Home DIY

There is one wall I think it would be quick and easy to MDF/ply then paint. It's going to be covered in coat hooks..

I think ply would look weird, what's the problem with the current wall, is it disintegrating or just you've had enough fighting wall paper? You could cover with backing paper then re-wallpaper or if it's really bad get it re-plastered.

I'm stripping wallpaper off plaster board so it can be plastered.
I've stripped most of it off but there's two walls where I think covering it over would be easier. It's under the stairs, we're usnbhat bit for coat and changing area, what would prevent me from putting coat hooks on it?

Do you want me to come over and give you a hand?

Reported for grooming.

There's no problem with whacking a new layer of plasterboard over the existing. Why aren't you keen? The only downside is you lose 1 cm of space.

Have you considered wood cladding though? Doesn't need to be as 70s as it sounds. Can look really nice and brings some nice warmth to a space. We've got bamboo cladding (actually bamboo flooring) on one wall of our toilet.

I'd say if you really want to put wood on the wall why lose its benefits by painting it.

Crap phone picture but you get the idea.

Yeah I like that. It would need to have a couple of rows of coat hooks on it. Bit I'm trying to convince that ply might look nice and go with the wood flooring in the hall.

Painted OSB?

Ply is great, and cheap. Make sure you get some nice baltic birch - get a B/BB grade and you'll have one perfect face.

Did you put the wooden flooring down recently? You could use the same stuff on the wall like we did. It's a pretty easy way to do it, just locks together and is generally cheap. I think our builders just glued it to the wall with some strong glue but it's very solid.

If you want some wood inspiration have a look at larch, ash, douglas fir or red cedar cladding.

Entrance hall wooden floors and wooden walls. Do I hand out rum drinks and ask people to leave their keys in a bowl when they visit?

Seriously, ply over the plasterboard because I'm losing will to live here and my plasterer arrivres on Tuesday, paint that and leave one wall of it unpainted.

Any good ideas for TV cable management? We are thinking of putting a tv on the wall, but to chase into the wall and have the cables exiting at the skirting board we would also have to rip off the dado rail, which will pull bleeding chunks out of shitty plaster.
How much should it cost to get someone in to do it?

Any other solutions would be welcome!

Disguise with ivy foliage?

Seriously I think you chase, conduit or fugly.

Quite a long discussion a few pages ago about this subject. If you chase the wall up to the dado you can usually get behind it with a drill or chisel without removing it, same story for skirting.

On the electrical side you need to consider the allowable zones for wiring or be 50mm deep or RCD protected.

Not sure what it would cost you but it's unlikely to be less than £200 excluding hardware. Could be a lot more if you can't find a reasonable electrician.

If you can't hide it, then I'd always try and make it look interesting and obvious

Wireless HD does exist, though I haven't tried it myself. There are a few on Amazon with mixed good and bad reviews. Looks like about the same price as the bottom Airhead suggested for getting the wiring done.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009E6R89C?psc=1

If you are like us and everything goes from one box to the TV it would be an easy switch. If you have multiple sources going to different tv inputs I'm not sure how that works.

Use an sds channeling bit and you'll get under the dado easily.

Anyone got recommendations ofr a reasonable priced but tidy tiler? Need the kitchen floor doing, ideally in the next month and previous recommendations are all busy.

I'm based in Walthamstow so probably need to be fairly local as is a small job.

Back with a follow up on the damp question from before and following on from Souls I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on how to resolve damp...

General:

• 1950s semi
  
• Cavity wall insulation
  
• mean use of heating
  
• both areas of damp are the lowest roof sections and external walls
  
  

Bathroom: (criss-cross = damp area)

• fan now working (Mrs. H noticed the switch was off #facepalm)
  
• walls totally covered with tiles
  
• damp in the north east corner with external walls.
  
  

Spare room damp:

• used for clothes storage so hang washing next to rad
  
• rad is on when heating is on
  
• walls face north and east (and external walls)
  
• There is a sliding brick vent thing on the east wall (which also has windows)
  
• damp is in north east corner
  
• no curtains
  
• papered and painted walls
  
  
  

I am a bit stuck as I can't think how to resolve this. Fundamentally the north wall is cold. The weather is fucking cold. The house is warm. This causes condensation.

What can I do? It's not causing a massive issue (stains on ceiling which could be painted in the summer, but prevention is better than cure.

My only ideas are:

• improving the roof insulation - there is some, but it seems basic and sporadic, but how much difference will that make?
  
• more heating, to warm outer north wall - not ideal
  
• put room fans on timer? - sounds a bit shit
  
• some random type of external cladding to improve wall insulation? - sounds far from idea.
  

Essentially to resolve condensation issues (if it's defo condensation) you need to raise the temperature of the cold surfaces as much as possible and increase ventilation. The best way to do this effectively is to have the heating on at low levels for sustained periods of time (so the wall temperatures don't drop). Ventilation wise ideally you'd introduce cross-flow ventilation rather than single opening ventilation.

Chimney vents should always be open to vent both the stack and the room. They'll also introduce a bit of cross flow ventilation if you only have one window in the room.

If you're drying clothes in a room it will result in a lot of moisture being released then condensing on walls so get that room heated and ventilated as much as possible.

Full cavity insulation can also act as a damp bridge in some circumstances but as you've noted north facing walls tend not to get as warm as other walls so are more prone to condensation...

Third-party batteries.

I have a lightweight Bosch that I use for 99% of my DIY tasks but on the other 1% of occasions (usually drilling into concrete/brick) I use a Makita hammer drill which I find a bit unwieldy for my normal 'duties'.

Battery is knackered on the Makita (yellow 'chip' bit has snapped) and the official replacements are sufficiently pricey that I'm considering one of the knock-off third-party jobs on eBay. Given my usage of the drill is very, very occasional, am I likely to regret going cheap?

At the moment its a vinyl covering, most likely over ply and floorboards underlying. I'm guessing under we would want to assess the floorboards, before most likely placing a hardiebacker (or similar), then the underfloor heating mat which has been installed and is rolled on the side ready to go, and the tiles above that.

I guess its made possibly more complicated by the state of what may be underneath (its v old place so hasn't been without its issues along most of the work we have done) and of course it sits under the kitchen units currently, so the end panels of these would need adjusting to compensate for the increased height.

I think the total area is approx. 5-6m2.

I've done a lot of bits myself through the place but am not confidence/time rich with this one and would prefer someone with some actual skills to do it neatly and quickly!

I don't have serious damp problems in my place but my bathroom fan is crap and I do dry clothes indoors. For the winter in particular I have a dehumidifier that is on whilst I'm out of the house and it does suck a fair bit of moisture out. Maybe not a long-term solution but could help in the interim.

Cheers. Guys.

I'm not sure how I'll square having the heating on with my heating adverse other half, but I'll try :S

We have also let our washing build up over xmas, so I think a double whammy of non-stop washing over the last few days plus bitter cold can't have helped.

We've also been living in the back room while doing our sitting room.

Just a couple more Qs;

1. What sort of temp should I be thinking about as a min? 10c?
   
2. Do we think more loft insulation would help? Or will it be too slight an effect on the lowest section / not impact the outside wall?
   
3. should all brick vents ( see pic) be open all the time everywhere?
   
4. is it a good or bad idea to open the bathroom window? (this is a contentious issue)
   
   

It has made me realise that if we do any major work / extensions in the future to think very carefully about placement of things like ventilation / rads.

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my thoughts:

• if easy to access, yes loft insulation makes a big difference to overall heat efficiency - the most heat is lost out the top (bit like you wearing a hat in winter), and you may find that if it's not got much that it's skimped especially near the eaves resulting in cold edges.
  
• position of heating makes a big difference. our radiators are all on inner walls, which is pretty awful and just results in permanent draughts and 'layering' of heat (I tend to sit on the floor, where the cold air is, the hot air all collects near ceiling). makes a big difference to get some kind of heat source, even a small one, and have it right by (below and next to) the coldest wall, or any window. this will help with mixing the air more evenly and stopping the coldest air just sinking off the cold surfaces onto the floor. also will help to warm that cold wall/window and reduce condensation.
  
• I find opening bathroom window while showering a good thing. plenty of warm water vapour gets out that way. just close the bathroom door if the window's open and don't leave it open too long after.
  
• dehumidifier in the space where you dry clothes helps.
  
• I used to be quite averse to heating, but there is a sort of threshold beyond which the house just functions better, once the fabric of the house is warm enough it just all feels more comfy and less damp. not to do with the temperature of the air so much as the temperature of the solid bits of the house, if that makes sense. you also feel more comfortable at that point because you don't lose so much radiant heat from your person to the walls etc.