Painting & Decorating
Found this fab site with for Interior Design ideas and tips with loads of linkd to suppliers etc - http://www.InteriorDesignPost.com
K. Perry, UK

Painting & Decorating
I have found a very useful tool on L G Harris's website: www.lgharris.co.uk. They sell a Complete Decorating guide on CD. It contains information on all sorts of DIY tasks ranging from achieving the best paint finish, stripping wallpaper, preparation and lots more.
Tom, Stourport-on-Severn

Drilling walls
When drilling walls hold vacum cleaner pipe against wall under drill no dust no mess.
Tony, Milton Keynes

Make more room in a small bathroom
To make more room in a small bathroom of a pre-1960's house, see if the toilet waste pipe is a cast iron horizontal pipe through the wall behind the toilet pan. If it is, it probably projects about 30cm into the room and has a wider flared end to take the toilet connector. Modern toilet pans are smaller and can be fitted back nearer the wall if you chop this waste pipe shorter, you dont need the flared end any more. Buy a mini angle grinder (£8 mail order) and cut the end off the iron waste pipe about 5cm from the wall. Its easy to find a straight plastic waste pipe 'coupler' (that seals itself) that can be cut to any length to connect from the now shorter iron pipe to your new toilet pan. Offer up the new toilet pan and consider where to mount the cistern above it. Usually you will have moved the pan 20 cm nearer the wall, freeing up floorspace.
Tom, Windsor

Connecting pipes to Baths/sinks
New pipe connections with rubber seals to older baths/sinks will leak because the lower surface of the bath/sink around the hole was never made flat enough for modern rubber seals. Apply car body filler to the lower surface around the pipe hole, to then sand it flat. The rubber seals on modern pipe joints will work well against this, no messy plumbers glop, and no leaks.
Tom, Windsor

Filling gaps in skirting/wall or coving/ceiling joints
Typically 'caulking' is sold for this purpose but after a year starts shrinking and a great job starts to look sad. If you use external frame sealant which though slightly more expensive has far more robust properties and no cracks/gaps reappear, guaranteed.
Simon, Kent

Painting
When you finish painting and you are going to carry on the next, wrap your brushes in cling film rather than keep washing them, and the paint wont dry out and you can carry on. Also store tins of paint upside down so that the 'skin' forms at the bottom of the tin not the top. That way you won't have to try to get the skin off and the paint is always at the top of the tin so you dont have to put your hand right inside! Remember to ensure the lid is on very tightly though!
Andrew, Essex

Repairing a hole in plasterboard wall
Firstly, clean around the hole and make the edges as straight as possible. Find a piece of plasterboard, plywood or wood slightly smaller in width than the hole but approx 20 to 30 mm longer than the opening. Fix a screw into the middle of the piece of plasterboard etc, for holding and ease the piece into the hole, holding it up to the back of the hole. Centralize this and screw through the wall to catch the longer ends of the plasterboard. This will hold the piece in place and allow you to fill the hole from the front, with premixed multi-plaster or similar. Fill as much as you can, working into the edges especially. Let this dry over night and rub down as smooth as you can. To get a better finish use a Stanley knife to score through the paper approx 20mm around the filled hole. Now fill again and use a straight edge to create a perfectly flat finish. Let this dry, rub it down and paint, for a perfect finish. What hole??
Andrew, Aberdeen

Nailing
When nailing near the edge of a piece of wood tap the point of the nail with the hammer - this will stop the wood from splitting.
Paul, Lancashire

Painting
When using a brand new paint roller, soak the roller in warm water. The paint will stick better and give better coverage on the wall!
Paul, Lancashire

Drilling holes in interior walls
Cut a hole about 3 inches square, a few inches down in a supermarket carrier bag. Put the carrier bag over the drill position and stick four pieces of masking tape to seal the hole in the bag to the wall.Put thew drill in the bag and drill away.No dust to clear up.
Reg, Newcastle upon Tyne

Messy paint trays
Save time on cleaning up while painting using a roller -wrap the paint tray in a plastic bag before filling it with paint. Then just throw out the bag when you're done. Simple!
Alex, London

Hammering wood rather than the nail
If you end up hammering the wood rather than the nail leaving a nasty dent, all you need to do to salvage the situation is cover the area with a wet cloth and hold a hot iron over the spot. The fibres will magically repair themselves.
Peter, London

Noisy radiators
To deal with rattling radiators all you need to do is simply bleed the system. Use a key at the top of the radiator and wait for the air to escape and the water to start to leak before locking it off. Just make sure you havea tea towel to hand otherwise it can get a little messy.
Ian, Nottingham

Rusty Screws
If you're finding it hard to loosen a rusty screw or bolt, try soaking the little beggar with lemon juice - the acid will help break up the rust making removal easier!
Clint, Northampton