Home DIY

Ah I would not want me there too.

Belated birthday cakes to Alex.

Edit - sorted. Went to a plumbers merchant with off cuts and they got me the sizes I needed.

What have I done that's caused all the paint to dimple on this door? Seems to be all over the door which is now touch dry. First coat dried smooth.

Undercoat went on fine, quick wet'n'dry, hoover, tack cloth, first coat of Dulux trade quick dry satinwood, dried overnight, spot sand a couple of bubbles/nibs with wet'n'dry, light dab with tack cloth to clean up, second coat about 9am this morning.

Painting in cellar, temp gone from 14-16c, humidity sitting around 65% the entire time.

Paint applied with a brush. Small sections, avoided going back over anything.

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orange peel. too much paint, use a roller that takes less paint, are you brushing or rollering?
i’m not an expert but from working in a car body shop in my youth orange peel was due to laying it on too thick or not thinning enough.

Brushed. Tried to go light, moreso than the first coat. The paint did feel very draggy today. I guess it was colder than the room and that won't have helped.

Might just bring it upstairs later and let everything warm up. Do the other side tomorrow. Will a once over with wet'n'dry then a third coat be ok to cover it up?

What can I do with empty jumbo/bulk bags from Selco/Wickes etc? Are they returnable? Can they be recycled?

Some cheapo skip bag companies will let you use them, but it's likely they're a little less than kosher.

I keep one in with the spare wheel in my car, as it saves the boot when I'm taking stuff to the tip.

If they don’t take up much space - keep them. Handy for storing stuff or covering things outdoors. But then, I do hoard.

In effect they are single use bags. Cubic yard / meter, they are only safe work loaded for that first use. Then scrap.

Depends where you are, down my way they are like gold dust, and people actually pay for them, for things like logs etc.

I'm sure if you put them on freeads\gumtree\facebook someone would take them off your hands.

I've bought a few recently from Toolstation to store garden waste when the bin is full and I can't be arsed going to the tip. Someone locally might want them for the same thing.

Ah, rubbish, I would then find a local sparky that has dealt with EV chargers before (but by all accounts I don't think it's terribly complicated, worth reaching out on FB ev pages if anyone in your area has recommendations and/or second hand chargers.

Not sure they cover you, but we used Sky Electrical. Would genuinely recommend. Neat job, nice team.

Thanks both - will check out Sky and local sparks.

Decorating.
Every room has thus perforated wallpaper above where the picture rails would have been. Came off super easy on my test bit with a heat gun and scraper.
Below the picture rail, lining paper stuck to old wallpaper which is a different story. Surface isn't too bad so may leave the lower bit.....

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They are great for garden waste. Then down the tip with it.

I want to glue two pieces of 18mm birch ply together (100x32 cm) to make a 36mm thick piece. I assumed I could just use wood glue but doing a bit of googling, people suggest spray adhesive like 3M 77.

Which glue should I use to do this?

I have laminated ply just using wood glue (making longer legs for a cot) and you'd be hard pressed to tell it wasn't one single piece, looks and strength wise. So long as the two pieces are well clamped together and the glue well spread. If in doubt, buy more F clamps. Which applies to most projects.

Wood adhesive forms a bond that is stronger than the wood itself when used properly. I can't find any information about the strength of a wood to wood bond for that 3m stuff but can tell you it's designed to soak in so may affect finishes you plan to use. Plus I personally like to avoid wearing a respirator when glueing as it can be stressful enough without adding being uncomfortable to the mix.

I'd use wood glue: titebond 2 at a minimum as it is water resistant when dry. It's more expensive than say bostick PVA but has a more liquid consistency so can be applied with a notched adhesive scraper or a foam gloss roller. Really though your choice of adhesive should be determined by the open time (the amount of time you have between spreading the glue and joining your workpieces) that you need; titebond 2 has a 5 minute open time titebond 3 has a 10 minute open time and the cold press veneer stuff is 15 although this is an interior only glue that offers no water resistance when dry. If you're unsure go for a longer open time although this will add to the cost.

As @stevo_com says clamping is important although in this instance I'd lay the sheets of ply flat and put some heavy stuff on them spread out as evenly as possible. Think dumbbells / bag of sand / you could even lie down it for 30 minutes if you felt like it.

My water pipes have started whistling. I've traced the noise to a pressure reducing valve (oddly not the first component in the plumbing run after stop valve and drain cock so there are some higher pressure taps). The noise only started after I turned the water off and back on again. Googling suggests an obstruction of some sort. Could it just be a bit of scale flaked off and got stuck? Any go-to fixes before I just fit a new valve?

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner my kids kindly shared COVID with me and it's knocked me about a bit.

It sounds like what was causing the damp that affected your joists was historic and has been resolved either knowingly or otherwise at some point in the past. I can't see any sign of an ongoing damp problem in your photos although if the house has been empty for as long as you say that could disguise it. Maybe worth speaking to the neighbours again and seeing if they got to the bottom of things and if not if they've seen any sign of damp on the party wall since they had the floor fixed.

Seamless!

Thanks for the info... wood glue it is! Titebond seems to be the popular choice. I've got a bottle of gorilla wood glue left over from another project so going to use that. It says it has a "grip time" of 20 mins.

you could even lie down it for 30 minutes if you felt like it.

This is the permission that I needed.

Back in 30 minutes.

Gorilla glue is so similar to titebond that I wouldn't be surprised to find out it was licensed from them they do this with alcolin which I believe (but not 100%) is the only way to buy titebond 50 in this country. Titebond 50 being what Gibson use in the manufacture of their guitars.