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• #30127
I'd be inclined to chisel out the rotten bits, and replace them with some fresh wood, with epoxy filler to tidy things up. Of course what I'd actually do involves structural Polyfilla and a thick layer of paint. Or ignoring it.
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• #30128
which the previous owner ignored by sticking some mitred skirting around them.
Are you 100% that the skirting isn't there to prevent water getting into the gap between the post and the concrete surround?
You're inevitably going to get shrinking/expansion in the wooden post creating a gap for water to get in.
It's obviously not worked perfectly, but if it's still solid and it's been there a long time it's worked well enough.
I'd go the epoxy route for the wood and then find some sort of flexible product to fill the gap and then add some form of skirting to help limit water ingress - even if its more the size of scotia beading instead of full skirting.
On the point of it just being kicking it down the road, I'd have thought if you do a good job and keep an eye on it you'd get at least another 5yrs out of it. At which point you'll have more, and larger blocks of free time as your kid(s) will be older and you won't have all the other house bits to contend with. Propping and replacing wood sounds like an uninterrupted weekends worth of work vs something you could do in a series of 30min to 1hr blocks over multiple days.
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• #30129
Also fucking up the epoxy = mess + time
fucking up propping and cutting the post = 😭
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• #30130
I'm going with the removing loose wood, treating with hardener then two part filler. While I like the idea of the brace, I reckon the weight of the whole thing and the inclined plane of the curved section would mean it would have to be either really well constructed or massively over engineered. The cost of getting either thing wrong is just too much to think about.
@hugo7 there was definitely zero consideration given for any protection when adding the skirting pieces. They've just been dabbed on with a bit of adhesive. If I get the filler right and shape it properly, it should be better at convincing water to fuck off away from the base of the post. I'm thinking four plain sides, slightly angled in at the top with a smooth/slightly rounded transition at the concrete.
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• #30131
👍
As long as the depth of the body isn’t too long (so the seal connects before your threads bottom out) and the threads and the splines work, the other bits (length and diameter of the ‘leg’) should be fixable. -
• #30132
fucking up = 😭
So true of lots of building work, which is why careful planning and a bit of smarts are needed.
Each to their own obvs.
I just dislike bodging stuff - especially on my own place knowing it’ll be me that ends up having to fix it/do it right.I’ve seen so many epoxy ‘repairs’ where water has got in behind the 2-part and rotted away the timber undetected (I posted this pic before, but this is what happened to this windowsill)
The posts are structural timbers, not something you want held up by Bondo.
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• #30133
How would you secure the replacement wood to the rest of the post if chopping out?
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• #30134
Because this is tricky, I think I’d probably go for a cast in place concrete foot.
Or you could build one out of engineering bricks (?)
Leave the cribbing in place until the concrete/mortar has cured.If you do go for this method you could shape the cribbing slightly to give a better interface with the post.
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• #30135
Sounds good.
I noticed the round dabs of adhesive, but thought it was worth flagging.
Sometimes the original designs weren't all that.
I cba to explain each thing, but my folks place is Georgian, with their place started in a recession and the rest of the terrace finished a decade or so later. There are loads of original bits that unfortunately require regular maintenance regardless of how well they're repaired.
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• #30136
In another "I'm sure I measured this and it was going to be easy" moment, dropping pipes through a stud wall didn't go to plan as, well, there's a stud in the way...
Any tips for cutting a neat panel out of a lath and plaster wall without destroying the entire thing? I considered drilling from above with a 30cm extension + long wood bit and the possibility of going full 127 hours on my arm, but the battery on the drill is too wide to fit inside the wall. I could buy another ~90cm of extensions but thought that might end up flexing too much.
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• #30137
Any tips for cutting a neat panel out of a lath and plaster wall without destroying the entire us thing?
Use something with minimal vibration. In order of preference;
Multi tool
Angle grinder
Stanley knife, straightedge and loads of blades (this isn’t so good for the lath but you can sometimes cut with tin snips or something)If you cut through the plaster first, remove it then cut a smaller opening through the lath this will leave you something to attach your patch to afterwards.
(It’s the vibration from cutting through the lath that will really fuck up the wall) -
• #30138
Thanks, that makes sense and thankfully I have all three of those options available!
I guess it makes sense to cut the panel over the horizontal stud and just notch that, rather than cutting a larger hole above/below to get a drill in for the stud. Should mean a much smaller hole if things go to plan...
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• #30139
Can you buy pre-fabricated uprights? Might be worth propping the porch up and replacing the whole lot.
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• #30140
I guess it makes sense to cut the panel over the horizontal stud and just notch that
Yeah exactly (horizontals between studs are called noggin(g)s - also between joists)
Or you could cut along midpoint of the noggin and neighbouring stud to give something to attach your patch to, then you can drill down, this has the disadvantage that you’re working blind below the noggin.
Don’t forget to put electrical tape over the ends of the pipes to prevent Victorian detritus in yer plumbing. -
• #30141
Possibly, but that might involve a level of joinery and risk of collapse that is beyond me. I've grown more comfortable with the patch, maintain and monitor approach. And if it comes to it, get a grown up in to replace. The initial approach is £40 and a bit of time (as @hugo7 says) in a way that can be done around childcare responsibility.
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• #30142
However, I may not need too as the dimensions of this are very close (only the prong is too long, but I could cut that down).
And four quid is usefully cheaper than Lunns ...
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• #30143
in a way that can be done around childcare responsibility.
This is currently the factor that orders everything on my TDL. Anything requiring >1hr of uninterrupted time (because you know it'll take 3) is put off for now.
Oh how I long for yesteryear when the man sacked off all childcare, went to work and you could pay a pittance for a skilled trade to do everything you needed done.
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• #30144
in a way that can be done around childcare responsibility.
This is also my criterion.
TOH and Baby Bird were away for the weekend which was why I fitted the medicine cabinet.
Which was a long crazy, filthy, dusty job.The price of minimalism is high.
There’s still so much to do in the bathroom, it’s ridiculous.
Cast the countertop
Cabinets with drawers under countertop
Douglas fir drawer fronts, and bath panel
Fit glass shower screen.
Build a boiler/airing cupboard😭😭😭
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• #30145
Imagine at parties
Can you come and look at my damp patch?
F’nar f’narrr.
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• #30146
Build a boiler
Admittedly yeah that's pretty ambitious for a DIY job ;)
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• #30147
Anything requiring >1hr of uninterrupted time (because you know it'll take 3) is put off for now.
Yep. Only things I can get done are basically items that will literally kill us with firery death if I leave them to deteriorate any longer.
Oh and murdering the bind weed with poison.
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• #30148
Ha.
I did actually fit the boiler
🙂
Had a GasSafe friend check it out and commission it though. -
• #30149
This may be a first world problem, but is there something I can use to cover a floor/act as a makeshift carpet between painters finishing and carpet being laid? I suppose dust sheets are the easy/cheap option, but don't know if anyone has monetised this niche problem? (Problem being that the underfloor is dusty AF and I don't want to be padding around in dust until I pick a carpet).
In the interests of closure, if anyone remembers some hideous plastering and skirting/architrave I had applied, the problem resolved itself by simply asking the lead contractor to repeat the work (once they'd had a chance to review it themselves). Paid them in full once the work was re-done to a proper standard, so everyone was happy (well, obviously they took a bit of a hit on wasted labour and materials).
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• #30150
Yep
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Not by what I've tried so far. I may have to step up the amount of force, and possibly introduce some heat.
However, I may not need too as the dimensions of this are very close (only the prong is too long, but I could cut that down).