Tickets offer to The National Home Improvement Show

London's Earl's Court, venue for the National Home Improvement Show

Returning for the second year to London’s Earls Court, The National Home Improvement Show (1-3 October 2010) is back, with home improvement ideas, interior design and a wide range of expert advice from the country’s leading celebrity and industry experts.

This is a chance to share the passions of celebrity experts including Michael Holmes (Real Homes editor-in-chief and presenter of ‘I Own Britain’s Best Home’), Julia Kendell (DIY SOS) and Matt James (City Gardener) in the Real Homes Live Theatre who all have returned to appear in this year’s show.

They’ll be joined by new recruit, eco expert Charlie Luxton (Build a new Life in the Country). The Real Homes Live Theatre delivers in-depth sessions on how to transform your home.

In addition to presenting the seminar sessions, our experts will be on hand for a drop-in style clinic to answer your questions. If you have a home improvement problem or dilemma to solve then you can talk one-to-one with our experts in our Ask the Experts area. Bring along your plans and see how their ideas can improve your project.

For visitors requiring a more specific or specialist advice, the Masterclass programme will be running daily sessions to address your specific problems and issues while adding space and value to your home. Hosted by leading industry specialists, topics range from how to extend without planning permission, designing an urban garden, creating beautiful interiors and how to make money by going green.

Julia Kendell has twenty years design experience and is enjoying phenomenal success in the interior design industry

For all those enthusiastic gardeners, The Fifth Room hosted by Matt James has identified that for many, the garden is an integral part of the home. Sponsored by Tendercare, this show garden demonstrates a selection of different green spaces ranging from child-friendly, garden entertaining or creating office space in your backyard.

For more information on the show, exhibitors, seminar schedules and tickets visit www.improveyourhomeshow.co.uk or call the ticket hotline on 0844 581 0802. If you’re not lucky enough to win, make sure you book in advance and save £4 on each ticket. Tickets are £8 if booked before 3pm on Friday 30 September and £12 on door.

www.homesandtravel.co.uk has two free tickets for each of the first hundred respondents to go on line at: http://www.improveyourhomeshow.co.uk/homesandtravel

Michael Holmes, Real Homes Magazine editor-in-chief

Spokesperson for The National Home Improvement Show, Michael Holmes, presenter of Channel 5′s, I Own Britain’s Best Home provides readers with ten different ways to reduce their renovation costs

1. Invest in a good design

Effective design takes time and costs money and consequently far too many people set out on a renovation project without really planning exactly what they want, or getting accurate drawings. This is undoubtedly a false economy. A project can easily snowball once it starts. A more efficient approach is to spend a little more time and money working through all your options at the outset.

2. Cash is king

Offering to pay in cash shows that you mean business. It can work wonders when negotiating the cost of a job with a builder or subcontractor, or when trying to get a tradesperson to turn up on-site at short notice. Cash can also help to secure a discount when buying second-hand items such as salvaged materials or when buying in person. Be careful, as you’ll need to get some sort of receipt or paperwork so you have proof of payment.

3. Avoid false economies

Getting ripped off by cowboys can increase costs dramatically, so get references and check contractors out in person. This can apply as much to designers as it does to builders.

4. Keep it simple

The simpler the design of an extension, the cheaper it will be to build. A straight wall is the cheapest form and once you start introducing corners and complicated shapes, you will increase labour and materials.

5. Measure twice, cut once

Getting material quantities right is critical. Having too much creates unnecessary waste, while having too little can mean having to pay another full delivery charge for a tiny order. Worse still, the extra materials you order may take a long time to come, delaying your project, and could be from a different batch. Always ask suppliers to help you establish quantities from your plan and specifications including an allowance for wastage. Additionally ask your tradespeople for their independent view.

6. Shop around and negotiate

To get the best prices from suppliers, you need to negotiate every times you place an order and compare prices from lots of different suppliers.

7. Borrow cost effectively

If you need to borrow money to fund your home improvement project, shop around. A personal loan is likely to be the easiest and most flexible way to borrow. Though if you have the equity in your home to justify increasing your mortgage, this can be even better. The limiting factor will be having sufficient income and enough value in your home to offer as security to meet lenders’ criteria,

For larger projects, it’s worth establishing credit accounts with builder’s merchants. Additionally, make sure you look into VAT savings.

8. Use standard size fittings

Everything from windows and doors to staircases and shower trays come in standard sizes that are available off the shelf. So to save money, make sure you design your project around these sizes. If you use all or mostly all standard sizes, you will find many of the big manufacturers have a product that will fit. This means you can easily shop around for the best prices and take advantage of the various bargain deals on offer in this climate.

9. Phase the whole project

If your ambitions are bigger than your budget, plan your project in stages. For instance, if you want an extension on a budget, you could buy the whole exterior, but only complete the interiors on the ground floor and leave the first floor or loft space to be finished later. The key is to get services such as wiring and plumbing in place before plaster or decorative finishes have been added.

10. Go back to brick

If you are completely renovating an old flat or house, which has been empty for some time, it can be more cost effective to gut the place and start again from a shell rather than try to solve patches of damp and rip out the old wiring and plumbing. It is all but impossible to really solve damp any other way and you never get a great finish patching up badly damaged plaster on walls and ceilings.

The National Home Improvement Show will take place at Earls Court, London from 1 – 3 October 2010. For more information about exhibitors, seminar schedules and tickets visit www.improveyourhomeshow.co.uk or call the ticket hotline on 0844 545 0084. Tickets are £12 on door.