Home DIY

Hamilton prestige 3/4" window brush and prestige 15mm round sash are used a lot- these have shorter bristles giving more pushing power, black paint does muller brushes, sometimes a good old shit brush is the only one that can do the job

Is there such a thing as an air brick for concrete blocks? As in 200 x 100mm not 225 x 60 or some such? My Google-fu is failing me

I see the modern world has moved on around me and that you can nowadays get bath sealant on a strip. The question is, is this any good, or should I stick to the traditional sealant from a tube?

Old shack gone, didn't anticipate such a small shed would warrant so many trips to the tip. New shed due imminently so having to sort a base.
Previously the old one was set on top of a few slabs /bricks very unevenly which caused the floor to sag and snap eventually. New shed will sit on same footprint but slightly longer on a tarmac slope with a good 15cm drop front to back.

I was thinking I could do the same sort of base with the addition of a few more beefier slabs and sand/cement mix so that nothing moves. Is this a daft idea?

Excuse the fence panels these are to be replaced prior to shed erection.

1 Attachment

sayonara stupid step. first time having a go with a recip saw but I'm a fan. those posts won't know what hit them soon.

whoever said there's be some shitty concrete underneath the step you win the five points.

not sure what the easiest way to remedy this is as we want to put flower beds along there. do I just buy myself a pickaxe and a lot of ibuprofen?

3 Attachments

not sure what the easiest way to remedy this is as we want to put flower beds along there. do I just buy myself a pickaxe and a lot of ibuprofen?

Plant a couple of creeping thyme, a rosemary, wildflowers, poppies. Then put in on your tld and crack on with the important stuff. Don't bother with it now. You can do the garden next year.

I've got a cordless 18v drill from the Screwfix brand Titan. Have been tempted by their cordless pressure washer gun for doing quick jobs on my bike, garden tiles and windows etc. However, they are £115 which seems quite steep. I believe that there are other brands out there from the same OEM which also work with these batteries, and I was wondering if anyone could suggest an alternative? Body-only would be great since I've already got two batteries and a charger from the drill kit.

From what I remember when I looked at them, cordless pressure washers were way less powerful than corded ones. About 20% of the pressure or something like that.

pickaxe

Mattock is far more practical.

Cordless pressure washers are a disappointment to everyone I've known who bought one. Just get a corded one.

Good work!

Pickaxe? Nope. Personally, I’d hire a jackhammer or invest in a capable SDS drill and a chisel bit.

Mattock every teim, lump hammer & cold chisel, SDS for the occasional bit of stitch drilling.

Pickaxes are good for making tiny sharp pieces of flint fly off into eyes.

Jackhammers / kangos are good for jumping off and digging into the ground, or for being really heavy and still not breaking anything up.

SDS chisels are good for skittering about and getting really hot.

YMMV, obvs - the above was my Summer 2020

All that being said, I still have one of these BNIB (sent to me by mistake and no one has come looking for it) that anyone on here is welcome to take off my hands for £100.

https://www.toolstation.com/draper-1700w-185kg-breaker/p21125

thanks as always for the input everyone.

have you got a link to a suitable mattock. a lot of the ones i'm seeing are either made of cheese and have loads of photos of them snapped in half in reviews and the others are stated as only being suitable for softer ground (i think that's a grubbing mattock and I want a pick mattock right?)

I ordered a couple of bits for my sds+ to at least give that a go.

Iirc @edmundro recommends the Roughneck mattock. They've got fibreglass handles.

I'd be guided by whatever he or @ColinTheBald recommend as they would have used theirs professionally.

I'd also be curious to know if anyone has a recommendation for size as I need to get one. ignore just went for the one edmundro linked in the garden thread.

Or as you've recently moved in I'd be tempted to go to a car boot sale and pick up a load of stuff. 'Tis the season. I know a mattock is only £30 or whatever, but if you also need to buy a spade, fork, ladder, hoze, bedside tables, etc. etc. etc. it adds up fast. Plus how long do you need your mattock to last if it's just that patch?

I picked up an old decorator's box for next to nothing which has had loads of useful little bits.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-5lb-mattock-36-/85777

I got this one, no complaints, it's solid.

I’ve got a pick axe that I’m unlikely to ever need again - on the off chance you’re in NW London and want it ?

so good !

very kind but we've escaped down to the south coast now

forgot i've been meaning to ask about how I should go about repairing this (i'm assuming filled in fireplace as it's where the front chimney is) not sure if i blew out the plaster while wallpaper stripping or it was just really badly done (or a little from column a and a little from column b).

you can see how thick the plaster was that came off looking at the chunk stuck behind the skirting.

I have 5l of pva and a couple of tubs of this ready mix plaster for doing some of the less hefty filling and jointing of the overboarded ceilings but I feel like it's probably not best for such a large area. will be covering in 1400 lining paper and giving how bulbous the wall was already not expecting miracles just want to get it close to flat looking so I can get on and decorate.

any chance you guys can bless me with a step by step process and shopping list of stuff I'll need to make it good

1 Attachment

I'm sure you will get a few answers with different sage advice. I will start with the plasterers bucket which is taller and thinner than a normal bucket and makes it easy to mix multi-finish plaster with a bit of wood. It changed my plastering experience entirely.

The expensive part is a decent plasterers float. I have a Ragni one which has lasted a good few jobs. Some people say use PVA, some argue against. I have done either with or without and got reasonable results. I wouldn't use ready mixed plaster.

https://www.toolstation.com/heavy-duty-plasterers-mixing-bucket-30l/p48580?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7uSkBhDGARIsAMCZNJtcvoGxaP1cCpNHBAbtqwaKRsYiUvnw2bs0-C0wI005qqhO_gBt7P4aApf2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

About to hire a skip, based in Clapton / Hackney.

Does anybody have any particular recommendations before l pull the trigger on a random one?

PM me if you ever feel like shipping at cost.

It would be serious cost

I need to replace some light switches for aesthetic reasons.

One of the light switches is a double, which I haven't done before.

I just want it to look different, not do anything different.

Probably a stupid question but is there anything I need to be aware of?

Cheers