Does the thought of spending the Bank Holiday weekend putting up shelves, painting internal doors or cleaning the garden fill you with dread? Do you hate painting and decorating? If so, these handy DIY hacks could be just the thing for you. These simple tips, compiled by the team of DIY experts at Vibrant Doors, will make common household jobs that little bit easier, and let you impress your friends and family with your DIY knowledge. Once you know these little hacks and secrets of the pros, DIY will become so easy it will feel like you’re cheating!
Check out the infographic for even more creative, simple and really useful tips. Who knows, you may come to love DIY and look forward to those bank holiday weekends!
DIY Tips and Hacks – Compiled by the DIY experts at Vibrant Doors
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Painting
Let’s face it – painting can be a messy job. If you hate wrestling with rollers and dodging paint drips, check out these DIY hacks that will make painting an easy and efficient job.
Instead of drawing your paint brush across the side of the tin to remove excess paint, put an elastic band around the paint can and drag the paint brush across that instead. If you use a paint tray, use shopping bags to change between colours.
Once you’re done, don’t leave the paint brush to go hard when the paint dries out. Instead, wrap your rollers and brushes in a plastic bag and freeze them. When you thaw them before their next use they should be good to go.
Tool Storage Tips
Whether you are a casual DIY lover or a dedicated tradesman, it is essential that you look after your tools. If you’re strapped for space in your shed or not sure how best to store your gear, read on for some creative tool-storage tips.
Did you keep the cover that came with your saw when you bought it? If you mistakenly threw it out, don’t despair. You can make a protective cover to protect the teeth of your saw by cutting a piece of hose open lengthways and sliding it over the blade.
If you don’t own a tool belt, cut a slit into the cuffs of an old glove and run it through a regular belt, then cut the ends off the fingers and use it to store spanners, screwdrivers, pliers and other tools.
For longer-term storage, a tool box is still the best bet. If you have a rust problem in your toolbox, you can solve that using silica gel. Look out for packets of this moisture-absorbing substance in the boxes that gadgets and electronic devices come in. If you don’t have any silica gel handy, you can achieve a similar effect by placing a few pieces of blackboard chalk in your toolbox.
Nails and Screws
Save yourself from stuck screws and stubbed thumbs with these nail and screw tips:
If you’re struggling to fit a screw into a tight-fitting hole, rub a slightly wet bar of soap over the screw first. This will act as a lubricant, and make it easier to insert the screw into the wood. If the screw won’t come out, because it’s stripped, you can make it easier to pull out the screw by putting a rubber band over the end of the screwdriver.
Save your fingers from injury when you’re hammering by holding screws up with a clothes peg instead of your hand. If the hammer slips, you’ve damaged a cheap wooden peg instead of your thumb!
Dust-Free Drilling
Are you frustrated by misaligned drill holes and escaping dust? These common problems are easy to fix! If you’re hanging something on the wall, take a photocopy of the back of it, and use that to make a template for where the drill holes should go. Blu-tac or tape the photocopy to the wall and drill through it.
Fold up a post-it note and put it underneath the area you’re drilling to capture dust, saving you lots of clean-up time once you’re done. If you need to fill in a drill hole, you can use a piece of dowel, a golf tee, or even some tooth picks to plug the gap. Cut them down to size and push them in, and then add some plaster or liquid wood to create a smooth and attractive finish.
Great Gardening Tips
If you’re sick of getting your garden hose tangled, losing your tools, or hurting your hand when you carry buckets full of water, then these tips are perfect for you. A little creativity and some common household items can make all the difference to how smoothly your gardening projects go.
For example, why not paint the handles of your tool in a bright colour so that you can pick them out if you leave them lying in the grass? Or, use coloured duct tape or electrical tape for similar results, and a nice smooth, padded handle?
You can stop your garden hose from getting tangled up by feeding it through a large funnel hung up on the wall – the funnel acts as a handy storage device when you’re done too.
Have we missed any of your favourite DIY hacks? We’d love to hear them in the comments!
