HDO-Aug10

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Home-Dzine It’s all about caring for and improving your home

August 2010

headboard ideas

Also in this issue ...

• Make an easy toy box • Painting your home exterior • New uses for old lights

• DIY potting or workshop bench • The easy way to dress up doors • Summer seating project

a word or two Now your child can experience the joy of DIY as DIY Kids launches in Joburg and Cape Town.

Do it!

The coming months are jam-packed with activities as we celebrate Women’s Day and the relaunch of DIY Kids. PLUS we hope to get our DIY Guys workshops off the ground very soon. Don’t forget our next Ladies Day at Noags, Kempton Park on 11 September (see right for details).

Don’t forget to catch the DIY Divas (Nina, Sylvie and Suzette) at Decorex from 7 to 9 August in the MAKE Theatre.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Hospivision Ladies Day. We made some wonderful toys that will be donated to various Hospitals throughout Gauteng.

Janice Home-Dzine Online is written and compiled by Janice Anderssen.

All projects in this issue, or any other issue, remain the property of Home-Dzine and Janice Anderssen, or the respective copyright holders, and may not be copied or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.

Image and content credits: meredith publishing - good homes - family handyman - sunset publishing - popular mechanic - house & home - georgia pacific - expert village - channel4 - pottery barn - flikr - nkba - resene - mitre10 - lowes and any others.

Designed to inspire enquiring minds, DIY Kids lets the kids DIY it with a range of crafty projects specially designed for youngsters.

Visit www.DIY-Divas.co.za for workshops in Joburg and Cape Town.

Make Theatre hosted by Aidan Bennetts: Get to grips with your power tools. This trendy ‘howto’ workshop-styled theatre with free talks ranging from modern mosaics to contemporary paint techniques proves DIY is no longer for fuddy-duddies.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Decorate Take one basic doit-yourself headboard and transform your bedroom.

We show you one bedroom and five different looks - all using the same basic headboard design finished in different ways.

How to make a Basic Headboard You will need a piece of BisonBord cut to the size of the headboard. To pad this use a thin piece of foam cut to the same size. To soften the look and feel, medium-weight batting is placed over the top of the foam and round the top and sides.

Your fabric is placed over the batting and foam and stapled to the back of the board.

If you prefer to have a cover that can be removed, use lining material to make the headboard and sew up a cover.

For a tufted headboard you will need to drill small holes into the board so that you can fasten upholstery buttons through the front and fasten at the back.

Or make your own headboard with the Joburg Diva - click here to book online.

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headboard

inspiration

Decorate ď ś

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 I know I’m probably not alone in my opinion that new ceiling lighting can be pretty excessively expensive, so hopefully this project will inspire you to look at ways of improving what you might already have - no matter how ugly it may seem to begin with!

lighting

makeover To make this transformation, I first took the light apart and sprayed all the really lovely (eww) polished brass with the flat black Rust-Oleum Painters Touch spray paint.

I chose black because I wanted the finished product to have a chic, Parisian edge.

I then divided out my beads into even lengths and used the wire out of some bread ties (hey, that was all I had on hand) to create little rings in each of the holes you can see in the light above (the holes were previously for the screws holding on the lovely - again, eww - frilly glass shades).

Next I attached the ends of my bead strips to the wire rings to create chandelier-like loops.

Once re-attached to the ceiling and encased in the drum shade it makes for a pretty impressive and very thrifty addition to my parent’s sitting room.

It’s hard to tell from the pics though it looks pretty awesome lit up. The light bounces off the crystal-cut beads and creates some real sparkle.

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ď ś

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Decorate

Decorate  It isn’t always easy to find a lamp shade that matches your decor. In this project we show you just how easy it is to recover a lamp shade.

You will need:

Fabric for the shade Decorative trim Scissors Chalk Fabric glue or hot glue gun

shady

transformation

Here’s how: 1. Lay the lamp shade directly onto the fabric - rolling the shade around the fabric to draw an outline onto the fabric with chalk.

2. Cut just inside the traced lines so the fabric is slightly smaller than the shade.

3. Use a small paintbrush and some fabric glue to attach the fabric to the shade by applying glue to the edges of the frame and pressing the fabric edges to the shade.

4. Use fabric glue or a hot glue gun to attach trim around the top and bottom.

I really love how it turned out. This room has become an eclectic mix of trendy and traditional, and I love how the fabric on this lamp ties together both of those looks with a vintage modern spirit.

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hung

up

The back of a bedroom door is perfect for hanging nightgowns and pyjamas. Make the most of this space with a 3-hook panel that you can easily make yourself.

A small piece of skirting board is transformed into a handy hanger with a few power tools. If you don’t have a circular saw in the workshop, you can easily replace our hooks with bought hooks.

The ‘hooks’ were made by putting a depth stop on the circular saw to create notches, Each hooks has two notches. Using a spade bit to match the side of the hooks a hole was partially drilled into the board and the hooks glued into place.

To finish, the project was painted a sea blue and left to dry and then painted over with matt white, and then sanded to give it a distressed look.

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ď ś Relax - Take a bath

Use offcut, some wire and basic painting skills to knock up a sign for the door, especially when you don’t want to be disturbed! There are plenty of Internet sites where you can download fonts to use.

And RustOleum paint pens are perfect for writing and small details.

Small hangers

Using skirting cut into smaller sections you can easily make a mini-hanger to hang on the wall anywhere in the home - painted to match your home decor.

You can paint your hangers in any colour. Bold, bright colours are easy with RustOleum Painters Touch spray paint.

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painting your home

The exterior of your home takes a lot of beating from the elements.

Giving the exterior some maintenance and a new coat of paint adds value and keeps your home in tip-top condition.

Most exteriors need minor repair every 5-6 years, either to restore painted walls, change the colour or fix cracks.

Every home has its fair amount of cracks - no matter what paint you use. Ground movement is constantly taking place and cracks are inevitable. I have seen homes coated in the most expensive paint options give way to cracks after a couple of years, which goes to show that you don’t need to throw away good money on keeping the exterior of your home looking good.

The most important part of fixing and painting your home exterior is preparation. If you skip the preparation for a quicker job, you’ll only end up doing the job again much sooner than you thought.

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 Preparation Hairline cracks around window and door frames, where new building work butts against existing work and - especially in my case - in a double storey home with a concrete slab, are fix ups that need to be done as often as you can. Obviously this is not something we can do every year and exterior repairs every five or so years is the norm.

The time you spend on preparation is well worthwhile and will ensure that the exterior of your home stays looking good for longer.

RIGHT: Having raised the garage wall, the join between old and new plaster has started to crack.

LEFT: Using a hammer and chisel, the crack is chased along the length and widened slightly.

Use a soft brush to remove all dust.

Repairing cracks Cracks are easily fixed but if not fixed properly they will continue to reappear.

Use a hammer and masonry chisel or masons hammer to chase out cracks along their length to create a slightly wider opening. DO WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES and THICK GLOVES. Remove all loose and flaking paint and plaster and use a soft brush - a paintbrush works well - to remove all traces of debris and dust. If your vacuum cleaner can reach - this is even better.

Use a paint scraper to apply exterior crack filler to the crack, applying a fair amount of pressure so that the crack filler is forced as deep as possible into the gap.

DIY Tip: Only apply small amounts at a time and build up deeper cracks in layers, allowing each layer to dry properly before applying the next layer.

Once dry, sand with 60-grit sandpaper to roughen or smooth the surface, depending on the surrounding finish. If you need to disguise cracks on a textured wall, dip a sea sponge into the crack filler and dab this over the crack and surrounding area until the repaired area is no longer visible.

RIGHT: ProGold exterior crack filler is applied with a palette knife.

Apply pressure to ensure proper filling of cracks.

ProGold Crack Filler Using a ready-mixed crack filler allows you to work faster and as the product is already mixed to the correct consistency, you don’t have to worry about mixing to sloppy or firm.

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 Damp walls During the past year many homes have experienced problems with damp due to the extreme rain that we have had. Water tables have risen, dams and rivers have filled, and many gardens and homes flooded.

Excess moisture in masonry causes paint to blister and peel, leaving areas of raw plaster. These areas need to be repaired before any painting takes place.

Remove old paint with a paint scraper - as damp proofing cannot be applied over paint - until the paint is no longer easy to remove. In some cases, you may have to pry off some loose paint with a knife blade. When you’re satisfied, give the surrounding area a light tap with a hammer and listen for a hollow sort of sound, which indicates where paint and plaster no longer bond.

For powdery areas use a wire brush and a FACE MASK to remove all traces.

Prominent Damp Cure is a solvent based coating consisting of a blend of an organic acrylic resin and an inorganic cementitious binder. The product is used for areas of rising damp on interior walls when applied correctly and onto bricks to prevent rain penetration. The product offers good adhesion to cement plaster and chalky painted surfaces as a barrier against rising damp and penetrating rain - as long as it is applied according to the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Prominent Paints Textured

This premium quality emulsion based, textured, exterior wall coating offers good flexibility and covers small hairline cracks.

It is easy to apply with brush or roller and offers high coverability with one coat.

Surfaces must be sound, clean and dry before painting. For new cement and plaster apply one coat of Prominent Damp Cure or Prominent Plaster Primer.

Paint roller For smooth walls use a low nap - for rough walls use a long nap roller. The fluffier the roller - the longer the nap.

You will also need an extension pole for hard-to-reach areas.

Paintbrushes Have a selection of different brush sizes for trim, around windows, top and bottom of walls, etc. Check out the Addis range of brushes at your local Builders Warehouse.

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 RIGHT: After sanding down the window frame surround, I used Rust-Oleum Stone Spray to give a textured stone effect. It looks wonderful.

A word of advise - the weather was extremely cold and it was hard to spray.

Wait for warmer weather!

Rust-Oleum Stone spray is an easy way to apply a unique textured finish to wood, ceramic, stone and brick. You can use the product for interior or exterior projects in and around the home.

Maintaining woodwork It has been two years since I last tackled the window frames - and although they are still looking good - you do need to perform regular repairs to ensure they stay looking good and that a strong barrier seal is maintained against the elements. If this year is going to be as wet as the last one, they’re definitely going to need protection.

Preparation

If the wood is still in good condition and you previously applied a Woodoc sealer, you can wipe down the frames with Woodoc Steelwool and Mineral Turpentine, before applying three new coats of sealer to the frames.

On previously varnished windows you will need to sand down the varnish before applying Woodoc sealer.

Application

A paintbrush is all you need to apply Woodoc to window frames and doors.

For inland areas you can use Woodoc 30 or 35, and for coastal areas Woodoc 50 or 55. Both are available as clear or tinted, and you have the option to add a stain

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Make house numbers Painting paving The problem with being a DIY Diva is that I end up doing projects here there and everywhere.

My driveway has been the prime spot for painting projects - and it shows.

Prominent Paints Paving paint is all you need to transform a dull driveway into an attractive feature. I went with a Terracotta colour.

Preparation

Clean the driveway before painting, with a high-pressure sprayer or a stiff broom. The surface needs to be completely clean and dry.

Now is the best time to apply, as it doesn’t dry too fast and you are able to have more spreading time for getting into small cracks in the paving bricks.

Application

You can use a roller but a stiff paintbrush is best. An extension pole makes it much easier and less back-breaking. Work in a small area at a time and be sure to get the paint between the bricks and into the surface of the bricks. If you have a Bosch PFS sprayer - even better. Just remember to dilute the paint slightly to avoid blocking the spray nozzle.

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This is a first and I’ll be sure to let you know if it doesn’t work! I cut out numbers using 16mm supawood, applied two coats of waterproofing fibre paint and then two coats of roof paint, finished off with a quick spray of RustOleum Stone spray.

At the back I attached keyhole hinges, drilled into the wall for plugs and attached the numbers to the wall.

ď ś

Visit www.DIY-Divas.co.za for details Only in Joburg and Cape Town

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Things you should know about your Home Plumbing Do you know where your stopcock is located? Do you know what a stopcock is?

A stopcock is a tap that turns off the water supply, either to your home (main stopcock) or to a fitting in the home. The main stopcock is located on a property boundary, normally close to the water metre. In the event of an emergency such as a burst pipe, faulty geyser or plumbing emergency, you should acquaint yourself with the location of this valve.

The area around the stopcock needs to be kept clean to allow easy access when required. Additionally, the tap itself should be greased from time to time to ensure that it does not seize up.

Don’t get into a panic when the sink or shower blocks up

It’s a fairly simple procedure to unblock a drain in a home. If you take the time to understand your home plumbing from water in to sewerage out, you should be able to tackle most minor plumbing repairs yourself.

When a sink drain blocks up it is normally caused by an obstruction along the pipe - most frequently in the u-trap behind or under the sink. Don the rubber gloves, grab a bucket and screwdriver (to undo the circlip) and remove the pipe to get to a blockage.

When a shower drain blocks it’s normally caused by a build up of hair in the drain. Most drain caps are either clipped or screwed into the shower floor and are fairly easy to remove. Once the cap is off, don the rubber gloves and remove any blockage. Run the shower on hot for a minute or so to clean out the drain.

Blockages outside the home

Look at the pipes outside your home. You will see that pipes have a small, medium or large inspection cap.

Use adjustable pliers to open this cap to check for blockages that cannot be solved by cleaning out the drain or u-trap. Once any blockage has been removed, use a hosepipe to flush the pipe.

If a drain outside your home is smelly it’s easy to remove the grated cover and check for blockages. Use a drain auger or cut off piece of hosepipe to loosen a blockage.

Know where your manhole drainage cover is to check the flow and avoid costly drain maintenance. If caught early, you can improve the flow of your drains quickly with a hosepipe jet of water.

www.DIY-DIVAS.co.za 16

Makeover ď ś

summer

seating

Designed for my Deck and Patio project, these sectional chairs can be positioned in any arrangement and finished off with upholstered cushions and pillows to suit your personal decor.

In this project we show you how easy it is to make a sectional sofa for the patio or deck.

images: amazon

I know it’s still winter but now is the time to get cracking on outdoor projects to improve the relaxation factor for summer in the garden.

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Makeover Here’s how: Preparation

Sand all sections before assembly.

Chamfer the bottom edge of each leg.

1. Start by assembling the seat frame. Attach the front, sides and back to the legs. For this you can use a Pockethole Jig or small blocks of wood. Doing it this way allows you to conceal all visible screws.

2. Insert a batten or support beam along each side at a depth equal to the thickness of the seat slats.

3. Position the seat slats on top of the support and screw in place.

4. The back supports can be attached using a Pockethole Jig, or by drilling a pilot hole through the back legs, countersink and screw. See Jointing techniques on next page for other methods that can be used.

Upholstery

High density foam cut to size should be covered with a fabric that is easy to clean. Lining, parachute or waterproof fabric are available at most larger fabric stores. Alternatively, cover with a durable heavy-weight cotton.

To extend the life of upholstery, store in a dry

small blocks

batten side panel POSITION SCREWS AT DIFFERING HEIGHTS ON FRONT AND BACK TO PREVENT HITTING SCREWS ON SIDES. 18

Makeover



Jointing techniques There are various methods that can be used to attach the chair back and seat slats to the frame, especially if you want a finish that has no visible screws.

Mortise and Tenon (top right)

Used for thousands of years, the mortise and tenon joint offers a strong method of joining sections of timber without screws or nails. The joint may be glued, pinned, or wedged to lock it in place.

Dowel Joint (middle right)

A hole is bored into one side and dowel centres used to mark the holes to drill into the opposite section. A dowel pin and wood glue is inserted into the aligned holes.

Biscuit Joint (bottom right)

Using a biscuit joiner is used to join two pieces of wood together using small ‘biscuits’ and wood glue. The wet glue expands the biscuit, further improving a bond that is often stronger than the wood itself.

While some of these jointing methods may be time consuming, they do offer the advantage of an invisible joint that is more attractive.

Make your seat back with a flap that can be placed over the back of the chair frame and secured by a velcro strip - for easy removal and prevent slipping.

Finishing

To protect the wood and provide a smooth, satin finish, use Woodoc 30 (Woodoc 50 for coastal areas) on all surfaces.

Make sure that the surface is clean and dust free. Apply a liberal coat to Woodoc 30 and let dry. Wipe with Woodoc steelwool and apply another coat. Once dry, apply a third and final coat.

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

Do it yourself

easy

toy box

Make a pine toy box that can be painted or stained in your choice of finish.

For our toy box we used a decoupage technique on the front and painted the rest of the box with Prominent Paints Sheen in the colour code S1030-R90B (pale blue).

You will need:

For this project we used 22mm thick laminated pine. Ensure that boards are not warped or bent and are fairly free of knots.

[2] of 600 x 700 x 22mm pine - front and back [2] of 400 x 600 x 22mm pine - sides [1] of 100 x 720 x 22mm pine - top back [1] of 450 x 720 x 22mm pine - lid [1] of 2m length - stretchers [2] flap hinges and short screws Piece of hardboard 45mm smooth shank cut screws Screw cup washers Medium length panel pins Ponal wood glue Hammer Drill/Driver plus assorted drill and screw bits Jigsaw and clean cut blade Multi sander with 240-grit sanding pads

The Bosch PSM160A Multi Sander lets you sand in tight corners.

The hook and look (velcro) sanding pads are easily changed for quick sanding changes.

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You can also use 16mm PG Bison SupaWood for this project and you don’t have to worry about warped wood or areas that have to be filled in with wood filler.

Screw Cup Washers can be used to provide a decorative finish to visible screws, as an alternative to capping or filling screw holes.

Do it yourself



Here’s how: 1. At the bottom of sides, back and front, cut out a section to create a decorative finish. Also cut out a section at the top of the front to ensure that little ones don’t get their fingers trapped if the lid drops.

2. Sand all the pieces smooth and slightly round all the edges. Spend more time rounding off the side edges of the front and back sections, and the front edge of the lid.

3. Attach the sides to the front and back. The sides are 2 to 3mm in from the outside edges of the front and back.

Apply a bead of wood glue to the sides edges. No pilot hole is required as you are using cut screws, which create their own pilot hole. Remember to pop a cup washer onto the screw. This provides a nice, neat look.

DIY Tip: If you don’t want to use cup washers you can countersink the holes and either pop on screw caps or fill with wood filler and sand smooth once dry.

4. Attach the flap brackets to the back and front lid sections. Make sure that the screws are not too long - you don’t want them to go right through the lid.

5. The back section of the lid is screwed into the sides and back, again using cup washers to finish off.

6. Measure up the inside dimensions of the box and make a frame using stretchers. I haven’t given dimensions for this as pine is not always of exactly the same thickness.

The frame is assembled as shown below, using panel pins and wood glue. Insert the frame at the bottom of the box and screw through the sides to hold in position.

Finish off with a piece of hardboard cut to size that is placed over the frame.

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

Do it yourself

maximise closet space Most homes have built-in cupboards that offer very little in the way of storage. Shelves down one side and hanging space in the other - pretty boring. Here’s a way to increase the amount of storage space available without making any major alterations to the existing cupboards.

You can use 12mm PG Bison SupaWood for the shelving - finished off with an edging strip. Splurge a little on the drawer fronts by fitting MelaWood in your choice of finish.

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Do it yourself

ď ś

Measure up your existing space and use the diagram above to maximise. For a shared closet, there is plenty of space to hang shirts, trousers and long items of clothing, while the central shelf unit provides additional storage space for t-shirts, sweaters and the like. Additional drawer storage built into the central shelf unit offers even more storage options for smaller items.

You will ďŹ nd everything you need for this project at your local Builders Warehouse. Have the shelving cut to size to make your job even easier.

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Do itit yourself Yourself ď ś Do

How to make a drawer

Cut four sides of 12mm PG Bison SupaWood or to the required lengths. Glue the edges and hammer in panel pins. Before the glue dries, square each drawer by gluing and pinning the bottom in place.

The drawer front is screwed on from inside the drawer frame.

Attach drawer sliders

Screw the drawer sliders into the cabinet - use a 6mm spacer to position the slider slightly higher than the base of the shelf to allow for easy opening and closing. Attach the other part of the sliders to bottom edges of the drawer box.

DIY Tip: Ensure that the screw heads do not protrude on the sliders as this will cause the drawer to stick or jam.

Using melamine edging

You can purchase edging in either a preglued and iron-on strip, or as a strip that is glued on with contact adhesive. I prefer the self-gluing option as it tends to stay stuck for longer.

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Do DoititYourself yourself ď ś

potting or workshop

bench

This sturdy, practical bench gets you organised - whether in the garden or in the garage. It provides a good-sized workspace with a shelf section above for tools and accessories. The shelf below holds larger items and there’s even a recessed drop-in container.

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 Whether you need a potting bench or a workshop bench, here’s one that you can build in three easy steps.

Making this bench will be even easier if you have all the pieces cut to size at your local Builders Warehouse. But cutting them yourself with a jigsaw or circular saw is not that difficult.

You will need:

[5] 90 x 45 x 505mm [4] 90 x 45 x 850mm [2] 90 x 22 x 1380mm [2] 90 x 22 x 595mm [7] 90 x 22 x 1480mm [5] 90 x 22 x 1336mm [2] 180 x 22 x 865mm [2] 180 x 22 x 1440mm [2] 90 x 22 x 1440mm Wood screws Tape measure Pencil Drill/.Driver with assorted drill and screw bits Jigsaw, circular saw or table saw Hammer Sander with 180-grit sanding pads Paint or sealer Painting equipment Plastic or stainless steel basin or bowl

Here’s how:

1. Cut [4] sides (A)of 90 x 45mm to 505mm lengths, [4] verticals (B) of 90 x 45mm to 840mm lengths, and [2] end trims (C) from 90 x 22mm planks to 595mm lengths.

2. As per Fig. 1 drill and screw through the verticals (B) into the ends of sides (A). Repeat for both sides and lower horizontal sides. Repeat this process for the other frame.

3. Screw end trims (C) to outer side of end frame as per Fig. 2.

4. To add front and back braces (D) cut [2] 90 x 2mm pine to 1380mm lengths. Screw the front brace (D) into place so that it is flush with side trim (C). Repeat for back brace (D).

5. Insert support brace (E) and screw into from the front and back of braces (D).

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See back pages for enlarged diagram.

 Add the work surface

1. Cut [7] of 90 x 22mm pine to 1480mm lengths for the work surface (F). Lay out the boards on the frame to sit flush with the back of the frame and overhang the sides and front.

Countersink and screw each board into place.

2. Cut [5] of 90 x 22mm pine to 1336mm lengths.

These boards fit flush on the frame as shown in Fig 3. Space them so that they fill the area and then countersink and screw in place.

See back pages for enlarged diagram.

Drop-in container

You will need a basin or bowl that has a lip around the perimeter.

Place this face down on top of the work surface and mark with a pencil.

DO NOT cut on this mark but 3mm in from the mark so that the lip of the basin or bowl will rest on the surface. Use a jigsaw to cut out the opening.

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

Outdoors Make the upper shelf

1. Cut [2] sides (H) from 180 x 22mm pine to 865mm length. Cut [1] shelf back (J) from 90 x 22mm pine to 1440mm length, cut [2] shelves (K) from 180 x 22mm pine to 1440mm length.

2. Screw shelf (K) to the edge of one shelf back (J), making sure to align the bottom edges.

Place screws every 150mm.

3. Place the two shelf sides (H) on a level surface, parallel and 1440mm apart. Fit the shelf assembly above between the two sides (H).

4. The middle shelf is fixed 432mm down from the top.

5. Cut [1] bottom support (L) of 90 x 22mm pine to 1440mm length and screw in position flush with the back and lower ends of the shelf sides (H).

DIY Tips ensure all-weather protection for exterior timber that butts up against other • Tosections, stain or paint the ends before fixing together. cutting several pieces of timber to exactly the same length you get more • When accurate results by clamping them together and measuring them as one.

Buying laminated pine Available in various lengths and widths, laminated pine is manufactured by joining and gluing narrow lengths of pine together to create longer and wider lengths.

When buying laminated pine look for pieces that are straight and level, and have as few knot holes as possible. It’s also a good idea to check the joins on the wood. If they don’t look well seated - or joined nicely - choose another piece.

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Outdoors

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