Lazy Susan Furniture » DIY

Lazy Susan’s winter DIY tips: Prepare your home for the British winter

Lazy Susan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:07:48 +0000

When the temperature drops and the dark nights draw in it can be difficult to find the motivation to tackle those annoying little DIY jobs that you know need doing but you simply can’t find the time. However, if you don’t want bigger, and not to mention more expensive problems, there are a few basic DIY tips that you should tackle to see your home through the British winter. Lazy Susan will explain how you should deal with the most important household problems, helping to keep your home in functioning condition during the winter months.

Garden

Make sure you pack away all your garden furniture and any gardening equipment that could rust somewhere dry and safe such as a shed or garage. However, before you pop it away, make sure it is clean, dry and well oiled to prevent any rusting. Use a rake or spade aerate the soil on your lawn and help slow the growth of moss. If you have a garden pond, clear out any dead leaves, debris and grime before freezing temperatures hit, then regularly break the ice to keep the water oxygenated. Winter is also the perfect time of year to make repairs to your…

Garden furniture and DIY among most popular retail search terms

Lazy Susan — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:48:05 +0000

A recent survey by the BRC-Google Online Retail Monitor has identified that ‘Garden Furniture’ and ‘DIY’ are both featured the top five retail search terms for Q2 2011, while the total retail search volumes have grown by 27% year-on-year. Growth has been primarily driven by the recent rise in mobile search volumes of 216%, more than treble when compared to the same quarter last year, as smart phones and tablets such as the iPad become an increasingly popular ways to shop online. Overall, retail search volumes for multichannel retailers have increased by 14% in Q2, compared with 21% for pure online retailers such as Lazy Susan. We might be in an out of recession at the moment, but these figures have given Lazy Susan more than a little reason to be optimistic.

The BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “While the retail sector as a whole is going through a difficult period, the boom in online retail continues… Consumers are always looking for more convenient ways to shop. Retailers are making m-commerce easier all the time by offering mobile optimised websites, apps and transactional mobile platforms.” The most popular search terms for retail products in the lead-up to summer…

What makes the best compost?

Lazy Susan — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:04:49 +0000

Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments, and you really should use it instead of commercial fertilisers. Best of all, compost is cheap. You can make it without spending a penny. Using compost will improve the structure, texture, and aeration of your soul, whilst also increasing the soil’s capacity to retain moisture. Compost will loosen hard clay soils and help sandy soils to better retain water. Adding compost improves fertility and stimulates healthy root development in your plants by keeping it in a healthy, balanced condition. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus will be produced naturally by the feeding of microorganisms, so few if any soil amendments will need to be added. It really is win win all the way and at Lazy Susan we can tell you how to make the best garden compost heap so that it will smell nice and sweet and do wonders for your garden in the process.

Gardeners have long understood the value of this rich, dark, earthy material in improving the soil and creating a healthful environment for plants. Understanding how to make and use compost is in the public interest, as the problem of waste disposal climbs toward a crisis level. Landfills…

How to install a paver patio

Lazy Susan — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:24:29 +0000

In this great YouTube video, Lowe’s home improvement expert, Mike Kraft, demonstrates how to finish your patio by installing paving stones. Make sure you know the pattern you would like to use before starting. Even though the foundation should be level, double check after you lay down your bricks. For those odd areas that the paver won’t fit, cut and make adjustments. You can use chisels, brick hammers and grinders to make clean cuts and edges. Once all the pavers have been set, place sand over the blocks and dampen with a garden hose. Finally, you can seal the pavers and start planting around the patio edge.

About Lazy Susan

Lazy Susan is a small family business that specialise exclusively in wicker, rattan and metal garden furniture, specifically cast aluminium. Visit www.lazysusanfurniture.co.uk to find out more and view our complete product range.

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How to Repaint Wooden Garden Furniture

Lazy Susan — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:27:19 +0000

Instead of replacing your old weathered wooden outdoor furniture, why not simply sand surfaces smooth, prime and paint to create a brand-new looking piece of garden furniture. A few simple maintenance steps can protect your wooden garden furniture and keep it looking great for many years to come. Clean regularly with gentle products, lightly sand the surface to prevent mold and cover or store pieces during the winter months. If cared for properly, you should only really need to repaint your garden furniture when you fancy a change of colour.

So if you have some old wooden garden chairs with peeling paint and chipped or splintered wood, it’s honestly not that hard to make them look fantastic. Furniture refinishing of this sort is much closer to carpentry and house painting than it is to the skilled world of say restoring an antique table. And that’s a good thing, because with very little effort you can cover up any minor imperfections and have a good-looking finished result.

Patching up any damaged wood

Scrub the splintered, chipped or dented timber with a stiff wire brush to remove any loose paint or wood chips.
Apply a waterproof glue to any splintered

…

The Lazy Susan guide to painting and upkeep of a wooden fence

Lazy Susan — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:21:26 +0000

Many people who have wooden fencing simply don’t take on board the need to maintain the fence throughout its lifetime and as a result that 20 year guarantee of your fence is in fact halved through your own neglect. So what do you need to do to keep it looking in good condition and most importantly protect the timber? With the ever changing climate in the UK from season to season, it is important that you take a few basic steps to help protect your fence from the elements. For example, as with our own skin, your fence will need a little protection from UV rays in the summer. This does not mean a liberal smothering of factor 20 on each fence post, but a protective coat of paint, sealer or stainer will stop any damage to the timber. Plus, you really need to be doing this every year, in order to protect your fence against things like discolouration or water from soaking in.

Another thing to keep in mind in terms of the type of maintenance you need to perform is the position of your fence. If its in a garden facing constant sunlight or it has been…

Children’s playhouse ideas for your garden

Lazy Susan — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:48:54 +0000

I’ve been thinking about drafting this blog for a while now. I basically wanted to pull together a simple introduction and buying guide to children’s playhouse. I can’t imagine there’s many of these out there, but trust me a children’s playhouse just might be one the best investments you’ll ever make. I want to tell you about the different ways a playhouse can be used and establish what factors you need to considered during the buying process, things such as usage, style and versatility.

With the rise of computers, games consoles and social networking websites, children are spending more and more time trapped inside the confines of the home. Add to that a need for our children to get regular exercise and the garden can become an attractive place to get them out in the fresh air doing something stimulating and productive. A playhouse encourages make-believe play and a simple wooden playhouse can be transformed into a home, a school, a garage, a space station or a castle – the possibilities are endless. With imaginative play, your child is in control of their own surroundings, which is a great way to build their self esteem, as well as keeping them occupied and…

Design considerations for all DIY timber deck builders

Lazy Susan — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:49:55 +0000

Following on from our earlier article ‘The Lazy Susan Guide to Timber Decking’, where we skirted on the subject of DIY deck building, I just wanted to look at this in a little more detail and give you a few pointers in terms of planning/designing your deck. Personally, I would always go down the professional route as my DIY skills are average at best. However, if you do want to build your own, then these design pointers from our ‘office expert’ will give you a little helping hand.

1. Where will the deck be located on the house?

We suggest you design your space just like any other room inside your house. For example,, you wouldn’t end a room in the middle of a window. Keep the parameter of your deck away from your windows by two feet or you will be looking out the window at a rail.

There are obstacles that extrude from the house that often get overlooked. You most likely will need to deal with or avoid any water taps, tumble dryer vents, windows below the deck etc. Building your deck lower than these things will save you some money.

Layout/Plot Plan

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Build the Perfect Brick BBQ – Just in time for summer!

Lazy Susan — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:27:59 +0000

Traditional barbecues come in all shapes and sizes from a variety of DIY stores, but if you are serious about your BBQ and enjoy a little DIY, what could be more satisfying than building your own brick barbecue? The materials you need are relatively inexpensive, and as well as making a unique feature this will blend in perfectly with your home and patio and will last much longer than metal, which tends to be a rusted mess after a year or two of the UK’s damp summers.

Firstly, think about the position of your BBQ. You don’t want your BBQ to suddenly become the dominant feature. Tucked in a corner is always your best bet, but make sure there isn’t anything close by that could be damaged from the heat. Wherever you decide to build your BBQ, it must be constructed on a solid hard surface and securely bedded paving slabs are ideal for the base.

Start by making a wooden frame that can act as a template guide to the dimensions of the grill kit. Lay the bricks out dry (without any mortar) to enable the correct brickwork bond to be determined and go for a brick that…

How to lay the perfect slab patio

Lazy Susan — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:18:30 +0000

If you want to lay the perfect slab patio, then this blog will hopefully help to guide you through the process. Once you’ve decided upon the design of your patio and selected the slab you want to use, then you’re ready for the the easy part – laying the patio! The two most common mistakes that spoil a patio, are uneven surfaces and poor foundations. This will result in your patio breaking up and sinking in sections. However, if you get the foundations right before you start to lay your patio slabs, then you won’t have any problems.

Preparing the foundations

If the area where the patio is to go has a hard well-compacted soil base, then huge quantities of hardcore are not really necessary. This type of compacted soil base is found in areas that have been well walked upon over the years, or have been subject to several passes by heavy plant machinery. If you can dig your heel into the surface, then it will need bolstering up with a layer of sub-base, compacted into the surface with a plate compactor that you can easily hire from the likes of A-plant and HSS.

If the area has been a flower bed…