Home DIY

a regular circular saw that can run on tracks is much cheaper

what ones would you recommend? think this may be the best option for me - for DIY purposes and odd bits

That looks good. Thanks

Thanks all

All this reminded me of the scoring setting. Actually worked really well stopping breakout on the “off side” cross cut on some Douglas fir plywood I’m chopping up.

I'm guessing this is good if you are cutting strips?

Forgive the silly question, but what is the difference between the scoring setting, and just setting the cutting depth to say 2mm?

On the mafell one it moves the blade over a fraction of a mm for the scoring cut

So with the final cut the blade doesn’t contact the veneer / melamine.

Not really for strips, good for cross cutting flakey veneer.

Looking round an old house as a potential project and noticed this ceiling hole - doesn’t look like plasterboard to me, could it be asbestos based ceiling board? House is 50’s/60’s council.

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Did similar for my study/WFH office. Very economical all in!

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It could be.

But there are also a lot of other things that it could be. In the 50s / 60s there was a lot of stuff was thrown up with supposedly "innovative" and "forward thinking" choices of materials for example sheets of white asbestos as kitchen worktops because you could cut straight onto it without needing a chopping board as the fibres would expand slightly so the damage to the surface wouldn't be noticeable. Also given the number of skilled trades Vs the amount of work available there was issues in terms of getting some jobs done. It looks to me as if there is a top coat of plaster if I had to put a bet on what it is I'd say that it was some kind of hardboard based ceiling system (these were popular at the time) that someone has skimmed in the last 30 years to make it look marginally better.

In all seriousness I wouldn't let the potential presence of asbestos put you off. In almost all situations it is perfectly safe unless disturbed, even if it needs to be drilled risks can be mitigated. If I was asked to sort a problem in a ceiling like that where asbestos was present rather than removing it I would recommend to seal it on both sides with PVA then I'd board over the top and finish it with a skim of plaster.

Ah, thats reassuring. Just looked like exactly the sort of place that would have some random asbestos surprises in. I lived in a house full of artex, was like some nuclear reactor decommissioning process when that had to be ripped out. May still get it tested just to sleep soundly...

As said asbestos is fine if not disturbed, cheaper to get artex skimmed than removed always.

I think people put so much stress under how dangerous it is and it is but its nowhere near as dangerous with all the other shite we breath in. Solder and flux flues are defo not good for you I would say that!

Blue and Brown then your really getting into the danger zone on asbestos.

I think people put so much stress under how dangerous it is.

Couldn't agree more. Most people don't realise that because asbestos is naturally occuring there are background levels of asbestos in the air that we all breath in every day, in a similar way to the background levels of radiation that we are all exposed to every day. Unlike radiation there is no data to say what level of exposure to asbestos is safe. Sadly this data will start becoming available in the next couple of decades as anyone who was in Manhattan in 11 Sept 2001 was exposed to a Massive cloud of the stuff and it takes ~ 20 to 35 years for asbestos related disease to become apparent after exposure.

Blue and Brown then your really getting into the danger zone on asbestos.

This. If you ever see grey-blue rockwool run away (while holding your breath) bin the clothes you were wearing and get in the shower this stuff is deadly

Loft boarding...

Victorian house...

Raised floors to not crush the existing insulation?
something posh/branded like this - https://www.loftzone.co.uk/product/storefloor/
or any old loft legs from Wickes/Screwfix?

And is there any need to replace existing stuff or is it likely to be fine as long as it's deep enough.

And any particular gotchas for someone fairly handy but by no means pro...

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What do the danger stickers say?

Insulation will not carry your weight, don’t walk here

When we worked out the cost difference of loftzone to wickes there was about 30£ in it. And we went for that as it had a weight limit which kept my girlfriend's worries at bay!

We didn't know this when we started but all of the joists were in random positions which would have meant a lot of cutting loft boards so that they fit on top of the wickes pillars. You don't have to worry about this with the loftzone stuff as the boards sit on metal which bridges between the pillars.

Liking that. I have a 3.2m wall (and 2.8m high to the coving) in the "office" that is mostly bare that could take a load of shelves (and an existing hideous wooden shelving unit that I'd like to get rid of).

This metabo one is a good saw, from a decent brand, is under £140 and looks to be able to run on festool rails (metabo has their own brand available which would probably cost less).

I think I’ve only ever seen blue or brown(can’t mind) once maybe years ago in a back boiler.

We changed a system recently that was warm air and the cupboard was all asbestos lined and asbestos flue. Disconnected the appliance and left it. Costumer was happy as it’s fine untouched.

Loads of places are desperate to shaft you if you try and just dump it now and as you say the effects are long long term and by that point you’ll probs have breathed in a ton more shite than that.

I need to chop up a wall of tall Ikea Metod units to fit the apex ceiling, similar to what we’ve done in the photo. I had family help doing then bulk of the kitchen but lockdown means flying solo on the last wall. Most of the cuts will only be visible inside the units with one cut outward facing. Would rather they were all as neat as possible though. I feel the finish can be improved over some in the pic.
Is there a hand saw blade most suited to this or for the borrowed jigsaw?
The Metabo above?
For the most visible cut I haven’t decided if it’ll be straight mitre cut or variable to get it a bit closer to the apex profile like the cooker hood.

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I’m halfway through a hall decoration which will involve stripping many years of paint from one side of 10 doors.
Ive used nitromors for a similar task @15yrs ago in a previous house and while time consuming it was certainly effective and didn’t damage or warp any of the beads like dipping can.
I’ve used nitromors since and found it had lost some of its paint bubbling strength, seem to recall someone (at the time) mentioning a change in its formula due to ‘bad stuff’?
Anyone have any suggestions for a similar/better product? I have a garage so can work in fresh air if recommended?

How thick is the insulation? Ours was about ~300mm deep, which is recommended. Used some loft legs on the beams, then some planks to join them which made boarding with standard boards a doddle. Someone on here did recommend that loftzone stuff as pretty easy/sturdy to do.

Edit: insulation looks compressed here, but it fumfed back up quite well.

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