Home DIY

General consensus on wooden ceilings in kitchens?

Even with a decent scutch?

Yeah not sure why I put shit. Maybe 'the shit'? Edited.

When you do need to put a 1m hole in your wall though it's handy having an SDS.

I'd file that need under 'the wildest of applications' along with the cat-flap in a solid wall self torture. Guessing that was going straight through an internal solid wall to route a cable of some kind? Straight through the chimney breast? You monster.

polyurethane foam adhesive?

If this is this the low expansion grade designed to stick insulation to variable surfaces,
rather than the normal expands for hours grade, then 'Yes'.

*files mental note never to cross aggi*

A real man has a drill bit bigger than his TV

Yep, speaker cables straight through the chimney breast. The chimney's capped in the loft so it's not much good for anything else.

temptation must be strong to drill right through into neighbours' house

GENERAL TOOL QUESTION.
Are we at the stage now where battery powered is the way to go for every occasion?

I have a corded hammer drill which I use for heavier work and a cordless for lighter work. Pondering a new drill - or impact driver or both but I don’t ‘really’ need it. Or do I?😁

In a nutshell, yes. unless you are going to be doing some really heavy work, or want to save a little money, I would think cordless meets most requirements. For me there are still some tools where I am not willing to go cordless quite yet, big things like chop saw, table saw, but thats mainly because I don't move them round very often. But for drills, impact drivers, circ saws, grinders etc I would go cordless. Pick a battery system and stick with it. You won't go wrong with Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Bosch blue at the upper end for DIY, or if you are on a tighter budget brands like Erbauer do really decent stuff for the money. I mean for 90% of people the Lidl Parkside or Aldi Ferrex stuff is probably more than good enough.

Impact driver is probs the best tool we ever bought, takes the hassle out of getting stuff in and out the wall 9.5 out of 10.

As an occasional user, like most, the batteries are the issue. I had a Panasonic cordless some time ago and the batteries cost almost as much as the body. Batteries died - bought another Panasonic. Batteries died and bought a Makita as I couldn’t justify the cost of the Panasonic’s any more.

Yeah, batteries are always going to be a cost issue, I guess if you can spread them across multiple tools its not so painful, I roughly have 1 battery per tool I think, but i'm rarely using all the tools at once. I have Makita, and the fast charger is excellent, so even if I do run out it's only a 20 min wait.
Another thing to consider could be dropping down to 10 to 14v if it is only for low intensity, occasional use. I bought my wife a 10v Makita impact and drill to keep in the house, and its great stuff, really lightweight, but enough power to drill a 12mm hole in masonry with no issues at all, and the impact is perfect for ikea furniture...

Are we at the stage now where battery powered is the way to go for every occasion?

For small to medium hand tools almost definitely. Largely because you can get high capacity batteries 5ah+ and the tools themselves have gotten more powerful.

Having just extended my cordless selection, I can't imaging buying a corded tool unless I have to now. It's just so much quicker and more convenient.

And the cost of a 5aH battery!😁
My mates a builder and that’s what Santa bought him 😁😁

So, cut shelves worked thanks @si_mon628 & @Bobbo for advice and @atk for having circular saw on standby just incase.

Back to top shelf we're agreed we'd rather it went into brick not mortar, even though it means it will not be evenly spaced. Trouble is I've drilled 9 holes across 2 horizontal lines now and only jut brick once. Am I just very unlucky or is there a method tradespeople use to be certain to hit brick not mortar? Google suggests it is luck but that seems odd nowadays.

Good job you aren't buying Milwaukee 12ah batteries, just the £200 or so...

Well I'm end of terrace but, because I couldn't measure the inside of the chimney breast, as I drilled further and further I started to get concerned that I'd gone off track and the drill bit was going to pop out in the street.

new / better bits

Hung some curtains the other day. First time using a 4mm pilot hole with the drill on hammer and high torque. Game changer.

Can't believe I kept using the worn out ones for so long.

@chrisbmx116 New ones are just DeWalt for around a tenner, nothing insane.

Edit here we go: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0013LEMT0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_ENERRR2W6GXZQARZ33W9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Pretty sure someone said for masonary bits you want to buy non-shit ones and then replace, rather than spending a fortune or buying cheap ones.

Perfect, thank you!

That’s shocking!! My plumber bought two with some mad Milwaukee SDS drill - probably a good investment for someone using them a lot. Something cheaper would work for me.

Yeah to be fair I think the big batteries are a great idea if you are running a chopsaw on site all day every day, no need to worry about lugging around a 110v transformer and having a H&S guy tell you off for making trip hazards.

If I was buying new, I'd get these in the size I need. But that's me.

https://www.toolstation.com/bosch-multi-construction-tct-drill-bit/p82669

i want to secure my standard up and over garage door from the inside, what should i fit?