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Painting, decorating and home improvement tips blog

Colour trends for 2015

Posted by Adrian
December 16th, 2014

Colour trends for 2015

Dulux Colour Futures™ from AkzoNobel have come up with the upcoming trends for colour for 2015, through their international research they have selected a range of colours they think will be in trend throughout 2015, and have picked a dominant colour for the year.

Colour palettes and colour trends for 2015

“2015 is about that added refinement: putting the + into the everyday.”

“Everyday + Finding the wonderful in the normal”

Quote from ColourFutures™

As a paint translation of this trend, our research all points to this orangey copper tone. Great on its own, the colour also combines perfectly with pinks, neutrals, whites and other orange hues, as well as metallic colours such as gold.

The theme consists of the following five colour palettes and colour moods:

  • Big nature + small me
  • Layer + layer
  • + unseen spaces
  • Him + her
  • Friendly Barter +

Swatch 50YR 36/263

What is to colour for 2015

The colour of the year 2015 is……. 50YR 36/263 (also known as Copper orange).

“It reflects and complements all of the major trends that we have identified for 2015: a warmth in attitude and a renewed emphasis on sharing; the natural palette of the earth, from clay tones to sunlit highlights of yellow; the skin tones that reflect human interaction and the sepia hues of the past.
It is a colour of depth and currency that combines wonderfully with the everyday”

Quote from ColourFutures™

You can see more of this years colour schemes here:
Dulux Trade website or here:
http://www.colourfutures.com and download the Colour Futures book(PDF).

Paint Calculator

If you would like to use the colour of the year (50YR 36/263) or any other colour you need to buy and need to work out how much you need to buy, use our FREE Paint Calculator.

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Getting your home ready for winter

Posted by Adrian
December 8th, 2014

Getting your home ready for winter

After such a mild autumn we could be in for a harsh winter, so being prepared in advance is vital. Doing essential jobs before the winter sets in could prevent any issues during the winter months.

If you own property and rent it out it is advisable to get your rented property checked over as well, prevention is better than cure as they say.

leaking pipe

What to check and fix before the winter

Things such as heating, boilers and radiators are the most obvious things to check and service before the winter, but less thought about things such as gutters and drains also need to be looked at.

Boiler, radiators and pipes

Getting your boiler serviced (by a qualified engineer) could not only prevent a break down when you need it most, but if it runs efficiently it could also save money on your gas bill.
Radiators should be bled to ensure no air is in the radiators and they can supply you with efficient heat, you can tell if your radiator needs bleeding as they will have a cold spot at the top, if it is cold at the bottom, this indicates a buildup of sludge and rust, this should be flushed out to get the most from your radiators this winter.
Pipes, these should be lagged including any pipes outside such as in outbuildings or garden taps. If pipes are not lagged and they freeze, they could burst and cause flooding.

You can read about how to avoid freezing pipes on our Rayfields site.

If you are going away, or you have a empty rented property, it is a good idea to leave the heating on low just to prevent pipes from freezing. Now is also a good time to know where stop cocks and valves are, just in case of an emergency.

leaves blocking gutter

Roofs, gutters and drains

Roofs take a battering in the winter with strong winds, rain, sleet and snow. It is a good idea to give it a visual inspection from the ground. If you have access to a ladder you could look at it closer but don’t get on the roof without the necessary safety equipment. Look for missing or broken tiles including ridge tiles, look at the state of the chimney if you have one. If anything needs repairing get it done sooner than later as roofers can get busy.

Gutters get full of falling leaves and can block the downpipes, clear guttering out and fit a downpipe leaf guard to stop debris falling down the downpipe. Also check where the downpipe goes, is it an open drain, does this flow well or is it blocked? A blocked drain could cause damp to your property.

You can read a post I did about cleaning out your gutters on our Rayfields site.

Frosted up window

Insulation, doors, windows

Does your loft have enough insulation in it? Are any pipes and hot water tank properly lagged all these should be looked at for both rented and private owned properties. Are you walls cavity insulated or can they be, you may even be able to have it installed for free. So it is worth a little time checking.

Do your windows and doors fit and close as they should? If you have draughts you could fit draughts excluders around windows and doors. If your windows don’t shut well because the handle is broken, get it fixed, reducing draughts will help keep the heat in and cold out, thus saving on heating bills.

Flood and ice road sign

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Why does wallpaper have different batch numbers

Posted by Adrian
October 30th, 2014

Why does wallpaper have different batch numbers

A question I get asked from time to time or see a search on our property decorating website is why do wallpaper rolls have different batch numbers, and why are they important?

All wallpapers, not lining papers, should carry a batch number and colour number code on their label. If not on the label then maybe on a sticker on the end of the roll. It is important to look out for these batch numbers and colour numbers when purchasing your rolls of wallpaper.

It is important to ensure all batch numbers are the same when purchasing wallpaper to ensure good colour and pattern match between each roll.

Why are there different batch numbers for the same design of wallpaper

You will notice that some rolls of wallpaper have different batch numbers on the rolls even though the design and pattern are the same, this is because wallpaper manufacturers make a large amount of rolls of wallpaper in one go, or batch. When one batch is completed each roll made from this batch run will carry the same batch number.

When a new batch is run off a new batch number will be used, a slight difference between batches may occur in colour. So to avoid disappointment of your finished job ensure all batch numbers are the same before starting the job, if they aren’t change the rolls so all the batch numbers match.

You may also wonder what the other symbols on the wallpaper roll mean.

What do wallpaper symbols mean

If you look at the label of a roll of wallpaper you will notice some odd looking symbols on it, such as this one. Wallpaper symbol - Extra washable

This symbol actually means the wallpaper is ‘Extra Washable’ so can be used where it may get splashes or dirty and wiped with a sponge for example, but it isn’t a scrubbable paper as that would be this symbol. Wallpaper symbol - scrubbable

For more symbols and their meaning, see our Wallpaper Symbols page.

Measuring for wallpaper

Before going out and purchasing rolls of wallpaper you will need to know how many rolls to buy, we have a handy wallpaper calculator on our website to help you work out how many rolls of wallpaper you will need. All you need to do is follow the instructions on the page and the calculator will work out how many rolls you will need to purchase. It is a very straight forward wallpaper calculator unlike some others that can be very time consuming and complicated, and we even have included and feet to meters converter and should only take a couple of minutes from start to finish to get your result.

batch number on wallpaper

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