Home DIY

Interesting assessment - steel sink unit on left is from the 40s, refinished floor is from the 30s, stove is probably 70s, industrial shelving unit with maple top is from 2016.
Good to know it all holds together though.

The magnetic knife holder has not only kept ours in good shape, it frees up valuable space in a 9.3 square metre kitchen.

Mains powered led lighting for a wardrobe. How many lumens and how much and IKEA?

I think it was the Instagram Filter that did it. ;)

I'm trying to fit a Kryptonite ground anchor in my bike store, but I'm not having a lot of luck.

Not sure if it's my drill (DeWalt 18V on hammer setting) or the masonry bit supplied, but it's really struggling to get through the paving slabs, and now seems to be getting blunted.

Do I need to source a more powerful drill, but buy a replacement bit, or both?

a good quality bit will make a significant difference

Looks bang on.

It does give off a bit of an era aura, especially when sautéing the onions and the garlic.

Thanks, ostentatious in it's overt re-use-ual vibe.

A cheap mains powered drill will be better than a half decent battery one.

Don't fuck about, get an SDS.

Thought this was an interesting resource, especially if you're relatively handy with wood and concrete, there's some good instructions for some nice pieces of furniture:

http://www.homemade-modern.com/

SDS or corded, does anyone have a hammer drill which would be good for drilling through slabs which are putting up quite a fight?

I bought a new bit last night but when I tried this morning I still didn't feel I was getting anywhere with it.

I only need it for 7 holes of about 100mm depth and promise to be careful.

This is kind of what I meant. Do they legit stop blades getting blunt? I keep my good knives in cases at the moment and while I wouldn't put my super duper Japanese ones on a magnetic strip are they OK to use for every day blades? I was under the impression they'd get damaged faster than just in drawers as it's constant direct contact rather than sporadic knocks.

I really like your kitchen. Our's has a similar vibe.

I've asked in the plumbing thread but I'll try here too..
Talk to me about combi-boilers.
There's a mind-boggling range to choose from. How do I start?
We've got a 4 bedroom house over three floors. I guess I want the same thing that most people do, energy efficient, reliable and not going to cost the earth.
Our plumber recommended a Ideal logic plus 30kw boiler.
Any advice is appreciated.

Just one

Vailant/Worcester Bosch seemed to be the go to options when I asked.

Check to see if you qualify for the boiler scrappage scheme

Yeah, Vaillant or Worcester/Bosch is worth coughing up a little more for. Depends on how large your rooms are, but 30KW sounds like the correct ballpark. Are you replacing radiators too?

Thanks, ours is not a reno that most would brag about, but we're happy with it - especially the price tag. The biggest change was moving the window over far enough to get the fridge off the wall and into the corner.
We kept everything that worked and found some unique solutions for the other stuff.
I believe every decade from the 20s to the present is in evidence here.
The blue cloth over the window is very temporary.

3 Attachments

Thanks.
I mentioned to the plumber that our last hours had a Valiant and we'd had no problems with it. He said he really rates the Logic boilers. I figured he'd want to put something trouble free in as he won't want it breaking in 6 months and me phoning up moaning.

That's what I was thinking when I saw Logic on the quote. But now I've done a bit of Googling people seem to like the Logic one.

It's all new radiators. There aren't any in the house. No existing boiler either. The house has been empty for at least the last 35 years. The last time it was sold was nearly 100 years ago!

Ok, well, try to either get the plumber to spec suitable radiators for each room (taking into account room size and external walls), or otherwise have a think about it yourself. I'm going to replace some of mine with higher BTU ratings as some rooms are baltic during the winter.

Our plumber (a Worcester Bosch installer) said that whilst Valiant boilers were good their after market support and spares was an utter nightmare.