Home DIY

A closer look today shows the pipework is really rotten so needs to be replaced. I assume there's no issue replacing the cast iron with plastic which I assume would be the easier/cheaper option.

Slightly complicated by the fact that this soil pipe does connect to the soil pipe from the ensuite in the loft at the top but hopefully that shouldn't be much of an issue.

Is it street facing?

No, back of the house.

My boiler rewire went tits up.

I thought it was a zone valve playing up, so replaced the actuator.

Still no joy, and no heat or water.

So I relented and called a plumber.

£90 later, and he says the wiring is fine, and actually looks very neat.

But I needed to reset the controller after cutting power to it.

Bollocks.

In that case the change to plastic won't be directly visible and no one to see it.

For insulating the hatch door I used gorilla glue to stick some isulation panels onto its backside.

Seems to work well. I use a IR Temp gun to check temperature of ceiling in various areas to check for cold spots.

IR Temp gun

Good shout. I want to enlarge the hatch and install a proper ladder anyway but may still insulate the back of it.

Thank you

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@Airhead What's a good internal door brand for price:quality? 35mm but something with a bit of heft. Single panel/flat, primed, and ideally with large stiles and rails for trimming as a few are odd sizes. Thanks.

Our internal Howdens doors are rock freaking solid

Can lend you one.

Is that down to the door or the fitting?

Cheers bud, not in London though.

Well that is deceptively simple! Have you double checked the continuity of the fuse?

Last one I bought was from a company called Leader doors. I was quite happy with the quality which surprised me a bit as I fully expected it to be a disaster!

I was lucky to get close to the size I needed though.

I haven't but I've replaced the fuses twice, for new ones, so I don't think it's those...though of course it could be

given that the sockets have been working for the last 2 years I think I can assume it's not the wiring being wrong (or is that not what those testers are for?)

I was wondering if the relatively large current for the oven,
compared to other appliances, (on the same circuit),
may have (finally) arc'ed a shoddy joint/connection,
leading to your current (no pun intended) powerlessness.

With insulation you'll need to be aware of interstitial condensation.
Or cold bridges. Something like that.

Am guessing it is a 13amp plug oven.

Have you got a test meter?

Unfortunately the next steps in diagnosing a problem like this should involve some reasonably accurate testing equipment.

What circuit is the top switch controlling and is it on or off? It looks like an RCD or RCBO that is switched off. I realise the switch below is on when down but most of the modern ones work the other way round.

I love you.

worked, thank you. saved me an expensive and embarrassing electrician call out.

pm me your chosen charity and I'll make a donation

It took me a while to get there! Good job you posted the picture though.

It's a nice offer to donate something to charity, maybe throw a little in the forum hat since it gives us all the opportunity to help each other.

Today I might have made a daft mistake. I glued up some pieces of plywood in the garage and it's snowing here today. I then saw that the (Evostick green bottle) glue says 'usable between 5 and 30 degrees'.

A bit of Googling suggests that the glue might not work and could 'chalk'. And indeed it has dried white instead of yellow.

So I'm gonna leave it for a while and maybe chance it. It's a subassembly for a much bigger piece. Anyone had this happen and maybe died or contracted life-threatening brain parasites as a result?

I've been in that situation, with titebond II. Dried white instead of the usual yellow. The internet suggested the strength of the joints were compromised, so I broke one on purpose and it was indeed rather flimsy. If you need it to be strong then I'd consider redoing it :( Or reinforce with some screws.

Aside, apparently letting your glue freeze is a big no no. Titebond say if it happens I think more than 6 times then you should chuck the bottle.

I think I'm on about 3 now :/ I really should start storing it the house.

Think I'll go do that now.