Home DIY

Ahhh sorry, too slow. Have a few pals who work in various trades down Brighton way so feel free to give me a shout if you are after anything. Hook a BRO up and all that.

Humming extractor transformer (with timer) for bathroom fan - Just replace with a new unit?

I use an Envirovent Silent100 which I think is great. It's a re-branded well known Spanish model who's name escapes me.

Wet zone? Fan position is above a window opposite the shower (over bath). Bathroom prob 3m by 2m, and the fan is as far from shower as possible.

Currently have (what I assume to be a very basic) manrose - 4",so would like to use the same hole without having to enlarge. Looking at this, is it going to offer any significant improvement? http://www.gil-lec.co.uk/silent-tornado-st100b-bathroom-extractor-fan

With a bit of searching you can find insulated hose to connect the fan to the vent.

equipment must be suitable for zone of use

if you have the manrose model number then a quick google will tell you its extraction rate, then choose a beefier 4" model to save on hole enlargement

Ok thanks. Nowhere near any of the zones described above. I'll have a look and a google. I thought someone on here had recommended a particular type of extractor fan over and above the standard offerings but weak google fu and B&Q's website suggests I might have imagined it... cheers

make sure none of your floorboards are creaky. Screw them down anywhere if need be.

In a bathroom be very sure you know where all the pipes are before putting a screw anywhere!

AS far as the 15mm pipes,

I've mentioned one on here before, the Airflow. You can choose a module for different types of use. It will probably fit the hole as they're usually one of 2 sizes.

I would like some recommmendations on ideas for boards to use as shelves. I'm just going to put them up with some ikea brackets on a solid brick wall in my spare room / study, to hold books.

Previously I've used planed timber which always seems warped, I went to B&Q to look round and their veneered chipboard shelves are cheap and nasty. I always assume MDF won't be strong enough. Any other suggestions?

thanks

Use a router to make channels in the underneath of MDF and embed steel tubes in there. Or carbon fibre strips. Glue them in so they don't rattle around.

Baltic birch plywood.

I always assume MDF won't be strong enough

Why? How wide are the shelves and and will they be supported at the back, or just the ends?

Thanks all. Just remembered there is an excellent reclaimed timber not-for-profit place near me so I will go to have a look there first.

excellent reclaimed timber not-for-profit place near me

Ooh! Where's that? Is it in London?

http://www.chilternwoodrecycling.co.uk/

High Wycombe. Can't believe I forgot about this place. It is massive.

Thanks - do you think appreciably better/more powerful than standard offerings?

Just better looking and type of operation by replaceable modules. Motion detection, time delay etc. Also prevents draughts but that's achievable with any fan from the outside of the building if you have access.

yes, bearings gone, blades covered in your body detritus

as previously suggested, unless you know the model ref. of your existing it's a bit of a lottery on extraction rate - what if you randomly buy an airflow with a lower m/s flow than present..?

There was an excellent recycled wood yard over between the Blackwall tunnel approach and the Lee, but looks like they have closed http://www.leasidewoodrecycling.co.uk/index.html
http://www.leasidewoodrecycling.co.uk/home.html

Thanks all for views on extractors. Noted.

I have another question. It is the opposite of diy, but I reckon there are plenty of appropriately knowledgeable people in here who might be able to help. We are currently having our bathroom re-tiled. I got a couple of quotes and we ended up going with a handyman we have used before and liked. Gf was keen to use him as she had met him before and happy to have him in the house for few days etc. He quoted on the basis of it being a big job, it looked like loads of water had been getting in through a big crack in the tiles and he anticipated having to hack damp plaster out and rebuild with bonding etc.

So, first slight let down is that he turns up on Friday with 'his tiler' who is, predictably, an older polish chap. No drama really, chap is very nice and based on the assumption that he's very good guess we're OK, although feel slightly that he could/should have been upfront when quoting that he wasn't doing it himself. When he gets the tiles off (half day work on Friday) plaster is wet but no rebuilding needed. Which is good. His 'tiler' has been working today and, whilst probably better than I could do, it's far from a stellar job. This is not our 'forever' home, and I'm sure it will look OK when finished, but my question is really what sort of reduction in price would people think appropriate to recognise the reduced scale of the job? And should the fact he's not doing it himself (nor popping in a couple of times a day to oversee - he tells me he won't be back till Thursday!) factor into the reduction I ask for? Opinions would be helpful. If it is helpful, we're probably only taking 6m2 of tiling, Max, with a couple of tricky bits. It took less than three hours for chap to get all old tiles off and scrape the wall down.

Cheers

It's the transformer that's humming, not the fan - it's more likely to be an sparking flameball that leave a charred husk, rather than exploding blades leaving a minced quivering mass.

So - new transformer then?

chilternwoodrecycling.co.uk/

High Wycombe. Can't believe I forgot about this place. It is massive.

Thanks for that link, I'll be paying them a visit.

Edit: in fact I popped in today and picked up an old plank to practise with my lock morticing jig, top stuff.