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Which way is consumer spending going? Will the home improvement market expand or contract in the months to come?

One school of thought believes that DIY might get a shot in the arm from uncertainty about the housing market, saying that householders are choosing to improve when they can’t move.

If this sounds appealing, then what’s the best approach to take to maximising the value and enjoyment you get from your living space? Here are Times writer Kasia Maciejowska’s tips for 10 great ways to add value to your home:

Top ten: Home improvements

MOVE or improve? A familiar question if you’re faced with lack of space, a growing family or itchy feet. With 58 per cent of us improving our homes over the past year (12 per cent more than the year before), we prefer making do to moving out.

Faced with high house prices, the popular solution is to expand or improve with the aim of adding value – and now younger people are getting involved, with 68 per cent of people between 18 and 34 investing time and money in doing up their home.

So how to achieve that extra £100,000? A fifth of improvers think a kitchen extension will add the most value, although the most common project is redecoration, making up two thirds of all home improvements. Here we give ten of the best projects to make the most of your home.

Valuers at Halifax say an extension is the top option for adding value, as long as work is properly carried out. For structural projects employ a professional to ensure you comply with planning regulations. A good extension should create at least one extra room and be used to bring light into the house.

A loft conversion is the second most profitable option. While maximising existing space, it can increase the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, two key valuation factors. Read full article here…

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If you haven’t come across it already, eSpares is a great little secret for handy men and women - a website selling spare parts for all kinds of major appliance brands. Its motto is “We keep appliances running.”

So, if you’re inclined to try a repair on that vacuum cleaner, washing machine, lawnmower, cooker or microwave rather than spend a fortune replacing it, this is your first port of call.

And, to make this an even better idea, eSpares currently has a discount code on offer giving AllTheToolsYouNeed customers a five per cent discount until the end of the month.

So, what’s on offer?

• Find out what’s available for kitchen, laundry, floorcare and outdoor
• Check out eSpares’ handy appliance guides
• Replace a lost or broken remote control
• Learn how to find a model number
• What if the part I need isn’t listed?

Don’t forget - to claim your five per cent discount, just enter the code “SPRING” at the checkout when prompted.

Screwfix has got together with publisher Collins to help you sort out your DIY woes. It’s published a series of how-to videos to promote the publication of The Complete DIY Manual and to help you tackle some common jobs around the house.

Below is a tutorial on hanging shelves, but you can view a whole range of other topics including draught-proofing windows, banishing floorboard creaks and repairing damaged plasterboard. View the whole set here. You can also follow that link to win a copy of the manual - competition ends on March 30.

Click here to view shelving products at Screwfix.

Here’s a tricky little household job that you might be considering - replacing curtain tracks and poles. It’s important to get it right because, unless you do, those lovely new curtains are never going to hang properly. And that would be a bit of a shame.

So, how do you decide between tracks and poles, and how do you buy what’s best? Luckily, John Lewis provides all the guidance you’ll need before starting the job:

Read the guide to buying curtain poles here >>

Read the guide to buying curtain tracks here >>

You can also see what curtain-hanging products it has on offer here.

Our latest feature on AllTheToolsYouNeed.com is a look at your legal obligations these days when doing electrical work. In summary: you should almost always get in an electrician.

Ever since January 1 2005 in England people carrying out electrical work in their home have had to follow new regulations to ensure they are not putting themselves or others at risk. The relevant section of the Building Regulations is now known as Part P.

As well as an introduction to the subject we point you in the direction of further sources of information you can consult.

You can find links to all our features in the left-hand sidebar of the site. But, for an easy life (or if you’re reading this via a feed) here it is:

Electrical safety: what you need to know

Looking for a little help? We’ll do our best for you.

With Christmas on the way we’ve put together a guide to buying power tools. Now, this could serve as a briefing for present-buying for the DIY fanatic in your life, a handy hint sheet to print out and leave lying casually round the place, or even a shopping list to get you launched on that New Year project you swore you’d get started on. After all, what better time to take advantage of the sales?

Upshot is, this might not be quite the minefield you fear, as long as you put a bit of thought into it and make sure you don’t just grab at the first thing you come across.

Read AllTheToolsYouNeed.com’s top 10 tips for buying power tools here.

It’s National Maintenance Week! But all you DIYers don’t need a special event to encourage you to get on top of home improvements.

We know that you’ve been looking after your properties year-round, and so won’t have a backlog of jobs to do. Well, apart from that niggling little problem you’ve been meaning to solve for a while. Then there’s that thing you knew you needed to get sorted out before it got cold…

And now it’s cold…

The National Maintenance Week website has got a host of tips and advice for anyone looking after a building, especially an old one. So we suggest going along and having a look.

Another great source of seasonal advice is the Wickes Winter Factsheet which points you in the direction of a few necessary jobs you might have missed.

Have fun, and be careful out there.