Home DIY

Yes, they all do.

Don't think my Wylex fuse wire board does...

(yes, it needs replacing but that requires sorting out the maybe asbestos panels in the garage ceiling first or any decent electrician is going to run a mile I'd hope - I assume there will be at least one circuit that needs work which means fiddling with ceilings/floors. Sorting out the ceiling panels means emptying the garage so hopefully this summer when I can dump bikes etc in the garden for a day or so but then I need to find someone else to re-board the ceiling and before long it turns into a big job and doesn't happen :( )

Specifically you should use a voltage tester which is a single job tool. You should test and confirm operation before you use it to test a circuit.

I don't think many DIYers will have a tester like that. Aren't you supposed to prove it before and after each use too which adds to the cost of something that isn't going to get a lot of use? I turn everything off rather than rely on my Maplin (RIP) special multimeter. If I was going to spend on test gear I'd rather be able to test earth continuity.

keep reinforcing the point

Yeah, I get that. I like to think I'm over the first peak of the Dunning-Kruger curve but I might be deluding myself.

There is a problem with getting an electrician in for small tasks, or more or less any trade for almost anything at the moment it seems. Everyone seems to have more work than they can handle and getting quotes etc just doesn't happen. I've got a flickering downstairs toilet light which isn't the LED bulb (swapped that) so might be either the pull cord switch contacts or a loose connection somewhere. The time and energy of getting an electrician in compared to swapping the switch means I'm likely to do that first.

On a different job we finally found someone to build a garden wall for us but he has now hurt his back and we are probably back to square one.

Doesn't stop me from shouting 'don't fuck with the CU for next hour!'

My family are disappointedly unaware of even where the CU is. Or where the gas/electricity/water meters are. Or where the water shut off is. Even though I keep trying to show them to them in case it is needed.

It's difficult at the moment. I'm looking after a lot of local small works, like walking distance for customers I have a relationship with. I went to wire a blind the other day and out of 5 people on site no one had a mask and I was probably the only one who had not been vaccinated. Other clients are calling to say they had to have a test before they can go back to work but you've already been on site with them so now you have to cancel your appointments until they get an all clear.

There are plenty of trades ignoring a lot of possible problems but no surprise there!

With your Wylex you keep the fuse in your pocket, sure someone could move a fuse and it probably will happen in a million monkeys sense.

Single function voltage testers should have a voltage tester tester that proves it and yes you should keep checking that all the time if you have them. If you are going to do your own electrics buy one when you are young and pray you live long enough to make it worth the money. :)

I agree that switching the main switch off is good practice for beginners and the untrained.

This. Very well explained!

I was about to make the same point about voltage indicators and proving units. That’s at least £100 of kit right there, and I really wouldn’t expect a DIYer to have it.

Many moons ago I was helping demolish a stud wall with brick in-fill. I found a manky old cotton-bound wire poking up through the floor. "Nah, don't worry, it won't be live", said the bloke in charge of the works. It was. Tres tingly. I learnt never to trust a joiner when it comes to electrical stuff.

My neighbour got a sparks in last week to run a new cable from his CU to his range cooker. They took a plunge saw to his floorboards and managed to cut through two water pipes. Unfortunately he didn’t know where his stop cock was. Fortunately the sparks knew a plumber, who came round with a pump and somehow managed to effect a repair and install a new stop cock. Much flooding.

They have started doing Repair Care at Crown Decorating Centres. Otherwise I think Sealants Online is the go to online place recommended upthread, who do the kits for a decent price.

Ta will have a look.

#SPAM

If anyone is looking for an architect, a good friend of mine is setting up his own practice. Working for 20 years, qualified for 15. As his own practice is new, he has no official portfolio, but could talk anyone through the work he has done if anyone is in need of someone to do pretty drawings etc.

Based in Whyteleafe, Surrey. Initial focus will be residential work.

Looking for any advice on moving a socket to the opposite side of a wall (i..e. wall is between two rooms, I want to move the socket from one room to another, and just put a blank pate where the socket previously was.

Can anyone suggest a resource on how to do this? I have a rough idea but I'd rather not break anything or myself!

Is there a decent paint roller I should be looking for, or are they all the same?

I guess you're using joiner in the wood sense. I got chatting to an electrical joiner working on a pavement joint outside a neighbours the other day. He was telling me how they join the live cables without disconnecting the supply to the whole street. Basically the answer was 'carefully'.

Massive differences. What's the substrate, what type of paint, how many square meters.

For a one off job you probably don't need a fancy frame but it might be worth getting a decent roller sleeve.

There are so many choices it's hard to narrow it down for you, I have at least 30 roller sleeves, 10 frames and maybe 10 buckets and trays. All to suit different circumstances.

The most general starter type for emulsion on walls would be a 9" roller and tray set.

I don't use the trays for whole rooms, I prefer a bucket and an extension pole. I would also stick to sleeves from brands like Purdy or similar but I get a lot of use out of them. There are lots of different textures to choose from depending on the condition of the walls.

Just in case anyone finds themselves facing this problem in the future:-

When you can't find the stopcock and you've finished running around like a headless chicken! Bend the ends of the pipe over. Smash them flat with a hammer first if you have to but basically flatten and bend the pipes to reduce or stop the flow.

Clearly you should always locate the stopcock in your own home before you or anyone else cuts through any floorboards though and check that you can operate it especially if its an old one in the street. If it's the old type in the street it's worth calling the water board and having it changed before you need it to work.

Even though it's super expensive it doesn't go off in the tube once you've opened it. At least I've had some open for a couple of years and it was fine. In the situation you have there you could opt for the cheaper more liquid Timbacare or County Chemicals who are the company behind Sealants Online have launched their own competing product which I've yet to try.

Repaircare itself is a brilliant range of products but it does feel expensive.

Farrow and ball paint on a fresh plaster, large bedroom.

I've used budget stuff before but found that i'd always bend the frame or get a flat spot in the roller which meant the paint wouldn't go on evenly. In hindsight i'm probs bending the frame cos i'm pushing too hard to compensate for the flatspot.

on a fresh plaster

After the mist coat! Otherwise it's an expensive way to soak up loads of paint

We have a little studio outbuilding that we airb'n'b in the summer. It wasn't really designed for it. mrs-ru decided it would be nicer with more light from french doors, so bought a set on ebay.

Started out like this -

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Ripped out the interiort boarding, the polystyrene 'insulation' and the panelling that had been covered over. Took out the windows.

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And got to here - door fitted and shimmed (just about).

Need to add insulation, membrane, board out and clad outside and plasterboard and decorate inside.
Will be a lot of beading and calking needed.

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Fitted some oak door thresholds yesterday - cut some plugs and glued these over the screws. What’s going to be the best way of finishing these that isn’t going to involve me shelling out for a v specific tool

Stanley do a cheapo flush cut mini pull saw for a tenner.

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cheers that'll do

They couldn't find the mains cock in the street either. God knows how they managed to get everything fixed up with water still in full flow.

This is great advice, by the way. I hope I never have to use it!

I spoke to the sparks outside and he said, 'Who runs water pipes right underneath the floorboards?' - blaming a previous batch of plumbers. I thought, 'Who uses a plunge saw on floorboards without checking to see if there are pipes right underneath?' I would have thought a multitool cut would have given them at least a fighting chance of not causing a mess, even if they didn't have a pipe detector.