Home DIY

I have a tap on the inside of lean-to shed. I would like to have a tap on the outside, so I don't have to run the inevitably leaky hose through the shed when I need to use it. I think I have a solution to run the pipes, but I'm not sure how to pass them through the wall. It is an OSB, mineral wool, tongue and groove wall, so easy enough to put a hole through. Would you sleeve it still? Or just drill a few mm larger and seal? I'll use 20mm HDPE tubing to run the pipes on the inside of the shed, is this ok to then pass through the wall to the outside? I can't find any fittings locally that mean I won't have to run some pipe externally. What is the name for this kind of 'pass-through' tap fitting, is there such a thing outside of the US?

DIY shot blasting thing from Toolstation for about £50? And a tarp to collect the crap.

You can get sand blasting attachments for pressure washers too that are meant to be decent for that kind of thing.

Ohhhh I did not know that was a thing. Tempting.

I had just hit my "not buying any more tools for a while" monthly limit. Now this....

Let's face it buying the Karcher accessory is 99% of the work, right? Even if I then never actually do the work, at least 99% of it will be done, right?

Thanks for the suggestions. Going to try a flap wheel and one of the small wire brush attachments. Shouldn't leave too much to do by hand...

DIY shot blasting sounds fun but can't think of enough other projects to justify the space it'll take up.

You know you could do it then, if you wanted to. Or if you had the time...

can't think of enough other projects to justify the space it'll take up.

Cleaning the dishes, washing the car, exfoliating the children. It'll pay for itself.

At £50 you use it once and slap it on marketplace afterwards.

Planning on buying a combo of Ikea storage units to fit in an alcove, there will be about 2cm gap either side, not enough for a shadow gap, so prob needs scribing in which is something that I just cant get my head round, will it even be possible on such a small gap? Will prob just pay someone.

I just chopped through a ring main (not wired up to the CU yet, so no shower of sparks and death).

Am I ok to connect it back up using terminal blocks (I have a bunch which I think are 30A) and put that inside a connection box?

Or is this sort of thing notifiable?

I did EXACTLY that putting in a new chase when working for Fiddy years ago (things I've learned recently make it less surprising that it was even possible for me to do). Except, this one was wired up. Bang, flash, two perfect chunks taken off the edge of the bolster and black charring. Thank fuck for RCDs. I just felt like all the bones in my hand separated for a split second, like touching a rural electric fence, but more ouchy.

Not exactly sure how it was fixed as the carpenter ushered me off site before the angry electrician came back from lunch/the pub.

Do you have access to replace that whole section of the ring, from socket to socket?

Do you have access to replace that whole section of the ring, from socket to socket?

I do, but would have to remove a bunch of cladding. So fuck that noise.

Also - Ouch. Electricity terrifies me.

I found this when looking at extending a ring main using wagos, I imagine the theory can be extended to terminal blocks.

Yes, but a few points need to be observed to make sure it complies with BS7671 IET 17th Edition.
Firstly, the terminals must be installed in a Wagobox (when breaking into existing ring wiring). This needs to be UK sourced to ensure you get ones that are stamped with [MF], meaning that it's classed as BS 5733 Maintenance Free box.
To comply with the IET regulations, each Wagobox is limited to 50Amps in total. The compatible terminals, 773-10x(solid) and 222 (lever), are also derated to 20Amps (I prefer 221 as they're normally rated to 32Amps).
Therefore, for a regular 32Amp ring main, you will need to use two Wagoboxes - one at the start and one at the end of the extension. As the load from any socket is shared in both directions of the ring (albeit unevenly), the derated 20Amp terminals are sufficient.

Phwoar!

I think I may have a couple of wago boxes around, and I definitely have some connectors. If not - screwfix here I come.

Pretty sure that the screw terminal blocks are not viewed as permanent due to the possibility of them loosening. Wago ones and the like are OK. However, I have no idea if what you're suggesting is safe or not so don't listen to me.

What's the forum approved levelling compound? Just been told the kitchen is being delivered Monday and our floor needs sorting pronto.

Edit: concrete slab but with removed wall and previous levelling compound in one of the "rooms"

And a pointless little detail is that the wago box needs to be closed with a cable tie to fully meet the MF criteria (requires tooled entry).

I’d go with a wago box, or any other maintenance free junction box.
The minor issue is that you’re unlikely to have the tools or equipment to be able to check that your repair is ok - if done properly it will very likely be fine, but just a heads up.

Cheers.

I'm due a spark coming to complete second fix and testing at some point, so that should all be covered (hopefully).

Ah yeah deffo. And FWIW I'd almost guarantee that most sparks would perform the same repair and not end to end test it.
If you show them your repair I’m sure they be happy with it.
Have you got any slack on the cable btw?

Have you got any slack on the cable btw?

Not much - I'm going to need to add in another length in any case, as the holes I cut are straight across where the cable was routed.

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the plumber just let me have a go of soldering a joint for one of the rads, so that's made my day!