 QVC’s Resident DIY Expert, Orlando
Khota answers your questions to help you
‘do-it-yourself’…
Some grouting has come away from my bathroom wall tiles,
can I just fill in the missing part or do I need to re grout
the whole lot?
First make sure all the loose grout is
removed and then you can just fill in the missing part. The
only disadvantage that you have is that the part you have just
filled will be brilliant white and the older grout will look a
different colour. So, you might want to do a little bit more
than the area, blending it in but not necessarily the whole
bathroom.
I have just moved in to a new rented house and the landlord
said I can’t put up any shelves. Can you recommend
another storage solution that won’t take up too much
space?
A freestanding bookshelf from our friendly
Scandinavian cousins will work just as well and you can take it
with you to your next rental place! This is the best option if
you want to be able to see the items on the shelf.
Alternatively you could buy drawers for underneath your bed or
a stylish trunk to store items in.
My car port, made of corrugated plastic, has a lot of
damage after the recent high winds. There are lots of pieces
broken off. I think I will need to replace it, but how can I
repair it in the meantime? If I am going to replace it, what
material can I use instead?
A car port is a roofed car parking space
and a corrugated plastic roof is quite difficult to repair. You
can use self-adhesive weather proofing strips, but obviously
these are not clear so they will stand out like a sore thumb.
You’re right in the fact that it will all need replacing.
Replace it with the same corrugated plastic that is already
there and you will be able to see the construction of it when
you dismantle the original and where it has been fixed and
screwed down. I would wait until a nice sunny weekend in the
summer when this kind of job would be a pleasure to do and you
may even catch some sun at the same time! Remember to drink
plenty of water.
What is the best was to clean my red sandstone quoins and
window surrounds, which have become tainted green as a result
of damp weather over the years. Also what is the best way to
treat the stone after cleaning to prevent reoccurrence?
Using a brick and patio cleaner may help
but test this on the sandstone first to make sure it
doesn’t react. If it doesn’t react and it is
starting to clean, then use this and afterwards give the area a
good pressure wash. Once it is all cleaned to your satisfaction
there are other products available at DIY stores and builder
merchants that will seal and protect the stone.
I’m about to buy a new carpet and I’ve been
told that the underlay is just as important as the carpet, but
I’m confused about all the different types. What should I
go for in my living room?
You’re absolutely right. A good
quality underlay will elongate the life of your carpet and be
much more comfortable to walk on. I usually go for the best
quality rubber-backed underlay. Also, if you have floorboards
and not tongue & groove chipboard then covering the floor
with hardboard, rough side up and stapled down will give a nice
flat surface and you won’t see floor board lines wearing
through the carpet. Also, this will stop draughts coming up
through the floorboards.
I’ve recently moved and have discovered the previous
owner has painted the radiators with normal paint instead of
the special type for radiators. How can I fix this as
it’s blocking the heat from coming through properly?
This is a common mistake people make and
really I would suggest you strip off the paint, which will also
have to be stripped off back to the metal. Clean it up and then
paint with a good quality radiator paint.
If I fix my flat screen TV to the wall, where can I hide
all the cables?
This is a common problem and the solution I
have found in the past is to chisel out the wall from just
behind where the TV sits to the plug socket level below the TV
and set some square white guttering with two 45 degree ends,
top and bottom, into the wall and re-plaster over it. The
channel will have to be 4 inches deep and the distance between
the plug socket height and just up behind the bottom of the TV,
which is usually about one meter. Once this is plastered in
flush again, you have a nice channel behind the wall where you
can throw all your scart cables and it’ll look neat and
tidy. Obviously it all depends on what type of wall you are
putting the TV on. If it is going onto an internal stud wall,
the same thing can be done but you will have to remove some
plasterboard to put the channel and square guttering in and
then re-board and plaster. If you are working to a budget, you
can get some electrical conduit which has a clip on face, so
you can run your cables down and clip on the white face again
– this makes it look a little neater but you will still
see the conduit running down.
My leather sofa is starting to look a bit old and worn. Is
there a way of restoring it to its former glory?
There are leather reviving and restoring
products out on the market. It all depends how far gone your
sofa is. They are relatively inexpensive these products, so
they are all worth a try. In my experience, it is better to
have used these products from when you buy the sofa, rather
than trying to restore one that has started to crack. The
products won’t restore a dry cracked out leather, but
they may give a little bit of glossiness.
Is there an easy way of cleaning the outside of my upstairs
windows from the inside?
I seem to remember that there is a product
out on the market which works using magnets to put a squigee on
the outside of the window and the magnet on the inside and it
moves the squigee on the outside. These things are available
for fish tanks aswell, so if you can’t find it at your
DIY store, you may find something similar at your pet
shop.
I had a water leak from the tank in my attic and it has
left the ceiling of my bedroom very badly stained. I have tried
painting over it but the stain keeps coming through, how do I
treat a problem like this?
There is a fantastic product available at
most DIY shops and stores called Stain Stop. It’s a paint
which permanently stops existing stains reappearing through
paint. Apply stain stop to the stained area, then paint and
decorate as normal.
I’m trying to re-tile my kitchen, which has so far
been going fine, however now that I am trying to cut the
tiles I have problems as they keep breaking in the wrong place.
What am I doing wrong?
It sounds as if the tiles are a little
brittle. When I have come across this problem in the past, I
find cutting the tiles with an angle grinder rather than a tile
cutter gives better results - It is a bit more time consuming
but it should work.
I have an old photo frame which I have had for years but
the frame is a bit old fashioned and doesn’t fit in with
my room. I’d like to paint it a different colour. Should
I use a regular oil based paint or is there something you would
recommend? Also do I need to use a primer or will sanding it
back be enough?
In order to get the best finish possible
you will have to sand it back and prime it. For the best long
lasting paint finish an oil based paint will be the best. You
can get these now in gloss, satin or matt but remember when
using an oil based paint do not try to put too much on at once
as it may drip, you are better off putting on 3 thin coats
rather than one thick coat.
The drum in my washing machine is loose. Do I need to call
an engineer or is this something I can fix myself.
I would leave this to an engineer as a lot
of washing machines have slightly different working parts and
you could get into problems in finding the parts, so an
engineer would know exactly what is going on with your
particular brand and machine.
I need to repaint our garden fence and I was tempted by
those spray machines I keep seeing on TV. Are they worth the
money or should I stick to a brush?
The spray machines in my experience do work
well. They are a lot quicker than a brush. Embrace this new
technology and get the job done in half the time!
I really want to install a burglar alarm in my house before
I go on holiday, but I can't really afford to spend a lot of
money on it. Are there any cheaper alternatives? There are burglar alarms for the DIYer that can be
fitted by someone with basic DIY skills and following the
instructions. Obviously these do not carry home insurance
benefits, so sometimes it is better to talk to your insurance
company and find out which alarm would lower your home
insurance premiums and maybe go for this one. I know it means
spending money, but you are saving money in the long-run on
your home insurance.
Tune in to QVC each week to see Orlando on DIY on Sunday,
log on to www.qvcuk.com or call 0800 50 40 30. QVC is
available on Sky Digital channel 630, Freeview channel 16 and
Virgin TV channel 740.
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