Home DIY

and test it... :)

Not sure why you were asking questions now? You know what you're doing! Do you know any gas engineers? The problem I have is getting tradesman to work on jobs I'm already on. If I need something specialised it always comes down to 'you can do that' and most of the guys I know are as busy as me so they'd rather do a whole job somewhere else than part of mine.

Travis Perkins will do that, but you want to arrange a trade account to get better prices with them.

Anyone care to advise on my shed situation? Basically need to know if I need to build a foundation wall, or can re-pour the slab and fix straight on to that (wooden structure)

Also, fake grass, what's needed in terms of layers below when laying on top of a concrete slab?

How bad is the existing slab? if you use bearers on the slab you have they should even out any rough surface. It's not my area of expertise but I poured a slab last year with my neighbour and we used wooden battens at the sides then poured the slab up to the edge of the batten. I think there's a minimum depth for concrete to stop it from cracking up.

Not terrible tbh, but when I tried to drill it before for an anchor it became apparent it was pretty thin. I think there's some big cracks across the floor, but it seems stable. I would be a little scared that breaking it up would destabilise the remaining walls.

Do you mean wooden bearers?

Stoves.

We need to replace a shitty fireplace so have decided to go for a stove; questions are:
Multi fuel or wood only?
Steel, cast iron or mix of both?

The quote we have got is about £2.5k including a mid range stove. Sound ok?

@hoops and @Dammit had wood burning stoves installed this year if I remember correctly.

I'm looking for a chippy in East London @tommmmmmm did you have one?

Ok, not quite sure what you're dealing with, maybe a pic or diagram would make it easier.

You see this pic in the other post? I'm going to put together some rudimentary CAD drawings of my ideas in the next couple of days, so will post those when done.

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@Airhead I seem to remember you did/do work refurbishing sash windows? Is there anyone you can recommend in North London for this, I've got about 10 in various states of disrepair. Cheers

Yes I do sash windows, just starting 3 which will take me the next few weeks! I'm sorry to say, no contacts to do this, it seems to be dying out as developers increasingly sling out patterned sash windows for cheap simple replacements. These days it's usually unusual patterns or listed properties that I'm dealing with as full replacement is on a par cost wise with a full restoration and modernisation.

If it's skilled repair you're looking for rather than restoration then Repaircare may be able to help you, they train people to use their product then recommend them afaik. I can't vouch for the people or prices but the product is the best method of patch repairing sash windows.

Nope, I didn't. I guess you're enlarging it otherwise why mess with a brick built shed.

because the brick is deteriorated to the point where I think it's dangerous. That red patch on the right was where I pulled away a chuck of brick with my fingers.

Cheers. I'm not too fussed by restoration or replacement so long as some of the original character is maintained. It's just a bog-standard Edwardian terrace so nothing too fancy but I want to avoid UPVC, etc

Frost damage usually, blows the front of the brick off because it's porous and freezes. You can cut that brick out and patch a good brick in, it would be unusual for it to be covered in that kind of problem. I suppose it's not double brick though. Not picking at the intention, I'm sure you've weighed it up.

It looks like it's been patched pretty heavily in the past, there's definitely some movement that's gone on too. I'm planning to do a green roof so wouldn't trust it to hold the extra weight / not fall over and crush someone.

He probably has plenty of local work but Dom Kluth in Brockley/ Lewisham did ours. Nice chap, good value.

Do not under any circumstances use Hillary's blinds for the shutters.

They totally fucked me over

I self installed a wood burning stove and then got building control sign off for it , which wasn't as easy as it sounds as the council are muppets

Drop me a line if you want more info

Spent last week grading the garden, there was a 3' drop across the diagonal. If there's a machine more fun than a mini digger I'm yet to find it...

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Did you burn the blinds with it?

Didnt do it in the end. My chimney has been removed, so i decided it was too much to spend on something that wont significantly effect the value of the house, as I will be moving on in 3 years or so.

Amazing. I did the same thing a couple of months ago with a spade. Opposite end of the fun spectrum.

I've just built a garden office type building (it's timber construction though, not brick). I opted for setting it on concrete piers rather than a slab - plenty of airflow underneath it and no need to worry about drainage as the joists are all at least 4 inches of the ground. I did have to remove an existing concrete base - nearly re-used until i gave it a whack with an iron bar and found it was only an inch thick :-/

That would be a good option if we weren't getting bikes in and out all the time. Ok for me, but I think my girlfriend will struggle with too much of a step, so looking to do level access ideally. I guess that makes re-pouring the slab my only option.