Latest news with #HomeImprovement
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
I DIY'd a 18ft dream pool in my back garden – it should have cost £40K but I saved a fortune & it looks so good
A SAVVY mum has revealed that rather than break the bank on her dream swimming pool, she decided to DIY it herself. Instead of splashing £40,000 on a deluxe 18ft pool for summer, Natalie Ward, 39, who lives in a detached house in Woking, nabbed bargains from Amazon, Costco, Halfords and even Facebook Marketplace to glam up her garden and create her own luxury chill space. 9 9 9 Now, Natalie has transformed her garden from a muddy patch to a backyard oasis and we think it looks incredibly impressive. The entrepreneurial strategist, who is Managing Director of Embur, a high-quality, affordable activewear brand, spent less than £3,000 on her DIY job - and it won't come as a surprise that her seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son are obsessed with it. Not only do the other kids from her road come round to enjoy the pool, but it saved her £37,000 by doing it herself and costs less than £1.80 a day to keep it warm too. Now, Natalie has revealed all on her pool transformation to Fabulous, as she explained that while her husband and children gave her a hand during the process, she did the majority of the project herself. Natalie acknowledged that in February 2025, she decided to transform her garden and put in a pool, as she told us: 'I was on holiday in Spain and I watched this lady on Youtube build her own pool. That kind of planted the seed in my head. I was like 'she can do it, surely I can.' 'I spent the best part of 18 months researching all different things - insulation, pumps and heaters. All this stuff. 'If we did the block liner and everything else, we were looking at around £5,000, which we didn't have or didn't want to spend. 'So this seemed like a much more affordable option that wasn't one of the pop-up pools with the poles. We wanted something that was more semi-permanent and could just stay there for the next eight to 10 years. 'Where we live, we know people who've got pools and it costs £30,000 to £40,000, depending on size and whatnot. We've spent under £3,000.' The DIY process As a result of her 'wonky garden', she began by hand digging her space to create a flat area for the pool. Mum shares the £64.99 paddling pool that won't leave you puffed out blowing it up & it's perfect for the warm weather She was then offered a digger to help, which made the process much simpler. Following this, the DIY enthusiast decided to go as deep as she possibly could with the digger, which made the process 'a breeze.' The kids and even young neighbours got involved too, as Natalie highlighted: 'They were excited. They just wanted to dig and make a mess. 'There were points where [children from our road] were grabbing things from the garden and putting them in skips and, you know, trying to earn their swim. 'It was chaos and they loved every second of it.' Natalie and the little ones then got to the water table, which she decided to use as her bottom level of the pool. After this, she put in a gravel board so if she needed to dig out to replace the liner she had a back edge to work from. It took days to make sure everything was level and following this, she laid a ground sheet and 10 packs of Halfords floor mats to help absorb any impact and stop the sand from moving. Next, Natalie covered the bottom with foil insulation to stop it from losing heat through the floor. The following job was to put up the walls, which Natalie described as 'horrendous.' 9 9 Once this was done, Natalie realised she had missed a step, so had to take the walls out and undo the metal cross braces to insert liner covers. Natalie confirmed that she was then able to add in the pool - the Bestway UK Hydrium 18ft x 12ft pool - which she purchased from Costco for £1,500, including delivery. Getting the pool itself in was 'quite straightforward', as she shared: 'Putting it up probably took me four days. It was the prep work that took a load of time. 'It has to be 100% level. That's the bit that takes the time.' Cutting costs Natalie stressed that to keep costs down, she nabbed bargain buys from Amazon and Facebook Marketplace to build her pool area, as she shared: 'We've got insulation around the side of it to act like a hot tub situation that I got off Facebook Marketplace for £250. 'All the aggregates and stuff that went down underneath, we got from builders' merchants. Then the mats and some insulation underneath we got from Amazon. 'The only other extra thing we've got is the heat pump. Because it's a 20,000-litre pool, it needs to be heated. Otherwise, you're never going to use it - it'd be like getting into an ice bath. 9 9 'We've got a 16-kilowatt heat pump on it that I got second-hand on Facebook Marketplace for £400. That was a bit of a bargain.' Keeping costs down was important to Natalie, as she expressed: 'We've done it really smart and obviously done it on a budget. 'Some things are a bit faddish, aren't they? You don't want to spend thousands on something that you might find you don't use or decide isn't worth having. You might want to do something else with the space in five years' time, whatever it is. 'I don't really enjoy spending money. So if I could do it on a budget, why wouldn't I?' A two month process While it didn't cost Natalie anywhere near as much by doing it herself, she confessed that the process wasn't easy. 'It took me two months from start to finish. I work from home so the minute I was done for the day, I was in the garden doing stuff. It was pretty full-on. It's been an absolute delight. The children are home from school, they're straight in the pool Natalie Ward 'I was just doing as much as humanly possible in the time we had available. 'We were really lucky with the weather that actually, when we were doing all this digging, it wasn't raining. If it had been raining, we'd have been in a world of trouble, and it would have taken significantly longer,' she admitted. Not only was Natalie doing the pool project during her evenings, but she also used her weekends too, as she continued: 'If I wasn't working, I was doing the pool. 'It was a huge challenge and I don't think I realised just how big of a job it was until we'd finished. But now it's done, I would 100% do it again.' Making the weather bearable Not only is Natalie, who posts on TikTok under the username @ natalie_ward15, impressed with her pool, but her kids, as well as others in the neighbourhood, can't get enough of it. She beamed: 'It's been an absolute delight. The children are home from school, they're straight in the pool. The children in the road see that the kids are in there and ask, 'Can we come in as well?' It's amazing. 'It's lovely and it's making the weather bearable as well. They're obviously getting to cool down after school. Five ways to keep your kids cool in the heat IT can be really difficult - and costly - to keep kids cool when it's hot outside. But Fabulous Digital Senior Reporter and mum-of-two Sarah Bull shares five ways to help, and they won't break the budget either. Strip them off It might sound simple, but stripping kids off at home can really help them regulate their temperature when it's warm outside. Just remember to regularly apply suncream, as more of their skin will be exposed to the sun. Cool down bedrooms before nighttime When it's hot outside, it can be difficult for kids to go to sleep - especially if their bedroom feels like an oven. If you have a room that's not in direct sunshine, keep the windows open to let in a breeze. It's also a good idea to keep the curtains closed, to prevent the room from heating up. Wear a hat Another simple technique, but one that really works. Make sure that if your kids are playing outside, they've got a hat on. It keeps their face and head shielded from the sun, and also helps if you've got a little one who struggles with bright sunlight. If your tot struggles to keep a hat on, try one with a strap that goes under the chin to help. Avoid the car The car can be one of the hottest places during a heatwave, and often takes a long time to cool down. If you have the option, it's better to stay at home rather than taking kids out anywhere in a hot car. Stay hydrated This is always important, but even more so in a heatwave. Make sure you're regularly reminding your kids to have a drink, and top them up with cool liquids whenever you can. Use ice too to ensure it's as cold as it can possibly be. 'All the kids walk out of school grumpy and miserable, with faces like they've had enough. We get home, they're straight in the pool, and their whole attitude changes. 'They're happy, they're having fun, and they've cooled down quite significantly as well. In this weather it's amazing. 'In a world where kids are attached to screens 24/7, you can't have a screen in a pool. You have to engage, you have to be present, you have to play. 'Having the children at home during half terms means they won't be stuck on a screen. I would much rather they were out playing, having fun, exercising. It's about their quality of childhood as well as the benefit of just having a pool.' Less than £2 a day to run Natalie claimed that her pool costs 'next to nothing' to run, as she acknowledged: 'Our house has solar panels - by utilising that, when we run the pool it costs us next to nothing. 9 9 'The most we've spent in any one day this month is £1.80, and that was a day when we had the dishwasher, tumble dryer, washing machine, and pool all going at the same time. 'The only other thing is the chemicals and treating the water. You buy multifunctional chlorine tablets with everything you need in them, and a five-kilo box costs about £30. I get through one bucket in three months.' Natalie claimed that while she is only paying £30 a month for chlorine tablets, it used to cost her £30 each time to take her family of four to a local swimming pool. As a result, she is 'definitely' saving money in the long run and advised those eager to do the same to simply 'do it'. Parents aren't allowed to take children out of school during term time, holidays aren't always an option, so why not invest in your home and garden? Natalie Ward So if you'd love a similar swimming pool in your back garden and aren't sure where to start, Natalie shared her advice. 'Join pool groups on different social media channels and learn from people who've already done it. 'Everyone's got things they would potentially do differently or things to take into consideration. Do your research before you start digging and before you buy the pool. 'The cost of the pool is one of the cheapest parts. It's the heating and the groundwork that then costs more,' she stressed. Not only this, but Natalie also advised: 'Our summers are getting hotter, the cost of going abroad is increasing. Parents aren't allowed to take children out of school during term time, holidays aren't always an option. 'So why not invest in your home and garden? Holiday at home, take the week off work, and enjoy it.'
Wall Street Journal
19 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Home Depot Bid Kicks Off a Battle for $5 Billion Building-Products Company
Home Depot HD -0.50%decrease; red down pointing triangle has made an offer for building-products distributor GMS GMS 10.61%increase; green up pointing triangle, kicking off a potential bidding war between the home-improvement giant and serial dealmaker Brad Jacobs, according to people familiar with the matter. The exact price Home Depot has privately discussed paying for GMS couldn't be determined.
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
16 Celebrities Who Quit Being Famous
Recently, Reddit user u/fulthrottlejazzhands asked, "Who is a celebrity that gave it all up at the height of fame to go live a 'normal' life?" Here's a look at what these former (and not so former) actors got up to after they left Hollywood: After playing Hilary from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Karyn Parsons co-created her own sitcom, Lush Life, but it was soon canceled. She eventually moved to New York, where she studied filmmaking, met her husband, and started a family. She told Vice, "My interests were changing. It became very difficult to do everything, to memorize lines for a part and have to get someone to last-minute watch the kids — to race across town and do all that, and if you got a call back, do it again. I'd find myself dropping the ball a lot." In 2005, following her acting career, Parsons founded Sweet Blackberry, a nonprofit that teaches kids about the lesser-known aspects of Black history. She said, "When I was pregnant with my daughter, that's when I started really thinking about what are they going to teach her in school, and what am I supposed to teach her? How do I supplement her education as a parent? As I was talking a lot about Black history and stories that you don't hear about, my husband was like, 'You need to do this.'" Suggested by caseyrackham '90s teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas left his role on Home Improvement before the series ended, deciding instead to focus on his education at Columbia, Harvard, and St. Andrew's University. Though he returned to acting a few years later, in 2013, he once again disappeared from the public eye. JTT told People, "I'd been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel, and have a bit of a sit in a big library amongst books and students — that was pretty cool. It was a novel experience for me." Suggested by u/painandpets Erik Per Sullivan, who played Dewey on Malcolm in the Middle for seven seasons, left acting for good in 2010. After attending the University of Southern California, he's now a graduate student studying Victorian Literature. Jane Kaczmarek, who played his onscreen mother, recently reflected on the former actor: "He's very, very well. He did Malcolm for seven years. He started at 7; he ended at 14. He wasn't interested in acting at all." Suggest by u/WestCoastWaster Similarly, Malcolm in the Middle and Agent Cody Banks star Frankie Muniz also stepped away from acting, saying, "When I was on Malcolm, I was just so excited to be working on a show, but also in that same sense, when the show ended, I kind of left the business for a little bit. I started doing other things. I was racing cars. I joined a band." However, since taking a break from acting in 2006, Muniz is now set to return to Hollywood for a four-episode reboot of Malcolm in the Middle on Disney+. Suggest by u/enters_and_leaves Good Luck Charlie and Lemonade Mouth actor Bridgit Mendler traded in Hollywood for a Master's degree from MIT and a Doctor of Law degree from Harvard. She now works in the space industry as the CEO of her startup Northwood Space, which aims "to build satellite ground stations that are designed with mass production and customer flexibility first in mind." As she announced on social media, Mendler and her husband are also the parents of a 5-year-old son. She wrote, "Started fostering in 2021, adopted near Christmas of 2022. I'm so lucky—being a parent is the biggest gift and most defining experience there is." Suggested by u/shortstack3000 In 1997, following Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, comedian Rick Moranis stepped away from acting to focus on his two children after his wife, Anna, died from breast cancer. Although he's said it wasn't a "formal decision" to retire, he hasn't been seen on the big screen in several decades. In 2015, Moranis told The Hollywood Reporter, "I took a break, which turned into a longer break. But I'm interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role...I was working with really interesting people, wonderful people [in Hollywood]. I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle. But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful." Suggested by u/Lostfroggy25 Disney star Kay Panabaker retired from acting in 2012, following roles in Summerland and Cyber Bully. Though she already had a degree in history from UCLA, she decided to go back to school and entered an 18-month animal program at Santa Fe College in Florida. Following that, she was hired as a zookeeper at Disney's Animal Kingdom. In 2016, she responded to a fan who asked her why she quit acting and said, "I just lost the love for acting. Life is short, we spend so much time at work, gotta do what you love :) and I love my job!!" Suggested by caseyrackham If you can believe it, Peter Ostrum, the actor who played Charlie in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, left the entertainment industry and became a dairy veterinarian. According to Ostrum, he stopped acting because "being in the film industry as a child was hard." In 2011, he told Hollywood Chicago, "In the end, leaving was the right decision. ... I don't have any regrets at all." Suggest by u/AardvarkStriking256 Erik von Detten, aka the '90s and '00s Disney star of The Princess Diaries and Brink! fame, eventually left acting behind and went into finance. He said to E! Online, "At that time, we didn't have Netflix and all these expanded options with thousands and thousands of roles. I would literally go for a length of time without any roles that I fit the bill for. I mean, you're either in the very top half a percent doing very well or, just very competitive." He said, "Since I was a kid, I wanted to have a large family. And, in Los Angeles, that requires a consistent, realistic income. So, the fickle nature of employment as an actor just wasn't consistent enough for me." Suggested by u/reader_of_lips Jennifer Stone, who played Harper on Wizards of Waverly Place, left acting behind and is now a registered nurse. In an Instagram post celebrating World Health Day in 2020, Stone announced that she was joining the "front lines" of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. She said, "A very good friend of out to me that today is #worldhealthday. It is also the day I went from a volunteer, then a student nurse, and now an RN resident. I just hope to live up to all of the amazing healthcare providers on the front lines now as I get ready to join them." Suggested by caseyrackham Though he hasn't left the spotlight entirely, Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder officially retired from acting in 2019. Since stepping away, Somerhalder has focused on raising his kids on a farm with wife Nikki Reed, starting companies, and producing documentaries that focus on how "regenerative farming and improving the world's soil can help combat climate change." In a 2024 interview, Somerhalder said, 'I loved what I did for a really long time. I don't miss any of it. I love making films. I just did it for so long. We had an amazing run.' Suggested by u/UnkindnessOfRavens23 Rick Astley of "Never Gonna Give You Up" fame might be back in the spotlight now with new music, but the singer took a hefty 30-year-long break from the music industry when he was only 27. According to ITV, Astley's sudden retirement was prompted by burnout. In a 2023 interview, Astley spoke about his first music stint saying, "I didn't love the world of pop music, to be honest, because what I dreamed it was and what I wanted it to be, it kind of wasn't." Suggested by u/Separate-Passion-949 Entourage's Adrian Grenier, who left California for Texas, revealed that he stepped away from acting to focus on raising his family and connecting with nature. In an interview on Today with Hoda and Jenna, he said, "I was flying high for many years, two decades in Hollywood and growing up in New York, but I live a much more grounded life now. I decided I was going to live closer to nature and to commit to my wife and have a family and have a child, which I'm so excited about.' Though the actor says he isn't completely retired from acting, it would have to be a special project for him to head back to Hollywood. He said, "I'm only really taking roles that are aligned with my dharma and that I can be proud of because I want my kid to watch whatever I do and be proud of his dad." Suggested by u/JordanBelfort0 Phoebe Cates, of Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins fame, left acting in the mid-'90s after marrying fellow actor Kevin Kline. Though she did make a small appearance in a 2001 movie as a favor to Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kline told Playboy magazine that the couple "agreed to alternate so that we're never working at the same time … [but] whenever it's been her slot to work, Phoebe has chosen to stay with the children." In addition to motherhood, Cates also owns and operates the Blue Tree boutique in New York City. Suggested by u/CokBlockinWinger Former child actor Shirley Temple announced her retirement in 1950 at the age of only 22 because she "had enough of pretend." She eventually got married and pursued a political career in Washington, DC, most notably as a US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Suggested by caseyrackham In 2000, Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire star Mara Wilson left acting to focus on writing. In 2016, she told NPR, "There wasn't like one big moment where I knew I was done. ... The rejection hurt because it had been just such a prominent part of my life for so long. It had been the thing that defined me. I remember in college, I would sleep through my acting classes — I would self-sabotage — because I was so afraid to let people see me as an actor. ... I was terrified; I was frozen with fear. That's when I started focusing more on writing. Writing I'd always loved." In 2016, Wilson went on to write a book about her life, titled Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame. In 2023, she wrote another book titled Good Girls Don't, which is "a coming-of-age memoir that bravely examines both the friendships Wilson formed as a child actor in Hollywood and the complex family relationships that shaped her." Suggested by u/HappyCuppiccino
Axios
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
TV dads we still love: Tim Taylor, Phil Dunphy and Gomez Addams
Tim Taylor of the '90s sitcom "Home Improvement" ranks as the top TV dad, according to a survey of Roku users. Why it matters: The ranking highlights how nostalgia and streaming habits shape who we see as iconic dads. Flashback: Television dads were celebrated at last year's Primetime Emmy's. Zoom in: Phil Dunphy ("Modern Family") and Gomez Addams ("The Addams Family") tied for the favorite among users ages 18-34. Al Bundy ("Married ... With Children") was the top choice among the 35-54 age group. Fun fact: Roku found Gomez Addams has the most consistent appeal across generations and genders. The eccentric patriarch has been portrayed in various media since the 1940s and is currently played by Luis Guzmán in the Netflix series "Wednesday." Other small-screen fathers receiving votes in the survey include: Red Forman ("That '70s Show") Homer Simpson ("The Simpsons") Hank Hill ("King of the Hill") Al Bundy ("Married ... With Children") Philip Banks ("The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air") Carl Winslow ("Family Matters") Mike Brady ("The Brady Bunch") Jack Pearson ("This Is Us")
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A 'Home Improvement' Clip Is Going Viral For Exposing Just How Backwards We Have Gone As A Society
JIM WATSON / AFP via Getty Images ABC Photo Archives / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images For reference, "Home Improvement" followed the life of DIY TV show host Tim Taylor, played by Tim Allen, his wife, Jill, and their three sons. It originally aired on ABC between 1991 and 1999. ABC via Disney+ 'I don't need Angela to make me a sandwich,' Tim tells Brad, who insists: 'She doesn't mind,' which Angela echoes. Tim reiterates: 'I don't need you to make me a sandwich, thanks. ABC via Disney+ ABC via Disney+ ABC via Disney+ ABC via Disney+ When Tim says that he does, Brad asks: 'And you think that's good?' and Tim reasons: 'Well, I don't know, it works for me… But maybe having Angela as your sandwich girl works for you, your whole life is sandwiches!' ABC via Disney+ Since being posted to TikTok, this clip has been liked almost 200k times, and racked up thousands of comments — with many of them saying the same thing. 'this would be called woke today,' a popular comment reads. Somebody else echoed: 'They tried to do a story like this these days MAGA would call it 'woke' and call for a boycott of everyone involved.' 'Funny how back then the audience would have perceived the dad as a 'good man', whereas now the same audience would call him 'woke/soft/leftist,'' another user added. 'now you would have 300 guys complaining it's woke,' one more agreed, while somebody else observed: 'It's almost like 'wokeness' that people keep referring to has always been there, it just wasn't wrapped up in inflated egos fueled by political rhetoric.' And one more concluded: 'I got so many of my lessons in being a man from 90s sitcoms. Just human lessons, not activists lessons.'
