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Being a strong and durable product requiring little maintenance and expected to last over 2 decades, it’s little wonder resin is now a popular material amongst homeowners in the UK to build their driveways. However, there’s always the issue of the driveway fading, cracking or even becoming worn and tired. So is it possible to repair resin driveways? The answer is yes, a resin driveway can be repaired, however the best approach to use largely depends on the issue being faced. As a confident DIYer it’ll be very easy to do, but if you lack the confidence then calling in a professional for help would be a better option. So let’s take a look at how you can repair your resin driveways.

For cracks, the best reparation approach would be to chisel it out. Once done, then you can proceed to breaking the stones to form a rough edge. It’s important to make sure that the matrix of the stone remains unaffected. Make a new mixture of resin bound stone and pack it in tightly to the gap. While doing this, we’ll recommend making use of a plastic trowel to avoid burnishing. This fresh mixture will then create a smooth and perfect surface by interlocking with the edges. You can follow similar procedure for patches but these are larger holes or damages than cracks and as the name suggests are mostly likely to remain noticeable but will prevent further crumbling of your resin driveway.

For homeowners, who aren’t so keen about the patch repairs, you can opt for an overlay especially in the event whereby the majority of the surface has failed. Although many usually shy away from this approach because of the perceived high expenses, but the fact is that the approach is actually cost effective as you won’t have the need to spend more money in the long run.

If you’re considering converting a barn or buying one, you shouldn’t need to worry about it being cold. This is because building regulations dictate that when you convert a barn, you need to insulate it to meet specific standards. However, it’s worth considering its heating system and ceiling heights carefully – some barn conversions are likely to take longer and be more expensive to heat up than others.

As with every home development project, a home makeover comes with heaps of preparation and, hard work, but it is a remarkable way to breathe new life into an old home.

RESEARCH PERIOD FEATURES AND SAFEGUARD THEM

Get to know your household better, the time it was constructed in, and the kind of individuals who would have lived there. The greatest tactic is to repair current structures, make the house dry and safe.

CHECK FOR RENOVATION RESTRICTIONS BEFORE YOU START

There are certain restrictions that don’t allow you to remodel your house after a certain extent, it should be made clear to you when you purchase the property but if you are unsure about the regulations you should check them up, as it is a criminal offence to carry out unauthorised work to a listed home. Restrictions in Conservation Areas generally affect only the exterior of the property as the intention is to ‘preserve or enhance the character or appearance’ of an area, but the right to develop your house will be affected. This means the kind of work that you could have easily completed in a different location may need certain planning and even permissions to complete in your area.

CREATE A DESIGN FOR YOUR HOUSE RENOVATION

It is very important that you take your time to perfect the design. This will help to ensure that the finished work is in tune with your needs. You will also need to figure it out how the changes might play with the original building.

FIND THE BEST CONTRACTORS FOR YOUR RENOVATION

If you are planning on managing the renovation project yourself, it is advisable to ask from friends or family who have renovated their house before and have undergone a similar experience. They can help you find the right architect and builder. Or else, you can always opt for a project manager.

Pitting, also referred to as spalling is the event whereby “pits” or small holes start showing on the surface of your concrete driveway which makes it appear both worn and uneven. Concrete driveway pitting is a common but highly frustrating problem for most homeowners. You’ll see some concrete driveways that’ll only start to pit after a couple of years, but this is not true for all concrete driveways as others will start to show signs only after a couple of months. So how do you tackle this issue? Well, it’s relatively simple to tackle, however if you’re not confident or lack the necessary skills, we’d recommend you get in touch with a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll take you through the concrete driveway pitting repair process.

✓ Prepare the pits by cleaning the area, clearing out all debris and more. The small pits can be cleaned with a stiff brush while a sturdy broom will do a good job for larger pits.

✓ Make use of a hose to spray the concrete pits and flush out all remaining bits of waste.

✓ If you’re tackling series of small pits, simply use a caulking gun filled with pre-mixed epoxy and specially formulated for concrete to fill the pits. Clear off the excess eproxy ensuring that its level with the concrete surface. Once done, simply leave for at least 24 hours before the application of a concrete sealant to prevent the wear and tear of the new concrete.

✓ Chisel out a little concrete and clean with a pressure washer. Once done, apply a concrete resurfacing compound mixture into the holes and use a trowel to level off.

✓ Ensure that the repaired concrete driveway is protected from rain and foot traffic for at least 6 hours (or 24 hours for vehicles).

Are you considering converting your garage into a more usable space in your home? If yes, then you’d probably want to know if you’ll require building regs before converting the garage. The answer to this question is yes. Although you may not require planning approval to convert your garage into a more usable space, but you’d usually need approval under the Building Regulations.

When re-structuring your garage into a habitable space, the following should be taken into consideration: structural alterations, ventilation, moisture proofing, insulation, fireproofing, escape routes as well as the submission of a building building notice or full plan application to the local council in order to inform them about the planned project.

• Walls

You’ll require an approval if you plan to infill the garage door with a window and a new wall. This is because the garage may have been built of a shallow slab which implies that a new foundation would be needed for the new wall construction.

• Floor

Even though there’s a high possibility that the garage floor is strong enough for domestic use since its designed to withstand the weight of vehicles, you may however need to upgrade to make sure it suitable for both thermal insulation and damp proofing. In addition, there may also be the need to to alter the floor level in such a way that it matches that of the remaining parts of the house.

• Ventilation

According to the Building Regulations requirements, there’s a need for adequate ventilation for each individual rooms which includes garage conversions for general health purposes. What’s going to determine the ventilation level that’ll be required is the frequency at which the room is used. Ventilation can be provided through purge or simply opening the window or via trickle ventilation.

If you’re planning to construct a kitchen diner extension, to help you set a budget and start planning you must first have a cost estimate that’ll complete the entire project. If not, there’s a probability that you may have to spend more than would have been necessary or probably break the bank to have the project done. In truth, there’s no single and short answer to this question as the cost of a kitchen diner is largely dependent of several variables. In this article, we’re going to give a good insight into kitchen diner extension cost so as to help you make informed decisions moving forward. Let’s take a look!

On the average, a kitchen diner extension will cost within the range of £25,000 to about £45,000, however if you happen to reside in London, you can expect the cost to be a lot more than that - closer to £60,000. And due to the fact that there happens to be a plethora of options out there, any decision to make be it on the size, tradesman, flooring, finishes or type of the kitchen diner extension, will have a considerable impact on the overall cost of the project. For instance, a basic kitchen diner extension cost can be within the range of £12,000 to about £15,000., while a high end kitchen diner extension can reach a whooping price between £80,000 to about £100,000.

The total cost of your kitchen diner project will rely heavily of the size as well as the quality of the finishes. For example, a kitchen diner extension that’s small and basic is likely to cost about £1,300 to £1,500 per square metre. However, if you’re going for higher quality finishes, you can expect to pay within the range of £1,900 to about £3,000 per square metre.

Yes, bricklayers can work during the cold months, but it all depends on the type of work involved. For instance, residential housing maintenance works such as tuck pointing deficient mortar joints on exterior walls and columns as well as rebuilding of chimneys are best tackled during summer or simply put, the warmer months of the year. This is is mainly because the best results for these activities are achieved in the warmer months and several bricklayers will agree to this fact.

Mixing of mortar using anti-freeze technique to counter-act the effects of a cold weather can lead to white marks trailing down the brick when warmer temperatures comes knocking. As a result, even mortar mixing should be done at temperatures exceeding zero degree farenheit which will hold no serious consequences if the temperature should change to a little bit below the norms. During the winter, a good technique that can be incorporated to when mixing mortar would be to mix them in smaller quantities in a warmer environment. These small quantities will immediately be fed by the labourers to the bricklayers and in such circumstances, the mixed mortars will not be subjected to a freezing temperature for too long.

Generally, it would be very unwise to consider any bricklaying work to be done whenever the temperature jumps to a certain level which would be considered to be very inconvenient to work in. Interior works like remodelling of fireplaces can be tackled so long there is a warm space to mix the mortars while also keeping the materials at an indoor temperature. Bricklaying works that have, however, been completed during the colder months should be subjected to a very close inspection as well as looking for potential damage that can be caused to existing works as a result of the harsh weather.

A barn conversion is where an agricultural building is altered to serve a different purpose. Lots of barns conversion projects involve converting an old barn into one or more homes. However, barns can also be converted into other types of commercial building, like offices.