Home DIY

Saves most home gamers buying an SDS

+1

I definitely feel that you only buy an SDS when you need an SDS. And you know pretty quickly when that is.

I reckon for DIY it's the sort of tool that only gets used for a short period or series of jobs anyway. Which is why going corded makes sense 90% of the time. Perfect eg, my dad got an SDS for us to drill holes for the shutter catches on their home in France. Other than that job I think it's only been used once or twice since.

Moreover I don't think I've ever really begrudged the size of my combi drill over a small drill driver. It's not the same as an impact driver where it pretty much has to be one handed most of the time.

Obv none of this applies to trades.

is there a marking/engraving on the cartridge itself? any branding on the tap by any chance?
could very well be a SMR valve

Got it, I've got a corded SDS so that's why the combi doesn't appeal!

Have you tried taking that apart, giving it a good clean out and putting back together again? There'll be plenty of scale clogging things up in there.
I've done it a couple of times to ours and fixed the leak for another 6 months.

No, I was hoping for a very easy replacement fix! So many jobs at the moment. But, if so hard to replace, this has to be worth a go. Is there a descaler or similar (or method/technique) you'd use that you'd recommend?

Cheers

A battery combi does most of what you need though. Up a ladder at the end of a garden the cordless drill is way easier than my 6kg SDS

Ditto. Except cracking it out of it's case for sticking 6mm holes in brick wears pretty thin. It will be used in anger when I go to smash up the concrete pad that's lurking under some ivy at the bottom of my garden though.

Edit: I bought my SDS when I couldn't get through the walls in my old flat. Turns out my bits were just dog shit. But, it does now mean I own an SDS. Which is a win in my book.

Doesn’t look like a standard one that most taps use now, if it’s something specialist sometimes it’s cheaper to replace the full tap than buy the cartridge which is bonkers

Cheers for the response, that is looking like it might be the way forwards. Or just use the under-the-sink shut-off when not being used as I'm planning to redo the entire kitchen in the next 6 months anyway....

Thanks for the advice - and the others who chipped in too. My expectations for their lifespan are clearly set too low at the moment!

It's worth a go - check youtube for details - it's slightly fiddly but doesn't take long. Even if it's an odd size it looks pretty similar to what I've stripped. We had some descaler knocking about, but a good scrub and/or white vinegar probably also do the trick.
When you pull apart there are a couple of rubber seals along the way - one of them may have gone.
Gives you a good DIY satisfaction vibe if it works!

If you can measure it, you can replace it

https://www.plumbers-mate-sales.co.uk/replacement-brass-valve-ceramic-disc-cartridges-130-c.asp

Soaking in citric acid / some other acid will remove the limescale, and you can replace the o-ring easily enough too. If there's crap on the ceramic discs, 1000 grit wet & dry can clean it up.

Up a ladder at the end of a garden the cordless drill is way easier than my 6kg SDS

The holes I was drilling were for the top floor of a two storey farm house. It scared the shit out of me.

I want to install a catflap in our front door (no other possible place for it really). The door has two large panels so the catflap will have to straddle the frame and the botton panel. Anyone got a good way of filling the gap behind the catflap frame? I was thinking of 3d printing something to fill the gap and then just a think layer of sealant over the top. Or alternatively building a tunnel through the door and mounting the catflap frame to the tunnel face. But that could be quite bulky.

Yeah did the whole wall. It looks fine, you would know the difference. It’s cheaper and more easily available. A winner in my books

What sort of door is it? A traditional 4/6 panel door?

Installing a cat flap in a front door does sound like it would be a security nightmare.

Can’t you just give the cat a set of keys?

2 panels. If I was to mount the catflap completely in the bottom panel it would be about 30cm off the ground so the cats would have to jump to get through or I'd have to build a step on both sides.

It's about 75mm thick, so a decent amount of material to work with.

I'm not worried about security. We currently have 8 bikes unlocked outside in plain view. But the only other property on our dead-end road is a farm. Also, Switzerland...

First thoughts are it's a bad idea to cut through the stile and panel. I normally never suggest changing a door but in this case if you kept the original one and got one purpose made to contain a catflap you could at least change it back easily if you needed to.

A picture would help to assess the type of stile/rail/panel construction then it might be possible to give better advise. I'm guessing if you really need to go ahead with it sticking a thin panel to the butchered door with epoxy resin would allow you to even out the difference in thickness between rail and panel and fill the gap left by the moulding.

Here's the door, inside and out. I've taped on the frame outside at the lowest height it could be without straddling the moulding. The exterior is covered and on a protected side of the house so I don't have to worry too much about weather proofing, but it does get cold.

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Really can't think of any way to help you decide. Fire door blank and keep the old door would probably be better than butchering that one. I would expect a cat to be able to get in and out of a cat flap where you have it taped now though, unless it's particularly small.

This is really helpful, thank you.