Home DIY

It’s even nicer from the other end of the room as it’s just a treetop view of a nature reserve and the transmitter.
Looking forward to seeing it from a sofa not on my knees or stepladder though.

Love the minimal rad

The part I didn't want to get into is the additive floetrol from owatrol which extends the open time and helps with leveling, and what's the existing paint and substrate it's going on to - possibly a bridging primer, haftprimer from caparol is excellent (opacity) or zinsser bullseye will take most w/b paints very well

Interesting, thanks! I will be priming with bullseye as there's a tin of that on the go.

only 100 BTU's so freezing in winter.

Looking for some help for something I thought would be simple but which is giving me a headache now. Looking to hang a mirror that has two keyhole suspension mounts. The wall I want to fit it to has double plasterboard.

What would you suggest I use for this in terms of fixing and screw? Tried some rawl anchors I had but not deep enough to deploy, tried some m5x50mm snap toggles but screw diameter is too big to hold into keyhole socket at the top.

1000mm might be rare as far as I know.
Ikea metod 800 plus 200 pull out for oil/bottles?

Really? I assumed 1000m was a standard double cabinet size.

It wouldn't surprise me that mine would be non-standard, the overhead cupboard things are an odd size.

let us know if you try the floetrol, I think the Albany super satin has a fair amount of chemicals already added making it unnecessary, also sounds crazy but I'd be fussy about brushes purdy XL elite set the standard (most versatile) in monarch glide or sprig, proform blaze or picasso are great, Wooster very good but more range paint specific (probable alpha best)

I’d just use standard plugs and screws into double plasterboard. 5.5mm hole, red rawl plug (I’ve heard good things about Fischer Duo but not used them yet myself) and a 5x40 or 50 countersunk screw. Unless the mirror is very heavy it should be fine.

Will try that thank you. Bought a box of different sizes of the Fischer Duo ones as tired of not having the right size for random jobs

Fisher duoplugs are the business.

I use them for everything. They're holding my tv to the breeze block wall quite comforably

whats the easiest "not shit" way to remove those two posts on the decking at our new place. I am thinking of putting up a railing along the edge and they're just in a weird spot.

we're getting it cleaned the week after we get the keys and i'll be treating the whole thing after that just wondering if it's as simple as cut them off, sand flush and treat with the rest of the deck, I'd rather have 2 small squares that look out of place than the posts getting in the way all the time.

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additionally is it folly to even consider removing the weird giant step and replacing it with a more normal single step in the middle. so i can run the path straight from the patio and divide the grass more symmetrically for when we plant stuff. like how much work would i be looking at realistically.

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Take up the surrounding planks and cut off the uprights below them. Replace the planks for ones without the big square holes

how easy is it to get a nailed board back down cleanly once it's been pulled up as i might need to check under the left side to see if it's ok to run a trench for power and it's a surprisingly hard thing to search for on google they all talk about replacing with a new board.

[apologies for the basic questions but expect plenty more in next few months]

Get a couple of big fuck off hooks and screw them into the facing sides of the posts, not quite at the top, hang a hammock between them, lay in hammock, thank me later.
As for the weird step? I’ve a feeling there’s an old pond or random concrete slab under there. Hope I’m wrong.

I wondered if there might be a reason for that.

@HatBeard I'd say live with it for a bit just to see. Also to work out where the sun moves, how wet the ground is etc.

I mean with all due respect to your predecessors, they don't look like gardeners. But still there may be a reason they isn't immediately obvious or obvious from pics.

how much work would i be looking at realistically

Two non-intense weekends would be my guess. A day to carefully remove the angle step and measure up/prep for laying the step. A day to get the things you didn't know you needed and put 99% of it down. Next weekend to tidy/snagging and oil it.

That's conservative but if it's been there a while removing it carefully so you can reuse it and minimise costs always takes longer than just smashing stuff out.

Set and levelled the concrete faux log slices to go under the feet of the raised play house. Handily the platform is a square with side the same length as my long level. Took the turf/sods that were cut out and performed a sort of Turkish hair transplant on some patchy areas of the lawn. Platform will be roughly the same height as the low fence to the left.

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Nice work!

Didn't want to hog the whole DIY thread but my weekend project has its own thread here.

From grass to nearly finished.

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I'm thinking of building a fold down table in the garden. Attached to the wall so it is out of the way most of the time but a decent size when folded down. Seems like it should be pretty easy with some hinges and a fold down leg to provide support.

Question is what to make it of? Need something that can be left outside all year round without getting manky or warping.

Saw Tricoya at an exhibition
https://tricoya.com/

The examples the manufacturer had seemed convincing. Not used it myself, yet.

Does anyone have any experience with ant extermination? Or a recommendation for an exterminator in London? The fuckers are marching up the concrete slab of my garden outbuilding, eaten through the dpc at at least one spot and infested the back wall, eating insulation and laying eggs. I've tried nippon liquid baits along the trail and in the hole but that just slows them down for a day and then normal service resumes. I plan on sealing the cill plate with some kind of heavy duty mastic to deter them in the future, but feel like I need to kill off whatever is inside the walls beforehand or they'll just find another way.

Box section aluminum would be the best thing. Otherwise pressure treated wood, or ideally teak and accept it'll warp a bit. With wood prices as they are I'd be tempted to by a 2nd hand teak table or large bench and modify it. It will have also been outside and done most of its warping.

As it'll be folded up in the worst weather you could protect it by making a lip to keep the vertical rain off. Sort of like the way this works:

I'd also get some agricultural style gate hinges with plenty of play in them

Vs
Tighter fitting ones that will seaze eventually:

Corian offcuts?