Home DIY

What he said, but it will hang round your neck.

You know about the globally mad wood prices right @chrisbmx116?

When I was buying a lot of Siberian Larch for our old place Vincent Timber in Brum were my go to, so might be worth a look, but I remember the delivery charge wasn't cheap (because it came on a lorry from Birmingham) and there was also a minimum order amount. So maybe no good but worth checking.

Hope you had a good ride @dbr -my Bowells have been a bit Shellow recently but not so much now (going home today and the nurses are still trying to give me dioctyl: stop, enough!).

Yeah I tend to wear headphones but my dad will be doing bits alongside me on this job and it drives him mad so we have to listen to Smooth radio.

My other option for joist notching is a Worx-type saw with a 115mm blade but concerned it might end up feeling gutless on 7x3 timber. Plus it’s a one trick pony in that I doubt it’s great for cutting 8x4 sheets.

https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-dcs571n-xj-18v-xr-brushless-compact-circular-saw/p70694

Would it be crazy for me to DIY remove 6 inches or so of render from the exterior of our house

We have a small amount of damp at various points along the wall inside. It is a solid brick wall and the render goes all the way to the ground. I think this is potentially bridging the DPC .

I was thinking of doing it in a test area about 2 foot long. Can it cause any issues not having render, anything to be aware of?

Alternatively as a proof of cause, could I dig a trench deep enough that the render is no longer in contact with the ground?

If the render was in good condition I’d dig the trench. Could always make it in to a french drain.

And if that doesn’t fix things just fill it up again.

If the render was a mess I’d consider taking it off as a last resort.

Any reason why that bit of ground would be wet enough to cause problems? Busted drain / pipe etc?

I have a proper 3m mask when I need it, the issue is having something pocketable for when there’s unexpected dust - like when some prick comes in to enthusiastically sweep all the dust into the air.

Something like this looks good as it’ll fit in a pocket, but also hopefully be a bit more effective than a disposable mask.

I don’t think the ground is particularly wet, there are no drains or pipes down that side of the house (it’s the end of terrace) I think it’s just the constant contact with ground.

You can see render is fine but going green at the bottom.

Dug a trench too in part of it to see if it gets any better in that spot on the other side of the wall

2 Attachments

Good luck, fingers crossed that sorts it.

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I am installing some ikea wall cabinets with lights. The power cord thats needed to power it from mains is out of stock, they have this which is for their smart speaker. It needs to be connected to a gateway unit.

Will it work?

They both look like bog standard IEC C7 plugs, so should be fine.

If your house is anything like mine you can find one by rummaging in literally any drawer.

That cord looks very similar to what Sonos use - I think it’s a C7 nonpolarised power cord that looks pretty standard.

Worth a punt for a fiver.

Aaaand beaten to it.

If you're around N15 I have a bag full of them

good news
Electrician has been in and moved all sockets from skirting boards to above, recessed in wall & fitted a dedicated socket for oven all for IMO a bargain £350 ??!!

bad news
He discovered that the gas stop valve for the hob is leaking 😩

Anyone ever had any good results from painting kitchen cabinets?

As much as I hate painting in general, I hate it far less than buying a new kitchen - the worktops are solid wood & in good shape so it's just the cabinets that are looking a little dated. Cabinets are vintage Ikea - doors weigh a ton and have a kinda laminated satin white finish so unsure what will cover it well, any pointers?

Could just replace doors if you really hate painting.

Shouldn't be expensive to fit, how did he find out it was leaking though? Did he have a meter and put a test on it.

That is an option - I reckon we'd go for something other than the current white though, so the base units would need painted anyway & would end up looking shit with new doors and being replaced regardless - it's a minefield... for every person who says it's fine, another tells me it's a wate of time & just replace the lot - damn you instamagram!

I'm refurbing a bedroom. Sorting out a knackered ceiling, new plaster, new carpet. Lots of mess. The radiator in the room is old and in a mess so I'm going to replace it.

Radiator calculators say I need about 4500 BTU for the size of the room. B&Q will sell me a radiator that easily fits in the room which is 9600 BTU for not too much money. It's massively overspecced but there will be a TRV which will keep it in check a bit and in theory it might be useful having a very big radiator if I ever feed it with lower temperature water in a future world where gas boilers are banned.

Are there any drawbacks to overspeccing a radiator like this?

ha! thank you all! I am such a charlatan when it comes to stuff like this

has anyone got an electrician recommendation in south west London?

I have an internal "box room" i.e. it has no windows. about 2m * 2m on plan. Occasionally used for guests sleeping on a sofabed, mostly used for storing my bikes.

Does it need a radiator?

I think I would put one in. Damp bikes in a cool room with poor ventilation sounds like a recipe for mold in the corners or something.

Id put one in personally, cant be having the bikes getting cold in the winter.

It'll probs be too hot even with a TRV and over kill imo.