The summer brings out the DIYer in all of us. When it is warm enough to go into the garden shed and dust the cobwebs off our rusty old tools, we regain a sense of purpose that was robbed from us during the winter months.
Most of us tend to pick on one room during the summer and, though we mess the rest of the house up in the process, renovate it. Kitchens and bathrooms are probably the biggest jobs an average DIY enthusiast can tackle, but they are big projects and hard work. Why not take it easy on yourself this year by tackling the bedroom. It will only take a week or two to complete to a good standard. Here are a couple of DIY bedroom upgrades that anyone can complete.
Laminate Floor Installation
If you wish to give your bedroom a modern twist, why not install laminate flooring? It is very easy to do thanks to the modern system whereby the boards easily click together or need a little tap to locate them. Here’s how to go about it.
- Empty the room and lift the existing flooring.
- Work around the room, with a hammer and wood chisel, removing the skirting board.
- Roll out a layer of thermal insulation. This is an important step because it will deaden the noise a little when walking around the bedroom.
- Starting at one corner of the room, begin laying a row of boards end to end.
- When the end of the first row is reached, a board will need to be cut to size. Measure and cut the board.
- Using the board left over from the first cut, begin the second row.
- Follow the same process, cutting around obstacles where necessary, until the flooring is complete.
- Install new skirting boards using screws and rawl plugs.
- Run a small bead of decorators caulking along the top of the skirting where it meets the wall and smooth off with a wet finger.
Fitted Wardrobes
By far the best solution for storage in a bedroom, are sliding wardrobes. They can be as big as you choose to make them; often running the length of the room. They are surprisingly easy to build too. Here’s a rough guide.
- Paint the walls where the wardrobe is to be built as this is difficult to do afterwards.
- Fix furniture panels to the wall vertically and edgeways on. These will be the internal dividers for the wardrobes.
- Fix horizontal boards in between the uprights to create shelving and give strength to the framework.
- Fix rails for clothing to hang on.
- Buy a sliding door kit. They come in fantastic designs and contain everything you need to complete the job.
- Fix the upper and lower tracks for the doors to run on.
- Hang the doors on the upper track and adjust the runners so that they are all level.
You are now the proud owner of a good quality set of sliding wardrobes; well done. All that is left to do now is to decorate the room and fit new curtains or modern blinds. The choice of window covering is a personal one, and I am sure that is a job you have tackled before.
That didn’t take long did it? There’s plenty of the summer left and I’m sure you have time for one more job; a loft conversion maybe?
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