Home DIY

I have one of these: https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dcs39­1n-xj-18v-xr-165mm-cordless-circular-saw­/ which says it can do 55mm but I'd be surprised if I can make a tidy job of it.

I wouldn't trust my bosch 18v with worktop material, the dewalt is likely better and it will depend on the blade sharpness etc. Borrowing a track/plunge saw would be my go to. Or any other corded saw and use a straight edge as a fence

Great. Now I'm looking at track saws :/

Also this: https://vevor.co.uk/products/400kg-electric-hoist-winch-lifting-engine-crane-heavy-duty-pulley-workshop

I've just spent 10 minutes tugging at it and it seems very solid.

It wants to be solid as it's a purlin and supports the roof and prevents the rafters from deflecting. Honestly I think @nefarious has already given the best advice you are going to get in how to do this. Figure out a way to support the worktop so that you can do the lift in stages. If it were me I'd screw a couple of ratchet straps (using washers to hold securely) into some of the joists up there on either side of the hatch, then run them under the work top like a sling. Lift the work top a foot then tighten the straps to take the strain then repeat, resting when needed. Once the worktop starts to go through the hatch it should be pretty securely held but I'd still keep CYOA Jr. away, and avoid standing under the worktop if at all possible.

How heavy is it?!

If you can't wait for some extra pairs of hands, I'd build a frame over the hatch out of scrap timber and rachet-strap it up into the loft, with a person underneath (to the side) stabilising things.

Edit: or that ^^

Track saws are more useful than normal circular saws IMO.

a 90 degree jig and some track clamps are essential though.

Also, come at me bro. Looking forward to the desk challenge.

Maybe I've just got very weak in the past 3 years (highly possible going from very active lifestyle to basically being sedentary and driving a lot) but I still feel 'country strong' and can hoist a fair weight if I'm careful. But this has utterly defeated me.

Thanks for all input everyone - think some combo of strappery and bit at a time will be the way forward. I'll do a few tests - not in a great rush though would be nice to have somewhere clear to work after nearly two years here.

One last (potentially/probably silly query). At the apex of the roof there is currently some plasterboard. Behind that I presume there's a heavy as fuck beam (would this be the ridge board?). Is it a VERY stupid idea to drill a mechanical winch into that so that it's (almost) directly above the loft hatch? Or is it just a slightly stupid idea? Is it likely to be more or less heavy duty than the purlin you mentioned @Bobbo ? Is it held in by place by the uprights (rafters?) and their/pressure weight pulling down on it? Or are there usually some kind of interlocking cuts somewhere? Basically could it feasibly be pulled down by the weight of a winch and however many kilos of wood beneath it (suspect around 80 unwieldy kg?)

Because I've at this stage thrown caution to the wind, I just did some pull-ups from the 'tie'(?) that held solid and I'm fairly sure I weigh nigh on 30 stone after trying every pasty in Devon since I've moved here.

@bobbo's strap/sling idea is the best yet I feel. The ratchets themselves could even do the lifting if you did a bit at a time alternating between the two.

My only concern with the ratchet/strap idea is that I have to send the worktop at a 45 degree angle across the diagonal of the loft hatch. But, yes, I feel something along these lines will do the job. Would obvs prefer to wait for 2 or 3 pairs of hands to come and help but don't see us having guests allowed in our homes any time soon.

Cheers @Bobbo & @stevo_com - a pine crosspiece & panel it is.

Would a staple gun & 15mm brads be OK for tacking?

I'm thinking pocket holes for the pine crosspiece. It's not as if anybody will ever see the fixings.

Is it likely to be more or less heavy duty than the purlin you mentioned @Bobbo ? Is it held in by place by the uprights (rafters?) and their/pressure weight pulling down on it? Or are there usually some kind of interlocking cuts somewhere? Basically could it feasibly be pulled down by the weight of a winch and however many kilos of wood beneath it (suspect around 80 unwieldy kg?)

Yes, the ridge beam is at the top of the roof. It is also about the strongest part of the roof. Most pitched roofs are isosceles triangles, the sides are the rafters and the base is the joists that stop the bottom of the sides spreading under load with the added bonus of holding up your ceiling. Everything is nailed together to hold it nice and tight (nails being better than screws as they have MUCH greater shear strength). The purlins I mentioned before are there to add extra strength and stop the rafters deflecting under the load of the tiles and anything else that might sit on the roof (like snow). This means that the forces from hanging anything from the edge beam will be transmitted down the walls, however I'd check that the thread on whatever you are going to screw into it can take it.

TLDR yes but make sure the thread you are using to screw into the ridge can take the weight.

Edit: one other thing to check. Often ridge beams are joined together from multiple boards using a type of joint called a scarf (or scarph) joint. This is the weak point of the beam. You need to check that you are not trying to attach into an area where there is a scarf joint.

Spent the afternoon painting my stairs, pretty please with the results.

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We are real
On this house

Typo?
Should be in surely?

We make mistakes

No shit.

I've just spent 10 minutes tugging at it and it seems very solid.

Surely there must be a thread for humblebrags?

legit lol

I also, after bursting a tomato at dinner just now, unthinkingly said to my three-year-old when he asked why I sighed:

"I've just ejaculated seed all over my leg".

My wife gave me a suitable look.

Terrible photos, but what would look better here as a handrail? Am thinking just this, painted white. https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Pine-Pigs-Ear-Handrail-3-6m/p/118416

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We make tea
We take the bins out
We do the washing up
We don’t leave floaters in the bog
In this house

If you'd gone for "I've just spilled my seed on stony ground" you might have been able to claim it as religious instruction.

The kerning @chrisbmx116 .. fix it

Will happily take that off you if getting rid.

I don't give two shits about the space between letters anymore, just Confluence pages.

Seems like a while ago but the answer is Speedheater - Cobra.

https://tensid.com/product-list/speedheater-cobra/

I meant chemical. Ain’t got £300 for a stripper, never mind something for removing paint.

Har har.

Fitting pigs ear handrail to a wall is one of the very few DIY jobs that I've given up on. The problem is that unless your wall is absolutely flat over the full 4m, it won't fit flush. The contact area is also very small, so it's difficult to shim. One option is to fit a long board, about 20 x 1000 x 4000mm, to the wall, which you can more easily put shims behind to create a properly flat surface, then screw the pigs ear to that.

If you do fancy taking it on, I've still got a full length of pigs ear that you could have for much less than it will cost you from Wickes

enter code here

(if you can pick it up).

There are two beams that run parallel with the door frame on either side of the hatch. i.e. facing the loft ladder there is a beam in front of and behind the hatch as you come up through it. They're about 20 feet apart. I'm debating ratcheting something tight AF between the two and hoping the stress doesn't collapse my roof.

Don't do this!
You could easily overload the straps or damage the beams when you add the load. It's the other way up, but the loading for a two leg sling shows how things escalate when the legs are spread.

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