DIY, where to start?

Since buying a house almost two years ago we have done a lot of work on it. From stripping every room of wallpaper and decorating, putting in new flooring, new toilet and having an extension built for a new kitchen, there has been a lot of learning and hunting for the best prices and deals.

My dad was a big DIY man, doing most of the jobs around my parents’ home himself and it rubbed off on me. So when we bought our home I was looking for a place that needed some work on it so that we could get it for a good price and make it our own. The house we bought certainly fitted into that category, having been previously owned for the last 50 years by a now 80 year old couple.

We started off by investing in a wallpaper steamer as we had a lot of wallpaper to remove. We purchased one from Kwantum for just €30, but they are also available to hire from other DIY stores like Praxis and Gamma.

Next was the flooring. In some rooms we laid laminate flooring ourselves, an easy and cheap option. But we also had some carpet in the bedroom and had that laid by Carpet Right. We found that if you waited a little bit and planned you could get a nice deal on things. We bought the laminate from Praxis with 20% off vouchers, and the carpet we got on sale too with free underlay.

I did all the painting and decorating myself. Having never decorated before anyway, figuring out which type of paint we wanted was a challenge, plus then the translation issue. Here are some of the common types of paint and their translations.
Muurverf – Wall paint, you have mat (mat) or silk (zijdemat)
Lak – Gloss paint, you will need to apply a primer (grondverf) first and then either silk (zijdeglans) or high gloss (hoogglans)

When the time came to build our kitchen extension we contacted a few builders to get quotes. Some builders were rude once they knew we were getting more than one quote, but we didn’t let that stop us and got 4 quotes total. If possible it is also good to get references or see if a friend can recommend someone to you; generally the same precautions you would take in your home country. Communicating with builders can be difficult; none of the builders we spoke with knew much English, so I was grateful that my husband is Dutch. So if you do have a large project it may be worth finding a project manager who speaks English and Dutch to help organise everything. They can also help you source materials, I particularly wanted PVC windows and doors (kunststof ramen en deuren) and had to go to the builder’s material supplier to pick out what I wanted.

If you have some DIY projects for the new year planned, here are some of the larger DIY stores where you can find supplies and advice.

DIY Stores

Praxis – www.praxis.nl
Often have coupons for 20% off, will also honour coupons from other DIY stores.

Gamma – www.gamma.nl
Great selection of painting supplies, including affordable mixed paints.

Formido – www.formido.nl
Good all round selection.

Hornbach – www.hornbach.nl
Large collection, but often located out of town.

Karwei – www.karwei.nl
Good selection of all DIY products, power tools and some furniture.

Fixet – www.fixet.nl
Offer a ‘voordeelpas’ for 5% discount on everything.

Kwantum – www.kwantum.nl
Has a range of lower priced flooring, wallpaper, and other decorating supplies.

Carpet Right – www.carpetright.nl
Good range of flooring materials and will lay for a reasonable price. Also offer a measuring service.

Ikea – www.ikea.nl
Has a range of laminate flooring and plinths.