Home DIY

It was a few pages back we were discussing MDFcuttosize.com I've used them a few times, so have others here. If it's just standard MDF you want then B&Q are a good bet, most timber yards do it although they sometimes grumble about it. mdfcuttosize provide a great service delivered to your door and their cutting is super accurate. It's not the cheapest option though.

Thanks for the tips

You can't rely on the B&Q saw being working all the time and there's often a queue of builders with a 6 sheet cut list. I've been told by B&Q in the past if you leave the cut list overnight they'll do it when the store's quiet or closed, might just be for trade customers though.

Acre lane timber in Brixton have always been good to me.

Last time I used them Whitten Timber in Peckham were reasonably priced for nicer grades of ply and flexible with delivery dates.

ok, been away, couldn't trust myself to try and solve this beforehand (thought of leaving a damaged / leaky tap alone for a week? No, me neither.)
So, yes, that little screw, easy to get at when you turn the tap to the on position. Dropped it into the sink while undoing, saved by having the plug in. Then, couldn't get the tap off. Wiggled it, tapped a bit with a rubber mallet, tapped a bit harder. Nothing. Could the spline fixing be gummed up with limescale?
Feel like I'm taking the piss here asking like this, but am now at that 'perhaps better to call a plumber stage' and would feel pretty stupid if he/she came around and executed a little secret jiggle to release it :-(

Fulham Timber sorted me out for a bunch of MDF boards cut into planks, they were a few mm off in a couple of places, but mostly I was able to make the cupboards directly from their cuts. Can't remember their charges, 50p per cut maybe and £10 delivery.

Can you spray a little wd40 in the hole the screw came out of?

Er, didn't think about that, will give it a try. Cheers @Ramsaye

Has anyone had a front door replaced? I'm not sure how much I should be expecting to pay to replace a uPVC front door and frame with a hardwood Carolina door with deadlock, nightlatch, brass letterbox and hardware. Any help much appreciated!

Everywhere we look it seems not much change out of a grand. We need one before winter.

Should definitely be under a grand but not necessarily by much. Paint/Stain finish would be a fair part of the labour. Banham locks would be close to a grand on their own.

Thanks guys. It's so painful for one door but not somewhere you want to scrimp I guess!

How long after a bath was fitted / sealed is it safe to use?

Need to wire in a new extractor fan.
However need to indentify the cables are Grey, Brown and Black.
I'm presuming there is a UK standard?

Is there a separate earth too?

Here's some rather bad photo's

2 Attachments

Was the bath full of water whilst the sealent cured?

Guessing the sealant used was acetoxy silicone.
Does the bathroom still smell of vinegar?
If yes, and, now gone, you are good to go.

Depends how long the sealant takes to dry. The bath should have water in it when you seal it, let the sealant dry and let the water out.

Sorry, should read to the end of the page!

The grey should be a switch line, gets voltage to switch the fan on from the light switch and then it can run when the light is off by the other supply (brown and black in this case).

You need to check that it hasn't been wired as an earth but chances are grey is usually switch.

Agreed.

I think I'd want to put a multimeter across it as I don't trust what other sparks do, having seen the bodges in various houses.

@Airhead
Thanks guys, part of me is starting to think I'll leave it to someone else.

Maybe best if you're feeling out of your depth.

I would switch off the power, test the switch is dead, connect the red and grey and check continuity at the other end, or check the continuity of the grey wire from the switch to the wall directly with a long lead. Chances are it's the switch wire anyway, worst case scenario you use an earth as a switch wire and the installation won't work. Certainly if that wire is grey and it's earth you'll need someone to sort it out, very unlikely though.

So, very much a horses bolting situation here. We've removed a radiator, because it seemed like a simple job. We've now got a leaking valve at one end. Not badly, but not stopping either. Having trouble finding our circulating pump. Worcester Bosch condensing combi boiler. Any thoughts as to obvious next moves. I'm about to go out and get some plumbing tape to reattach the valve. But want to stop the water flow first.

Pump will be inside the boiler. Turn off the boiler.