Home DIY

Oh and not really DIY either (but I did do all the prep) but this is the bedroom after day one of the plasterer at work. Plaster is still quite difficult to get apparently. As the plasterer is a British Gypsum member, he was saying that they sent him one pallet. Lovely man the plasterer. Loves proper old restoration methods and we talked for ages about goats hair and old methods. I'm in love I think.

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Ah I suppose it could be something in the pipe, now you mention it it seemed to work better when I had it out in a bucket than when I reattached it so it looped up to the top of the machine and and then down into the waste pipe.

What would one use to unblock the pipe? I expect there's some kind of expensive flexible rod type thing.

4- or 5- core electrical cable is surprisingly versatile

Metal coat hanger

Is there a forum-tested paint dipper/stripper? Looking to have some original doors and shutters stripped of many, many years of paint

If you can get the back off the machine you can pull the pipe off completely then run a bit of cable or wire through it as suggested above.

The thing to look out for before trying this is the force of the water when it pumps in to a bucket - it really should be like a tap on full pelt. Anything else is a blockage or fault somewhere.

I'm thinking of fitting some reclaimed Junckers flooring. It looks like we have two options either

Taking up the original floorboards and lay it directly onto the joists. The current floorboards are broken in a lot of places, cut up and very squeaky from plumbers and electricians. They may run under a wall though to the next room which might make it harder than just lifting the boards to get the flooring up.

Put another layer of ply wood? on the existing boards then lay on top of that. This would probably mean taking 20mm off the bottom of the door, which I think would mean a new door, because it would cut into the mortise and tenon at the bottom. We'd also have a 20mm step down to the carpet at the door which might be annoying.

An internal door handle (round metal knob thing) has always been a bit loose - seemingly as a result of an overtight spring. 3yo pulled the handle off the other day and I got around to taking a look this morning. The wood (old pine I guess) is all chewed to shit with dozens of screw holes from previous attempts by previous owners to repair. The screws in it were short and narrow. I tried longer screws but without much luck. What's a bodge in lieu of a new door (it's a tatty door so I'd rather not throw too much money at a repair). 6mm ply or something between handle and door then a longer metal rod between handles? (Current rod only extends about 12mm from door surface).

Have you tried gluing wooden dowels into the screw holes? Gives the screws something to bite into. It's worked for us. May require whitling the dowel down with a knife.

No, not considered that - may need to make the holes a bit larger - concern is that the whole area is very flaky and chewed up but worth a go. Cheers

What's it's damn problem?

No idea, been through the same issue with ours and just caved and ordered a new one the other day.

I’ve literally just done this. Reclaimed junckers beech that was used for a squash court.
I pulled up the fucked pine boards that were way past saving. I snuck them under the skirting and it worked fine. Had to bridge some gaps with scraps of ply to give the boards support in a few places.
There were so many cables and pipes under the pine boards that I’m glad I replaced them rather than laying on top - feel like it would have been easy to damage something unseen if I’d just laid them on top. I’m also glad to have kept the same floor level throughout. Another minor thing is that you have to snip all the nails off if it’s going to sit on top of something, rather than just making sure the nails don’t sit on any joists.

Are you sure they run under walls through to other rooms? I though I had this but it wasn’t the case. See if you can get a couple boards up to have a look.

Attached are before and after photos, shit show of cables and pipes, example of ply support between joists, and the finished product.

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You can get door hardware that bolts from one handle to the other through the door.

Usually sold for commercial use. Proper locksmiths will have them rather than the DIY warehouses.

Ah thanks, that was stupid of me for not putting two and two together as I knew you'd done that.

Your floorboards are a lot better condition than ours so I think we'll do that. I'll read through your posts again but is there anything that you'd do differently etc?

We'll probably have the skirting off anyway and it's just a small rectangular room so fewer corners so it should be a bit simpler.

Google not showing a lot for me here - any specific phrases/terms I should search? Never come across these but sound just right.

Edit: possibly "bolt through" - reading now.

Mini skip hire in SE London, any good recommendations?

Yeah, Google just gives Screwfix etc, etc. Have a locksmith supplier search, locksmith will probably just give you call-out results.

My main tips would be to have all the butt joints over joists, pick your boards carefully and avoid any with shake in them - it shows up a lot more when you put a finish on the wood. Take the time to level the joists if you can/it needs as you notice any unevenness a lot more when you put a nice new floor down.
Don’t use glue and sawdust as a filler.
If there are any gaps, use bona gap master - tape either side of the gap when you fill the gaps, leave to dry at least overnight and sand flat. Spill over will show up.

Having tools for pulling boards tight like clamps and knockers make a big difference.

Hire an edge sander for the edges, a normal belt sander is fine for the main surface - work with the grain though!

Google not showing a lot for me here - any specific phrases/terms I should search? Never come across these but sound just right.

Edit: possibly "bolt through" - reading now.

These 'l do
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282406848233

Wooden plate significantly larger than the original footprint. Be careful not to foul the door jamb.

Had to do this on a cheap hollow door and worked well for a few years now

I’ve given up, the room I was going to get done, isn’t going to see masses of use for a while. My new decorator neighbour reckons he’s be happy to decorate it with some proper sanding and patch filling on my part, and his painting expertise on less than I deal surfaces. If it had been a major room I’d have waited...

I know a plasterer with loads of plaster who has some availability. He's in South London

Impressive result!

Right, so the plasterer has finished and he's done an amazing job. Before (we bought the house 3 years ago however largely unchanged) and today. Can't wait for it to dry so I can get the mist coat on.

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Got one of those giant rubble bags with collection included , next day delivery 🚚 but I am yet to schedule collection (need to fill it up first 😅)... I used Clearabee but there is also Hippo and many others. Could be a good option