Home DIY

Lining paper helps to cover a lot of problems. If you're using an expensive wall paper it's advisable to line the wall with a lining paper running at 90 degrees to the wall paper. I usually line walls and paint on top.

Where I've seen the problem you're having is when the ceiling has been painted and few inches of the wall below it (or the cornice). When you apply the size to the walls the fresh emulsion paint gets mixed up with it. It doesn't usually cause a problem bleeding through the lining because it's more often than not white.

Paper hanging is way more complex than anybody thinks until they try it. I consider myself fairly experienced with lining paper but I don't hang wall paper professionally. Last year I had a nightmare with some thin lining paper and only just pulled my ass out of the fire.

I first used Superdec on the balusters and balustrade on our tiny patio, replacing the tired old stain that had gone on before. It was a pleasure to use and is still holding up well three years later. It’s porous and degrades gracefully instead of flaking off. I have used it a few times since, including in black for the neighbour’s front door. The black needed three coats but the white has excellent coverage. I used it at the end of last summer to afford a bit of winter protection to our front window frame where the previous paint had been falling off in sheets before they get repaired and repainted professionally this year.

How did it happen? I can only imagine you tapped the sharp corner of the scraper on the glass. I had no idea this could happen.

I’d finished repairing the window
(It was a bit rotten) and put the huge DG unit in - a tricky 2 man job with geckos.
I decided to scrape some of the loose paint off outside and the scraper slipped and popped the glass (top middle - you can sort of see the cracks radiated out from there)
It was just a hard tap.
One of those ‘can we just rewind and take that again?’ moments.

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I probably would have used it more but the supplier I generally use before online ordering became a thing didn't carry it and if he ordered it in for me it was expensive. It is odd how some decorators swear by it and others don't like it at all.

There's a forum called Painters Pit Stop where paint systems get a lot of thorough discussion based on real world use. Benjamin Moore and Tikkurila were quite popular on there last time I was looking.

Allcoat has been working for me because the drying times mean I can get a few coats on exterior work in one visit to the site. It's less important if you're painting at home or painting a whole exterior but when it's one window and a site visit is a round trip in London traffic it makes a big difference. Plus the durability is fine, at least it is in the white gloss. It always looks a bit thin until it fully cures.

TRV in the bedroom is leaking slightly when the plunger is activated. Also, ms_com knocked the Tado head off it without telling me, which meant it failed open and the bedroom was 27 degrees when I woke up in a puddle at 3 am. Going to replace it with Drayton that doesn't need an adaptor for the Tado so it's less likely to be knocked off. Two other rooms on the same floor have their rads off the wall so may as well update those while I'm at it.

The only problem is, if I get get the system drained, I'm about 90% sure I can do it myself. Only problem is, while I know where a good drain point is, how do I stop it filling up? It's an open system with an F&E tank in the loft extension. Do I stop the water there or at the house stop cock?

What other things don't need to consider? I'm comfortable draining and removing a rad, just never drained down the whole system before. Got a plumber in to swap the rad in the bathroom as it needed some pipework rearranged. This is just swapping old TRV bodies for new. Online how tos don't mention anything about prepping/cleaning pipes once the old unit is of for example.

So true about it being more complex than you think.

Thanks for your thoughts. Good news is I will have two full sets of paper now so I can experiment a bit before fully committing.

knocked the Tado head off

This is why I replaced all of our rad valves. The adapters are rubbish.

how do I stop it filling up?

Don't you just raise the ballcock in the tank? I've no idea, to be fair.

Replacing them is part of the long term plan. All but one of ours needed the worst of all the adaptors.

Ballcock? I don't know, hence the question. Will take a look at the tank later. It's in ms_com's office.

I've asked the plumber who fitted the towel rad to quote seeing as he's already done that kind of work here before. If he says anything less that £200 I'll probably just throw money at him. But it would be good to know how to do it if he comes back with more/is too busy.

The pipes are about crusty going into the old TRVs, what's the best way to clean those up/prep them for a good fit with the new ones?

The pipes are about crusty going into the old TRVs, what's the best way to clean those up/prep them for a good fit with the new ones?

It's a compression fit from the pipe to the valve, isn't it - why not wire wool & ptfe.

Cue teeth sucking & wincing faces from all the plumbers.

If you're draining the system, though, you may as well replace all of the valves - I did 9 in about 2 hours.

I don't think there's PFTE on either the interface from the pipe to the valve, or the valve to the rad tail. It feels to me that there should be, but then what the fuck do I know. If there isn't, then it needs to be a good fit, surely, hence the prep question.

It's an open system with an F&E tank in the loft extension. Do I stop the water there

That. I have a tap on the pipe to mine which is handy but otherwise just tie the float up with something as TW says.

What other things don't need to consider?

Expect to be bleeding radiators for a couple of days afterwards.

Cheers, I'll take a closer look at the tank later. I'm ok with bleeding radiators afterwards too.

Tie up the ballcock, Good luck refilling if your not well versed on them.

It'll almost guaranteed airlock and you'll have a mare getting it to fill and go. Took us 5 hours to get a system filled and working about a month ago.

Good luck refilling if your not well versed on them

I was worried about that but have so far got lucky with my house. I presume some systems are a problem while others are okay so since mine has been fine so far I should always be okay?

If it’s a recent system there should be a stop-cock (isolation gate valve) on the pipe going to the ball-cock (float valve), if not, as said, just tie up the ball so the header tank doesn’t keep filling.
Only drain down as far as you need, you can leave the lower part of the system full (obvs).
Refill with all the radiator valves open, running around with the bleed valve key and hope to avoid air locks.
Cleaning off the crusty pipe with wire wool is fine, get it nice and clean - if the olive and compression joint are also clean you shouldn’t need ptfe tape. I rarely use it on compression joints.
Hand tight then one full turn.

I'm pretty sure it's not balanced. A few radiators at the end of the house are noticeably not as hot. I've been meaning to try and balance it but it seems like a real ballache.

Christ, I thought our windows were bad.

I’ll give Allcoat a try next time I do our doors. I think I heard about Superdec on PaintersPitstop, quite a few recommendations on there (and some detractors). Bedec Barn Paint was mentioned as a potentially better but similar alternative, but I’ve never tried that.

In the last few years I've used Farrow&Ball, Little Green and an odd one called Porslin from Eico. At customers request. They are all much the same but I've learnt to be very thorough with the undercoat, then allow as many thin top coats as you think it needs so you're not trying to load the paint on. Also, never try to go back and touch up a panel while you're painting if the paint is acrylic. Last one I did I used scaffolding to set up a cover from dust and sun and that helped a lot. Thinking about it I'm starting to roll eggshell a lot more these days and that might make the process a lot easier.

I used to dream about the No. 10 perfect gloss black door but then it occurred to me that there are probably at least 2 and they get sprayed and polished at huge expense in a dust free factory somewhere and switched over when they need it.

The building ‘management’ company had wrapped foil faced bitumen flashing over the masonry and up and over the timber.
😖
No doubt they charged the leaseholders (who actually own the windows) a fortune too.

My repair was a bit of a bodge but it’ll last 20 years and replacing the whole window would’ve been £££

Looks like a great job to me. I’m hoping that our front windows get a repair to that standard in the works we have coming up. What wood did you use there, if you can remember?

I think I read somewhere that they don’t use regular gloss paint on number 10. Loads of undercoats (as you recommend), then several coats of some kind of buffable black lacquer, with a clear polyurethane top coat. Probably sprayed, as you say. As expensive as the wallpaper no doubt.

If you're ever painting a front door gloss black people passing can't resist a 'No. 10' comment. :)

It's surprising how much hotter black doors get from the heat of the sun. Most of the resin/knot problems I get asked about are on black or very dark colour doors.

I used to dream about the No. 10 perfect gloss black door but then it occurred to me that there are probably at least 2 and they get sprayed and polished at huge expense in a dust free factory somewhere and switched over when they need it.

I don't know if you've ever been but the overall state of No. 10 is really quite impressive.

It's all incredibly crisp close up.