A thrify DIY lover transformed her stairs for £170 using budget products from Dunelm and B&Q, which she believes saved her £500.
Jo Saddik, who works as a self-employed nail technician, was looking to install a stair runner - a strip of carpet fitted to the middle of the staircase which can be notoriously costly. However, Jo was determined not to let the rising costs stop her and decided to fit the jute stair runner herself. As reported by LatestDeals, Jo shared her tips with the money-saving Facebook group, DIY On A Budget UK.
She said: "The idea for my stair transformation was generally from Instagram inspiration. I looked around for a jute-type runner for a good while, but they were mostly very expensive and calculated by the steps, so I would probably have ended up paying £300 or more.
READ MORE: Liverpool Gin Festival coming to St George's Hall this December
"So I waited and went on Dunelm's website to see they had beautiful herringbone jute runners with the border for £99. After ripping out the carpets, the stairs needed filling after nails and staples, so I used a wood filler from B&Q. Then all of it needed sanding down, so I bought a Black and Decker mouse sander for £22 that had six sanding papers included.
"After that, I washed everything with soapy water and began painting. That's where I made a mistake, as the staircase was pretty much untreated MDF. I should have used primer, but instead I went straight with the paint, which was Leyland Satin Quick Dry for £14.
"Because of that, I needed three coats of paint to make sure everything was covered. I calculated how much of a gap I needed on each side and marked one on each step so I made sure to keep the runner in a straight line. I decided to put the laminate underlay down first to cushion the runner a bit and keep it in place.
"I already had it from laying the floor down and used about four sheets. I measured the width of the runner and the step and cut the underlay about 1.5 inches smaller on each side so it wouldn't be visible. Then I centred it and stapled it to the steps.
"I bought the stapling gun from Argos for £22 and more staples from B&Q for about £18. Then, the next day, I started with the runner. I cut off the border as it wasn't needed, and I stapled as close to the border as possible to conceal the staples.
“Then at the edge of the next step, I made sure I pulled it up towards the next step so there wasn’t any loose material, and then just under the nosing of the next step. When I reached the top I only cut the excess when I was more or less finished.
“I cut it off, and stapled the edge as close as possible to the hard floor so the nosing would cover it. It was gold nosing from B&Q for £8. I bought two, one for the top, and one at the bottom, but the bottom one I had to flip, so I screwed it in from the inside part."
Overall, Jo couldn't be happier with the end result of her DIY project, which cost her £170 altogether. She believes that doing the labour herself helped her to save around £500.
She said: "I love how it looks, especially because I did it myself, even though it's not perfect, I'm so proud of myself that I went for it and completed it .Including the new tools which I obviously will use again, the whole project cost me about £170. It took me two days in all.
"My advice would be to look up the ideas, then do the research for how it's done, so you can avoid expensive mistakes. And definitely wait for the stuff you really want - there's always some bargain waiting. Also don't be scared, we all learn from the mistakes we do, but they're fixable! Just use your imagination.
"I would say doing it myself probably saved me about £500, including labour and the more expensive runner price. Maybe even more considering the rates they're charging now, which is amazing.
“Nowadays money is so tight, and with rising prices not many people can afford tradesmen, so it's extremely important that we can do stuff ourselves.”
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up to our what's on newsletter
READ NEXT:
-
First look as McDonald's opens high tech new restaurant in Maghull
-
Tesco shoppers can't wait to get hold of 'yummy' limited edition Cadbury bar
-
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party heading to Liverpool in 2023
-
Four famed chefs hosting 'Michelin menu' night to raise money for families 'in the grip of poverty'
