Home DIY

If you’re going to lay ~50mm ducting and want to run fibre, you may as well just shove a standard pre-made length of single-mode duplex LC-LC terminated patch cable down there. Plenty of room to pull it through, and (depending on where you buy) cheaper than copper CATx these days.

If it breaks during the feed-through process, just chuck it and pull another one through. We pay ~£12 for a 100-metre OS2 duplex LC-LC cable these days, and that’s from a UK supplier.

Thanks both. I'm half inclined to be lazy and just clip them to the fence but should probably bury them as I'm digging out anyway. @ectoplasmosis how big are those terminals? It'll still need to go through the wall of the house at some point but it's probably the best solution as presumably avoids electrical interference from the power supply.

I’d be getting that pumped in.

That’s the way I’d go, ready mix bags would cost a fortune and be an arse to move, mix etc. A pumped mixer would be so much easier and cheaper, even factoring in plastic sheeting to protect the house.

Just make sure they have somewhere to blow out the hose. They tend to assume you have a handy spot to splat out any excess muck.

I’ve got some left over wood from my loft.
14x44 roughly, 3m long. Think they were used to mount tiles to when cladding.
Think they are think enough to support a floating desk of about 2.5m?

Duplex LC connectors are much smaller than a 50mm conduit with a mains cable in it.

You can also use a simplex cable (1x fibre strand, single LC connector) with bi-directional SFP+ modules at each end to reduce size, but it’s always good practice to run a backup cable in regardless.

Ah - I misread concrete as cement. 15 bags of cement + all the sand + all the aggregate so only half answered your question

I would also get it piped in if it’s at all possible but it sounded like it is not.

What is the go to filler for new skim/plasterboard and the inevitable micro cracks on some joints and edges? I have easyfill and tourpret fine surface filler guess a flexible filler of some kind on joints and just caulk on joints with old walls and ceilings?

Does anyone want any free:

• Thistle bonding coat
  
• Sharp sand
  
• Cement
  
  

We've got a house move pending and some open bags are bound for the dump unless you can collect this week.

I've also got these Iroko worktop offcuts that I made a last minute decision not to throw away, in case anyone wants a chopping board or shelves (I already made 8 shelves from it - we had a lot of offcuts).

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Collection from E12 (or delivery within half an hour or so if you live somewhere near a delicious takeaway and want to buy me one)

We tried some stain and tinted oil samples on pine sanded floorboards and it looks grim. Horrible orange monotone colour on knotty pine, it was never meant to be seen and the victorians were right to paint the edge of rooms and put a rug over it.
We looked at the floors and decided they are going to be painted.
So what’s a good colour matched floor paint and the best caulk/filler that takes paint for the gaps which are quite deep and consistent width as it’s tongue and groove.
It’s for both bedrooms and we don’t wear outdoor shoes in them so needs to be durable but not concrete garage floor paint. Water based low VOC preferred.

How strong are concrete fence posts? I think I know the answer, but I'm considering using one to tether one corner of a 3 sided sail type sun shade over our patio.

Any recommendations for a toolchest?

I need a sanity check. I have a tree that's been cut to around 8ft tall that I'd like to bring down. It's about 2ft in diameter. It's in an awkward sloped location so I don't just want to drop it in case it rolls down and smashes into something. Its too heavy to control on my own or even with a friend. It's also an Ash tree and perfectly straight so in an ideal world I would like to cut into planks and store to dry. So here is my crazy plan... I want to cut it into planks using my chainsaw while it is still standing. I was thinking of using a laser to mark some straight lines and then with a new blade and care and attention I could rough cut them into 8 or so planks and then cut them at the base one by one. Am I crazy?

Not an expert chainsaw user but I think you'll have a hard time cutting straight enough to get useable boards.

You can't chain /cable it to something solid then cut? Needs situation pics.

You'll want a chainsaw mill.

If it's on a slope and 8ft tall you'll need to be cutting on a platform. Sounds dangerous. Also going agaisnt the grain is slow going and will take a while.

Am I crazy?

Yes - it’s probably got die back and won’t make for usable wood. Best thing would be to drop it, chop it, split it and burn it for heat come winter.

tool chest

If you’re talking roll cab stylee then my Halfords Professional ones house my good tools. I’ve got a bunch of second hand Teng ones that are ok. In fact if you’re anywhere near Tring (Herts) I’m about to get rid of a serious amount of tools and workshop gear. Drop me a PM if you’re keen.

In fact if you’re anywhere near Tring (Herts) I’m about to get rid of a serious amount of tools and workshop gear.

Oh yes please. I'm in herts a fair bit.

We have mates out there and aren't far so I'd be interested in what you have.

I fucking love that idea. Would probably go all sorts of wrong, but that's some brillant outside-the-box thinking.

@howard @hugo7 I’m away camping for a couple of days but I’ll ping you guys a message when I’m back. It’ll be stuff from welding to plasma cutter to work bench to hand tools, cabinets, spray stuff, 200L compressor blah blah blah. I’ve decided to convert the garage from workshop to gym but I can’t even get inside because of decades of tool accumulation. Also a ton (45 m²) of hardwood parquet if anyone really wants a DIY project…