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Design Matters

How to choose a design for your kitchen and things to take into consideration when you are choosing doors?

Will they be in keeping with your existing house design? A traditional design may not sit well if the rest of the environment is modern and vice versa
Colour is important and if you aren't planning to redecorate your kitchen, you choose should a colour to contrast well with your existing décor. Darker door finishes may require increased lighting and should be contrasted with lighter worktops or flooring.

What you need...
Fine-tooth hacksaw, craft knife or file, pencil, ruler, power drill with masonry drill bits, screwdriver, curtain track and fixings, wall plugs.

What you do…

Replacement doors and worktops

Of course, some of the measuring advice can be ignored if you are simply replacing doors and worktops but you will need to detail the position of existing hinge holes to make for easier replacement.

Here are the rules to make for easier installation.

Where do I start?

Having decided that your kitchen is in need of a revamp you now have to plan what features it will have. It may be that you require more work and cupboard space. Your existing appliances may not offer you the specifications you require and your lighting may be inadequate. Whatever your needs you need to identify the design that best suits your needs and here we'll attempt to assist you with our view on how best to achieve this.

Kitchen layouts fall into four categories:

Measuring up for your kitchen

Next up is measuring your room in a way that will ensure easy transfer of your plans to paper.
Proceed as follows
• Measure ceiling heights - Cabinets come in a variety of heights and your floor to ceiling height will determine which height cabinet is best suited to your room.

Q. When I take a shower the water leaks downstairs through the floor to the ceiling below. How do I get this remedied and how much should it cost?

A.  There are a few possible causes.

The most likely cause is that the seal on the shower tray against the wall isn’t doing its job. Applying a liberal application of silicone sealant around the edge of the tray may be all you need, but be sure to clean out the any sealant that is there already and allow it to dry.

Another cause could be that the shower tray has been fitted badly or is cracked.

A house that I am due to inherit has a loft extension without planning permission. It was completed in about 1976. Should we put it back to just an attic or will it be alright to sell and get the future owners to extend it properly?

In addition to our regular hints, tips and general DIY advice, look out for our answers to specific questions from members of the public with our new ‘Ask the Experts’ blogs.

We offer practical solutions to your individual household problems and DIY dilemas, by sourcing information from trade professionals, interior specialists and our very own property expert Alison Cork.

If you have a question you'd like us to answer, email me at samee@problemso

The key to removing paint stains from fabric is working quickly. If the paint is an emulsion, remove any excess, keep it damp with cold water and wash at the highest possible temperature (following washing instructions). For oil-based paints, dabbing with white spirit will loosen the stain, and then put it into the washing machine as soon as possible.

If you have a question for ProblemSolved send an email to help@problemsolved.co.uk.

What you'll need...

Craft knife, sandpaper, plasterboard, a drill, string, a nail, dry wall adhesive, interior filler.

What you do...

1. Firstly neatly trim the hole in the plasterboard into a square and tidy up the edges and surrounding rough patches with some sandpaper.
2. Using an off cut piece of plasterboard, cut a patch which is the same width as the widest part of the hole though 2 inches longer than the height of the hole.