Are you thinking about purchasing a building that requires a little bit of work doing to it? Or are you thinking about renovating your existing home (such as converting a loft), perhaps with the intention of selling, or simply just to make living more comfortable for you and others? Whatever the reason may be to make improvements to your house, you may well be considering doing it yourself. With so many property TV shows around, making home transformations yourself is more appealing than ever, but many of us are still slightly daunted by doing so, for fear of doing it wrong. In this guide, we take a look at the things you could do yourself when it comes to home improvements, regardless of your skill set or your previous knowledge.
Learning the basics
There are a number of different things you can learn to do yourself, and it is far cheaper for you to do so than getting the help of an expert to come and do it on your behalf. This includes the funademental basics such as:
- Repairing your gutter
- Replacing a tile that has broken in your kitchen or bathroom
- Bleeding a radiator
- Fixing a dripping tap
There are a number of courses you could look at signing up for so you can become a master at these basics. For example, take a look at the courses available at the The Goodlife Centre or the DIY School. Paying money upfront could save you a staggering amount over a period of time with regards to unneccessary call out charges.
Learn plastering
Depending on your individual needs, the project you are carrying out may mean you need to replaster the entire building, or perhaps simply replastering some walls or parts of them. If you need to restore a particular feature, it is generally recommend you hire a specialist to do so, however if you simply want to restore it to its former glory, then you could look at signing up to a class yourself.
You could sign up to a one day Lime plastering course, or if looking to restore fibrous plaster mouldings, you can look at signing up for a
Learn plumbing
Why not take a look at mastering the basics of plumbing? Take for example the Plumbing Academy, which has locations across the country and offers intensive course in heating and plumbing. You even have the possibility of learning how to fit a bathroom too!
For bigger projects
If you are looking at taking on a bigger project but would still like to carry out much of the work yourself as is feasibly possible, then look at the accredited centre Able Skills. They provide training from EAL, BPEC, CITB and City & Guilds. They offer a number of introductory courses for beginners in a range of areas, such as bricklaying and plumbing.
