Home DIY

He’s chunkier than the other SL4s, but he got the spirit.

I have something similar to this. It is a handy gadget and accurate enough for my needs. It’s also a cheaper option.

https://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/manufacturers/silverline_tools/carpentry_woodworking_tools/clamping_board_cutting_guide_rail_straight_edge_1270mm_675056_P30073.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw_sn8BRBrEiwAnUGJDmSv8X9EGNsYfEIVfGtiDWdw05l-ED2djztumCSFXlfdQGcVURGBcRoCVpkQAvD_BwE

My floor appears to be massive chipboard, possibly tongue and grooved. I need to run some cables under the floor. I can't find an edge big enough to get a prybar in. What else can I try? I've considered routing a channel. Is this a bad idea?

Behind skirting?

Our bathroom reno is 10 years old now and looking a bit tired. But today, I found a folder of photos of the original bathroom and oh my god, I think I must have blotted it out over the years. So, while this is hardly a current project, and the after shots have a bit too much daily life, please enjoy the transformation....

We split off about a quarter of the room to make a separate walk in cupboard, moved the boiler upstairs and installed the new bathroom including relocating all the plumbing and drainage. Work done entirely by us other than plastering and moving the boiler. The wood panels are Wickes WBP plywood, stained and hand varnished by me over a long, hot and very dusty summer.

before:

after:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-armeg-sbc-cover-111mm/10648

Thats not allowed with power, although root hasn't specified power cables so it could be an easier route.

I could get most of it behind skirting. I'd need to get passed as few door ways. I suppose that reduces the channel I need to cut.

I'm too thick to understand how that helps me.

Ethernet, speaker and hdmi.

These days you rout a hole into the floor using a specific template and router blade, then you can drop one of these ready made hatches back in when you've finished. It's a great way to get through solid underfloors but you hope to have a straight run between joists once you are under there.

There is an alternative. There are mouldings which sit above your skirting and look like skirting. I have some - various sizes for whatever cable you are using and easy access, should it be required. I will try and work out where I got it but I am thinking Screwfix.

Amazon - this stuff. I will get a pic of where I used it.
D-Line 3015KIT001 4-Meter Mini Trunking Multipack, White – 30mm (W) x 15mm (H) & Mini Cable Trunking 1-Meter, Decorative Self-Adhesive Cable Cover, 30mm (W) x 15mm (H) – 1 x 1-Meter Lengths – White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KF6S2XV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1i0KFbS0HVKTD

Assuming you have some floor covering on the subfloor you might have carpet bars at the edges of the room which allow you to squeeze the wires between the bottom of the skirting and the carpet bar. Maybe trim a few mm of the bottom of the skirting if it's covered by carpet.

That's a pretty good shout, when you renovate you can put them behind the skirting.

This is it

1 Attachment

Honestly, no one has noticed it. It looks like part of the moulded skirting. But you need to make sure to get the right size - I learned that the hard way!

I removed my 'can be ugly' comment because these looked pretty good. Aside from the skirting being a bit wrong anyway that actually blends in very well.

Ha ha. The skirting and the switch not being level are not my fault! Dodgy builders. 😁 and you are right - it’s shoddy work. We might change it sometime but it’s been there 29 years now so maybe not.

I was more concerned about how short the skirting are. I've never seen them so short!

You know you could probably straighten that socket quite easily. They don't bother me but I live in victorian house and nothing is level.

Please explain?

Similar to this, but not just a piece of tin covering the hole >>

https://youtu.be/oP7RLMvNtzQ

If your not certain what's beneath the boards, tentatively drill the pilot hole and check for clearance below.
Use the pilot drill to centre the hole saw until that is a few mm into the board, then remove the pilot drill from the arbour and finish cutting the hole through.

A lot of the back plates have one adjustable nut so you can move the socket up and down on one side to help level it. You loosen the socket, adjust and tighten again.

If that doesn't work you can usually loosen the plaster from around the backbox and adjust it in the wall.

It can take you half a Saturday if it all goes wrong. :)

The light in our nursery had been plaguing us for a while. It had a dimmer switch but it was flickering a lot, with a few different (dimmable) bulbs tried.

I bought a new dimmer switch after reading that some old dimmers don't work well with newer bulbs.

That didn't work either and eventually the light stopped working altogether.

I replaced it with a £1.50 two gang from Wilko and now it works fine.

Could there be an issue, other than the dimmer switch itself, which means I can use a normal switch but not a dimmer?

You need to carefully match the dimmer to the lamp or lamps. Some dimmers just won't dim below 10w, that's less than most single LED bulbs. I carry the linked ones because they cover most of these situations. People struggle to program them but it's timing the on off and recognising they have entered the programming mode.

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/VLMKP100.html

I drilled a test hole in my boarded floor. It went through what looks like a damp proof membrane and into some polystyrene insulation. I don't think id have much luck pushing a cable through.

The boards are 20mm thick. It's my thinking I could machine out a channel about 7mm deep. Then when my floor is fitted above the load will be spread enough not to worry about. Someone tell me they agree and I'll be happy.