Author Archives: Rebecca

How to… make a raised garden bed

veg-box

The school holidays are underway, so what better time to get your little helpers involved in a spot of outdoor DIY? Making a raised garden bed or vegetable box is a fun summertime activity to do with your children, and here’s how!

What you need:

Four lengths of board, with each pair the same length

Four wooden posts of equal length

1″ screws or decking screws

Drill

Heavy duty staple gun or handful of nails

Soil

Weed control membrane

Seeds or plants!

The benefits of a raised garden bed:

A raised bed or veg box can enjoy greater exposure to the sun and improved drainage. You can choose the quality of the soil you put in and you’ll have less weeds to deal with. Depending on the height of your bed, it can also be easier for children and older relatives to plant and water, plus it’s educational, as young children can find out where food comes from as their seedlings grow!

Five steps to a raised bed:

  1. Mark out the position of the raised bed in the chosen location, digging four shallow trenches for the sides and digging holes at each corner for the posts
  2. Set the posts securely in each corner. If the bed is particularly long, you can strengthen it by adding posts in the centre of the long sides as well
  3. Cut the boards to the required length and place against the corner posts. Drill the boards into place with the screws
  4. Place a layer of weed membrane inside the box, overlapping with the edges all round, and nail or staple
  5. Add the soil and get planting! You can use the beds all year round to grow different vegetables and fruit depending on the season, and don’t forget that rotating your crop is also good for the soil!

Once the hard work is finished, all that’s left to do is sit back on the newly-painted garden bench, switch on the outdoor lights and make the most of lazy summer evenings!

garden-lighting

Summertime and the painting is easy

summer-painting

What a difference a spray makes – a good paint spray, that is! Or how about a nice old-fashioned brush? Whatever the method, it’s time to scrub up for summer. The sun has well and truly got his hat on this week, meaning it’s time to give your garden a makeover for the months ahead.

Jetting off for summer

The key to any paint job is in the prep, and chances are your garden decking and fencing will need a good blast with a jet wash to get rid of moss, lichen and general dirt before you make a start. Alternatively, use a hard-bristled brush to sweep away the cobwebs, particularly in hard-to-reach corners. A thorough clean will help the paint bond with the surface, look better and last longer!

outdoor-lighting

Let us spray

Paint-spraying exterior walls, fences, sheds and decking could, until recently, be quite a haphazard affair! But thankfully there have been large strides in the technology behind spray guns, giving greater control, an even finish and, thankfully, less mess.

There are plenty of choices on the market when it comes to wood treatment, including many different finishes from light oak to deep mahogany. And colourful outdoor paint continues to be popular for sheds and fence panels in 2016 so, if you can’t quite afford that Jurassic Coast beach hut, you can always recreate the look by painting the shed sea green and sky blue!

hot-tub

Set in stone

Painting exterior walls not only freshens them up but protects against the weather, too. Remember to put safety first if painting high areas; never overstretch and make sure the ladder is securely positioned, with at least three rungs overlapping if it’s an extension ladder.

Cover drainpipes and window sills with newspapers, securing in place with masking tape, and start at the top, working your way downwards. If the walls are heavily textured, use a stippling technique to get into all the nooks and crannies and paint in the opposite direction to ensure even cover.

Set the benchmark

Image: Design-3000

So you’ve spruced up the walls and fencing, but what about the outdoor extras? Are boring benches, tired tables and scruffy seats letting your al fresco areas down? Check out our previous post on restoring garden furniture to ensure your summer is picnic perfect, and don’t forget to freshen up your front door before welcoming the guests around!

How to… install a stair runner

stair-runner

The Dash & Albert Rug Co.

The kitchen might be the heart of the home but it’s the hall that creates the first impression! If your entrance looks a little tired but you need to do your DIY on a budget, a stair runner can create the right welcome without the cost of carpeting the entire hall and landing. So here’s how to fit one!

What you need:

Air staple gun

Utility knife

Metre stick

Tape measure

Pencil

Stair rods

Stair pads

What you need to know:

The horizontal section of each stair – where you step – is called the TREAD.

The vertical section of each stair is called the RISER.

How to measure up:

To measure the length of the runner:

  • Multiply the number of treads by the depth of one tread
  • Multiply the number of risers by the depth of one riser
  • Add the two measurements together
  • Add three inches per stair
  • Add surplus to account for error

To measure the width, simply measure the width of one tread and subtract the amount of wood you would like on show either side (about four inches of stair either side is standard but it could be more on a wide staircase!).

Note that these instructions apply to straight stairs. Kite or winder (corner) stairs are a much trickier task and our advice would be to call in a professional carpet fitter.

  1. Sweep the stairs clean and remove any old nails or tacks.
  1. Lay a stair pad on each tread.
  1. Draw a straight line half an inch from the end of the runner and, using your metre stick and knife, cut the carpet to ensure a clean, straight edge.
  1. Measure the width of your stair tread with your tape measure and halve to find the centre point. Mark the centre of each tread with a pencil. Then measure the width of the stair runner and divide in half also, to find its centre.
  1. Place the runner on the top stair, leaving enough to cover the uppermost riser as well as the tread. Smooth out any air pockets and creases and, with the staple gun, tack the runner to the top of the riser, stapling every few inches along.
  1. Allow the runner to drop to the bottom of the staircase in line with each riser and tread. Loosely attach the stair rods by drilling holes in the stairs for the rod screws and loosely screwing in place.
  1. Staple the runner in place along the upper of each riser, just under the nose of the tread above. Remove the loosely screwed rod of that stair and tack the carpet again at the point where the riser meets the tread. Put the rod back in place, screwing it tightly into position.

8. At the bottom, trim any excess carpet and attach the runner along the bottom of the lowest riser.