Home DIY

This explains it well - https://www.probuilder.com/blog/details-matter-proper-direction-hang-drywall

Ta. Staggered and perpendicular it is.

Are timber battens half and half overlapped at the supported edges good enough or do they need to be attached to the joists too.

I quite often use backing strips, thin pieces of steel (i think). Basically when you are fixing the board you don't put screws sown the edge of the board that the next board is butting to. When the board is fixed, slide the backing strip under the back then screw the board to the joists , screwing through the backing strips, once you have fully fixed the board you can then add screws between the joists for extra strength.

@Hovis , hats off to you for such a thorough job, especially now with a newborn.

In minor DIY projects, let there be light. And moths.

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In cupboard lights powered from the mains.
Ikea right?

No, an old fluorescent ceiling lamp left by the previous owners, it was in a bedroom when we moved in. They must have had a lot of cosy moments under it. Mains powered, yes - how else?

Ignore me. I think I was writing something cryptically between finishing tea and getting the kids in the bath.

After the windowframes were replaced in our apartment it became far colder, on close inspection it seems that the windowsill moved a a bit and the sealant doesn't quite fill the gap anymore. Peels right off and proper gale blows through the gap. Can I just fill it back up again with acrylic sealant and paint over it?

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If it’s a deep gap I’d be inclined to squirt expanding foam in there all the way down, cut the excess, then finish with acrylic.

I always worry about the expanding foam expanding too much and blowing out stuff, or is there no need to worry about that? It's about 20cm deep.

Others can correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I don't think the foam exerts much force on expansion. It expands first, then sets. I certainly haven't seen anything move as a result of using it.

Around here there are two types of expanding foam, one less enthusiastic than the other. That being said, you still have to be careful and make sure the excess has somewhere to go.

Acrylic sealants shrink, as the water they contain evaporates, by 10-15%.
That's why a gap filled with an acrylic sealant typically ends up concave.
I cannot imagine that the joint will be subject to much if any movement,
and the expansion/contraction of the materials is likely to be very low.

If we support Soudal, in return for their sponsorship of cycling,
i would suggest their Plasterboard Adhesive Foam, (low expansion as referenced above),
squirted as far 'in' as you can.
Once it has dried/cured/stopped expanding,
cut of the excess and cut into the foam by a good 5-8mm,
to allow a proper bead of Soudal Fix-All High Tack Polymer Adhesive & Sealant.
This should cure without the concave surface,
and is overpaintable.

Toupret makes a filler for this purpose. Fibacryl. I don't like expanding foam much because it is difficult to remove it from anything you didn't want it on and hard to store and use the cans more than once so there's a lot of waste involved.

Fibacryl on the other hand will shrink in certain gaps. You can supplement it with the gap filling things :-

https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/f/FOSSA_CAULK_SAVER_6_METER_ROLL/

which can be kept in the tool box for years without going off.

I need to paint my shed that I built over the summer https://www.lfgss.com/comments/14750759/

Whats the LFGSS approved exterior primer and exterior wood paint? Ideally on the 'economical' end of the price range.

You could avoid paint altogether and go with “Lifetime” preservative, as long as you don’t mind the aged, silvery look.

Nice shed.
Pity for it to rot because you saved 6pence on 'paint'.
Treat it to the best you can find.
If all else fails, and no-one has a spot-on recommendation,
just check the Toolstation catalogue.

I have used bedec "barn paint" on my timber board clad house for a few years. That stuff is great, you can get a decent paint supplier to mix it any colour you like

We have a sagging lath and plaster ceiling with a big split in it. It may last a few more weeks. In the longer term we are going to smash through it with a new staircase so we are looking at a short term fix. Does anyone know how feasible it is to use plaster repair washers of the sort they use in Murica, where you put 100 of them into the ceiling to lift the plaster back to the laths, and where I can find them in the UK?

Never used them but for a short term fix I'd plasterboard and then tape and joint the plasterboard followed by paint. Cheaper than skimming and if you get the correct plasterboard you should be able to tape and joint yourself.

Ah, the problem is the ceiling is already very low - my head touches it now, and a layer of plasterboard will make that worse, and probably won’t stop the plaster falling and presumably cracking the new board.

Apologies, I meant strip the lath and plaster before putting up the plasterboard. It should be a comparable thickness.

Rip the lath and plaster down early if it is coming down anyway, then do as @Bobbo says and board?

Use a specific low expansion foam for around window and door frames.
Wear latex gloves and be careful applying it, the stuff does not come off.
Before you use it pick out any loose plaster.

Oh, it comes off no problem - I remember one NYE's entertainment was a friend dremelling dried expanding foam off my cousin's hand...