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In theory, you can fit solar panels yourself. In practice, it’s worth leaving it up to the professionals.

If you get DIY solar panels and install them on your roof yourself, you won’t be able to apply for the government-backed Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). The SEG pays you for every unit of electricity you generate and send back to the grid, so it’s a scheme well worth signing up for. However, you must have your solar panels installed by a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS)-registered engineer or company, so you’ll miss out if you install the solar panels by yourself.

The other thing to consider about installing solar panels yourself is that you’re dealing with electricity. Electricity is extremely dangerous if handled incorrectly, so if you don’t have any qualifications in working with electricity you could be putting yourself and your family at risk. Connecting DIY solar panels yourself and doing it incorrectly could mean that you give yourself an electric shock or cause a fire. If your home is damaged due to a fire caused by solar panels you’ve installed yourself, it’s unlikely that your home insurance company would pay out.

Before having a go at installing your own solar panels, do some quick sums to see how much money it could really save you. A 3.5kW DIY solar panel kit will cost around £4,000-5,000. According to the Energy Saving Trust, a home in the South East of England where most occupants are out all day until 6pm would save around £100 a year on their electricity bills. That means that you wouldn’t break even until 40 years, but solar panels last around 25 years on average. However, if you have your solar panels installed by an MCS-registered installer and they cost £4,500, you could save £220 a year including your SEG payments. That brings the payback time to around 20 years.

So although the initial outlay is slightly less when you install solar panels yourself, it’s much better to have them installed by an MCS-registered engineer so you can take advantage of the SEG payments.

How Much Is A New Flat Roof

What is a home without a roof to keep out the elements? Being the first line of defence against intense sun, rain, wind and more, implies they require enough care and attention to keep them in a top condition. Therefore, whether you need a new flat roof or just to replace some tiles, you’d be interested in knowing how much it would cost you to get a new roof before you start making the necessary plans. Here, we’ll give you an idea on the cost of a new flat roof and how you can estimate yours based on your unique requirements.

The size of your roof as well as the material to be used are the two main determinants of any flat roof project’s cost. For instance, a four bedroom detached home’s slate roof will be more expensive than a felted flat roof for a small or standard garage. Generally, in the UK, the average cost for replacing a flat roof will range between £5000 to £6000. However, if you’re on a tight budget and looking for the cheapest possible option, you’ll get a felt flat roof only on a garage at about £1000 to £1500. Meanwhile if you want to replace the entire slate tiles of a large family home, the cost can jump up to a range of £11000 to £13000.

Other factors that plays a key role in the determination of a new flat roof’s cost includes the location, labour as well as materials. For instance, a new flat roof price is likely to be higher in London and the south east than the other regions of the country. Also, labour may cost you around £150 to £250 per worker on a daily basis.

Yes. Commercial architects can provide a wide range of extra services such as project management, site feasibility studies, and help with site purchase. They can also be a great source of information and advice throughout the design and build process.

The quick and simple answer to this question is yes, you can definitely spray upvc windows. The upvc looks incredibly great when new and still got that fresh look and smell to it, but like every other thing, with time it begins to fade and look dull. And once it starts to look scruffy there’s no going back no matter how much you cleaned or maintained it. Now instead of going for a replacement upvc windows which can be very costly, you can spend just a fraction of the replacement cost by spraying the upvc windows. The only instance where you’d not be able to paint your upvc window is if the upvc is new or just fitted. This is largely due to the fact that a special type of upvc paint is required. The upvc paint, generally, forms a type of seal and bonds itself to the upvc window. However, it has great difficulty binding to a new upvc but as a large extent of the upvc in the UK is established rather than new, this shouldn’t be a headache for most home and property owners.

Another common reason why people decide to update their upvc with painting is due to the sheer number of colours you can incorporate in the painting. With the wide range of available colours, home owners are spoilt for choices and would opt for the colour that’ll add further accent and style to their homes. What’s more? If you don’t find the specific colour you want in your provider’s catalogue, you can always ask for a mixed colour.

• Blade material Artificial grass is made up of lots of individual blades, just like real grass. The blades are made of plastic and are sewn to a backing material. To help keep your artificial grass looking great for longer, a blend of blades made from nylon and polyethylene are best. Nylon is extremely resilient, but isn’t very comfy to walk on, so adding the polyethylene which is still very strong helps to keep it feeling nice underfoot.
• Backing material The backing material holds all the artificial grass blades together. It’s made of two layers: a membrane that the grass is attached to, and a section that’s usually made of latex or polyurethane and bonds everything together. When you’re choosing your artificial grass, ask for samples – try to pull away the backing material. If it comes apart easily, steer clear of that type of grass.
• The artificial grass’ use The lifespan of your artificial grass will depend on how much traffic it gets. It’s best to invest in strong nylon or nylon-blend turfs where it’s going to get walked on regularly, such as on a pathway to a door. Of course, if the artificial grass is more ornamental, a lower-quality product will last a long time.
• Good installation One of the main things that will help your artificial grass last a long time is effective installation. If artificial grass is laid badly, it might suffer from poor drainage and weeds which will reduce its lifespan. It’s always best to get your artificial grass installed by a professional since they’re trained in fitting it to a high standard.

How To Install Bifold Doors

If you’re looking to install a bifold door in your home or property, then you’re at the right place! In reality some jobs are better left to the professionals and one of such jobs is bifold door installation especially if you lack proper training and experience that’ll guarantee the best result the first time. If otherwise, hiring a professional installer will do you lots of good like saving you time and extra money that could result from costly errors. In this step by step guide, we’ll take you through the bifold doors installation process.

The first step to take when it comes to bifold door installation is to take the measurement of the door opening and get a kit in the appropriate size. For a better accuracy, do note that the combined measurement of both doors should be about an inch less than the opening’s total width while also being two inches less than the door frame’s height.

• Install the top rails in such a way that the rail’s end makes contact with the door frame’s side using the screws.

• Fit the bottom rail in the same fashion as the top ensuring the rail’s end makes contact with the same side of the door frame.

• Insert dowels into the predrilled holes in the door panels’ top.

• Place the dowel with the adjustment screw near the bottom’s side wall. While placing the fixed dowels in the door panel’s top and bottom on the side farthest away from the hinge. Once done, put the dowel and spring assembly into the door panel’s top, closest to the side wall.

• Fit the door panels into rail’s top and bottom while also adjusting the screws to centre the doors.

• Ensure the doors open and close like they should. If positive, tighten all hardware and fit the pulls or knobs of the door.

There’s a huge range of different types of loft conversions. The most common are dormer and skylight or Velux conversions. There are also hip to gable and mansard conversions. The type of loft conversion that’s most suitable for your property will depend on the style of roof and the size of your loft.

Also referred to as drywall, plasterboard is a panel that features an inner layer of gypsum and spread between facer as well as backer paper. It is mostly incorporated in the construction of both interior walls and ceilings. Plasterboard can be made to be humidity resistant, fire resistant as well as noise resistant. Due to these reasons and also the fact that it’s very easy to install and very affordable, plasterboard is a very popular choice when it comes to interior walls and ceilings.

One of the major issues that most homeowners face when fitting plasterboard is the thickness required to make the project a long lasting one. But not to worry, we got you covered! If you’re about to install plasterboard for your ceiling and wondering the thickness that’ll be appropriate, then you’ve come to the right place. In general, the standard plasterboard sheet size is 120 cm in width and within the range of 180 cm to 360 cm in height. These sizes are designed to provide the much needed support to the standard stud spacing which is 160 cm. Depending on the manufacturer, plasterboard can be in four different widths.

Now talking about the thickness, there are two standard thicknesses of plasterboard - 9.5 mm and 12.5 mm. The sizes of plasterboard for ceilings are 9.5 mm or 10 mm. Most individuals tend to assume that the thicker the plasterboard the better, but this is absolutely false. A thicker plasterboard will only stick harder to the ceiling which will make it hard to seal joints if required.

Plasterboards are a great noise insulators which can also reduce disturbances from other activities. As a result, for walls, size of plasterboards that’s considered appropriate for walls is 12.5 mm or 13 mm.