Home improvement can be expensive, very expensive! Sometimes there’s no alternative but to get the professionals in, for example you wouldn’t want to replace your kitchen single handed (unless that’s what you do for a living, perhaps). Other jobs, though, aren’t necessarily as important to spend a ton of money on as you might think. A great example is skirting boards. They’re not the sort of thing that many people have replaced on their own before, but it’s not that difficult.

There are a few tricky parts like making sure that the corners meet well, and you won’t have ugly gaps in the joins, but there’s a simple solution to use to avoid that. Investing in a mitre saw will usually set you back a few hundred pounds, but it’s an incredibly useful addition to your workshop, and hugely broadens any DIY lover’s spectrum of ability. It slices (pardon the pun) down the amount of time required to cut wood to size, while at the same time increasing accuracy. When you stack that cost against getting professional tradesmen in to do the job (who probably aren’t that much better at skirting board than you, but do have their own mitre saw!), the cost of the machine is soon saved against labour costs.

You might be thinking that you don’t have a clue what to buy, where it buy it and so on, but a little research is all you need. Look at a few websites and you’ll be on your way in no time. For example, there’s lots of mitre saw reviews at mitresawzone.com which go into masses of detail about the features that make the different tools stand out from each other, and even guide you towards the ones that are likely to be best suited to your skill level based on cost and the sort of projects that you’re wanting to take on.

Other common tricks when fitting skirting boards is to have ‘liquid wood’ at the ready. Much like sealant around a shower tray, you can use this amazing invention to fill the shadowy gaps on uneven walls where the skirting doesn’t fit quite flush and tight to the wall. It also gives a nice smooth finish to help when you need to clean them later – much better than trying to get dust out of uneven surfaces.

That’s just one example of where you can do it yourself when your instinct might be to get someone in to help. The savings really add up with getting better at each skill, so spending a bit of time getting used to how the bevels work and chopping up some test lengths of wood, and before you know it you’ll be on to bigger and better things, although probably still nothing as grand as that kitchen refit!