Home DIY

^ we have a winner

Do this.

Or put something in epoxy and post it on YouTube.

Keep up with the ant power around the outbuilding, and go out, find out where they're coming from, find the ant nests and hit those as well. Need to keep up with it for a few weeks, it'll work eventually.

I vaguely recall instructions being given on here about how to replace a garden tap that's broken and leaking due to frost damage. Can't find the post anywhere and the same thing happened to me over winter. Any ideas?

Is it permanent? Or can one remove it if it doesnt work.

The above statements about it being damaging have me a little concerned.

It just peels off. Sticky residue can be removed with alcohol wipes.

you rock as always friend

Crikey! Bet they play on it once and declare no thanks not for me 😆😉

Don't jinx it.

Will try. I've found the trail but it just disappears underground in the garden. I dug a little and couldn't see anything. I'll get more aggressive.

@Hovis I just had some success with Ant Stop Bait Stations. The wee shites were coming into our living room from somewhere. I put two of those down and within a day you could see them struggling and then after a week we've not seen any at all. Only £6 or something from Uncle Bezos so worth a try.

Tricoya looks interesting but availability seems limited and only available in 8'x4' sheets which aren't cheap.

@TW corian offcuts seems a decent idea but not sure how I'd go about fixing that to hinges given the weight.

@hugo7 a second hand table could be a good call, a quick look shows that materials are very expensive. A lip above is a good idea to divert a bit of rain away.

not sure how I'd go about fixing that to hinges given the weight.

What exactly is the concern? You could either drill some self tapping screws, or go for coach bolts (which you can also find in brass if you wanted something smarter).

If it's the downwards weight on the hinges then you could cut some small blocks of the corian as supports and drill those into the wall.

You can also buy these folding arm strut things for camper vans if you have a search on ebay. They lock. But idk what sort of weight they'd carry.

The main reason I suggested something agricultural with loose tolerances is in case it gets left for a prolonged period of time. I've had the basic galvanised hinges on my mini sheds sease up over this winter.

From what I've read previously Corian is pretty brittle and doesn't take a screw well. Coach bolts with big washers could work though.

Is there anything I need to know about push catches for doors?

We have this fire door that I want to remove the handle from and put a push catch on. It's pretty light, but obviously heavier than a kitchen cupboard door/similar.

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Need to sand the floors (iroku lounge/pine bedrooms) as the radiators are being fitted with feet and i don’t want to have to sand round them, thing is i don’t want to oil the floors until the painting is done including ceilings and all the woodwork, still have some second fix electrics to be done too.
What is the best product to protect the floors once sanded without breaking the bank? that corrugated plastic stuff is obviously ideal but with 80 SqM will cost a fortune.

This

We've been using this (and paper parcel tape). mainly because it's recyclable https://www.toolstation.com/x-board-recyclable-surface-protection/p20471

We use ant powder and also boiling water in the nest if you find it. Also make wherever they get food from scrupulously clean.

Borax mixed with sugar can also do the trick (sugar to attract, borax to kill though seems to be a banned substance these days)

If possible Get in and destroy the nest hoovering the bastards up. We also use vinegar to destroy the pheromone trails.

They also don't like chilli powder.

Fuck you guys are really going scorched earth on the poor things.

We had a nest that had started to make tracks coming in underneath our back door. I used half a jar a cinnamon (apparently they hate it) as a blockade on the door frame, and they just stopped coming inside.

Bastards undermined our conservatory in our last house. They also swarmed on flying ant day so we had to keep the conservatory door closed and open the back french doors to let them escape.

They're awful and I'd annihilate them all.

What are these socket hats called/what do I google to find them??

"Outdoor Socket Waterproof Box Electric Plug Rainproof Cover Protection Socket"

But you need to go somewhere like ebay or Ali. As I think they're intended to be a sketchy solution to an outdoor socket.

Screwfix et al will try and give you one of these:

This has worked for me in the past

• Buy new tap
  
• Turn off the water before the old tap (either isolate all mains to the house or any stop cock before)
  
• Take off old tap with a huge mole wrench
  
• Cut your hand open / swear / etc
  
• Put some waterproofy stuff on the new tap (new rubber disc seal it came with, ptfe or apparently hemp on the thread) - Screw it on tightly
  
• Swear because whatever you do it is upside down
  
• Add way more ptfe like 8-10 wraps more and try it again, now you can get it the right way up
  
• Nip tight with adjustable spanner
  
• Turn on stop cock/ mains
  
• Check for leaks
  
• if leaks, put more ptfe in places that seem sensible
  
• repeat
  
• Use tap
  
  

If the frost damage is further upstream, replace more bits