Most customers I talk to ask “can I know down walls” – well in theory any wall can be knocked down however will this impact on the structural being of the house this will need serious consideration when looking at your options. Taking a wall out is relatively easy and cheaper than extending. If the dividing wall is not a supporting one than you can remove this easily with a sledgehammer and a dusk mask and plenty of strength!

If the wall is load – bearing than a little more thought is required, so before you take a sledge hammer to it you will need to insert a steel joist above the opening to carry the building above – any good builder will ensure you have building regulation approval however a good tip will be speak to them first before to embark on any alterations. Most builders have access to structural engineers so they will be able to make the right calculations. However if you would like to speak to someone than I would recommend Greg Cooper from Downend Designs – he’s had plenty of experience in calculations and would be someone to have a chat with in the first instance. One thing also to note that if it’s a party wall you will need to tell your neighbours of your plans – keeping them happy before you start work is essential!

Other points to consider:

1. Will it add value to my home? seek some estate agents advice – if you come to sell is it something potential buyers see value in.
2. Don’t knock though if you haven’t got an additional room to sit in – there will be times when you want to escape a kitchen environment for more peace and quiet.
3. Do you have room to use a bit of space for a useful utility room, it’s often a good idea to have somewhere out of sight where you can store muddy boots, coats, and pet food bowls!
4. If you’re going to the trouble of knocking down walls – let in as much light as you can – adding a skylight and glazed doors will make the space so much bigger.

Some useful people to chat to:

1. Architect – ok so you might not want to spend a fortune (often a misconception anyhow) but an architect will bring a creative dimension especially if you have tight space or lots of room to put in your dream kitchen. In the long run they can save you money by avoiding costly mistakes and can provide you with detail plans and manage the project.
2. Builder – Ensure your builder comes recommended and have done work like this before. A good builder will often offer practical and design advice with estimated costs. They can coordinate other trades services such as gas and electrical. We have a number of builders affiliated at Find Me A Tradesperson and I’m sure they would be happy to have a chat.
3. Structural Engineer – Essential for taking walls down or if you want to go further and extend your kitchen. When you come to sell your home having a structural survey done in the first place will save you time and money.
4. Party Wall Surveyor – May be required if you live in a terraced or semi, this will draw up a contract between you and your neighbours to help resolve disputes.

Having a lovely relaxing kitchen the way you want it will be worth it in the long run. Spend plenty of time thinking about what you want and how you will use the added space. Having a functional and attractive kitchen will make all the hard work worth it and thinking of the future if you come to sell is a crucial factor. if you would like to discuss any plans or would like to just have a chat then contact us at Find Me A Tradesperson.

Advice should be to anyone attempting home improvements this weekend is to be realistic about whether they have the skills and the time to undertake such a task, to make sure that they have insurance that covers them if things don’t go to plan and to seek help from a tradesman where necessary. Always seek a professional when dealing with any gas or electrical issues or you could be in a lot of trouble if things go wrong. I do remember once when I was a child my best friend’s father was using a blow torch and he accidently set their home on fire. Obviously that’s the extreme but never less it caused so much upheaval for the family that I’m surprised her parents didn’t divorce over it!

So where does it go wrong then – most common home improvement/DIY issues in the past 12 months

• Underestimated the time/cost of the project – 25%
• Damaged/marked walls – 15%
• Damaged ceiling – 9%
• Damaged/marked flooring/carpet – 8%
• Damaged/marked furniture – 7%
• Burst pipe – 6%
• Damaged property exterior – 4%
• Damaged loft – 3%
• Damaged electrics – 2%

So if you are brave enough to be attempting any DIY this Bank Holiday good luck and don’t forget if you need help just give Find Me A Tradesperson a shout – lots of trades are working over the Easter break so pick up the phone.

Me, I will try and take it easy over the Easter break – my days of donning a paintbrush have long gone and if the weather improves I might just venture out into the garden.

Have a great Easter everyone.

Alison

This months guest blogger is Alison Armitage – I have asked Alison to give you some tips if you are looking at moving now spring has arrived. Alison has a wealth of experience in her field and I am very excitied to have her knowlege and wisdom to share with you all – enjoy:

Armitage Home Decluttered is the UK’S premier home de-cluttering expert. Alison’s based in the South West, and has been helping people just like you to de-clutter your homes, offices and lives since 2006, especially when it comes to de-cluttering to sell.

Are you selling your house? If you are, you might be a little bit worried about the market; worried that it might be sitting around on the market for a long time; or simply not sell at all.

Staging your house for sale, might sound like something they do on the telly and probably not something that you’ve considered,  however it really can make all the difference – in time and money!

These can be difficult times to sell your home, but here are some of my top tips on how to give your home the edge when it comes to selling fast.

• Disassociate yourself – you are dressing your house for prospective buyers; not yourself. So many people find it hard to mentally let go and look at their home objectively. Look to the future and be tough!
• Depersonalise – it might be difficult to put away those family pictures and holiday nick-knacks, but be ruthless. You want people to imagine themselves living there, not get caught up in your experiences.
• De-clutter– this is the biggie! It’s amazing the amount of ‘stuff’ we collect around us as we go through life.
  • If you don’t need it, give it to someone who does – your local charity shop will thank you for good quality donations (note: good quality), you’ll feel all warm inside and your home will be more streamlined and saleable!
  • Clear work surfaces, empty book cases and pack up your bits and bobs. Think of it as making a great head start on the packing if you find it difficult.
  • Buyers love to look in cupboards – well, we all do it, don’t we?! So, rearrange them, clean them and tidy them!
  • Furniture is important – you need people to know what every room is used for, so you need some furniture, but when it comes to showing a room off to its best advantage, less is definitely more. So remove unnecessary or overly large items and put them into storage or somewhere else in the house where there is room. Remember space is at a premium in every home, so the more space there appears to be, the better!
  • Take care of all those little jobs ‘you’ve been meaning to get round to’ for ages. Replace cracked tiles, repair holes in walls, fix leaky and dripping taps, and fix badly fitting doors and kitchen cabinets. You may have lived with these little things for a while, but a prospective buyer will see them immediately and all of a sudden your house could become “the shabby one that needs a bit of work”.  Very few people go looking “for work”!
  • Replace worn duvet covers and light bulbs – especially if people might be viewing your home late in the afternoon/winter. A dark house is not a big turn-on!
  • Decorate – you may love purple, but prospective buyers might not be able to see past the Cadbury purple walls in the bathroom! Don’t give people an excuse to put your house in the same category with the one that needs the work – you know “the one with the purple bathroom”!
  • Make your house sparkle! Buyers are a judgemental lot and will remember a less than pristine house. Despite the estate agents’ mantra “I don’t value dust”, you can bet your buyers are looking at the dust and placing a value on your house! So,
    • Clean the windows inside and out – light is essential so get as much in as you can.
    • Get rid of the out of reach cobwebs.
    • Polish all chrome, shiny surfaces and mirrors – their reflective properties enhance light and space, so get that polish out!
    • Dust everything.
    • Bleach dingy grout and hang fresh bright towels in the bathroom.
    • Smells are so important – we all know the positive properties of good smells. So the opposite applies too – bad odours are a huge no, no. If you have pets make sure they are seen and not smelt! Empty the bins and circulate some air. Light some candles, brew some coffee or activate your plug ins!
    • Don’t forget the outside. Curb appeal can make or break a sale. If your house isn’t welcoming from the outside, you’ll never get the buyers inside and even if you do, they’ll already have formed an unfavourable opinion of your home.
      • Stand outside and review your home from the front – objectively. Do you want to go in?
      • Mow the lawn if you have one and tidy the front of the house. A real insiders’ tip is to plant yellow flowers in borders or pots – yellow evokes buying emotions (think of all the special offer signs with yellow in!) – marigolds and daffodils (seasonal) are inexpensive and pretty. Don’t go mad though – painting your house yellow or decorating in yellow throughout might be a bit over the top! Subtlety is the key.
      • Make sure your house number is easily visible and clean – if they can’t even find you, that’s a really bad start!
      • And…relax, safe in the knowledge that you have put the effort in and will sell your house very soon. Don’t forget to keep it up though – keep the house clean, look at it from a buyer’s perspective regularly and keep these tips handy!

Good luck!

For an informal chat about how Alison can transform your home ready to sell (or just to de-clutter any of the rooms in your home!), contact her hello@armitage-homedecluttered.co.uk  www.armitage-homedecluttered.co.uk

(PS: don’t forget all those niggley jobs – let Find Me A Tradesperson will handle for you – we have plenty of decorators, handyman and gardeners all waiting to help you get your move on the way – so get in touch today and let us help you move to your new home)

Been having a lot of fun this afternoon and experimenting with video – its my first attempt and hopefully will get better as I get used to it. Wanted to show off my lovely character tradespeople to you!

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Feel Free to add any other jobs not mentioned – all in the name of research

Obviously the recession has played a major part in people thinking twice about filing up our landfills with unwanted items which is not been a bad thing. Many white goods can be fixed for a cost effective price.

Finding engineers is not always easy and I have struggled over the years to get tradespeople who do this – it’s nearly as bad trying to find decent chimney sweeps and window cleaners too!

Here’s just a list of some of the calls and emails we receive over the years

• Water related: leaks, filling or emptying and heating problems
• Programme faults
• Washing problems
• Washing machine functioning faults
• Oven Elements
• Thermostats
• Fan motors
• Clocks
• Door hinges
• Hot rings

and they are to name a few, if this sounds familiar and you are experiencing any problems like above instead of heading to your nearest shop, do try and see if its fixable it might just save you some cash and upheaval – please call us if you would like to talk about any of your white goods repairs or visit our recommended engineers page.

Have you got big plans under-way to transform and upgrade your house? (new kitchen, garden, bathroom)

Have you got planning permission but haven’t started building yet?

Do you plan to turn your current home into your much bigger ‘forever’ home?

Do you want a bigger house, but can’t afford to move?

If you would like property expert Sarah Beeny to give you invaluable expert advice on how to achieve a lot more space for a lot less cash then she would love to hear from you.

For more information about the show contact

According to property experts it should be 1% of the value on your home, which bearing in mind the national average is £162,109 (Land Registry fig) this can be a whopping £1,621 for each house holds to fork out.

Now living in a realistic world where money is not free flowing this can seem like a wish list but having read Sarah’s article you can see why you should spend some money on your home to keep it marketable. Like Sarah, if you’re re mortgaging it can come as a nasty surprise when the market value is less than you were hoping for. Be vigilant with your property if you have a leak – why have you a leak?  rotting windows – don’t leave it until its gets expensive to replace, dodgy electrics – well can you afford to ignore it?

I suppose the answer is no and with those those leaking gutters, old fashioned kitchen or that avocado bathroom comes at great cost. It’s really important the money you spend on your home is put to good use and is carried out by good reputable tradespeople; always ask for recommendation so you avoid any issues with rogue trades.

If you haven’t read Sarah’s article I would recommend you do as I’m sure we can always learn something.

If you have any issues with your home and you just want a chat in the first instance then do give me a call.

The average family spent approx £1,793 per year on home improvements but more than half had to get a tradesperson involved to put their disasters right costing on average £250 to get the job finished.

Top jobs which needed the professional in to start again or finish off are:

• Cutting through water pipes
• Cutting through power cables
• Dodgy shelving
• Tiling
• Painting and decorating