Home DIY

Well I did say in the post not cheap.

Door furniture is a rabbit-hole with some really extortionately priced stuff.

Indeed, just been chatting to upstairs neighbour who we share the outer door with. Need to replace it at some point. One nightlatch and one deadlock with thumbturn, more than likely Banham so they are keyed alike. Nice wide letterbox, and possibly fanlight glass at the top. Looking at ~£2k easily. At least we get to split the cost.

Yeah it gets pricey when you start buying everything with batterys and charger. Only think i wish was the milwaukees tool only came with a box but hey ho.

Yeah, the trick is to keep an eye out for sales on the boxes which do come around. Buying bare tool + box is never that economical annoyingly.

I've got the wired Makita SDS drill and it's a total beast. Put it on our wedding list for lols and my wife's cousin bought it for me. What a dude.

Going back to lighting and IP ratings. I got the cheapest IP20 ceiling light from Screwfix and the way the cover fastens to the light unit would make it very hard to get any water in at all unless you were determined.

Ive got to keep a eye out for a box for my multi tool I bought recently as it just rattles about the back of the van.

Weirdly the slimmest boxes often come up cheap. I’ve got a stack of bosch ones that weren’t much and seen the Makita ones on sale too.

Whiteboard desk surfaces. Actually practical or just a stupid bit of stupid?

Was configuring an Uplift V2 for inspiration and noticed they had a whiteboard option.

I imagine the finish would soon become unusable.

In more ‘irritating design by previous owners’ news, I want to recondition the wooden surrounds of our toilet sinks. Happy with how the oil turned out in the kitchen but obviously can’t sand with the grain easily/at all here and don’t want it to look shit.

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The knock off batteries are worth a look if you'd like to save some money. I've been using them for years with no problems

The dewalt knock off ones are hit and miss - ive a couple that don't hold a charge for long at all

Finished (bar caulk and paint) the rescue of the former corner cabinet that had been chopped up to accommodate a cat flap.

I'd already done the tiling and skirting when the first picture was done. We've now got a nearly-inaccessible wine rack and cupboard for things we use once or twice a year - but that's better than a mess.

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Why do all removal jobs have to be destructive? I'm trying to take down shelves so we can strip & paint the wall with intention of reusing everything, save the planet n'all that. Looking at it, 30 mins with a screwdriver and everything should be free n easy. Reality 4 hours in and I'm less that 1/3rd done.

The majority of the screws are wedged tight and then round off when trying to loosen. When I fitted the shelves I bought decent screws too, not cheap jobs.

Even using those reverse screw extraction bits isn't working nor is it time efficient, and I have had to destroy some batons with crowbar/ sledgehammer to get them down, leaving snapped screws embedded in the masonry.

Pictured is one I'm yet to start on. What'd be the forum recommend non-destructive way to remove if these screws don't want to budge?

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Impact driver. Got a hand one if you want to borrow?

I was going to say the same. I was sceptical as to why I might need one as well as a drill/driver but they are so good at removing screws that otherwise would have to be drilled out.

I've also got one I could lend out if you're anywhere near E12.

One of these, you whack it with a hammer and it turns the screw a bit. Repeat till free.

Offer really appreciated, thanks. Could I grab it from you later today please?

We're trying to redecorate the living room quickly before we replace everything we moved upstairs for the flood warning we both had.

Thanks also @tbc, appreciated.

Cool. I'm due to collect stuff from Screwfix chorlton today, they don't have owt similar on click n collect by looks of it, it sounds useful to have long term so I'll buy one eventually.

I've got electric impact driver if you get stuck. Have just got back from Chorltom Screwfix too heh.

Couldn't go without one on jobs now, absolute game changer.

I've got Matt's here now, if need more power will give you a shout, huge thanks.

Chorlton Screwfix is the place to be seen at in 2021.

I've watched this and think it's worth trying out. I've ordered some M10 bolts and metal inserts that should arrive week after next (M10 inserts that I ordered on Amazon had a bit of a lead time) so will let you know how it goes

@Matt101 & @atk I'm not sure i need more power, just better technique, the driver bit just bounces out of the screw head when I hit it so far. Getting too late to continue as we're mid-terrace.

I did watch this guide & can't see where I'm going wrong:

https://youtu.be/Og0wilzMtXY

Power might be quicker this time round. I've spent most of the day on this now and made very little progress.

It might not have been apparent earlier, but I fucking hate diy.