Archive for the ‘Diy’ Category
Create a showcase of warmth and personality to any room by changing your wall decor. Adding an arrangement of framed photographs, mirrors, wall sculptures, and collectibles is an affordable way to transform any room in your home. Here are some tips for arranging and hanging your wall art with confidence.
Arranging Your Art:
The goal when arranging wall art is to create a pleasing visual display that showcases it.
* To plan your layout, cut out butcher paper templates the same size and shape as the wall decor you want to hang. Tape them on the wall with masking tape, moving them around to your liking. Mark the positions lightly with a pencil on the wall. You may also arrange your artwork on the floor to your satisfaction before nailing to the wall.
* Group your art according to theme.Create a display by grouping the items by theme repeating colors and styles of the room’s interior.
* Group similar items and create a symmetrical shape. The secret to arranging wall art is to achieve balance. For example, small pictures hung on a large wall can look out of balance and will appear lost in an open sea of space. If you have a larger painting or mirror, it has enough presence to stand alone on a large wall. Symmetry adds balance and is generally very pleasing to the observer.
* If you have to take down your artwork to repaint, take a photograph of your arrangement so you can put it back just the way it was.
Hanging Your Art:
Tools you will need are a hammer, level, tape measure, picture hangers or nails.
* You’ve probably always heard that artwork should be hung so that the center point of the picture or grouping is about eye level for the average height of a person. A good place to start is to hang the piece approximately 60-65 inches from the floor to the center of the art. Pieces should be hung approximately 6 inches over a mantle or shelf. Don’t leave a large empty space between art and furniture. There should be a 10 inch clearance above sofas and headboards.
* When hanging art over a piece of furniture, it should not be longer than the width of the furniture.
* If the art weighs five pounds or more, use two wall anchors per painting to distribute the weight evenly. The picture will hang more evenly, also.
* To protect your wall and prevent the picture from shifting, attach felt pads to the bottom corners on the back of the frame.
When done correctly, hanging wall art is a quick, easy and affordable way to add impact and breathe new life into your home.
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Tools needed
Saw – a medium tooth, cross-cut saw is best. Choose one with a reasonably stiff blade – if it is too flexible it may bend when cutting the coving, resulting in a curved edge making it difficult to obtain a good fit with the adjoining coving length.
Mitre box – ensure that it is big enough for the coving you are cutting. Remember that the coving is propped against the back plate of the mitre box – a common mistake is to lie the coving “flat” and cut as if it was architrave or a picture frame. The coving is always put in the mitre box “upside down” – i.e the edge that will be fixed to the ceiling should be on the base (horizontal section) of the box.
Adhesives – Decofix Pro (or Hydrofix if walls have been recently plastered) for mounting and filling. You will also need Extra Fix cement for all joins (a specialist adhesive that will prevent any cracks appearing later on). Ensure the room temperature is above 10°C otherwise the adhesives won’t bond correctly.
Other tools required will be: Pencil, ruler, spirit level, standard caulking/cartridge gun, hammer and small nails, sponge & water, filling knife, trimming knife, paintbrush (to use when blending in the filler).
Cutting – general advice (Note: to view this article with diagrams, please see www.decorative-coving.co.uk)
Use a firm, positive stroke of the saw. Don’t try and force the cut or cut too quickly. Hold the coving securely with your non-cutting hand to prevent it slipping or moving in the mitre box. If possible, try and support/raise the other end to the same level throughout so that the cove isn’t sloping along it’s length. Make sure you position the adjustable stops in the mitre box to the correct measurement (the amount that the coving/cornice protrudes across the ceiling). Measure, don’t guess!
Internal corners – When positioned in the mitre box, the main section of coving that will be hung on the left wall should be to your right, and similarly the main section of coving should be on your left for the piece that will be hung on the right hand wall.
External corners – The same theory applies to external corners – except this time you will be cutting using the opposite 45° guides. A stop end is cut the same way as an external corner using a short surplus length.
Hanging
If you have any external corners (such as a chimney breast), start with them. Otherwise start at the first corner you see when entering the room (it is always easier to get the 1st corner of the installation correct, so make sure it is the most noticeable corner in the room).
Establish the drop down the wall from the ceiling that the coving will be fixed at, and ensure this is clean and sound. Draw a line around the room at this position (or mark at various points). Ensure the line is horizontal – do not be tempted to follow the ceiling which may not be level (if there is any subsequent gap, this can be filled later). At every 500mm or so, tap a small pin nail into the wall as a temporary supporting guide. (The small nail holes will eventually be covered by the adhesive/filling compound). For extra adhesion you can score the area between line and the ceiling. Optionally, repeat this process on the ceiling.
Now, carefully measure along the wall the length you need – then measure it again! Transfer these measurements to the coving, and if it helps, also mark a line in the direction that the cut will roughly be, so that when put in the mitre box you can be assured you are cutting in the correct direction.
Make the cut, then offer up to check you are happy that the 2 sections meet. Don’t worry if they do not meet perfectly – not many rooms have corners that are exactly 90°, so a perfect join is rare. That’s where careful use of the filler comes in later!
Using Decofix Pro or Decofix Hydro, apply along the entire length of the back edges of the coving where it will meet the wall and ceiling. As a rough guide to coverage, a cartridge should be sufficient for 6-8m.
Using the line on the wall as a guide and the nails as a lever, push the coving firmly into place, adjusting as necessary. Now apply a thin layer of Extra Fix to the end of the coving where it will meet the next piece. This will give an ultra high strength join and prevent any cracks appearing in the future (if applied correctly, the join will be stronger than the actual coving piece itself).
Repeat the above process around the rest of the room.
Remove any excess adhesive and use it to fill in any gaps – between joins and between coving and wall/ceiling. Use your finger, a filling knife and a damp paintbrush to smooth over, followed by a wet sponge to wipe off any remaining adhesive. Finally after allowing 3-4 hours for the adhesive to dry, remove the nails and fill the holes as above.
Painting
The coving is pre-finished with an undercoat/primer already applied, so it will be ready to paint after 24 hours. Although any paint is suitable, remember that emulsion is water based. This means that it may suffer hairline cracks if there is excessive movement or vibration in the ceiling. Acrylic/oil based based paints have more “elasticity” in them so are less prone to these fine cracks.
For further info, please see www.decorative-coving.co.uk
© Davuka GRP Ltd
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The general issues in selecting a caulk are:
• Silicon or urethane usually performs best overall. It lasts longest and holds up best, but is harder to apply (can make a real mess) and isn’t paint able. Silicone “Tub and Tile” caulk has a mildewcide — use in areas that get wet, but don’t use it in area where it will contact food or drinking water. There are other versions without the mildewcide for these applications. [A possible exception to silicone being the best caulk is urethane caulk which may be as good and is paint able. See discussion below.]
• Elastomeric latex sealant (caulk) comes next in durability and is paint able.
• Latex, silicone/latex (siliconized) and acrylic is next, but there’s a lot of variation in quality within and between brands.
• Latex is easiest to apply and cleanup.
• Butyl rubber is dead last.
Silicone is essential to seal around bathtubs, showers, lavatories, etc. There’s a special bathroom formulation for this that has a mildewcide. This poison has been known to be hazardous if used inside dishwashers because the high heat outgases the poison onto the dishes and is then eaten. The implementation of every caulk and latex product is given in www.fixallroofs.com
If silicone does not cure it makes a godawful mess. Most manufacturers specify a shelf life of 1-year from date of manufacturer for silicone caulk in unopened tubes. I’ve not seen times for partially used tubes. Silicone will last longer than a year, but if it’s old you must test it to see if it is going to cure. Silicone does not air dry, it has a curing agent. If a sample placed on a non-porous surface does not cure in 24 hours don’t use it.
Tips
Tip1: Cold caulk can get stiff and hard to squeeze out of the tube. If it’s cold, put the tube it in a pan of warm water for 20 minutes or so.
Tips2: Here are some ways to reseal partially used caulk tubes.
In the past I used a large nail stuck into the tip. This works good for keeping the tip clear, but the nail sometimes rusts causing you to have to pump out a lot of caulk to get rid of the rust.
Right now I’m using a large wire nut (used to connect electric wiring) to cap the tip if I’ll be using it again within a month. The gray wire nuts are about the right size. For longer term storage I use a piece of plastic (Saran Wrap or plastic bag type) over the tip, held in place with masking tape or a rubber band. Squirt a little caulk into this sock covering the tip — it will harden first, helping seal the caulk in the tube. Some people use a piece of duck tape instead of the plastic wrap but it doesn’t seem like it would be airtight enough.
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It is considered as one of the easiest and most affordable tiling methods – Landscaping Pebbles Tiles can easily be used for practically any home surface. Each time you look at these natural stones keeps you fascinated on the ‘creativeness’ of the nature that surrounds us. The following article will describe how by using these nature-made panels you’ll be able to remodel any surface at home.
Short overview
When you see it for the first time you quickly understand that Landscaping Pebbles Tiles redecoration is created by fixing together similar small flat stones manually and carefully attached onto a mesh backing of 12′ by 12′ size. One thing is sure: most of these tiles are originated from one part of the world – that is the exotic Indonesian islands. You can easily tile anywhere in the inside and in the outside: Bath walls, shower bases & backsplashes, kitchen backsplash, countertops, patios, pool surfaces, decks, and fireplaces.
Quick benefits and advantages
Going down to the bottom line we notice the following benefits:
* Easily adjusted to almost any surface size especially when it comes to tiling around taps and small narrow areas.
* Easy to be replaced if needed.
* Easily installed over existing surfaces such as old ceramics or plain concrete.
Tips you want to remember!
* Make sure the surface you are about to tile is flat, clean, dry and free of contaminants.
* To appreciate the beauty of these ‘Nature-Made’ panels, it is recommended on removing the excess grout with a wet sponge. After all, you want to expose as much of the stones as possible.
* These stone panels have their weight, so if you intend to install backsplashes use small carpenter’s nails to hold the tile in place so you can easily grout it.
We could easily find many other great benefits provided by this fashionable home redesigning technique simply because once you explore and understand how it works, you quickly find endless redesigning opportunities that could fit any space at home.
Summary
Landscaping Pebbles Tiles installation process is considered extremely easy and in average it takes no more than just several hours. Although this is a quick review, it is highly recommended to look at these tips and advices once you prepare for installation.