Home DIY

Does anyone know what the regs say about stopcock position within a property? Long story but I need to replace my supply pipe anyway and hoping to tidy up this mess a bit by running it under the gas meter and behind a new skirting board. I can't find such a thing as right angled stopcock so thinking to just install an elbow and put the stopcock about 3m along the run under the stairs.

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Which bits will be poly pipe and which bits will be copper and how will it affect what is already there?

From memory the gas meter needs to be earth bonded to a copper water pipe within 600mm (I think) of the meter.

Yeah my blue arrow should be orange, poly up to the floor level, elbow, then copper. No affect on anything else as far as I can see, earth bonding will still be possible, just routing that copper pipe below the meter and skirting. One issue is that the stopcock sticks out further than the meter, in turn making the box bigger and stopping my door from opening fully. That's not the whole reason for replacing, but something that can be improved whilst I'm at it.

An alternative might be locating the stop tap under floor level but making good will be a little trickier as to leave room to service if that ever fails in future.

That water pipe is a fuckin shambles, yeah as long as you can turn it off in the street to do it you dont have to worry. Unlike gas there isn't as many things you can or cant do.

Wow never knew there was this marvelous thing.

Has anyone put mats down in their cellar or another kind of breathable flooring? Ours looks to have been "concreted" at some point, but this is a bit worse for wear, the darker patches being earth. I'd like to cover it so we're not trampling as much dirt up into the kitchen, but don't want to try and seal in any dampness, rather let that evaporate up and out of the floor much as possible.

I assume plastic gridded flooring wouldn't sit well given how uneven the floor is, but maybe a rubber mat would conform better?

Maybe something like this? https://www.gclproducts.co.uk/p/rubber-surfacing/rubber-play-surfaces/rubber-grass-mats-16mm/

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This stuff?

Yeah, that looks like the right sort of thing! I briefly considered limecreting the entire floor but I think that's going to be more effort than it's worth.

If you were doing anything that involved being down there a lot, it might be worth it - but yeah, I inagine it would be a massive ballache.

Related to the above post, I need to replace a counter end slab with a wall bracket to make space for the new pipe run. Will a few bits of 2x2 jammed in be enough to support the to while I get a bracket on or should I invest in a small acrow prop?

Also worth getting the plumber to use 22mm? I'm assuming this might help the drop in pressure from the combi boiler to the shower when taps are run, but my knowledge of plumbing is limited at best. There would still be a length of 15mm from the main up to the boiler unless I replace that, which would probably be a massive hassle.

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Quick questions: I wanna use Molly bolts to attach a heavy glass whiteboard to plasterboard wall and the whiteboard comes with its own set of bolts. Can I still use the Molly bolts?

what other options do I have (whiteboard weight is about 10kg)?

As always, thanks so much in advance!

nevermind, just found my answer... just have to get the right size Molly bolts....

As long as you're not climbing on top of it then a couple of 2x2 pieces will hold everything level.

Our countertop has been held up with a couple of 2x2s for the last 4 months without issue. I might get round screwing the brace into the wall at some point as the new kitchen has plummeted down the priority list.

Reassuring. Hopefully it's a temporary measure in my case.

Is it working fine just now or is the pressure pish?

If it’s working fine don’t bother spending money on something you don’t need to. Shower usually run in 15 btw

Nothing to do with the pressure, it's a very long and convoluted story that I can't be bothered to go in to (see homeowners thread if you're really interested). It's getting replaced, just wonder if 'upgrading' to 22mm would be worth the extra by relieving the small annoyance of my shower running slow when my other half runs the kitchen tap. The boiler would be the first thing coming off the run, but there will probably be the low denominator of the 15mm x 1m section up to it (and, yes, on to other taps/showers).

Continuing the cellar work, I've read some conflicting info about using 18mm ply to sister/scab damaged joists. Half the internet seems to be a fan, the rest say stick to 2' timber.

Would anyone like to weigh in before I flip a coin and head to the timber yard? Is ply actually stronger on edge or is that an "it depends" kind of question?

Is there a forum-approved brand or place to go for wooden flooring? As in the posher engineered laminate flooring. Not the even posher solid planks of expensive stuff.

Also what should I be looking for? Is a 2.5mm layer of the surface material enough?

I went to Wood and Beyond. Good prices, good customer service

I know this isn't DIY, but the subject was discussed in this thread six months or so back...

Got a guy in to quote for sanding and fixing up our floors - total 26 square metres. Floorboards are in good shape for 120 year old boards, but the quote includes replacing modern replacements with salvaged boards where two chimney breasts were taken out, maybe a dozen (max) new boards that need replacing elsewhere and replacing various damaged/split/badly cut ones.

He comes highly recommended by neighbours, has done loads of places on our street, filled us with confidence when he came round etc. He obviously really knows his stuff and local houses, and I don't doubt he'd do a great job. He's sent me pictures of his work which back that up too, but...

£2200 for 26m2. That's £85 per square metre! Is this not crazy high?

I know @cozey and @6pt both paid more like £35.

I paid £780 for 40sqm sanding and oiling. Can give you his details.

Ask for a breakdown?

I assume that sourcing and preparing old boards to match the rest of your floor is going to make up a good chunk of that.

Thanks - yes please. I guess your beech was in pretty good shape so that was basically just sanding and oiling without replacing boards etc?