Home DIY

How are the windows coming along @Señor_Bear ?

Door 'weather' seals: do I use expanding foam tape? Or is that only for gaps between frames and wall.

We have a drain cover near a window that can smell somewhat... is there a sprung valve/cover/seal thing that could be opened by the weight of rain water and then close up automatically to prevent smells getting out?
I've seen stuff like this
https://www.ecoprod.co.uk/green-drain-waterless-trap-seal-for-floor-drains/

But not sure if they're any good, or if there's just a go to search term I should be using to get something from screwfix or similar

Probably better to examine why it smells. It should be protected from smells emerging from the drain by some kind of U bend but drains that are blocked or slow running can smell.

Lots of different products. What's the problem you are trying to solve and what kind of door are you attaching stuff to?

London prices!

My sister had three new sapele sash bay windows put in her flat in Derbyshire for £9k.

The bay is in and the rear french doors pus the bathroom. It all still looks a bit messy I guess until they do the finishing touches.

How much longer have they got? I guess there’s lots of fettling to get a good fit in old buildings

It's an 8 day install. One of the issues is whether to mount the windows straight by a level of straight in the aperture or somewhere in between. The house is well wonky.

1 Attachment

What have you gone for? They look so much better than the pvc shite already.

Visually straight is fine but not beyond 1.5 degrees or windows don't run smoothly. I'm trusting them to get it right. They've done thousands of them.

£16k for the windows alone or including installation?

Both

Edited to fix autocorrect, but you get the idea. Thanks for the info.

Is it possible to get an older (30 years or so) fuse box replaced with a modern consumer unit without a major rewire? Just so existing circuits are covered by RCDs instead of fuses.

Do they only do sash windows? I have a large bay I need replacing, but not with a sash.

Mitre saws - has anyone got experience of the evolution ones?

R255SMS-DB+ looks good, but is it too good to be true - double bevel, laser etc or is it offering too much but not done well.

I have an evolution. Very good for the price. I went for one of the larger ones because why not at the price, but it is huge and a pain to store if you don’t have a garage. You’ll need to spend some time setting up the fence as they tend to be way off straight from the factory.

London prices

I’m in Leeds! I half wonder if the price of wooden windows is high here because of the small market.

Update on the shitty plasterboard fuck up coat hook waste of time :

I used those wetnfix and then drilled into the one stud I could find. So far no falling coats and it's been a month.

Always been impressed with the evolution saws for the price. It won’t be a Kapex but it’s less than a quarter of the price.

I really like the Bosch GCM 800 SJ

https://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/bosch-gcm-800-sj-216mm-8-1400w-single-bevel-sliding-mitre-saw?gclid=Cj0KCQjwv7L6BRDxARIsAGj-34qQS4CVRuMxEtM7wkcuHSzCHYddSobfZirt9_XDjXj7cEg5RIR-Ov4aAvIpEALw_wcB

Slightly smaller cutting capacity (70 vs 80mm), and less powerful motor, but a light and accurate saw.

If you just want a do everything saw the evolution is a good shout tho. Especially with the multi material blade. For a do everything saw in the garage, the evolution is ideal I reckon but if you’re wanting accuracy and clean cuts maybe go for something like the Bosch.

What @Sharkstar said is worth taking into account too. I have a massive Bosch saw and it’s a bane to move around (hence why I like the smaller Bosch so much). I ended up borrowing a small Makita saw when I did my floor as dragging the big one around was such a ballache.

I had that evolution saw. Was fine for rough work but I sold it when I started requiring precision. Mine had a pretty pronounced blade wobble which would was a recipe for chip out.

Good for the price though as long as you recognise its limitations.

I've got the single bevel version of that and it's been great for making a couple of fences, a raised bed, and I'm now halfway through a shed. How often would you need the double bevel function, and could you not just flip the workpiece over/180°...? Maybe that wouldn't always be possible of course.

But overall, really happy for £150ish.

Definitely use a vacuum or as at least a bag of some kind (I've taped a plastic bag around the dust outlet) - it can produce a LOT of sawdust very quickly. And as others have said, it's pretty big to store in a terraced house...pride of place in the shed when that's finished though!

1 Attachment

My least favourite DIY work. Bastard windows.

1 Attachment

Nah they do all sorts of windows but specialise in wood variant made from Sapele.