In times of financial pressures, many major or partial renovation projects are often put on hold. However, there are still many tasks homeowners can do to enhance their property’s looks, and carry out preventative maintenance to protect their home.
Respected builder, DIY mentor, radio and TV personality Peter Wolfkamp has some great tips for homeowners who have DIY tasks to attempt and complete.
“I am a great believer in ‘look after your home and it will look after you’… I also suggest that using the right tool or equipment for the job is very important.”
TIP #1: Scrubbing up
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Wolfkamp says DIY is not only about attempting to build a structure, carry out alterations or to redecorate interior spaces: “One of the best preventative maintenance tasks is to give the outside of your home a good old-fashioned clean. Make the job easier and safer by using modern tools and technology.”
The RYOBI 18V ONE+ Telescopic Pole Scrubber is a powerful pole scrubber with numerous applications to help get time-consuming jobs done in and around the home. Ideal for cleaning decking, roofing, caravans and even the alloy wheels of the car, the RYOBI One+ Telescopic scrubber powers through tough stains and grime with its 6-position articulated head, which allows you to select the perfect brush angle for the ultimate clean.
“Exterior paintwork last longer and looks sharper if it is regularly washed, says Wolfkamp.”
18V ONE+ TELESCOPIC POWER SCRUBBER
TIP #2: Clearing up
The ongoing effects of climate change also call out for the right tool or tools, he says.
“Given recent stormy weather in many areas across the country, I have noticed the amount of damage that can happen when trees or shrubs scrape against building or their limbs break off. Clearing overhanging or damaged, rotten branches before they can damage the home is certainly worthwhile doing.”
Wolfkamp says the shade that vegetation provides to paths and driveways can accelerate moss growth and make for slippery surfaces. Overhanging vegetation can drop leaves that often block guttering and drainpipes.
This can, in some cases, lead to water seeping into ceiling spaces. “Clear overhanging branches and opening these areas up to more sunlight is good preventative maintenance.”
“Using a RYOBI 18V ONE+ 8” (20cm) Oil- Free Pole Pruner is an excellent option for this DIY task.”
This cordless RYOBI Pole Trimmer has a quick-release telescopic shaft that extends up to 2.9m for reaching tall branches around the garden.
18V ONE+ 8” (20CM) OIL-FREE POLE PRUNER
Tip #3: Cutting up
One tool with many uses around the home and which can get into tight places or make precise cuts is the RYOBI 18V ONE+ Multi Tool.
“Given that many people doing DIY already have probably purchased the traditional circular, jig or reciprocating saws, a Multi Tool should be added to that list,” says Wolfkamp. “By selecting the appropriate blade or attachment you can flush or plunge cut, for example when replacing rotten weatherboards, sand or cut a hole for a flush power box in plaster board so easily.”
Wolfkamp remembers the time when these versatile multi-tools weren’t around. He says he now owns two – and would never be without one.
TIP #4: Fixing up
A tool part of every tradie’s kit for years but often out of reach for the DIY’er is the framing nailer. Besides once being an expensive option, homeowners’ nailers were either air compressor-operated with hoses while the gas-powered model came later.
Wolfkamp says RYOBI’s Airstrike nailer changes all of that: “Now these nailers are affordable, cordless and can take the standard framing gun nails up to 90mm. RYOBI’s 18V ONE+ Brushless Airstrike Framing Nailer can even be used off the grid for a range of tasks including building decks, fences, carports or even pergolas.
“Basically, if you need to fasten one piece of timber to another this is the tool for you.
These tools are ideal for tough conditions and meet the rigorous demands of bigger and more complex DIY projects. And yet they still use ONE+ 18V batteries.
18VONE+ HP™ BRUSHLESS AIRSTRIKE™ 30-34° FRAMING NAILER
Tip #5: Cleaning up
Gone are the days of grabbing a broom to sweep up after a DIY building, repairing, renovating or altering task.
Most DIY tasks create dust or debris – or water, if a pipe is damaged. A lot of dust created in DIY can affect people’s health and that of their pets.
Wolfkamp favours a RYOBI wet and dry vacuum over sweeping: “Most cutting and sanding tools have an extraction port. Connecting a vacuum to this port means you capture dust as it exits the tool and I have found this make these tools more efficient, especially sanders.
“Whether you use the cordless RYOBI ONE+ Wet and Dry vacuum that can be used indoors or outdoors or off-grid, or a RYOBI mains powered machine for around the home and workshop, having one is a must.
“Many people I have spoken to have ruined their household vacuum cleaner by using it to clean up after a DIY job. Household vacuums are just not designed to copewith the volume of abrasive dust and material that quickly chokes their filters and pipes and often damages motors. A Wet and Dry Vacuum is the answer.”
RYOBI’s ONE+ range of tools are robust and well designed. Wolfkamp’s first drill was a RYOBI 7.2 volt cordless model: "I bought that drill when I first started building morethan 30 years ago and I used it almost daily for several years. It served me well.”
