Home DIY

Cif for a mild approach, some kind of acid for a hard approach (guess it's got old mortar stuck to them?).

Those old tiles can be a fucker to clean, but worth it if you can. Ours just wouldn't, and there were too many broken/missing to re-use. We had to get new ones as I just couldn't find any of the 4" ones anywhere. Tons of 6" (which is what yours look like) on ebay if you need to replace any.

Not the prettiest but in my last house (rented) I chopped pallets down to half width and laid them across the beams. They work well as it maintains some air flow underneath and give a nice sturdy base. Also... free.

My mate has a miners house in south wales, tiles everywhere, front, back, inside, think it was the housebuilders or super's house hence a bit fancier than the rest, he's spent most of a year pulling them out, new concrete floor with insulation inside, then put back together, looks amazing and doesn't feel like your walking on damp ice anymore. He found some novel chemicals for cleaning up tiles.

Mine were proper fucked (as @ColinTheBald can attest), the ONLY place I could get 4" tiles from was a place a couple of hours drive North. Finding reclaimed ones was impossible, seemingly.

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Agree on all the above. I really dislike undermount Belfast sinks with wooden worktops as every one I've seen has gone black. My solution was to not have a worktop around the sink at all. It's been in use a few months now and no signs of water marks so far 🤞

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Cheers all! Yeah I’m keen on restoring what I can atm rather than ripping them all out and starting again. There are lots of cracked ones and no grout left so that’s another think to sort.

Looking at other streets there are quite a few the same so it looks like an en masse job, I don't think it was Thames water as our pipes to the house were shit original ones I replaced to get better water pressure and less lead poisoning and it did nothing.
What do you think they were like originally? I can't imagine they hard a border? I know the fences were taken in the war but that should not have effected things?

Do you have a celler? It wasn't uncommon in Victorian terraced houses to have a coal chute on the front path leading to a coal cellar.

If this is the case I'd advise not putting anything too heavy on the path, say a ton bag from a builder's merchants. The structure isn't that strong and the ton bag is likely to make its own shortcut into the cellar.

Maybe try hypochlorite on it. Test a spot first. About £18 a drum - easy to use but don’t get it on your skin or clothing, it’s harsh.

I think this is the one I used. Made a frame up out of 18mm ply, cut the hatch hole slightly bigger (luckily a slightly useless noggin was the only obstruction) and screwed it to the beams. Bolted the ladder on and added PIR insulation and draft excluders. I had to do the door twice as the original was way too heavy, think I used 9mm MDF in the end. It's a pain to extend but I probably just need to oil the bushes tbh.

Used plain chipboard for the floor rather than T&G as it was heavily discounted and cheaper to start with and spent the money on loftzone legs and rails. Slightly wonky as the rest of the house.

If you're planning to use it reasonably regularly then do as big a hatch as you can and a decent ladder.

My previous place which I DIY'd had a ladder like the one polygon suggested and a hatch just big enough for it and it was hard work getting stuff up and down.

My new place I got a big hatch (there wasn't one at all when I moved in) and a ladder like this https://www.screwfix.com/p/werner-1-section-anodised-aluminium-plastic-telescopic-loft-ladder-2-61m/185kh (not this actual one) and getting up and down is now very easy

Plywood chat - went to local timber merchant - asked for hardwood WBP ply for external use - given this stuff - very thin stripy veneer top surface and plenty of filled voids - seems shit - was also warped. Any idea if it actually is wbp ? I’ve started using it for an external storage cupboard top and door - no sure if will hold up now . Some white osmo on the top one btw - to be followed by clear.

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Looks like far-eastern hardwood ply. Could be WBP, could be structural. Impossible to tell from looking AFAIK. Might be a stamp on the edge or face.

Tbh I don’t think any kind of ply will last a long time outside without a few coats of good old fashioned gloss paint.

Cheers boss - it’s sort of undercover - I’ll give it a few coats of the exterior osmo and see how it goes - reason being go match my new fancy white oiled oak mullions 🙄- can gloss later if needs I guess.

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Thanks for loft ladder help!

I want to strip my hall back to floorboards, it has rancid laminate floor tiles which is stuck down with the thin layer of what looks like cement. It's gritty and can be sanded off. Has anyone done this themselves? I'm guessing lots of prep will be required to stop the dust getting everywhere, but my big concern would be the machine cutting too deep and ruining the wood underneath the adhesive.

TBH it might not be much more expensive to get a pro in than to hire machinery, buy dust sheets etc but I'm still interested in your stories

Better before and after of the door repaint from a few pages back + step install.

Definitely the most satisfying thing I've done to the house since we moved in.

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Think I'm going to buy a Dewalt 18V circular saw to replace my grandad's hand-me-down. For occasional use there's little point in stumping up for brushless right? I can see a brushed version for just over a ton, bare unit.

Yeah that’s class, terrific job!

Smart job :), just curious why you are not 12A?

Unlucky for some!

you definitely sure it's laminate? Sounds suspiciously similar to the tiles i found in my house, which have absestos in them

Did a window surround recently in ply, couldn't get any bullnose edged window board deep enough (740mm deep reveal! Old building + insulation + new lining), used some of the stash of ancient oil based gloss that was given some time back (20+ unopened cans of it), creates an amazing finish that i've not really ever achieved with any new 'gloss' product. Leyland high gloss contractor version is pretty good, runs like hot jam so have to be careful with keeping the coats thin and consistent though. Ply wrapped in proper gloss will last decades no bother, source, see any old fishing boat!

CA glue/mitre fix for fixing a blown laminate/engineered floor, end plank? Got two that have blown upwards from floor/building flexing. Both joints are in good shape, PVA unlikely to hold with that kind of force on it + clamping it for the time probably tricky. CA goes off instantly with the spray. Always been amazed with how it holds mitres together on trim in kitchens. Any reason why not?