Home DIY

Ah, a lucky escape, every floor was carpeted with underlay too, then all of the downstairs revealed asbestos tiles. Fun times.

It’s incredible how much stench is potentially in an old carpet.

Our place smelt like a GP waiting room when you walked in. With the carpet gone, so was the smell.

Fucking disgusting.

I personally hate carpets, but I trust you good people in here who like them, look after them properly! :-)

During a period of redundancy, my dad took up carpet cleaning as a way to earn cash. I went with him a few times to help out. What comes out of carpets and furniture, even those that look "clean", is gobsmacking.

We have one of those little Bissel spot cleaners for the inevitable toddler/cat/drunk dad accidents. I usually end up cleaning the entirety of whatever needs spot cleaned, such is the filth that comes out, leaving a noticeably clean spot.

Ain’t that the truth. Seen it with countless rugs as well. Cushion covers are a big one - no excuse to not regularly put them through the washing machine. And boy do they collect grime.

Btw, you need to blame the cat more. Ours is always spilling its margaritas.

We got fancy pants wool carpet in the living room, which thankfully is pretty stain resistant naturally (although, took a couple of months to stop smelling like a farmyard). But as mini_com is a filth wizard, we also got a massive washable rug to absorb most of the detritus and ground in chocolate.

Who feeds a toddler cous cous in the living room, I mean honestly...

Has anyone got any suggestions on what oil or varnish to use on a wooden dining table?

It was "refurbished" and varnished about 10 years ago and it has always been a bit tacky in places but over the years the tackiness has increased and the varnish is now rubbing off.

Planning on sanding it all off and then re-painting the legs but then I don't know what to finish the top with. Varnish again but do a better job or use some sort of finishing oil?

Osmo for the nicest finish, Fiddes Clear Glaze if you don’t want to worry about water marks.

Others will be able to correct me, but when varnish is a bit tacky like that sometimes you're best off scrapping it off - otherwise the sandpaper is forever getting clogged.

Yep I'd be scraping. My only experience of this is using old tins of varnish.

@NurseHolliday If you ever suffer from people(children) spilling liquids then I'd go varnish again to protect the wood properly, probably with a spar poly varnish. Oil just doesn't protect wood as well, and I've ended up with light water marks.

I'm looking to get rid of a shit bit of the lawn and turn it into a play area (with climbing frame etc) for my daughter.

It'll be 4mx5m (basically squaring off the garden in the image). Digging down to 150mm, laying membrane then filling with about 3,000l of softwood chips. I'll also continue the border of bricks that edge the garden; connecting them to those by the patio at the back.

I'm looking for quotes this week but, with the mass of bank holidays coming up, am I mad in thinking I could do that with a mini digger, skip and a long weekend (with a second person helping)?

Skip, digger, chips and membrane are less than £1k all in.

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Better pic of the size.

The soil seems very soft, I’m able to push a garden cane maybe 30cm down without issue.

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Whilst I wait for a response from the company, would anyone like to hazard a guess as to whether these spots will come with drivers or not? Description makes me think so but I don't know whether that is how it normally works or you always need to buy them separately.

https://www.electrical4all.co.uk/circular-led-panel-6w-120mm-dia-white-trim-4000k-red-arrow.html

So long as you know you've got nothing under it, I'd say that's reasonable (assuming you've used a mini digger before, or had more than 3 go's on the coin operated static ones at theme parks).

Sounds to me like you just need a spade and a can of htfu.

In all seriousness tho with trades at the moment I think diy will be less effort/time than fucking around trying to get someone in.

Do it.

I have not used a mini digger before but how hard can they be?

Re: pipes etc, it's a new build that I'm pretty certain doesn't have anything under the back garden. All our services run from the front and through our street.

In case you haven't considered it, if you have any plans for raised beds all that spare top soil could be useful.

Likewise if you're on any neighbour whatsapp groups someone nearby may want some of it.

That's a very good shout. We already have some (visible in the first pic) but I could think about either raising them further or placing some others.

If the soil is as soft as you say it is, that will chop out in no time with a spade. And if' you're only going down 150mm, most of that will come out as sods. Chop a line where you want the edge and just lift big chunks as you go. See if your neighbours want any free turf. Back when I used to have a proper job as an archaeologist, you could open a trench that size in a morning easily. Certainly quicker than it would take to arrange, bring in and get to grips with a mini digger. Although, nowhere near as fun. Sods are much easier to move a lot of spoil quickly than loose earth.

What is your view on danish oil eg for oak work surfaces (please and thank you!)

Agree, I’m cheap but I’d 100% do it with a spade and enjoy sleeping well after a good day of manual labour. If you were going deeper then a digger would be worth it.

I just did more than this with a shovel to lift off turn, pick axe to brake soil and then shovel to move it. Hard work but not bad.
Easier than a mini digger for sure

Never really messed with it tbh, seems long for a not very durable surface.

Furniture maker colleague uses osmo waterproofing stuff then polyx on oak worktops. I’d use fiddes but generally avoid making wooden worktops anyway.

Alternative is avoid qualified trades and look for a labourer to do it with you on a day rate.

Interesting. I had always thought (courtesy of my dad) that re-oiling oak work surfaces every year or so was a necessary evil. And one of the main attractions of corian etc.!