How to Install a Toilet Pan and Cistern

Tools and Materials Needed

Toilet Pan and Cistern, Pozi Screwdriver, Spirit Level, Adjustable Spanner, Hammer, Silicone Grease, Drill, Tile Bit (if installing against tiles), Masonry Bit, Sanitary Silicone, Silicone Gun, Wall Plugs, Toilet Fixing Kit (usually supplied with toilet).

Step 1: Preparing the Cistern

Start by removing the lid from the cistern by unscrewing the ring around the dual flush buttons on top of the cistern. Take one of the bolts that fix the cistern to the pan and run some silicone just underneath the head of the bolt. Place a metal washer onto the bolt followed by another small amount of silicone. Next, place the pointed rubber washer, flat face first, onto the bolt. Again, run a small amount of silicone around the point of the rubber washer followed by a metal washer and finally a nut onto the thread of the bolt and tighten using your spanner. Repeat this for the second bolt.

Step 2: Marking the Fixings

Run some silicone grease around the waste outlet on the toilet pan and carefully push it into the pan connector. Place the large washer over the outlet on the bottom of the cistern. Lift the cistern and carefully position it on top of the pan, ensuring that the bolts on the underside of the cistern locate into the bolt holes on the pan. Place your spirit level onto the cistern, ensuring that it is level. Mark the wall behind the cistern by placing your pencil through the fixing holes on the back of the cistern and then remove the cistern from the pan again.

Step 3: Preparing the Fixings

Take your drill with a tile bit in it and place the tile bit onto the marks on the wall. Lift the drill slightly to drill down at a slight angle. This will make it easier to screw the cistern to the wall. place a wall plug into each hole and tap them flush with the tiles. Take a screw and hold it up to the wall plug. Tap it with your hammer until the wall plug is just behind the tiles. This will help prevent the tiles from cracking when the screws are tightened.

Step 4: Fixing the Pan

Use your pencil to mark the fixing points of the pan onto the floor below it. Draw a faint line around the perimeter of the pan to help you align it again once the holes are drilled. Pull the pan out of the waste pipe and put it to one side. Again, use your drill and tile bit to drill out the fixing holes. Place the pan back into place using the perimeter line as a guide. Secure the toilet pan using the fixing bolts provided. Place the decorative caps over the fixing bolts. 


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How to Fit Architrave

Tools Needed

Hammer, Square, Tape Measure, Punch, Saw, Mitre Block, Pencil, Jigsaw (if preferred), Caulk Gun (if preferred).

Materials Needed

Architrave, Oval Nails/Pins, Sandpaper, Wood Glue, Safety Glasses (if needed).

Step 1: Measuring and Marking

Set your square at about 6mm and from the inside of your frame, mark some lines all the way round the door frame. Stand your first piece of architrave against your frame, making sure it’s on the lines you made earlier. Mark the architrave at the point where the head of the frame will meet your architrave.

Step 2: Cutting the Mitre

If possible, fix your mitre block down to the surface you’re working on. This will make life easier for you when it comes to cutting your architrave. Place your architrave in the mitre block and line up your cut with the gap for your saw. Place your saw in the gap and cut your architrave. Try not to push down on the saw too much, let the saw do the work.

Step 3: Fixing the Architrave

Get your wood glue or grip fill and put some on the back of the architrave. Place the architrave on the frame, making sure it’s on the lines you marked earlier. Make sure it lines up with the mark you made across the head of the frame. Take your nails and fix the architrave to the frame. Don’t hammer the nails all the way in or you’ll damage the architrave with the face of the hammer. Take your punch and place it on the nail head. Hammer this in until the head of the nail is just under the surface. This will hide the nails when you come to decorate your architrave.

Step 4: The Head

Place a piece of architrave up against the piece you’ve already fixed. Mark where the two meet. This will be where you will start your cut. You can cut this the same way as in step 2, but we’re going to show you how to do it with a jigsaw. Mark the angle of the mitre on the flat side of the architrave. Make sure you wear your safety glasses for this. Take your jigsaw and cut along the line. Use some sandpaper to smooth off any burrs in the wood. Place the architrave up against the fixed piece and mark the opposite side. Repeat the cutting procedure. Fix to the head of the frame as you did with the upright.

Step 5: Finishing Off

Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 for the remaining side of your door frame. Use a little bit of filler for the nail holes and when dry, fold some sandpaper and sand until smooth. Now you’re ready to decorate. 


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How To Grout Tiles

      Tools Needed

          Mixing Trowel, Rubber Squeegee 

• Materials Needed

  
  
  Grout, Mixing Bucket, Bucket (with CLEAN water), Sponge. 
  
  
• Step 1: Mixing the Grout

  
  
  Put some water in your mixing bucket. Add the grout a bit at a time and mix until you get a nice creamy consistency. Leave for 5 minutes before applying. 

       Step 2: Applying the Grout

Using your trowel, scoop some grout onto your squeegee. Apply this to the face of the tiles and work it into all of the joints. Make sure you really push it into all of the joints so you don’t get any air pockets. Once you’ve covered an area, wipe off any excess. Continue until you’ve covered the whole wall. Leave for 10 – 15 minutes. 
• Step 3: Cleaning Up

  
  
  Take your damp sponge and wipe over the tiles to take off any grout residue. Keep your sponge flat against the tiles so you don’t dig any grout out of the joints. Wash the sponge out regularly. Cover the whole wall and leave for 5 minutes. Repeat this process and leave for 30 minutes to an hour. 
  
  
• Step 4: Polishing Up

  
  
  Take a dry, soft cloth and polish up the tiles to a clean shine. 
  
  
  
  
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How To Tile A Wall

      Tools Needed

Tile Cutter, Notched Trowel, Level, Drill Driver (if you need to use a baton). 
• Materials Needed

  
  
  Tiles, Spacers, Tile Adhesive, Bucket (and Water), Sponge, Screws, (if you need to use a baton). 
  
  
• Step 1 : Measuring Up

  
  
  Measure the length of the wall you’re going to tile and divide this in two to find the centre. Using your level, mark a vertical line at the centre point of your wall. Then, mark the centre of the wall vertically and draw a line horizontally across the wall so you end up with a large cross in the centre of your wall. 

      Step 2 : Applying the Adhesive

Take your notched trowel and scoop some adhesive onto your wall, starting at the centre point and spreading away from your lines. Try not to spread over the top of your marked lines as you will need to see these when you come to add the tiles. Don’t spread too large an area, as the adhesive will start to set before you apply the tiles. 
• Step 3 : Fixing the Tiles

  
  
  Starting at the centre, place your first tile so that both edges meet the pencil lines you drew earlier. Push the tiles gently into the tile adhesive. Place a few tiles horizontally along the wall, making sure they are on the line. Take some tile spacers and place the between the tiles, both at the top and bottom. This will create a consistent gap between them. If your tiles are large and heavy, they may slip down the wall. If so, get yourself a straight edged piece of timber and screw it to the wall along your horizontal line, underneath the tiles. This will hold them in place until the adhesive has set. Carry on until all of the adhesive area has been covered. Repeat this procedure until you come to a point where you need to start cutting tiles. 

       Step 4 : Tile Cutting

Offer the tile to be cut up to the edge of the wall. Account for your spacer and mark the tile with a pencil. Place the tile in the tile cutter and score along the tile gently. Pull the handle down firmly to cut the tile and then fix onto the wall. 
• Step 5 : Cleaning the Tiles

  
  
  Leave the tiles for 10 – 15 minutes then, take your damp sponge and gently wipe off any adhesive that may be on the face of the tiles. Be careful not to push too hard as you could move the tiles out of place. Now you’re ready for grouting. 
  
  
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How To Change A 3 Pin Plug

•       Tools Needed

  Terminal Screwdriver, Pliers/Wire Strippers (if needed).
  • Materials Needed

    3 Pin Plug.
  • Step 1 : Remove The Old Plug

    Start by releasing the centre screw to open up the plug. Turn the plug over and release the 3 screws on the terminals that hold the cables in place. Carefully pull the cables out of the terminals and discard the old plug. 
  
         Step 2 : Check The Connections
  Open the new plug up by releasing the centre screw. If your new plug has a cord grip, this can be removed as well. Release the screws on the 3 terminal connections. Taking your cable, check for any damage to the sleeving. The colour coding for UK cables is – BROWN – LIVE / BLUE – NUETRAL / GREEN & YELLOW – EARTH .Marked on the inside of the plug next to each terminal is a letter that represents these connections L = LIVE / N = NUETRAL / E = EARTH ALWAYS check your fuse rating against the appliance it will fitted on! 
  • Step 3 : Rewiring The New Plug

    Start by removing the fuse cartridge – this will make it easier to wire. Push the pins up a little and place the ends of the cable into the terminals, making sure to check they are in the right place. Make sure the cables are pushed all the way in and there is no bare wire showing outside of the terminal. Ensure that the sheath of the cable is firmly tightened into the cable grip.

    
    

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How To Tape And Joint Plasterboard

Tools Needed

Plasterers Trowel or Large Filling Knife, Hawk, A Bucket, A Mixing Drill (depending on the size of the job). 

Materials Needed

Sandpaper, Jointing Compound (Easi-Fill etc.), Jointing Tape. 

Step 1: Tape your Joints

Cover all your joints with either jointing tape or scrim. Depending on how your wall is, you may need corner jointing tape as well. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Step 2: Mix your Jointing Compound

Mix up your jointing compound accordingly to how much you’ll need. If you have a large area to cover you may want to use a mixing drill. 

Step 3: Applying your Jointing Compound (1st layer)

Starting from the floor up put some jointing compound in the middle of your application tool and apply to your groove. Make sure you only fill the groove. If you have corners, then apply it by working away from your wall. Once you have filled the groove, firmly run your trowel up your corner removing any excess compound. 

Step 4: Applying your Jointing Compound (2nd layer)

Basically, just follow Step 3. This time run your compound over the groove, over filling by about 1-2mm. 

Step 5: Sanding Down

Using some fine sandpaper, work in a circular motion, rubbing down your joints till they are all evenly flat. 

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Tommy's Trade Secrets - How To Build A Stud Wall

• ·         

  
  

  ToTools Needed

  Hammer, Chop Saw, Hand Saw, Drill Driver, Hammer Drill, Set Square, Level, Tape Measure, Pencil. 

  ·        
  
  
  

  Materials Needed

  Timber, Selection of Screws, Wall Plugs. 

  
  

  Step 1: Base Plate

  So you have your materials, now to use them! First, mark out with your tape measure, level and pencil where the location of your stud wall is to be erected. Now start with your base plate. If your stud wall is having an opening, we suggest you leave your base plate intact. This will maintain the strength and accuracy of your wall until fully erected, at which point you can saw and remove the section of base plate where the opening is to be. When fixing your base plate to your floor, you must take in to consideration that there might be pipes or wires below the floor!! A useful tip for this if fixing to a wooden floor is to determine the thickness of your floor, say 22mm, then add this to your timber thickness. So 47 + 22 = 69mm. Therefore the size of your screw should be no bigger than 69mm! Please still take into account that some pipes and wires maybe notched into the top part of your joists. If you are fixing to a concrete floor, you can drill and plug into this, however the same applies, there might be pipes or wires beneath, so it’s better to be safe than sorry and fix your timber down using a solvent glue, like a grab adhesive, also known as no more nails. Apply this to the floor and timber, then position correctly, tap down and slightly wiggle the timber into place. This will ensure good contact between both bonding areas. Now follow the recommended drying times normally indicated by the manufacturer for the grab adhesive and allow to dry until secure and solid. You might want to place some heavy objects on your floor plate. This will help to further secure it to the floor. 
  
  
  ·         Step 2 : Wall Plate
  Now you have your base plate in place. It’s now time to fix your two wall plates to your wall, using screws and wall plugs, ensuring both are level and have sufficient fixings. Also place some fixings where the wall and base plate meet by fixing your screws diagonally. You may want to pre drill first as this can sometimes be a little bit tricky. 
  ·        
  
  
  
  Step 3: Ceiling Plate
  Now for your ceiling plate. This is straight forward as you already have your position to where it should go - providing your wall plates are level. When cutting your ceiling plate, over cut slightly by 2 - 3mm. This will allow the plate to be softly wedged and in turn, free your hands allowing you to get a good fixing. When fixing to the ceiling, you should locate your joists and screw into these, providing they run the opposite way to your plate. Same as the base plate, you must take in to consideration there might be pipes or wires above or running though these joists. If your existing joists run adjacent to your plate we suggest you place some noggins in between these joists at around 600 c/c. Now you can fix your ceiling plate to these. If your ceiling is concrete, then simply follow Step 1 as you would for fixing your base plate to a concrete floor. Wedge the ceiling plate with some timber until dry. 
  
  

  Step 4: Studs

  Now you have all your plates in place, time for the studs (and opening if you have one). The location of these will be determined by several factors - the length of your wall, if you are having an opening, if your stud wall has a corner etc. After taking these factors into consideration you should place your studs at 600 c/c. The main reason for this is that your plasterboards are in metric lengths. Plasterboards are 2400mm x 1200mm (8’ x 4’) or 1200mm x 600mm (6‘ x 3‘), therefore if you place your studs and they are level at 600c/c then when fixing your plasterboards each one will sit comfortably in the centre of the stud at each end. So determine where you will place your first plasterboard, attach your tape measure to the furthest end of the timber and mark off with pencil in sequence (also marking off where your opening is to be) every 600 c/c, so 600, 1200, 1800 etc. So we now have the locations of where your studs are to be placed (and opening). Now measure the height of your stud. Each stud will probably be slightly different in height, so we suggest you measure and place each one separately. As with the ceiling plate, it would be a good idea to over cut each stud slightly by 2 - 3mm, now cut accordingly. Mark the centre of your studs and line these up with the marks on your plate. Softly wedge in place and fix to the floor and ceiling plate by fixing diagonally through the studs. Two screws each side of the stud, top and bottom will suffice. 
  
  

  Step 5: Noggins

  Now to place your noggins. Measure from the floor up on each wall plate. You may want to raise the board off the floor slightly (25mm), so depending on the plasterboard you are using it will either be 625mm or 1225mm high. This 25mm addition will compensate if the floor is not level or uneven. Once you have your mark on each wall plate, run a chalk line between your two measurements. You now have an accurate line throughout your studs for the centre of your noggins. It’s important to measure the noggins out accurately, especially if you are to have an opening, because too small or too large will affect the opening you have made by making it uneven or bowed. With this taken into account, all that’s left to do is fix your noggins. Depending on the height of your wall, this will determine how many rows of noggins are needed. 
  
  
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