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Archive for May, 2010

321 Pull Out Kitchen Sink Mixer

May 14th, 2010 by admin

Fitting the 321 Pull Out Kitchen Sink Mixer

As many of you know fitting new kitchen taps is not the easiest of tasks, the instruction although detailed are as helpful as the instruction for a set of mechano. I purchased the 321 Pull Out Kitchen Sink Mixer from Bathshop321.com recently and fitted it last night. Keen to get the task underway I opted for the quick plumb option on the pipes with a 15mm-10mm reducing valves.
The copper pipes I have initially caused a problem due to their position and proximity to the nut fixing that was holding the original tap in place. I must commend the plumber that originally put this in place… It took a lot of energy to loosen it sufficiently for me to undo with my fingers. The key tool used to do this was a 10mm spanner, this could only be done once the pipes had been cut as discussed previously with the proximity to the piping. I used a standard pipe cutter to slice through the copper piping tightening the grip gently after each turn to avoid denting the pipe.
Once both of these task had been completed the tap lifted away from the basin without any trouble, giving the basin a quick wipe to remove any lime scale build up or dirt that has accumulated, I was ready to fit my new tap. On the end of the copper piping I pushed down the 15mm end of the reducing valves making sure they stayed in place by pulling on them slightly making sure they didn’t move up and down when doing so, I then fitted the new pipes to the bottom of the new tap and placed gently on the basing with the pipe work protruding through the hole in the basin making them parallel with the existing pipe work and my reducing valves. Marking the position to cut on the new pipes I removed it from its position and cut the pipes accordingly and reattached them. Once trimmed I attached the ribbed steel rod to the base of the unit and put the tap in place on the basin…. simply pushing the new pipe work into the 10mm end of the quick plumb fittings the tap was connected and sealed.
Finally I screwed the nut up the steel rod tightening up to the washer with my fingers, I then tightened further with a 10mm spanner until the 321 Pull Out Spray Kitchen Sink Mixer was firmly held in place.
This is the most important part of the entire job… turning the water back on! If you hear a pop and a his it means the quick plumb fitting is not pushed onto the pipes enough to form a full seal, If this happens (which it did) turn the water off go back to the fitting and apply pressure (down on the new pipe work and up on the old pipe work) and one of them will pop into place, you can then turn the water back on.
This is from my own personal experience; your pipe work may differ… I do hope that you have found it useful though!

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THE TYPICAL SIMPLE CHANGES PEOPLE MAKE TO IMPROVE THEIR HOME

May 14th, 2010 by admin

How many articles are there out there on how to improve your home? The answer is a lot. What follows is a quick article that pretty much sums all of them up. There are many variations on how to do up your home but they all basically follow the same theme:

Exterior improvements tend to be the most expensive and cover garden improvements and extensions. So what is our advice?

Gardens

This can be as big a project as you want it to be. You can simply cut the grass, turn the flower bed over and voila your garden will look better. When reading a how to improve your garden article you will probably be advised to re turf your lawn, pave an area of your garden and add a table and chairs, build a gazebo and maybe even add a water feature. This is really nice if all you want your garden for is to look at it from inside as you are too scared to set foot in it just in case you mess it up. In reality more people especially with families will do best if they stick to keeping it trim and tidy.

Extensions

This is a really big deal and is extremely expensive. Any article recommending this as an action will no don’t be recommending that you get the architects in and start thinking about building on top of the garage maybe, filing for planning permission and knocking walls down. A much simpler option would be if you just put up a conservatory. Conservatories add value to your home and due to the immense competition out there you can pick up a real bargain.

Interior improvements are where it gets really interesting and where most articles differ in opinion. It seems though that there is an under running theme on what most of them suggest so instead of listing them all below we have handpicked a selection that we found popped up on a lot of them:

Feature Walls

This sounds really funny but there were not many articles when discussing interiors that didn’t recommend a feature wall and is why we have included it at the top of our interior list. In short a feature wall is one particular wall in any given room that you give extra special attention to. This can take the form of painting it a different colour to the rest of the walls, putting wallpaper on it or hanging some art on it. The reason for a feature wall is to draw the attention of the person entering the room and hopefully getting the wow response.

Warm Colours

Not as popular as the feature wall but painting your house in warm colours can apparently help in all sorts of ways. Warm colours apparently relax you more and make people feel more comfortable. That and pastel colours seem to be the order of the day.

Plant Life

This will not be a surprise to anybody but plants appeared an awful lot when we did our research. Plants give that personal touch whilst absorbing CO2 and giving out oxygen so we can all breath better. As with the warm colours plants also promote relaxation and should be included in any home improvement program.

There were lots more interior suggestions but none that really stood out enough for us to include in this article. Whatever the case if you follow the above five steps then you should have a home that says you care about it and that others want to have.

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GIVING YOUR KITCHEN A MAKE OVER WITHOUT SPENDING A FORTUNE

May 14th, 2010 by admin

Kitchens are a huge part of any living space even if they are quite small. The kitchen in any home is usually the hub of all activity especially as it’s the place where ultimately you are fed from and without one your house would be in a very sorry state. It is vitally important for any home owner to take pride in their kitchen from an investment point of view as well as a practical point of view.

What follows below is a quick guide on how you can improve your kitchen on a shoe string budget.

If we break a kitchen into components it would look something like, back cabinets, doors, work tops, appliances, handles and tiles or splash back panels. To replace a kitchen completely you are probably looking at anything from £5000 upwards plus whatever the installation costs. This sort of figure is enough to scare anybody. In order to drastically change the look of your kitchen at a fraction of the cost all you need to do is follow the simple steps below:

Leave your back cabinets in. The back panels are what make up your kitchen and are what everything else fits to. Unless you want to change the layout of your kitchen this is going to be your biggest money saver. This is because if these are already installed everything else pretty much just screws to them and you don’t have to pay somebody to come and install it. As they don’t have many moving parts unless they are extremely old will probably still be in good standing.

Worktops are the next step and are something that can be picked up quite cheaply. Visit a local timber yard as they usually have off cuts of would that would make excellent work tops. For a small cost they will probably even cut them to size for you. In addition timber yards in most cases will stock work tops at a much lower price than the bigger home improvement stores.

Kitchen doors are the next step and can make a real difference to the look and feel of your kitchen. If your kitchen is that old the range you have may still be available in which case all you need to do is go and buy some new doors. Buying new doors is obviously cheaper than buying a complete kitchen. If you have purchased the exact same doors from the same range they will screw on quite easily.
If your kitchen is quite old and the range of kitchen you own is no longer sold there are other alternatives. There are websites out there that specialise in kitchen doors only. They will come along measure your kitchen and manufacture doors specifically for your kitchen. This option is slightly more expensive than buying the same doors but still vastly cheaper than replacing the whole kitchen.

Door handles is probably the best and most cost effective way to re vamp your kitchen. In most cases this maybe all you need to do. Most handles will fit most doors so make sure you have a good look round. Always check in the clearance sections to bag yourself an even bigger bargain.

Finally if you replace the tiling or splash backs in your kitchen this can have a drastic effect and will just lift the look of your kitchen. Unless you are handy at DIY it may be difficult to replace the tiling on its own without damaging the rest of the kitchen. Before you attempt this make sure you know what you are doing.

As you can see there are lots and lots of ways to improve the look and feel of your kitchen without spending a fortune, so before you spend all that money take a step back and ask yourself do I really need to?

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GETTING THAT PERFECT BATHROOM

May 13th, 2010 by admin

Bathroom SuiteEntering a bathroom that is dreary, lifeless and inert can give the user a really bad start to their day. Bathrooms are one of the only places where people can go in their home to escape the everyday worries of normal life. They can do this through the solace of a relaxing bath.

It’s no secret that bathrooms help to sell houses and studies show that when people are building new houses greater emphasis always goes on the bathroom and kitchen spaces which further more highlights the importance of these spaces.

There are a lot of bathroom articles out there so this article will bring the bathroom make over back to basics and allow you to transform your possible dreary bathroom into a more exciting or relaxing place with either minimal or maximal effort .

Structural changes are probably the most expensive option when transforming this space but can give the best outcome. Changing the wall tiles, floor tiles, bathroom furniture, bathroom suites are at the drastic end of the scale but as today’s a buyer’s market with a bit of looking round and savvy internet searching there are some real bargains to be had.

If changing the wall tiles first make a decision on what size of tile you will be using. It is said that smaller tiles are much easier to put up than their larger counterparts simply because you have more control over a small tile and can get away with much more.

Flooring is another key area and dependant on what type of tile you are considering always try and match the floor up. Tiled floors are more popular today and you can get hold of many different variations on floor tile and in many cases will be able to get an exact match on your wall tile if that is what you are looking for.

Bathroom furniture is more and more popular today and there are many different options available dependant on the size of your bathroom ranging from basin units, basin toilet furniture runs, bathroom cabinets, freestanding bowls all to help give your bathroom that more modern look and feel.

Your bathroom suite is probably going to be the deal breaker in your bathroom so be sure you get the right one. Always check that you have your sizing’s correct before buying anything. Again with a bit of savvy internet searching you can really bag a bargain with most bathroom suppliers having clearance and special offer sales.

We could go on and on forever but to recap if you are wanting to spruce up your bathroom and don’t mind putting in the hard work both in terms of manual labour along with some internet searching then you will end up with the perfect bathroom just be sure not to forget the following, Tiles both floor and wall, your bathroom suite itself and of course size dependent your bathroom furniture. Get hold of all these and you to will end up with the ultimate bathroom to escape to.

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EASY IMPROVEMENTS TO GET A BRAND NEW HOUSE

May 13th, 2010 by admin

EASY IMPROVEMENTS TO GET A BRAND NEW HOUSE

Whenever somebody passes a beautiful house I’m sure a lot of the time they often dream of having one too some day. This can easily be achieved without even moving house with a little bit of effort and a lot of love. Dependant on how ambitious you are and of course the all important budget there is quite a lot of internal and external improvements that you can make to give the look and feel of a brand new house.

Some easy home improvement ideas can give the house an entirely new look – all you need to do is implement them creatively!

I suppose the obvious place to start would be the exterior. This is a huge undertaking but if the budget is in place why not consider adding an extension. This can take the form of another room or even a conservatory. Both options would add considerable value to the property so is well worth the investment. The conservatory option is by far the cheapest and can appeal to a lot of different people from families, first time buyers through to the elderly.

A more drastic option for the exterior would be to give it a lick of paint. Dependant on the area you are living in you may get away with a completely different colour to the rest of the houses. Compared to structural changes this is a much cheaper option and if done tastefully will enable your home to really stand out from the crowd.

If we move inside the obvious option if there was no restriction on budget would be structurally. Consider knocking two rooms into one. If you can do this then you will probably be adding more light into the house giving a much warmer feel. Making bigger rooms also give the feel of a bigger house which may help when selling.

A clever technique which is being adopted more and more nowadays is the feature wall. This sounds really cool but essentially all a feature wall is one wall in each room that is either painted a different colour than the rest or has a different wallpaper than the rest. If you are wanting a modern look then this is the way to go.

Kitchens and bathroom suites definitely sell houses and should never be overlooked. Yes if budget is no option the preferred option would be to replace them completely. With every other program on the television now a days there are lots of hints and tips that will help you spruce your kitchen or bathroom up to make it look like new. A few of them include new taps, light fittings, mirrors, handles, doors and even work tops.

Let’s not forget the bedrooms. Gone are the days when all they were for was sleeping. People do lots more in their bedrooms today so why not add an armchair, television, vanity unit. These will give the feel of a much bigger bedroom and also a place where you spend more time.

The home can be changed to give a new feel in a lot of ways we have provided some simple ideas that will hopefully get you started.

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Brand new Bathroom Blog from Bathshop321.com

May 12th, 2010 by admin

Hello and welcome to our brand new, all-singing, all-dancing Bathroom Blog! We decided to upgrade the old one, and there’s lots of exciting new features which we’ll shortly inform you of.

We’re excited to show you our fantastic range of amazing value shower bath suites. Browse our shower bath suites from only £249! All our products are fully stocked and ready to be dispatched. In a rush? Ask about our Next Day Service too. A full suite can be delivered nationwide within 48 hours via our rapid express courier service.

Our products include:

  • Full Bathroom Suites
  • Cloakroom Suites
  • Baths
  • Shower Enclosures
  • Bathroom Furniture
  • Showers (Electric, Power and Mixer)

…and much much more!

We’re the UK’s best value bathroom shop with fantastic products and unbeatable prices! Browse our website and buy with confidence. Our site is 100% 128BIT SSL secured so you can shop online safely.

Cheers,

Bathshop321.com

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