Home DIY

I have a pair of 10.8v Dewalts that were on offer in screw fix, nice and light for more delicate work. Used them quite a lot in a workshop and seem good.

At work we have a 12v Milwaukee which is obviously more powerful and also nice and light, that gets quite a hammering and is holding up much better that the old Makita we used to have. The battery integrated in the handle means it doesn't stand up and only lies on it side. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

I also have a pair of 18v Ryobi, only really use the drill for drilling into walls ect, never use the impact driver as I find the 10v Dewalt much nicer to use.

I saw that (or the equivalent) in Aldi. Even I wouldn't touch it, and I am the king of cheap tools. The marks and gradiations were just stickers where they should be engraved. No idea if the sticker was put on square so your base plate would always either be on the piss or needing to be calibrated.

This design hasn't changed since the early 80s; if it ain't broke...
I've had one for about 15 years.
http://www.makita.ca/index2.php?event=tool&id=181&catid=3

I like the sound of that. Cheers.

Just be aware that it's a little higher torque/ lower speed than many other equivalents.

I dont really understand that. But will do.

Probably would opt for a hand operated one if I wanted to spend less than £50, or maybe one of the old Makitas (6095 I think) with the long thin batteries and get a couple of new batteries.

I use 2, Festool CXS and Festool C15. They use a special system for bits/drills called centrotec which helps to combat runout and the C15 uses a brushless motor.

They're probably overkill for diy use but you can pick up the cxs on eBay for circa £120 used. They are very reliable so I wouldn't worry much about buying 2nd hand. Try to get the set which has a right angle attachment, saved me on many occasions.

Beware of drinking the Festool koolaid, it's a slippery slope.

dependent on the style/duty you want, just look on screwfix, any drill with more than a 100 5 star ratings will do

Worth looking at plug-in (not battery powered) drills if you're going to be spending a lot of time drilling into walls, concrete, etc. Can get away with something much cheaper for similar power.

I got a Bosch corded one from B&Q for £20 which is greatt

This what I did wonder, all the work in our flat is a very high standard and all the taps, boiler and appliances etc are good brands, but I figured with a towel rail they would just get something dirt cheap as it is no more obvious what one is to the next.

It's more the price difference for the good ones. The cost of chroming all that material to a high level means you can easily spend the best part of a grand for the cheaper brand ones. There's just not much on offer in the middle ground.

You're right though, it pays developers to spend money on taps and fittings which are likely to affect your perception of the quality of the build, the rest of it is often whatever they can get away with.

Disappointing what people will do to cut corners when they're working to a price on jobs.

What trades should I be asking when looking for someone to do some core drilling? I've found one specialist but he lives a while away, so wants a ton for each hole. Does that seem like a fair price for someone who knows what they're doing?

edit: oops, meant to post in the 'owning your own home' thread. oh well.

A core drilling specialist is likely to be tooled up to the maximum, prepared for reinforced concrete etc. Core drilling a standard brick wall is something most plumbers or electricians can and will do. It's usually part of the job though, if you are doing the rest of the job just hire a core drill and diy it.

Also related to the same job, what is the correct application for 'acoustic ducting' vs regular, flexible ducting? Google is just throwing up results from weed growing enthusiasts.

Pretty sure the outside wall is going to be block-work. Victorian terrace, ground floor, with bathroom at the back, outside of the wall is rendered. Not so sure of the inner wall, which comes off that area into the kitchen. Sounds solid, I did a little sketch of the area in this post. Any thoughts on what it's likely to be? The hole through to the kitchen will be quite high and in an awkward space which makes me less eager to do it myself.

£100 seems reasonable to me. Saves you time hiring, etc. and it's not a pleasant job.

It means that the drill spins a little slower than the competition but has more power.

Our builders are happily using a Titan pillar drill at the moment (£79.99 in Screwfix). Titan seems to be the go to brand when builders want cheap tools that they won't use regularly.

@Silly_Savage you seem to be addressing the symptom and not the problem and spending a lot of money to do it. The reason you have a problem in that bathroom is that you have three external walls which if the building is Victorian are probably 9" solid brick (so no need for specialist core driller) which provides little or no insulation. You need to address this before spending lots on extractor fans. Also if you are replacing the window go for triple glazed wood Rationel do excellent ones

1 external wall. How does one insulate a solid wall for less than £400?

Surely the problem is my extraction is shit, hence all the condensation and mould. I have little desire to live in a well insulated but very humid environment.

Sorry if it is one external wall I was interpreting your plan.
Even with one cold wall if you are generating steam it is unlikely that any extraction system will be able to remove the vapour fast enough to stop a proportion of of the vapour condensing on the wall and generating mould and damp. Replacement air for the air extracted will need to come from somewhere if it is outside then it will be cold and also maybe damp. All I was saying was look at your alternatives before spending £200 on core drilling. Have you looked at reducing the steam you shower makes by choosing a different shower head also could put a bigger radiator in the bathroom would cost more in fuel bills but you might still spend less than £400 over 20 years.

The right hand is the party wall with next door (terrace) and the left is shielded from the outside by the void. Also half that external wall is covered by the boiler room come shed which probably has some thermal buffering effect. I'm replacing the radiator for a tall towel rail, and getting the window replaced, the current one condensates like a motherfucker. If that doesn't sort it out then I'll have to look at insulating that wall I guess. I actually want to make the shower more steamy as it's a bit feeble at the moment (electric).

oh, and the replacement air comes from the outlet via the kitchen, with some recovered heat.

If you have a mould problem, then maybe check what paint you currently have on the walls. I used Leyland acrylic which hasn't shown a spec of mould in my steamy bathroom which also has a Victorian external wall. Obvious stuff but: also check that you have a sufficent gap underneath your bathrrom door to allow the extractor fan to vent properly, otherwise you create a vacuum.