Home DIY

I do have an order number in my account dated today, but starts with an X rather than a Q. We'll see. If it does within 12 months I'll ask, but I won't complain if they don't replace. Happy enough with how easy it was today.

Officialy, replacement products do not reset warranty. Your warranty runs from your initial purchase date. It does happen from time to time though depending on how sofisticated the retailers EPOS system is.

Is there a way to have an open sticky for recommended products? Or could hashtags be used?

Just thinking that there are some things have such common words that they're hard to search eg paint or filler.

I am sorting out a sash window at my girlfriend's and could do with some advice please. First time doing this.

There is a gap between the concrete window sill and the wooden box. Shall I just fill this in with filler or try and gun it in with silicone?

The wood doesn't look rotten at all, other than one small soft mushy bit. (Last pic). Shall I just prime and paint over that, or try cut it out and fill it with wood filler? Would probably be a challenge to glue in a new piece

Cheers!

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There is a gap between the concrete window sill and the wooden box. Shall I just fill this in with filler or try and gun it in with silicone?

This would traditionally be done with burnt sand and linseed oil mastic. I wouldn't use silicone because you risk trapping moisture behind the silicone which will lead to rot issues. Lime putty would be good in this situation as it's breathable so any trapped moisture will be able to escape.

That soft spot could be the tip of the iceberg. It needs chopping out and treating / filling with timbabuild or repaircare.

Thanks very much! Anything equivalent to lime putty? Just so I can plough on today. Seen this at Screwfix but not sure if it is breathable

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Also staring at some sash windows - would lime putty be appropriate for limestone sill/sash gap and around a front door frame?

Looking at the same bit of work.

Acquiring the right materials in DIY quantity, in good time, seems difficult.

At least compared to what Screwfix etc will sell you.

Would be good to know who the DIY supplier of choice is.

cut it out and fill it with wood filler

Yes - or splice in a replacement piece.

If you just want the job done have at it with hardener but don’t tell airhead or Bobbo ;)

Yes

And use that wood hardening stuff first after cutting out

Something I find curious -

Where I live there is a thumping great garden estate conservation area full of victorian / Edwardian places. And then there are the regular streets like mine, all Edwardian.

Yet - if I hit up the garden estate society and ask who the 'go-to' people are for period work (like not fucking up your gaff with concrete), there just doesn't seem to be anyone they can put forward.

You would have thought it would be quite easy to become the 'go-to' person / company for repairs and maintenance for areas like ours, where it's important (and borderline mandated in the estate) to use the right stuff in the right places.

Had a busy day yesterday. Started with the task of replacing the knackered Lino floor in the kitchen of our new place. To ripping out, Lino, hardboard, floorboards and joists.
Now off to Travis to get new joists and floorboards. Don’t think I’ll bother with new Lino for now…..
The joys of buying a ‘doer upper’

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That soft spot could be the tip of the iceberg. It needs chopping out and treating / filling with timbabuild or repaircare.

Or, in my case, digging out, treating with hardener, filling with burnt sand mastic and intending to go back to it and fix the wood at a later date.

4 years on...

Because most people just get it done with modern materials as they either don't know or don't care that it might cause problems 5-10years or more down the line, when they probably expect to have moved by then.
Also it's often invisible work, hidden by paint etc... So can't show off to their neighbours about using lime render/plaster etc Vs planting some nice shrubs or painting the front door in F and B.....

Anything equivalent to lime putty

That stuff looks like it's closer to sand mastic - its linseed oil and some sort of mineral, but could have all sorts of other stuff added that could make it less appropriate.

https://hodgsonsealants.com/product-range/putty-glazing-compounds/

These guys will sell you a tub of linseed oil putty for £30 delivered apparently.

oh, and so will Wickes.

No burnt sand though

@danb - I honestly don't think it's that. Lots of people do care about their houses and plan to stay longer than 5 years, and would love to show off the 'conservation-appropriate' work they're getting done, but simply don't know how to get the right people in, or baulk at the cost. Local to me one brick and repointing co has become the go-to if you care about getting it done right - no power tools etc - twice as expensive as most of the others, but they are plenty busy.

Hmm I have an unwanted tub of linseed putty. It came from Wickes or similar a few years ago. I can't remember why I bought it but I've never used it.

Now wondering if I can use it to fill the gap between wall and door lining on a little brick shed thing that I've never finished. I don't have any flax but have some hemp cord, could I use that to stuff the bigger gaps, then mix some sharp sand into the putty to seal?

I'm not going to get hold of half a cup of lime, and sand and cement seems likely to crack, even a super dry mix.

And yes, the whole thing is a horrible bodge but it's had no door for several years (just linings), and I'd quite like to fix that situation.

I don't have any flax but have some hemp cord, could I use that to stuff the bigger gaps, then mix some sharp sand into the putty to seal?

I would think that sharp sand is too coarse, and that the lack of oven heating would have an impact on it's ability to make a good putty with the oil.

I'm not going to get hold of half a cup of lime

You can buy small volumes of premix NHL here

Got 2 to do so happy to get a little but not spend £££.
Got sand paper, Dulux weathershield, primer easy.
Ordered some wood filler from Amazon, which, though convenient, I don't like doing
Need to get the lime putty and some hardener so I'll see what Screwfix people say

On the window topic, the ones at my flat were a big job I didn't fancy so got a professional in and he was ace.

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Would be good to know who the DIY supplier of choice is.

For period appropriate materials, I have used:

Womersleys
Mike Wye
Lime Stuff
Conserv

Mike Wye & Conserv have really good people that you can phone & talk to for help & advice.

lime putty

Lime putty (also known as calcium dihydroxide / fat lime / slaked lime) is not putty (which is traditionally sand or chalk and oil), and is more akin to cement. It's also not the easiest of materials to work with.

Cheers. Will check those sites on your comment above. Unlikely to be able to find it today in Bristol I guess without spending hours

That looks like glazing putty to me. The lime putty isn't recommended for glazing it's called putty because it remains flexible once dry.

Yes.

Cheers!

@TW these links are really helpful too