Credit Crunch hits Local Builders: Problemsolved.co.uk

(I-Newswire) July 16, 2009 - 35% increase in homeowners attempting DIY.
Our Top 10 Tricks of the Trade
According to a recent poll by ProblemSolved.co.uk, 75% of British homeowners will be reaching for their tool boxes in the next six months, an increase of 35% on the second half of 2008.

54% of those polled cited money saving as the reason for their decision, with 17% stating that they are "DIY enthusiasts." The news spells more bad news for tradespeople across the UK as the credit crunch takes its toll on the construction industry. The FMB has reported that 51% of small to medium building firms planned to make redundancies over the next 6 months.

ProblemSolved's founder, Alison Cork, remains optimistic in spite of the findings: "The results aren't a surprise to us – people are looking to cut costs and trying to do the work themselves is an obvious place to start."

"But with house prices predicted to fall by a further 15-25% this year, homeowners are realising that it takes more than a lick of paint to maintain or improve a property's value. And with raw materials as competitively priced as they are, now's the time to plan an extension, conversion or renovation for the best return on investment."

Top Ten Tricks of the Trade

If you've caught the DIY bug and plan to roll up your sleeves, here are a few tricks of the trade to make life even easier:

1) When hanging pictures or mirrors, place the prongs of a fork on the hook or nail you have just put into the wall. This makes it a lot easier to find the hook and hang your picture or mirror.

2) To remove rust from metal bolts and screws all you have to do is soak in strong vinegar. Hey presto, the rust will simply dissolve away.

3) Making room in a galley kitchen can be a challenge. To help create more floor space, why not try using wall units in place of base units at ground level.

4) There's nothing worse than going to paint a room, prepping everything, and then realising that the paint brushes have dried out. To prevent this, try storing them in sealable freezer bags.

5) Before steaming / wetting wallpaper for stripping, use a course sand paper or other light abrasive to break up the surface so that as much water as possible gets to the dried adhesive.

6) Treat your tools with respect and you shouldn't have to replace them too often. One thing to maintain your tools' longevity is to store them blade down in a bucket of dry sand. This helps to prevent rust from forming.

7) When cutting something with a jaw saw, you'll get a much smoother cut if you rub soap on the cutting edge of the blade before you start.

8) An easy and cheap storage trick for your garage or shed. Stick a jam jar lid-up to the bottom of shelves, unscrew once in place and then you can use it to store nuts, bolts, nails and rawlplugs.

9) Stop floorboards from squeaking by sprinkling talcum powder between the noisy offenders.


10) Know your limitations – if you feel overstretched, you probably are and should call in a professional. At www.problemsolved.co.uk you can compare and review over 60,000 local tradesmen.




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