DNfourteen Magazine Issue No.157 April 2023

Welcome to the April 2023 edition of the DNfourteen magazine - I hope that you are all well and managing to keep the wolf from the door in these financially challenging times. Please use the advertisers in the magazine they are all local and it does make a difference to our local economy.

We have some interesting articles and features in this months edition ranging from a very interesting and article in the House & Home section about the ’Five best ways to add value to your home’. We have a super recipe for Vegan Mac ‘n’ Cheese which I baked over Easter instead of buying a frozen one like I usually do - well, I’m a busy woman and don’t always have time to spare for baking.

The Gardening section focuses on Vegetables that you should be planting this month - with the current prices in the shops; I for one will be getting my gardening gloves out and getting my veggies planted this month. As usual we finish with Fiona Dwyer’s column.

If you have not advertised in the magazine before and are considering it - please give me a call to discuss options - we are here to help.

Until next month please stay safe.

Jane Editor

Please note that whilst we take care to be accurate, no liability will be accepted under any circumstances should any of the content of this magazine be incorrect. The views expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Published by DNfourteen Magazine. Printed by DaltonSpire Ltd.

Five home improvements that can add value to your home

If you’re seriously invested in increasing the value of your home, it will take more than a lick of paint. Major improvements take longer, involve real building work, and – let’s be honest – can be a bit of a pain at the weekends. But they can also help your property stand out in the market, making it far more appealing to buyers and helping you get a bit more money to spend on your new place.

So, before you roll your sleeves up, which home improvement should you go for? Buyers are typically most swayed by a home with a new kitchen, but there are plenty of other home improvements that can up its value. These are five popular choices for adding value to your home.

Wait! Before you start with your home improvements consider getting an online valuation with

our award-winning service to find out the price of your home before you start the work on it.

1. Bolt on a bathroom

Adding an extra bathroom will typically boost your home’s value by up to 5% – which doesn’t sound like much, but actually works out at nearly £15,000 for the average home in the UK.

popular – who doesn’t like the convenience of rolling out of bed and straight into the shower? The cost of adding in an extra bathroom can vary significantly, depending on whether it’s a full bathroom suite or a simple shower room, so costs can range from anywhere between £2,300 to upwards of £6,000.

Our advice is not to go overboard when it comes to luxuries

Ensuite bathrooms are hugely Continued on page 6

These days most homeowners suffer from a lack of storage space. So many precious items that need to be kept – but where to store it all? That’s where Yorkshire Loft Ladders come in.

The company, based locally, offers homeowners the opportunity to maximise their storage space with a loft ladder, 50 sq ft of boarding and a light all fully fitted in less than a day from just £277 + VAT. But it’s not just the affordability of the package the company offers that makes Yorkshire Loft Ladders stand out as manager Warren Ingleson explains:

‘Our watchwords are Quality,

Integrity and Value. Quality in the materials that we use for all our installations and the fact that all our loft packages are fitted by time served tradesmen so our customers are assured of the best job. Integrity in that we will turn up at the time we say and make sure the house is spotless when we leave, and Value in that we offer our services at a price people can afford. Our business relies on referrals and we got a huge amount of our calls from people who have been referred to us by our existing customers - that simply wouldn’t happen if we didn’t adhere to our overriding principles.

At the end of the day the old adage that happy customers

small, call Warren on 0800 612 8359 and he’ll be happy to pop round and give you a no obligation quote so you too can make use of your loft!

like décor, tiles, and taps, which can end up costing a lot. It’s worth going for simple, affordable quality and thinking about what might appeal to buyers rather than making costly decisions based on personal taste.

2. Extend your property’s appeal

Adding square footage to your home is pretty much guaranteed to boost its value, and a single-storey extension

won’t usually require planning permission (although you should definitely check). Expect to pay upwards of £20,000 for this home improvement. Most people get and estimated added value of 15%, which works out at around £35,000 for the average UK home. Not a bad payoff –although you should decide if the time and effort is worth it.

3. Kit out your kitchen

Which? found that a new kitchen typically costs £7,000 and could add up to 10% to your home’s value. If your kitchen is particularly old or obviously in need of an update, it could be dragging your home’s value down, as many buyers would prefer the convenience of moving into a new place that’s already in great shape.

4. A room with a view

Conservatories are back in fashion, and for good reason. They’re a fairly cost-effective way to extend the space in your house, and if your property has a large garden (or even great views) a conservatory can help you enjoy them without having to go outside. If done well, a glass conservatory costing between £4,000 and £12,000 could increase your home’s value by up to 5% – which works

Continued on page 8

JWS IS A LOCAL FAMILY BUSINESS ESTABLISHED IN 1969, CELEBRATING WELL OVER 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS MANUFACTURING AND FITTING CUSTOM MADE FITTED WARDROBES, SLIDING DOORS, SLOPING DOOR WARDROBES, HOME OFFICE FURNITURE, HOME MEDIA UNITS AS WELL AS FREE STANDING FURNITURE

JWS HAS A REPUTATION FOR AN UNCOMPROMISING COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

JWS HAVE ALSO SUPPLIED FITTED FURNITURE TO MANY SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES. WE ARE ONE OF THE NORTH’S LEADING FITTED FURNITURE SPECIALISTS.

out at an average of around £15,000.

But be warned – conservatories built on the cheap or made from plastic can actually put buyers off, and potentially even decrease your home’s value in the long run. They need to be high quality and provide lots of light in order to significantly impact your home’s value.

5. Lofty ambitions

To add more space to your home without extending outwards, consider a loft conversion. A typical loft conversion will cost around £55,000 to £80,000, but can add up to 20% to the value of a house. Whether it’s used as an additional bedroom, a home office, or a recreational space, a loft conversion offers so much potential – and buyers will love the extra space.

Vegan mac ‘n’ cheese

➤ SERVES 6

➤ PREP 20 MINS

➤ COOK 45 MINS ➤ EASY

This plantbased pasta bake is great for unexpected guests.

INGREDIENTS

• 400g prepared butternut

squash

• 3 garlic cloves, skins on

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 2 large leeks, trimmed and sliced into rounds

• 100g cashew nuts

• 250ml plant-based milk

• 2tsp mustard powder

• 1/2.tsp paprika

• 400g macaroni pasta

• 50g breadcrumbs

• 3 sprigs thyme leaves

stripped

METHOD

1 Heat the oven to 180C/Gas

4. Drizzle the squash and garlic with 1tbsp oil and roast for 30 minutes until tender. After 10 minutes, add the leeks.

2 Meanwhile, place the cashew nuts in a bowl with the plant milk, mustard powder and paprika. Cook the pasta to al dente (around 8 minutes) in boiling water.

3 Carefully squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of its skins into a blender with the squash, cashews and plant milk mix, then blend together.

4 Drain the pasta and reserve 50ml pasta water. Mix the pureed squash with the preserved pasta water and

then stir into the pasta with the leeks.

5 Sprinkle over the bread crumbs and thyme leaves then drizzle with the remaining oil. Place back in the oven and cook for 10-15 mins until piping hot and the breadcrumbs are turning golden.

Vegetables to plant in April

April is a busy time in the veg garden, as lots of seeds can be sown this month. Now that the days are longer and warmer, you can start sowing some crops, such as carrots or peas, outside.

More tender crops like aubergines and courgettes, still need to be sown under glass, either in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. You can also plant out potatoes, as well as onions sets, shallots and garlic and Jerusalem artichokes.

Aubergines, chillies and tomatoes

This is the last chance to sow aubergines, chillies and tomatoes, which need a long growing season to do well. If you only want a few plants, you can wait until May and buy plants at the garden centre.

Beetroot

Beetroot is an easy crop to grow, making it ideal for beginners. It will grow in any fertile, well drained soil and also does well in containers. Follow the spacing on the packet and thin the seedlings to about 10cm when they are around 3cm high. Harvest when the beets have reached golf ball size.

Carrots

Sow carrots on well-prepared soil that is free of stones – stony soil results in forked carrots. At this time of year, it is a good idea to protect against carrot fly, by putting up a barrier around the crop.

Celeriac

Celeriac needs a long growing season for an autumn/winter harvest, so sow now, under cover.

Transfer the seedlings to individual pots when they are large enough to handle.

Lettuce

Lettuce is best sown under cover in April. Sow it in seed trays or modules, for transplanting outside later in spring.

Peas

Peas are easy to grow and can be harvested early in summer, making them a welcome early crop. You can sow them direct outside, but they are a favourite snack for mice – if these are a problem, sow them indoors and plant the plants outside when they are 15cm tall. Alternatively, sow in guttering and transplant seedlings into a trench when they’re ready.

Leeks

Leeks can be sown in seed trays under cover in April, for harvesting from autumn onwards.

Radish

This fastgrowing crop is easy to grow and is a good ‘catch crop’, growing on empty ground that is waiting for other crops, or between slower growing crops. Sow direct outside, every three to four weeks, for a continuous Summer supply.

Spinach

Spinach can be sown directly outside in April; if it’s chilly, cover with fleece. Spinach needs lots of moisture and slug protection.

Swiss chard

Swiss chard is a beautiful crop for a sunny or partially shaded spot and can be sown directly outside in April.

Fiona Dwyer, broadcast journalist, PR & media consultant, slave to

2 children and a husband.

The benefits of laughter

I was out walking the dogs the other day with my husband and along the path we came across a little boy and his mum walking their dog. You know when youngsters have great big belly laughs about not a lot? Well, that’s what this boy was doing. He loved that the dogs were running around after each other. It was such a joyous and contagious sound. I think at times, especially now, when there’s so much going on in our lives and so much grim news in general we need to remember to laugh. Research has shown that laughter has all sorts of benefits for us, from relieving pain and increasing immunity to reducing stress and bringing greater happiness to our lives as well as overall wellness. One study suggests that healthy children may laugh as much as 400 times a day, but adults only tend to laugh 15 times a day. I think that’s pretty sad, don’t you? So, find something to make you laugh! Have you got a favourite comedian to listen to? A funny film? Or google 5-minute funny

videos and see what makes you laugh! Maybe you’ve got a friend who has a wicked sense of humour? Whatever it is, let’s laugh more!!!! It’s going to make us feel better!

Using up leftover food

I recently read an article about how families throw away almost a month’s worth of food every year. The research, based on a survey of 1,800 parents with a child under 18 living at home, found that nearly half of parents in the UK admitted to chucking food in the bin that was still edible. More than a third also said they bought too much when shopping. At a time when bills are constantly on the increase and we’re all trying to save our pennies, we can do much better. So how do we use up our leftover food? I guess the first thing to do is not to put quite so much on our plates. You can always go back for seconds if you want. Then, there are so many recipes if you search for them online –use leftovers for soups, stews, stir fries and salads. Leftover fruit can often be used for cakes and puddings.

I mean, who doesn’t love a bit of banana loaf? Let’s start being careful with our quantities – and we’ll surely feel the benefit in our pockets!

Have a brilliant April everyone!

Fiona x

Twitter: @fionadwyer • Facebook: Fiona Dwyer PR

Let’s get better.

There’s a part for us all to play in looking after ourselves. There’s a new local NHS website where you can find all the information you need to live a healthier and more active life. It is the place online for you to keep up to date with the latest health advice, top tips and local services.

Visit letsgetbetter.co.uk to find out more, or scan the QR code below, using your smartphone.