Home DIY

Ooh nice idea, saved for reference.

Excellent, thanks for the tip. Tried to drill the screws out with a regular drill bit but it only skated about and chewed at the wood around the screw. Hence the new holes.

My version of this is an adapted diamond tile drill. I didn't rate it as a tile drill but it's very solid and the base is designed to go in a drill chuck. I ground teeth into the top with a Dremel.

Incidentally you can revive multitool blades with a similar method of cutting teeth into them.

I found some place which had them for about a fiver and the blades for the same price so I went big and even got a pack of the plastic blades too.

Ooh get you with your plastic blades.

They are very useful, when I'm decorating I have one in my pocket all the time.

what should I do here? this gas fireplace has been out of action for years. disconnected it, thrown the coals away. the surround is disintegrating. should I look to repair it? Line the flue and get a wood burner stove? go electric? set fire to the pinecones?

Any thoughts appreciated!

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Vertically oriented tv?
Dog elevator?
Retro 60s/70s electric faux flame warmer?
Floor lamp installation with translucent glass/acrylic in front?
Stereo placement?
CD/LP storage?

Lava lamp.

You can almost certainly get all the replacement bits from Stovax or another maker.
Or you can get a Hotbox and replace all the stuff behind the cast iron with that, as they are more efficient.

Spoke to that company and they said once the cedar dries out the staples are likely to pop out. There are paslode cedar staples but they also need a paslode staple gun which makes this far too expensive an option. Looks like it’s time to buy stainless ring shank nails.

Looks nice to me. I'd just repair it and use it.

Our sitting room doesn't have central heating, just a gas fire tbh I quite like it.

@andos do you have any stainless ring shank nails you want to offload?

@dancing james I do have quite a few left over. I’m in Scotland so I’d need to chuck them in the post. You can have them for a forum donation to cover postage though.

It’s just these things: https://www.screwfix.com/p/easyfix-annular-ring-nails-2-x-25mm-0-5kg-pack/14437

2nd hand Paslode guns hold their value and there's a ready resale market - It could work out cheaper than buying a different gun or renting one. And certainly easier than banging in loads of nails by hand.

I picked up a Paslode IM65 second fix gun, which I plan to sell for £50 less than I paid.

There it is, final coat finally on the little fucker. Can't believe I've spent a week fixing it. The whole room was supposed to be done by now ;)

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I want to add some shelves to a boiler cupboard in the kitchen (looks like standard kitchen cabinet construction). Any suggestions for brackets? The shelves need to be removable (lifting upwards) for boiler servicing and stop the shelf sliding backwards.

I see plenty for one criteria or the other but not much for both. I guess the other option is to take a bit out of the shelf so they don't slide on whatever fixing I use.

You're on the right track. If you fancy doing it really well you can get some rafix and 5mm pins. There are some simple open rafix or types that clamp and lock.

Am I right in thinking that's the type that open in a v shape to allow airflow without direct wind?

It opens to one side like a door, but can be opened up like a v for cleaning

A friend had a Swedish kit house in the 80's that had this type of window. They work really well but I've not seen one since. Probably because I'm living/working in victorian buildings though.

Yeah they're common here, from the 40s up until the late 60s I think they were pretty much standard.

Also had a non-DIY non-happening today. Electrician was supposed to turn up to do a minor job 'on the side' as it were i.e. moving a couple of wall outlets. Messaged him yesterday to ask when he might show up and got a text back saying he was having a few pints and would I mind if he didn't turn up until 1 pm which I was totally fine with. The guy is like 21 or something. Today he never showed and didn't answer my texts, finally got a text from his dad (!) at 4 pm saying the guy had lost his phone and was in no state to do any work anyway and would I please provide an email so the guy could write and explain. I had plenty of other things to do so no worries for me, have been chuckling at the thought of him with his head in a bucket all evening.

Cheers. Look like the kind of thing I want. Now just need to find somewhere selling them.

Sorry for the delayed response, completely slipped my mind. Trying to fill a gap between the door and the frame when the door is latched shut. my other half has already bought some adhesive felt-y stuff (kind of like a very thin piece of carpet, not sure what the correct term is) and that seems to be doing the job.

The renovation works we had hoped to get started on our block got put off by the builders to spring. This is the current state of my front window. I had this stripped, filled and painted four years ago, and I’ve had to re-patch and paint the rotten cill since. It’s a hot mess. The frame doesn’t look like it has even been primed.

I’m thinking I have to do something to protect it over the winter, but as it will be done properly in April I don’t want to break my back over it. I was thinking of stripping the loose paint off and slapping on some Superdec, and filling that crack in the cill with frame sealant, but if anyone has any better suggestions I am very open to them.

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