Home DIY

Any help on fault finding a washing machine that trips the RCD?

Trips the RCD not during a drain cycle, or spin cycle. Starts a normal cycle but trips it after about 10 mins which makes me think it's related to the heating element. Could a failed element cause earth leakage? Surely if it's a big resistor that gets hot, if the outer fails and water gets in, that could trip the RCD right?

Any other likely avenues to inspect?

Could a failed element cause earth leakage?

Yes. Take the back off, disconnect the heater and measure the resistance between the connection spades and the body with a cheap multimeter. It should be too high to measure, if it isn't buy a new element and swap.

Took the element out to inspect, looks like the drum bearing has shat the bed, so the drum has dropped 20 mill, which means it’s touching the element and has worn through the outer part - so water has gotten in and is causing earth leakage when the heating element powers up.

New element and replacement bearings are £115. And I replaced the PCB recently. I don’t really want to scrap it, but it just feels like it’s come to the end of its life.

:(

Time to bang a Miele on the credit card.

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Buy a secondhand one from a private seller.
I bought a 10yr old + Miele for £50 that lasted 6 yrs. I changed the shocks myself at one point other than that faultless. We left it at the house when we moved as they are so heavy.
Current one cost me £100, got lucky on gumtree locally. Only a few years old.
Take a friend and mind your backs as they weigh a feckin ton.

That’s a good shout tbh. Only slight problem is the gap available in the kitchen is fairly tight/small so might be tricky going second hand. Bit of a rush on to get a replacement as we’ve got a young baby too.

Not surprised you've struggled to get any interest in that. It will take a lot of whatever material you use to achieve it.

That said, I had to replace an innovative approach towards this problem recently and the guy had used multiple sheets of hardboard and gradually reduced (faded) them to create an even slope from a doorway for a wood floor to be fitted over.

Bonding + finish plaster or easifill is the standard approach, it's pretty easy to get it done quickly and unlikely to create too many problems. Sounds like you might not be happy unless you do it in lime though.

We had one recently, was cheaper to buy another than repair it. Lot of this stuff just doesn't seem to want to be repaired now sadly.

That wonderful moment that you paid a plumber to do work then later you are paying €1000 to see what else he has fucked up by installing a bath badly and soldering with oxyacetylene.

Also tracing alleged leaks from the shower cubicle I installed even though the only way it can leak is by pouring water in the floor

Or if you value your time as freebir

This is kind of what I'm imagining.

The budget version would just be ply to minimise the angle of incline from concrete to boards and then a single sheet of (nice if it exists?) lino-type stuff after we rip out the units.

I basically want a durable, easy to clean floor. Karndean or something else would be first choice but if it costs a fortune to even prep the floor or if it's not something I'd be capable of myself then I may go with budget approach.

Real linoleum comes in sheets, 6’7” wide.

I’m pretty happy with the outcome of the easifill so far, it’ll just be expensive to do all of them - I’m grab some bonding tomorrow and crack on knowing I’ve had the proper nod!

Now I’ve just got to figure out what to do with the kitchen that has a textured skim on walls and ceilings… back to brick and lime up, or skim over again? 😂

We had some damp due to a roof problem. We got that fixed a year ago and have left it as is to dry out. No new damp has appeared so we want to paint over and make it look better. I’m assuming that we should use a damp seal paint, is that right? Thanks!

It depends, really. What are you painting (internally / externally), what caused the damp and how did you fix it?

Damp sealing products keep damp in as well as out, which can give you bigger problems.

Cover Stain from Zinsser

Is what I've used to do this for 15 years. 2 coats rolled on usually covers any damp damage I've come across. It needs white spirit clean up for brushes or roller though which is a pain. If you use cheap rollers they might shed but you can bin them, really depends how you feel about throwing out rollers. You can brush it on but maybe go with 3 coats to be sure. It's touch dry quickly but follow the overcoating guidelines on the tin.

It comes in smaller sizes for a bit less money.

I’m painting the top of first floor wall that leaking water was escaping from before our roof was fixed.

THIS IS AMAZING FRED.
Please send detailed updates via whatsapp.

Leads me on to handsaw recommendations for a project thats slightly similar...

Time is never free, even if you value it as zero

Oxyacetylene, sounds like a maniac and surprised it never melted the fittings

Can't even bear to work out how long this has taken me, but I've finally started putting up shelves in our spare cupboard thing in the dinning room.

The cause of the delay is that for some reason my wire detector got set off everywhere on two of the walls. This meant my OH didn't want me drilling into them. I managed to convince them, but then it was winter and we didn't want to risk no electricity with little one, then Covid WFH, etc. etc.

Today I've finally had a solid run of an empty house all to myself!

Still to do:

• find my drawing
  
• build another one and a half shelves
  
• add clothes rail for motorbike jackets
  
• line one of the sections with felt for my motorbike helmet
  
• fill gaps
  
• fill screws
  
• move socket (it's just stuck on)
  
• paint
  
  
  

I also have a light to go in the top and a door hinge switch, but being realistic that is way, way down the list. The coat hooks are going once the next shelves go up.

A big shout out to the Fisher(sp?) hammer in rawl plug screw things. So much time saved.

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I misread your post as wanting to use a paint to prevent damp, rather than cover up damp damage - I defer entirely to @Airhead, who has way more idea about this sort of thing.

Timber cladding is eye bogglingly expensive just now, and getting more so.

You could try composite or metal cladding.

It might still be worth cladding the sides and back, if only to protect the skin - OSB has only a few months of rain protection in it. Even feather edge nailed straight on to it would give it lot of protection.

If it's an interior wall, I don't see much mileage in being purist - either for the plaster or the paint.

You could try composite or metal cladding.

Theres a CP where someone used black corrugated metal for their shed. Got to say I think it's generally a better looking material than wood.