how the work should be carried out to evade a possible lawful noise irritation.

If you’re planning to construct a kitchen extension on your property, one of the first things that comes to mind is whether or not you’ll require a planning permission before you proceed. Generally, kitchen extensions are normally classified as permitted development which allows you to carry out your project without any interruptions from the law or your local authority. In other words, if your extension is meets up with the guidelines of the permitted development rights, you won’t have to apply for a planning permission. However if otherwise, you’ll have to apply for a planning permission to your local council and may require additional reports. And regardless of your position, you’ll always need building regulations approval before you can carry out any kitchen extension project. It may also be required that you’ll have to issue a part wall notice if you’re to build on or close to the boundary with a neighbour.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle and stress involved in applying for a planning permission with your local council, then you must ensure the following:

✓ Your kitchen extension must not be over half of the area of land around your main house.

✓ The kitchen extension must not be side elevation onto a highway or forward of the principal elevation.

✓ The extension must not be taller than the highest part of the roof.

✓ The height of your kitchen extension must not go beyond four metres.

✓ Kitchen extension that’s more than one storey must not go exceed the rear wall of the main house by more than three metres.

✓ Two storey kitchen extensions must not be closer to rear boundary by anything less than seven metres.

✓ The kitchen extension must not include balconies, verandas or any raised platforms.

Any residential building work requires a general builder. The term Residential building work means any work which is involved in building a house or changing or adding to a home. It also comprises of mending, refurbishing, ornamenting or applying shielding treatment to home. A dwelling is defined as a building or a part where people live. This might include an apartment, house or a townhouse.

Here is a list of some of the works that require a building licence:

• construction of a garage, carport or a shed

• renovation for bathroom, kitchen or laundry

• structural landscaping and building swimming pools

• construction of conservatories and atriums

• house lifting for example, raising the height of an existing structure permanently

• removing and resitting dwellings

• steam rooms and saunas.

General building contracts might also involve work that needs a specialist. These works can be appropriately subcontracted. However, this work must be carried out by the container of a permitted contractor licence or competent administrator certificate in that specialist category.

There are a number of different categories of licences that are available depending on whether you want to oversee the work or have an agreement with another party. When you have a contractor licence, you will have the option of submitting a contact to bid on the work. You can only do the categories of work designated on your licence card. Contractor licences can be allotted to people and businesses and partnerships.

With a certificate of a qualified supervisor, you will be able to supervise the type of work specified in the certificate. Such certificates are only issued to individuals and do not allow you to contract for work.

The licence of an endorsed contractor is issued to those individuals who have applied for a contractor licence but also possess the necessary qualifications and experience to become a qualified supervisor.

Are you thinking about converting your garage into a new space? Be it a new bedroom, gym, library or playroom, one thing you’ll have to consider before getting started is whether or not you’re going to require a planning permission. Unlike extensions that needs additional space, garage conversion is all about changing the existing structure of a space that’s already available to you - your garage. As a result, these projects are mostly covered by a planning policy that’s a bit different.

For a garage conversion, it’s very unlikely that you’ll need a planning permission. As a matter of fact, only 10 percent of garage conversions has been estimated to need a full planning permission, with the others coming under the permitted development rights. The permitted development rights, however, only provides coverage for home improvements that’s internal which implies that so far you’re not trying to enlarge your garage, you’ll not require a planning permission. But if otherwise, you’ll have to submit an application before commencing your project.

If you’re looking to comply with the permitted development rights, then your project must comply with some specific guidelines. These rules include the following:

• The work should be internal. No plans to enlarge or extend the existing garage.

• You should make sure that the materials used in carrying out the garage conversion is the same with the materials used in building the existing house.

• The building should not be extended.

You may, however, require a planning permission if you’re going to change a detached garage into a living space which could be a bedroom, small annexe or a living room.

Some houses excluded from the permitted development rights include flats, listed buildings, some new developments and most homes in a conservation area.

Do you know about 25 percent of heat that escapes from an uninsulated house are lost through the roof? Fortunately, roof insulation is something that can done by all DIYers irrespective of their experience levels. However, if you happen to lack the confidence necessary to pull off this, then it’s strongly recommended that you hire the services of a professional who can guarantee the best results and also save you time and money that could arise from potential cost mistakes. Let’s take a look!

• Clear out all clutter. This involves taking out all the rubbish and clutter from the loft. In order to work effectively, you’ll need a totally clear and empty loft space.
• Ensure that there’s sufficient insulation. The importance of a good ventilation cannot be overstated. Poor ventilation will result in forming of condensation and this condensation can make the roof timbers rot and compromise the structural integrity of the entire roof. If there are no roof windows which is the easiest way to provide a loft ventilation, the next best option would be to follow the loft floor along to the point where the roof comes down to meet it. There should be a gap at this point, also referred to as the eaves, between the outside wall and the underside of the roof.
• Measure your loft area. Take a measurement of the loft space in order to calculate the amount of insulation as well as the type you need. If you’re not sure, always get more that it’s required as skimming on the amount you use will only back fire in form of increased energy costs
• Check for water pipes.

To get started, simply make sure all cracks and gaps in the ceiling are filled using a standard filler or decorator caulk. Once done, clean the gaps in the joists and even to the point of hovering all the dust up. Finally,check for the hazards that can cause you problems before laying the loft insulation.

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, you can build a room in your garden. In fact, if you want an additional space for a living room, dining room, games room, study room or perhaps you want something as cool as a pool house, then looking at your garden for a solution may just be the perfect answer to your need for an extra outdoor living space.

Outbuildings such as garden rooms do not usually require planning permission as they’re usually covered by the permitted development. As a result, making it even a lot more attractive to homeowners who would not like to pass through the stress involved or pay the money required to submit an application for planning permission. However, if you need your garden room to be covered by permitted development ( if it’s not a listed building or in a designated area), you must follow these guidelines:

✓ The garden room shouldn’t be in front of your home or property.

✓ The total area of your extensions, sheds and outbuildings ( which includes your garden room), must not go beyond 50 percent of the total land area surrounding your property.

✓ It must be a single storey that’s less than 3 metres high ( 4 metres for a dual pitched roof). And it must not go beyond 2.5 metres in height if the structure is within 2 metres of your boundary.

✓ The eaves must not go beyond 2.5 metres above ground level.

✓ It must not feature a balcony, veranda or any raised platform

✓ It must not be a self contained living accommodation.

The position of your garden room will be partly determined by the space available in your garden. If you need it to link it to your utilities then positioning it a bit close to your main house would be a cost effective choice unless you’re using off grid sources of power, heat as well as water.