Home DIY

Thanks both

The internal and external beads both seem to be just a flat angle shape stuck in the corner between the glass and the frame. I’ll investigate in more detail tomorrow but it doesn’t look like one of those complex E shaped beans.

One of the windows is 1.8m tall, I was really hoping removal wasn’t necessary.

If this is an outward opening window, where shoot bolts extend into the frame keeps, it's probably a gearbox similar to this (maybe even the same) and one side fucked or the rod has detached.
https://jcphardware.co.uk/saracen-shootbolt-gearbox-upvc-window-lock/

Theres two screws holding the handle to the gearbox and thus the gearbox located within the window.
With he handle in the unlock position, remove screws and then try persuading the gearbox away from the stuck side. If your lucky the gearbox cutout is big enough for that to work.
If it's a reasonably large (bendy) window, pushing the free side outwards to clear the keep and usung a wide stiff scraper you can lever the stuck side free.

If you have another window the same, get some pics and I'll have a look

seem to be just a flat angle shape stuck in the corner between the glass and the frame. I’ll investigate in more detail tomorrow but it doesn’t look like one of those complex E shaped beans.

R6563 would be my first guess, as the corner that's come away looks similar and looking from the inside, there's a shadow line visible before the silver spacer bar.
I bet if you keep pulling on the loose end, you'll see a nice white line as the corner tears away

One of the windows is 1.8m tall, I was really hoping removal wasn’t necessary

If it is an E gasket, which has a bard to hold it in the frame, you won't be able to replace it with glass in situe. However if you managed to pull out the E gasket and barb, you could fit a push in wedge gasket as an alternative.

If it's got an accessible screw/fixing holding it in place from the inside, or on the edge where the locking action happens, back that off a bit and give it a squirt of something oily.

Nothing is accessible sadly, the most I could do I think would be to remove the handle, but the stuck pin is ~35cm horizontally from the handle.

I too am currently stripping and sanding some stairs, having removed a hideous carpet.

The risers will be painted in white satinwood, the treads are gonna get a coat of Osmo anti slip oil.

But what would be the best thing to fill the gaps between the risers and treads with?

I've got some Osmo pine wood filler which I'll fill nail holes and gouges in the treads with, but i think if I used it in the gaps it would crack as the stairs flex in use. Maybe decorators caulk? I'm guessing it will look less weird in white, to match the risers, rather than pine, to match the treads?

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the LEAST I could do I think would be to remove the handle

I'd say it's a 25% chance of success with simply removing the handle and pushing the gearbox across by itself.
More often than not, the hole that the gearbox sits in isn't long enough to fully unlock it Or the rod is no longer attached to the gearbox.

At around 70cm across, there should be enough flex without removing the glass, to push the working end outwards 20mm or so, to clear the keeper plates and then lever the window across.

Toupret Fibacryl might last. It is a tricky area to prevent cracks.

If you were painting the whole lot white you could use some fine scrim from Toupret to bridge the gap too. That works well between the top of the skirting and the wall.

Perhaps knock in some 4mm pine stripwood ?

May just some thin beading would be a better solution. Attached to just one end to allow movement.

Cheers all, that's a good shout. Come to think of it, I actually already have some V shaped strips of pine for filling floorboard gaps, they're pretty wide but I could cut or sand them down.

Hope the Osmo lives up to the hype!

My new garden storage arrives next week, will be cutting the axles off to get it lower to the ground, and will eventually build a lean to off the front the full length to give me a working area as well.

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From the axminster carpets liquidation ;) Can't you sell the axles and wheels?

How come you are going with a trailer and not a shipping container or old portacabin?

I know the guy who runs the workshop for all axminster stuff, so it is one of his personal fleet. Will be taking the axles and wheels and probably converting into a tractor trailer.
Trailer is about a third of the price of a shipping container...

Just being nosey as last time I was looking the shipping containers/ portacabins were free just had to pay the transport cost. Same as static caravans too.

Have a look now! prices have gone crazy, looking at £1.5k for a 20ft container plus delivery plus VAT, mental price, then you have to insulate it etc, gets a very expensive way of storing things. Think prices have been pushed up by all the self storage places being set up using containers.

Wow, that is crazy. Is that for used and abused containers? Wonder if it was the proximity to Tilbury meant I was getting cheap containers

Or I am living so far in the past, was over a decade ago.

To be fair that price is for single use, but second hand not that much cheaper sadly.

There's a shortage

interesting! I do find it amazing that it financially makes most sense that the majority of containers only do one trip and are then sold off.

Here's my question: is this an oak (or other wood) board or just dodgy-looking pine?

To me looks like somebody replaced that board with some pine and sanded it level when redoing the floors. The wood filler in the adjacent board is probably part of the story.

the coloration could be a result of anything from simple time to somebody trying to stain it to match very poorly.

The rest of your boards looks like heart pine to me.

I am not a hardwood floor expert, but I have very very old pine and redwood boards in my house and I've been through this with several experts.

Just a guess.

I too am currently stripping and sanding some stairs, having removed a hideous carpet.

The risers will be painted in white satinwood, the treads are gonna get a coat of Osmo anti slip oil.

But what would be the best thing to fill the gaps between the risers and treads with?

I've got some Osmo pine wood filler which I'll fill nail holes and gouges in the treads with, but i think if I used it in the gaps it would crack as the stairs flex in use. Maybe decorators caulk? I'm guessing it will look less weird in white, to match the risers, rather than pine, to match the treads?

Nothing. Resurface it and leave the gaps. It'll never look good. Leave it.

I bought some of the Soudal Fix-all for the same purpose but I've not tried it yet. Not helpful I know but it is supposed to be versatile and flexible.

My tips for Osmo would be:

1. Apply it really thinly with a paintbrush - someone described it as painting as if you're trying to get paint out of a brush before cleaning

2. Use a cloth to wipe off excess/spread it out more evenly.

Probably quite obvious but it comes from doing it badly once and then trying not to repeat mistakes.

Never used Osmo but for oil type finishes I seem to have the best luck dumping the brush altogether and just using a cloth. Takes more applications obviously.

That's super helpful, I had no idea, would probably have just painted it like anything else.

Will post photos when it's done - which may be weeks given how much sanding there is to do