Home DIY

Call building control before and agree. Get them to sign off after.

My builder took down a wall with no more than that.

These women are great. They sorted my elderly neighbour out when he had a serious problem. Don’t take any chances. https://www.bedbugladies.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzdOlBhCNARIsAPMwjbz8Rv3NYAPHiQeLxE2dGsJ1rHcnUTuLORhEHP-kc9oYvrCoSZVKZawaAkAVEALw_wcB

Nice. We did hire a surveyor to give us an idea about the planning / load bearing type stuff so we've a good handle on that side of things. But assuming we get the approval, I could just go at it with a sledgehammer myself?

@ChasnotRobert pros for sure. But also I watched a youtube video where someone was testing the different methods of getting rid of them. One of the best was getting the pros in to roast the fuckers (they seal off the place and put big heaters in and get the whole house up to something like 60 degrees for a period of time which kills them all). But a VERY good DIY method was diatomaceous earth. Spread that around in specific areas and it coats the fuckers. They then spread it to the rest of their blood sucking brethren quick smart. It causes them to dry out and die. It worked infinitely better than any of the chemical solutions.

I'll try and find the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JAOTJxYqh8

Good news starts around the 17min mark

Diatomaceous Earth Pest Control Grade 1kg by Natural Sources UK - Free Ebook Included - Diatomaceous-Earth Powder for Chickens, Pets, Carpets, Home https://amzn.eu/d/40VHGkL

Pest Control Grade is slightly cheaper than Food Grade.

Looks like it would be effective for silverfish as well, which seem to be popping up randomly in my house.

Yep. If there's no loading issues and you get building control ok. Just go at it. In most cases your builder will get labourers to do that work so unlikely to be very cerebral

Silverfish are relatively easy - just put wet newspaper down, and throw it away when it gets covered by them. Rinse, repeat, and you're done.

Cat fleas, on the other hand...

if bed bugs were the most traumatic thing of my adult life, cat fleas are well up there for the most traumatic part of my childhood (and that's a tough race). i'd say we had them more than we didn't have them for about 5 years. every time we treated they'd go away for a couple of weeks and then it'd be back to having 10 land on your legs/socks the second you walked into a room, I used to hear them jumping on paper and plastic surfaces while I was trying to fall asleep. didn't help treatment stuff was so expensive and we were well below the poverty line.

Twice I've seen a singular flea in somewhere I've lived as an adult and immediately carpet bombed the entire place in flea spray & powder and nipped it in the bud before they could take root.

We get them about every other year what with all the foxes, squirrels and other feral cats knocking about. We have had some success with tablet treatments rather than spot on (crushed up and mixed in with those honkin salmon yogurt tube things (pukes in mouth). That and the sprays, liberally, everywhere. And also a couple of sticky traps in the worst areas. The ones with the tiny incandescent bulb that mimics body heat. The latter are mostly good for tracking the decline of the infestation.

great, thanks. getting some earth ordered!

Used the wrong osmo oil, one with a white tint, ffs.
Flipped and redid, worked better this time.

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@ReekBlefs If you are going to diy and I see no reason not to, don’t just Twat the shit out of it. Take it down brick by brick with a small hammer and clear the rubble as you go. It quicker in the long run, I’ve been there.

Not nearly as much fun as just going full KoolAid man on it though.

My only advice when knocking a wall through is, when you see what looks like a very old lead and cotton wire poking up through the bottom of the wall, and your much older and more experienced colleague says 'Nah, it'll be fine, no chance that's live now', do not believe them. Not until you've tested it anyway.

I'm looking to make a shelf on which a bathroom sink will sit. Are there nice alternatives to Formica laminated plywood?

Could I use Valchromat (@chrisbmx116) or is it not water resistant?

Any timber you like soaked in epoxy?
Stone
Composites

@ChasnotRobert once you have killed off the current colony of bedbugs, you need to find where they got in.

When we were house-sharing back in 2013, my better half kept getting bitten. It was summer so we first assumed mosquitoes or similar. One day I was changing the sheets (and also sorting something on the bed frame, like you) and there it was - a solitary bedbug in a fold on the fitted sheet.

It went down the toilet, the sheets went on a very hot wash, I had a nip of whiskey and set about investigating the rest of the bed and surrounding areas.

Nothing.

Our headboard backed onto a blocked up chimney breast with the standard 200x300 hole/grill arrangement. I covered that with paper/filler/paint on the off chance the chimney breast in this old knackered house was providing a route from the neighbour’s house.

I’m happy to say we didn’t have any further problems, but we did buy diatomaceous earth just in case.

Good luck!

Bathroom extractor fan has died. Is this repairable or is it a simple case of remove and replace with like for like?

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Wasps are eating my soffits. I assume there's a nest inside. Is there a DIY option or do I just have to get someone in.

bit of scribing, jigsaw, few screws - if they eat the whole thing. just the mention of ant powder really kicked things off last time

Swap the capacitors out usually, for a quick fix. I've done that with a few of ours easily enough.

IANA [Electrician | Electrical engineer]

I use something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zero-Dispenser-Protection-Battery-Powered-Mosquitoes/dp/B077G1XZ6Z/ref=asc_df_B077G1XZ6Z/ put in the loft aim at their entry point it kills the little shits, but the ones out at the time tend to just not go back home and move elsewhere