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• Decking joists
• Coach screws
• Coach bolts
• Combi drill
• Socket set
• A saw suitable for your project and the thickness of the timber
• Pencil
• Decking preservative
• Sandpaper or sander

1. Measure your deck frame and cut to size if necessary.
2. Make 2 pencil marks on each end of the frame’s 2 outer joists to mark where the coach screws will go. They need to align with the centre of the adjoining outer joist. Then, use a flat wood drill bit to drill recesses into each mark. Make them the same depth of the screws that your using’s head and wide enough for a ratchet or socket to tighten them.
3. Using a thinner drill bit, line up the outer joists and drill a pilot hole through the middle of the recess. These pilot holes act as a guide for the screws and stops them from splitting the wood.
4. Fit the coach screws with either a drill driver or socket and ratchet.
5. Repeat the process for the inner joists once you’ve assembled the outer frame.

With homeowners now a lot more unwilling to move or make any costly extensions due to the uncertainty that lies ahead in the property market of the UK, a garden building which represents a cheaper alternative seems to be the best option available. Not only is it one of the most affordable ways to add space to your home while staying within your budget, but it’s also one of the best ways to add immense value to your property as more and more potential home investors are now seeking properties with an outdoor garden room. They’re the perfect investment for those looking to expand their space without having to carry out huge extension projects which normally consumes both time and money.

Garden rooms are best built by professionals to guarantee the best results. However, if you feel confident enough to undertake the project, then this guide will give you an idea of the process.

✓ Build the foundation. Here you can build the foundation using concrete, but in cases whereby there are root systems closeby then you can make use of low impact screw piles.

✓ Start the construction process with timber frame, SIP panels as well as other modular components and materials

✓ Once you’re done with the construction process, the next course of action will be to develop and position the roof structure on to the top of the newly constructed garden room. Here, you can also decide to use sun pipe and solar heating or PV panels. You can also protect the construction from the elements by making use of cedar cladding.

✓ Doors installation. The best type of doors to use here are draught sealed doors which can also be treated hardwood or powder coated aluminium .

✓ Make the finishing touches here and there and make sure all connections are complete.

Rendering is an external wall’s plastered finish which provides a smooth finish while also protecting the brickwork from the elements like rain, snow and the likes. The traditional rendering is normally applied in two or three coats which enables it to be more resistant to surface cracks. In modern times, the finishes are largely different from the grey pebble dash of post war housing. Today, we now have a plethora of specialist products to pick from such as through-coloured silicone renders as well as one coat renders. The types of renders include the following:

✓ Cement renders. These are the common option that are usually mixed on site and used in a number of applications, then painted when dried. There’s a need to paint this type of render regularly to keep them looking great.

✓ Polymer renders. These are pre mixed and mostly pre coloured (usually with through colouring).

✓ Through-coloured products. These rendered do not need to be painted as the pigment is already added in the manufacturing process to colour the whole render.

✓ Lime renders. These are superior to cement as they’re less likely to trap moisture in the brickwork and also more good looking. However, they’re generally more costly and more difficult to apply.

Overall, rendering on a house provides several benefits. Not only is it able to protect your brickwork against the elements like the rain and wind, but it can also make the building more efficient. Being fully aware that about 30 percent of the energy used in heating a home is lost via the external walls, making use of a product such as acrylic insulated render is a smart approach to improve your home’s energy efficiency without affecting your interior living space.

If you’re looking at the possibility of installing a satellite dish on your chimney, then you’ve come to the right place! First and foremost, it should be noted that chimney mounts are mostly incorporated for individuals who desires the installation of an antenna at the highest point of their roofs without having to drill holes in the roof. This is quite popular as they’re able to ensure an easy installation and also works incredibly well for several antennas. What about satellite dish? Can it also be mounted on a chimney? Let’s take a look!

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, a satellite dish can be installed on a chimney. However, it must be said that this installation is not advisable. Unlike antennas, satellite dishes are aimed much more precisely. While antennas can be positioned as far as 15 degrees off the main aim before the reception is affected, satellite dishes, on the other hand, need to be positioned about one half of one degree in order to allow for a good operation. This is mainly because the broadcast tower you’re aiming your antenna at is, at most, 75 miles away compared to satellite dishes which are aimed at broadcast towers which are at least 22,000 miles away and that’s even if you happen to be directly under one.

Installing a satellite dish on a chimney will make it difficult for you to get it secure enough to have it properly aimed. This isn’t to say it won’t work at first, but most times, winds will probably drive the satellite dish off the target in little time.

How Much Does It Cost To Have A Loft Boarded?

More often than not, several homeowners fail to realize there’s so much value sitting right under their roof - the loft. When a loft is boarded, there are so many juicy benefits that can be derived. It can be used as a storage room, spare bathroom, home office and several more functions. Therefore, if you really wish to maximize the space under your home’s roof, you’d have to considering boarding it. So how much would it cost to have your loft boarded? Here, you’ll discover the cost of boarding your lofts so you that you can set a budget and start to plan.

The cost of boarding a loft is actually affordable for several individuals, simply because you’re allowed to floor as much or as little as you require. And while you’re up there flooring and fitting the loft boards, you can as well decide to upgrade the insulation of the loft too. This way, you be able to prevent heat from escaping through the roof of the house which helps improve energy efficiency and ultimately, save you some money on heating bills.

If you’d prefer to make it a DIY project, the cost of 18mm chipboard is about £8 to £10 per sheet sized 2400m x 600m. Meanwhile the insulation boards should range between £18 to £22 for a sheet.

For a professional service, you’ll be provided with a quote for both the materials and labour. The amount will be based on the number of boarding required as well as the method selected. For an average storage space needs, flooring size of about 15m2 is suitable. The price for this quantity would be between the range of £50 to £700 for the counter barren method or above £1000 for a more sophisticated method.

Well, just like many other team work, a bricklayer is only as good as his supporting cast. And a hard-working labourer should be able to keep three bricklayer gangs happy. But even when he gets to serve just one bricklayer, the site conditions and nature of the wall can also play a huge role in determining the number of bricks that can be laid within 24 hours.

With the best possible site condition, hard-working labourer and best scenario with no pillars, no face brick, long straight wall and no wall ties, a well trained bricklayer should be able to lay within a range of 800 to 1100 bricks all day long. However, you rarely get walls like this as there is always going to be some corner or curve somewhere which usually takes some time to get right. Furthermore, once the bricklayer has laid up to 5 feet, there’ll be a need to get some lift. From that point onwards, the job understandably gets slower and tougher - meaning there’ll most definitely be a face brick.

In addition, there are multiple other factors that can affect the number of bricks that can be laid in a day. Sometimes its the complex designs or weather that’ll determine the daily rate.

With the aforementioned factors and more realistically, on a good day and great site, an expert bricklayer should be able to lay about 500 to 800 bricks in a day. This is generally a very good target, but of course you never can tell with the reasons above and other factors that are simply beyond the control of the bricklayer. If you have a project and want it completed as soon as possible, you can pay the bricklayers based on the number of bricks laid to increase their efficiency.

One of the most popular choices for roofing materials are roof slates. There is a number of advantages that a roof slate has, hey can be aesthetically pleasing, they can also increase the potential selling value of the house and many more. Slate is a sturdy and resilient material that delivers waterproofing physical characteristics to a pitched roof. Unlike other roof materials which absorb water slates do not. Therefore, slate is the most resistant towards freezing and water damage.

Find out the pitch of your roof

Before beginning with the fitting procedure, you need to figure out the pitch of your roof. The roof pitch commands how much overlap is essential with each slate. This has been made a lot easier than the early days with the advancement of technology.

Find out the required overlap

Once you’ve found out the exact pitch of your roof accurately, take a look at the slate producer’s description. Each manufacturer will propose the obligatory overlap in order to form a firm and safe slate roof.

Roll out the roof membrane

Firstly, guarantee your joists or trusses are clean of any sheards or old nails that could harm the membrane. You will now have to roll the chosen roofing membrane along the roof trusses. It is always wise to start from one of the bottom corners and keep rolling it along to the other corner.

Secure the roof membrane

Once the membrane has been moved out, use thump nails to protect one edge. You will now have to pull the membrane taut and carefully fix it into position. Do this before adding any nails across the membrane at points of intersection with the trusses for extra stability.

Batten placement

This is done to find the proper assignment of the battens. For this, you will need two full-sized slates along with an under eaves slate. Carefully position the battens on the top of the roof on the top of the overlay. Make sure not to fix them down since it will be easier to move them around and make any adjustments.

You can only repair blown double glazed windows in the sense that you can replace the sealed unit (the glass part of the window) instead of having to replace the entire window.

When a double glazed window is blown, it means that the seal around the window has failed and is now letting air in and out. Often the first sign that the sealed unit has blown is condensation on the inside of the window, which is annoying since there’s no way to get rid of it! When your sealed unit has blown, you’ll be losing heat out of the window, meaning you could be spending more on your energy bills.

As a temporary fix, you could see if you can buy a misting repair kit online, but the condensation will eventually occur again as the air gets in. The best thing to do is ask a window installer or glazier to replace the sealed unit for you.

It's simple to replace the glass in a window – the specialist will remove the beading around the window, remove the blown glass from your window frame and set it to one side. They will then clean up around the frame before adding spacers in, then fitting the new sealed unit into the frame. They’ll make sure it’s a snug fit before replacing the beading back around the window to secure it.

There's no reason to put off repairing a blown double glazed window since the cost is generally much less than replacing the entire thing. A sealed unit with installation costs an average of £100, whereas a completely new window will cost around £400. You’ll soon notice that it’s less draughty and will be able see out of your window once you’ve had the blown glass replaced.