Home DIY

So often the case though when it's left to first fix and they're so casual building stud walls. I won't bore you with stories of making doors from scratch and making twin bifolds in badly twisted frames.

It does appear he's a twat, the new frame is more or less parallel with the one on the left, both leaning about 6-8mm to the left at the top.

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Just so I'm clear, what he should have done is made the new stile plumb and then trimmed the door to take account of the wonky frame on the other side?

Probably. It would have prevented the door closing by itself.
Fitting new doors to existing frames is always tricky and requires compromise.
I think it was an odd decision.
Those oak veneered doors (?) can only be trimmed a small amount before you cut into the core material - so it is possible this was a consideration.
Like I said the positioning of the hinges doesn’t give me immediate confidence that he knew what he was doing.

Btw. The stile is the name for the vertical parts of the door, the horizontal elements are called rails (the middle vertical pieces that join the rails and separate the panels are called mullions or muntins).
The frame is either called a frame or a lining.

Oh, right, I thought it was the vertical part of the frame for a second there. It's a solid oak door I bought specifically so it could be trimmed down by up to 30mm in each direction.

I guess this is one of those cases where it was a bit out of his comfort zone and I should have found a specialist. Shame because he made a tidy job of the rest of the room. Quite frustrating having to go though the process to find out skill set of particular tradesmen, my other guy did a great job of fitting another door, albeit in a new frame, but made a complete balls on boarding out my new fireplace.

For a new bathroom on the top floor of a old victorian property - should we be thinking about getting an engineer to do some loading calcs? it's only a small bathroom but tiles plus new stud wall weight would add quite a bit to the floor i'd imagine..any one done this before?

Not home DIY, but definitely working at home outside of my comfort and knowledge zone.

A pair of Chippewa work boots I bought in a New Hampshire Farm Around about 22 years ago (I was there building a trad timber framed barn - but that’s another story).
I bought them to replace a pair of Red Wings, which I’d bought in London so long before they were cool they were just odd - which had a moc toe but were otherwise very similar (black, unlined, lugged vibram sole).

I never really liked the Chippewas and they got crushed toes which formed a ridge inside. I put them in a box of random work clothes and tried to forget them.

I found them recently and had a go at re blocking the toes.
I carved a couple of toe shaped bits of soft wood, soaked the boots in water for about 5 minutes, assembled the ‘lasts’ and clamped with a pair of dirty great Urko clamps, left them in the loft and forgot about them.

About 2 weeks later and they’re fully dried out, shape is ‘ok’ but most importantly the toe boxes are big and round and smooth inside!
Result.

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should we be thinking about getting an engineer to do some loading calcs?

Unless you’re putting in a marble floor and a cast iron roll top bath -you’ll be fine.

No bath - but thinking about terraazzo which i hadn't realise seem to be about 50kg+ per m2 - which seems pretty heavy

It's a solid oak door I bought specifically so it could be trimmed down by up to 30mm in each direction.

That’s galling.
Wouldn’t have been cheap either.
It may be beyond the guy’s skills to fit it properly-
Also to get it right the top and bottom will need trimming once the hinge side is set plumb -so you may end up with a short door and the hinge mortises may need elongating. But 6-8mm isn’t much.
Does the auto-close really annoy you?
It may become that door’s USP.

Does the auto-close really annoy you?

I think it will when carrying a baby in and out. His logic was that the gap between old and new frame would be larger on the other side but has offered to come back and have another look. It may be that I source some 100mm architrave for the outside to hide the nasties.

It's just out of shot on my first photo but there is also a gap top lock side where the top of the frame isn't level, so I think rotating it in the frame would only require trimming on the side. The threshold also appears to be bowed in the middle so it may be I fit a wooden threshold to fill that gap anyway.

Really should have just rebuilt the frame when we did the room. Learning experience.

Just fixed the creakiest floorboard in the house. So small but so satisfying. Immediately walked around to find the second creakiest floorboard, and so on.

I took out the cladding and failed render from under my stairs a few weeks back, today I got given a load of C24 timber, so want to build it back insulated. Single skin brick to exterior, I'm guessing my best bet is to keep it 'breathable' with 100mm of rockwool or similar rather than PIR foam? I'll be having a go at constructing storage in front of that so well ensure it has some cross ventilation at that point but at the same time don't want to lose too much depth I suppose.

Edit: actually just about to put a load of non-period correct cement render on the outside so worrying about breathability is probably a non-issue.

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I've drilled through the edge of window frames (holes parallel to and in between the double glazed panes) in the past. One hole at the top, one at the bottom, ventilate with an aquarium pump for a few days, re-seal with self tapping screws and rubber washers, remove the screws to dry it out again most summers...

If it's toughened glass, don't try drilling it. It will shatter!

Safety glazing, either laminated or toughened will usually (but not always) have an etch mark in a corner.

Any recommendations for sliding door track kits?
Nothing spendy or fancy.
I bought one on eBay a few years ago and it’s holding up fine - but I can’t remember what it was, and there seem to be way more options now.
It’s for a lightweight floor to ceiling door I’ll be making for the Preteen’s room.

Good point, thanks for that - I’ll try the frame first, holes will be discrete and less chance of a critical fail. Looking at the frames again, I think it’s steel - exposed metal hasn’t gone that dusty dull shade that alu does after a few decades.

If it's toughened glass, don't try drilling it. It will shatter

Definitely want to avoid this! I’m 90% sure it’s not toughened, there’s no markings and I’d guess put in in 80’s/90’s on lowest budget. I’ve noticed one has cracked in another flat, that’s gone in the way a greenhouse window cracks.

Thanks for the advice all, think I have a plan now; drill the sides of the set-in panes, and replace the opening windows with new.

Decided to try replacing the TRVs myself, such is my returned dismay at tradespeople refusing to take my money.....

"Yeah mate, I can do that, I'll send you a quote over later..." ghosts

I've ordered everything I think I'll need.

I'm also going to try and refurbish both radiators I recently removed for decorating as they are non-standard sizes and the guy who said he could sort replacements/rejig pipework for more standard sized units has also somehow lost the use of his thumbs. The one from my office is more straight forward. Bled just fine, all crusty fittings removed and cleaned up. Waiting for me to repaint and refit. On the other one, the bleed nut is either stuck, rounded off or an oddball size (or all three) that my key just won't turn it. Took an age to bleed without being able to let air in the top, but I managed. Certainly won't be able to fill it properly if I can't bleed it. It's an old design where the bleed nut is integral to the rad and not part of a larger removable nut (will get a picture later). Have a different set of keys arriving today or tomorrow to try and get that out and I've seen replacement bleed nuts/pins on ebay so if I get it out, I can replace it.

Stuck one is like this (not my picture)

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If need be can you cut a slot in it to use a screwdriver?

That's what I originally thought but it's recessed inside a small hole so can't think what to use to cut the slot. Even a dremel cut off disc would also cut the rad around the outside of the recess. Given how stuck it is, it would need to be a decent slot. Will see how I get on with the new key in case it's just a combination of slightly rounded nut and slightly rounded key.

Sometimes tapping a small socket on it can give you the torque and control to release it.

such is my returned dismay at tradespeople refusing to take my money.....

It is crazy busy right now. I'm turning down so much work every week. Trades doing a lot of small works are probably struggling to manage it.

I see a lot of people getting responses to requests for trades on the Nextdoor forum. Seems there are more local people looking for small works on there.

When for dinner with some neighbours over the weekend, they had been paying £100 per hour per person for an emergency plumbing repair.

I might give that a go if the key is a bust, cheers. I had thought about a socket, but then the 4 sides v 6 sides problem stopped me from trying. But if the key doesn't work, then a little brute force is not going to make things worse. Trying to remember now what my smallest socket is. Got as far as considering filing the outsides of my smallest spanner, but it was too big. Also just remembered I have a drawer of random vintage spanners I nabbed at a car boot sale about 20 years ago that could also be mangled with no love lost.

Seriously, if someone trustworthy said "For £200, I will make a new, not fancy, radiator appear on this wall, plumbed in" I would bite their fucking hand off. But I'm totally fed up trying to find new trades. I'm sure there's any number of handyperson on FB or Checkatrade, but I'm so tired of looking, reading reviews, worrying that they'll fuck something up, letting yet another stranger in my house etc etc

It is crazy busy right now. I'm turning down so much work every week.

I would actually be happy if they turned me down. It's the ghosting. Having to go cap in hand to the guy who's already halfway through some work here, starting every message with "I know you're busy.." is fucking annoying.

Mate*, I'M really busy (he says, posting on a cycling forum), but I don't just not return calls or not attend meetings I said I would.

*not you