Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

Fitting a wall mounted basin provides a greater challenge than fitting a pedestal basin, or basin in a vanity unit, as you need to pay serious attention to how the weight of the basin is going to be supported. Also, you will almost certainly need to adjust supply and waste pipe positions for your new basin, therefore more advanced plumbing skills are required, than would normally be the case if, for example, you were just changing over one pedestal basin for another. read more »

Planning lighting to the best effect in your home is important for both aesthetic and practical reasons. Good lighting makes the best use of natural light, as well as artificial light, and lighting plans need to give equal consideration to both resources. If you are carrying out a full renovation of your home, plan the lighting at the same time as the plumbing. Mark existing sockets and where you need more, as many houses simply don’t have enough sockets, and overloading them with too many appliances should always be avoided. read more »

Hanging a wallpaper border is a simple way of adding further decoration to painted walls, or over the top of wallpaper to add extra pattern and interest. Hanging a border is straightforward, but you do need to know what adhesive, if any, is required to hang the border. There are three main options – Firstly there are those borders that require border adhesive, that is pasted onto the back of the border with a brush or roller before hanging. read more »

Growing lettuce is a great idea for any vegetable garden, and with some good planning you can provide lettuce for your family all summer and into autumn. There are plenty of options in terms of choice – some of my favourites include ‘cut and come again’ varieties that you harvest after just four weeks. You can simply pull single leaves from each lettuce as required, or cut a plant 3cm above the base and let it sprout again. The lettuce just keeps on growing! read more »

Growing fruit often comes second place to growing vegetables, in many gardens, why? – well I think a lot of people feel that growing fruit may be tricky, or that crops can often be disappointing in relation to the outlay and effort put into cultivation. In response to this, I would say that in recent years, suppliers have done a lot to produce what are effectively “easy grow” options, and never before has so much advice been available, whether in books or free online. read more »