Home DIY

Does it have to be tight up against that wall?

Ideally, yes. I've got a 63cm gap at the head end, and a 60cm sink unit to fit into it.

Skim the wall before tiling. You could chase the wall at the tight end if you didn't have the time or materials to skim in the corner. I know you know how to plaster though!

I hope you have batten fixed to the wall under the edges of the bath or plan to install it.

not sure if there is such a thing, but can anyone recommend a anti-humidity wizard in SE? I though the humidity patch was raising through the garden wall and unblocking the adjacent waste pipe drain will solve it but after last two days of rains.... voila the fucker is back! Any leads will be truly appreciated!

I tried to solve that sort of problem for many years and ended up cutting the plaster back to brick and using Humiblock plaster. I'm not sure where it goes now but I can't see it anymore.

Had another one at the front of the house which was caused by a soakaway that was full of silt.

I've heard of damp proof experts but it's one area of the building trade that everyone seems to disagree over.

Thanks @Airhead I will make sure to fix any gaps in the render and check all the nearby pipes before I put the Humiblock plaster. Any paint you would recommend to finish the interior?

I think there's a matching paint. It's from Toupret, Humi-block, missed the hyphen first time. Then I painted it with a dulux diamond emulsion because it was a corner in a kitchen and that paint is good for hallways and kitchens. If you have a more matt paint you might need to use something like Gardz to stop it flashing.

brilliant, I will do some more poking around next week and report back. Many thanks for your help, truly appreciated (specially as it helps avoid someone quoting £££ for a lot of unnecessary fixes)

Cord came out of the bathroom light switch. Turns out the mechanism is basically the same as a clicky pen. Now fixed.

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One for the filler gang.

What's the best way for filling holes drilled in walls that have had M6 / M8 anchor bolts in them.

They are all on internal walls - one is gypsum skimmed onto lime onto brick, the other plasterboard.

Is using a multi-purpose filler a craven sin?

Multi purpose is what I’d use

Seems like a reasonable thing to do. I like TX110 for those sort of duties.

I'm laying engineered wood in my hallway and thinking of installing a recessed door mat. I want to avoid having chunky trim or a thick metal matwell - can this be done without a trim (would I be asking for trouble with water/wear)?

You can make a mitred frame from the engineered wood or use a small amount of matching solid wood. The door mat itself can sit in the recess without any lining in my experience. Perhaps ours just doesn't get wet enough but it's not been a problem in nearly 20 years. We have changed the mat a few times.

I think they are a great improvement on a free floating mat.

Excellent stuff, thanks - have plenty of spare so will have a go at making something out of the flooring.

Beginning the long journey of renovating a fairly untouched (since the 70s) victorian flat. left some demo/waste guys with the task of clearing it/stripping the old cracked plaster off the walls in some rooms. In the bathroom extension, they chipped off the cement render revealing (probably contributing to) some pretty awful brick work (double skin solid wall).

Plan was to dot-dab insulated plasterboard on this wall to improve thermal comfort.

Options in my mind - a) repoint/repair using lime based mortar, b) render in lime based render, c) render in sand and cement.

Or, give up..

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d) repoint / repair (with lime mortar), install stud with insulated plasterboard

a) & b) are great options, but finding plasterers that do a good job with lime is not that easy. Then there's the finish to consider - if you skim with gypsum, or paint in something that's not lime / clay-based, it detracts from the whole point of going with lime in the first instance

c) is puppy killing. And can exacerbate damp problems, as it takes away the permeability of the wall (something about temperature differentials, osmotic gradients, water vapour and the like).

If there is damp in the future, and you need to get back to brick, then removing cement render will fuck those soft bricks.

d) sounds good, i was looking at metal furrings/wall brackets which can be dot-dabbed to the wall to minimise drilling into the bricks as much as possible.

Any recommendations for brickies which can work with lime mortars in North London - N5 area, would be most welcome.

Lime plaster going on today and for the next 4 weeks.

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This wall is in a pretty bad way. You might need sections of it helifixed and then a mesh placed under the plaster to tie it all together. Pick your tradesmen carefully would be my advice on this.

Not really DIY but thought this would be a good place to ask.

The plaster from our ceiling has now split and is coming away. It is almost certainly the result of two boiler leaks (May and July) plus the hot weather.

We don't have any recommendations for near us (Borehamwood/Herts) so was going to use MyBuilder.com . Possibly also get our dinning room and hall artex(sp?) covered at the same time.

My questions are these:

1. is there anything else I / the repairman should be checking for? Rot to the beams (seems unlikely)?
   
2. any general suggestions for how to use MyBuilder.com? Things to avoid, be weary of etc?
   
3. in the interim is there any harm in duct taping the crack from a safety POV? (have a toddler who sometimes goes in there.
   
   

Cheers.

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Probably easier and more effective to get some penny washers and plasterboard screws. Screw the board back to the joist. It's sometimes enough to do that and recess the penny washers slightly then fill/decorate.

You have to judge whether it would work based on the condition of the plasterboard.

and recess the penny washers slightly

Do you use some sort of auger-like drill bit to recess, or just screw them up tight so they pull and recess themselves?

I hadn't thought about doing it myself as it was previously lifting. But tbh going to screwfix and doing it the way you've described actually sounds easier than finding someone and arranging for them to do it.

Is there anything else I should check for?

As to the general condition, it cracked over the weekend. It was previously warped. But I'll have another look. I assume it's just another couple of screws in the other places it's lifted, provided it's not too extreme?

Also cheers for the reply!

I'd also put some dust sheets down and clear the area a bit, just on the off chance it does come down when you're screwing it back.

Cheers.