Home DIY

Keith sounds like a legend. Does he do guttering etc?

give him a ladder and he will run up it no problem. i was staggered that he was able to get the 'duck run' up as he called it onto the roof (what i mean by that is one long ladder to the gutter, then carry another long heavy ladder up and hook it over the ridgebeam). i have no idea how a bloke his size (he was quite small) managed it.

I believe if you pay him and give him tea Keith will do pretty much anything you want

Suits you

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Has anyone here ever straightened out a warped pine door? My front door doesn't close flush with the door frame on one side since it was once smashed open.

I've read you can soak in water and then leave with a large weight pressing it down (a bit like putting paper under heavy books), but I've no idea if this would work. Door is Victorian and I would prefer to keep it rather than replace.

oops

I've tried (with success) soaking one side of a cupped beech worktop protector to straighten it out.

As the deformation is caused by an impact it should be possible to put it straight, but probably not using a method devised to correct natural warping. I'd try routing a slot into the top and/or bottom and epoxying in a steel T section - clamp the door so it's flat while the epoxy is curing, or slightly bowed the other way to overcompensate as it'll relax once the clamps are removed.

Our cistern keeps leaking into the bowl through the overflow of the flush unit. Flush unit was replaced recently so I doubt it's that. I've fiddled with the float in the fill valve no end, including cable tying an extra float onto it to to try and make the valve close.

It flushes fine and fills up then it'll start dribbling for about half an hour. Running the sink taps erratically can set it off too. Do I just buy a new fill valve unit? It's kind of like the water pressure for our flats increased slightly and now just overcomes the valve. The boiled needed topping up around the same time that it started and there's a pump room downstairs so it's possible they messed around with it recently.

Failing all this, does anyone know a decent plumber in Stamford Hill?

@robadob, I imagine even if you could "straighten" it, it would be impossible to get it close, or exact, enough to be a good fit anyway and therefore not worth the effort. I has the same issue, my one was out by 20mm, and "fixed" it by fitting a new door jamb all the way around. I routed it to be decorative on the front and installed it on top of the "built into the frame" jamb. I had enough space that it didn't interfere with the yale/mortice.
I split the difference by moving the top hinge a bit too, so that I had gap of 10mm in two opposite corners.
Whilst I was at it I also fitted hidden QLON (AquaMac 63) draught sealing into the new jamb. It's been on 17 years with no issues.
I should say I made the new jamb as I had router table at the time so it was made exactly to fit but I reckon a joiner could knock it up fairly quickly, it's only a bit 20*10mm timber routed on two edges.

Thanks dbr and TheShipwright. My plasterer actually suggested adjsuting the jamb to compensate, so that may be a good idea. The door is original, and some others on the street still have it, so would be nice to keep.

I'll next be asking about how to beef up security so it doesn't get the windows smashed out again!

Sometimes they get a little grit in the valve.

I'll next be asking about how to beef up security so it doesn't get the windows smashed out again!

http://www.windowfilm.co.uk/commercial/security

Windows and glass can be seen as a potential weak link when it comes to security, but an application of specialist window film can provide an effective barrier; serving to deliver increased security as well as peace of mind.

How old is the valve? The rubber diaphragms perish over time - both the ones in our house were knackered but they're easy enough to replace.

Shallow depth kitchen... is it feasible?

The wall where I want to run my kitchen units will only allow me 58cm of depth max before fouling the back door. Standard kitchen units are 60cm, and with the doors and the overhang of the worktop you're looking at round 65cm total, even if i don't allow for any space at the back for services.

So I'm 7cm out.

The problems I can think of so far include:

• not enough space in worktop for hob
  
• not enough space for built in oven (though most i look at seem to be 55-57cm.)
  
• having to cut down all the cabinets (I don't mind doing this but drawers could be an issue)
  
  

Has anyone done anything similar before ? Should I sack off the idea? The other wall where I could put the units is shorter, but maybe it's less hassle that way...

Could you reduce the depth of just the part that would foul the door?

Or move the door.

it would look a bit amateur narrowing the worktop there

Is there a build up of scale in the flush mech the fill valve?

Narrower door?

Shallow depth kitchen... is it feasible?

The short answer is yes, but you might have to make some concessions.

A standard 4 burner hob might no longer fit in the worktop but a 2 or 3 burner hob might. Same for a standard oven but a boat/caravan oven might be an option. Obviously the Sunday roast becomes a bit more of a juggle with limited oven space.

Airhead's suggestion of a smaller door (or even a bi-fold) might be the simplest when you factor in the amount of time you'll spend looking for appliances that you a) like the look of, and b) will fit in the smaller space, and the time/money spent modifying or building shallower units etc.

Oh if you DO go for a boat/caravan applicance then you need to make sure it's suitable for mains gas. Propane that you get in the red bottles (and is normally used on boats/caravans) burns hotter than your gas out of the mains and the you need different jets for the different gas types. They aren't difficult to change over, you just need to make sure you're using the right ones!

Change the door to open outwards.

Thank you, those are good useful things to ponder.

I think the back door is as narrow as it will go - currently 762mm and a 610mm back door would just be too narrow to be practical

B&q own brand stuff (pricy and really naff imo, ikea is twice as good for slightly less money) is 58cm depth iirc, worktop is 60cm from them. Ikea is 600 + door + overhang so they use 635 worktop on method kitchen range

Thought you said you only needed 7cm. You could get to 690 by taking 3.5 off each side of your existing door. Pics would be useful though.