Owning your own home

For some reason not all of the images will upload

1 Attachment

i think mine is directly on concrete

surely that was always going to happen, jet washed or not? it 's out in the rain, after all.

The timber supports should be pretty rot resistant assuming they haven't just used standard 2x4 - that looks like the power of the pressure washer has turned it into kindling

who had taken to regularly jet washing their deck.

≠

two years

I know it's nice to have outdoor bits looking new, but I think people would usually be better off going with something that ages nicely and can be cleaned up a bit intermittently.

@rogan - Personally I'd add some sort of ronseal stuff as Aroogah suggested. It won't keep it perfect forever, but it will keep it looking a bit nicer for longer. Obvs the current weather makes that a pain.

But checking drainage is clear much, much more important than surface looks.

C-16 and c-24 graded timber (that is timber that has been graded and prepared for the construction industry) is tanalised. This means it has wood preservative applied to it at pressure so it soaks further into the wood than any surface applied preservative would do. Because of this it is very able to stand up to surface water and even repeated freeze/thaw cycles but the pressure washer will eventually erode the timber beyond the protection of the preservative meaning all moisture becomes an issue and the timber will rot fairly quickly.

FYI ALWAYS wash your hands after handling construction grade timber and wear a dust mask or have good dust extraction when cutting as some of the chemicals in the preservative are pretty unpleasant (arsenic / boron)

I realise its not the same as every 2 years but the damage will still be caused for the reasons I've outlined in my other post. It won't happen as quickly but it will still shorten the lifespan of the deck. A long handled scrubbing brush and regular coats of appropriate oil / wood treatment are a much better solution in my book. Or go for composite for a lower maintenance option.

FYI ALWAYS wash your hands after handling construction grade timber and wear a dust mask or have good dust extraction when cutting

Too late!

At least I cut most of it outside.

After last week's adventures with raw sewage, we're still not completely confident in our downstairs toilet.

I don't know if it's an issue with the flush (which isn't very powerful and never has been) or something more sinister. Basically if you flush the toilet, everything disappears, but then some toilet paper etc. sometimes flows back in again afterwards.

When the plumber initially came to try to repair the issue, he said the toilet was ok and it was an issue with the drains.

There definitely was an issue with the drains, a serious blockage, which was eventually removed.

We're still on edge now (and still haven't paid the final instalment to the builder who installed it all who is getting a bit irate.)

Should we still be concerned?

Sounds like you need a saniflo pump.

toilet was ok and it was an issue with the drains.

The waste pipe should be installed to have a gentle fall so that once the waste clears the u bend gravity carries it into the sewer. From what you have described I'd say it sounds like a drains problem and there isn't a big enough fall leading to blockages

a serious blockage, which was eventually removed.

Who did you use to get the blockage cleared, did they offer a guarantee on their work? If so have you contacted them?

still haven't paid the final instalment to the builder who installed it all who is getting a bit irate

Have you explained to your builder why you are withholding payment?

The fall is quite steep somewhere - we've got a manhole in the garden about 10ft from the house and by that point it's about 8ft underground.

I think it's quite gentle between the downstairs toilet and where the waste pipe meets the soil pipe from upstairs under the patio close to the back wall.

Could the gentleness of the pipe be the issue affecting the poor flush?

If so, surely it couldn't be a big enough issue to cause a major blockage after just weeks of use?

(The downstairs toilet has only been installed and functional for the last few weeks)

Too steep a fall can also cause issues. Basically the water outruns the shit causing blockages, it would take longer to become apparent though

If this is happening after a few weeks then something is very wrong. Again, have you told your builder why you are withholding payment from him? It sounds like whoever installed the drain has messed up somewhere (I'd assume your builder either did it himself or organised someone else to do it), there are other things that could be causing this but all will be as a result of poor fitting, as I see it your two best options are:

1. Talk to your builder and explain the situation, see if he will put it right.
   
2. Get a CCTV survey carried out to find the cause (not cheap and will need to be paid upfront) and pay to get it put right. You may be able to with hold the cost of this from your final payment to the builder but may have to justify it in court.
   

Shit situation

Is the soil pipe maybe not properly vented?

Actually, you're right, just checked out the silicon between my sink and top and it already looks like shit after a few months. I think I'll just clean it up, dry out and go over with more but make a neater chamfer between to edge and sink this time.

Shituation

Fixed for you, Sean. :)

The builder is a really nice guy and he's done a good job elsewhere - but this is something we are still discussing. To be honest I thought my wife had paid him a couple of weeks ago, but she hadn't as she wasn't happy with the toilet and then this happened.

The company who dealt with the drain blockage was Quickclear - they are well-reviewed and got the blockage cleared (I was watching closely mainly because of my morbid curiosity) but the guy wasn't their most experienced and I think getting them back for a CCTV survey might be a good idea just to ease our minds.

Get the CCTV survey done as it is the only real way to identify the issue without tearing things up. Also looking at QuickClears website they offer the service at a reasonable price.

This will give you a starting point to discuss things with the builder and resolve the situation. Or find someone else to fix it.

Taking up decking is a PITA. If you’re lucky, whoever installed it will have used stainless decking screws, which you might be able to screw out if you clean out their heads. Otherwise the heads will have rusted to shit and a recip saw and a skip is your friend.

Who's bought a tumble dryer recently? What's good and what's not?

Me, went Miele but bought through their outlet store in Abingdon and bought a graded product with 50% off.

Matches the washing machine hence the brand choice.

outlet store in Abingdon

Pray tell where is this magical place exactly?

It’s even better than that, they publish a stock list almost daily. You need to be quick as the popular stuff goes quick

https://www.miele.co.uk/c/miele-outlet-abingdon-1409.htm?gclid=CjwKCAjwmKLzBRBeEiwACCVihnS3mQ2acu6893hnnpANp6knfDllfREL3N0dpQsYG3UG7mzlZ_pwEBoCma8QAvD_BwE

We bought a miele Heat pump dryer about a year ago and it's been brilliant it was more than I ever thought I'd spend on any sort of white goods but we wanted something as quiet as possible and this thing is ridiculously quiet and I'm completely sold on miele now.

https://www.appliancecity.co.uk/laundry/tumble-dryers/freestanding-tumble-dryers/miele-twf505wp-8kg-t1-heat-pump-condenser-dryer/