Home DIY

I enquired about going larger than 100A on our (still pending) fuse upgrade and they said they'd be happy to install 3-phase but the cost starts at £8k if everything is already in order and can go up from there if they need to do anything non-standard.

If you put a stick between the 2 sides of the zip tie and spin it round you can tighten it even more.

I thought it would be pricey. Good to know though. I've only worked in one domestic place that had it and they kept blowing a fuse in the street. It was a 7 storey place in Mayfair.

Got a wonderful chap helping out and adding a sapele window for outside this stained glass window to replace a rotten one

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So I’ve already asked this before but want to be 100% sure before I do the job.

Want to put an extra 200mm of fibreglass insulation over the top of existing which would include going over the top of cables. Existing insulation is 100mm and already over cables.

Reading mixed things online some day it’s not regulation to do so, others say it’s fine so long as the wire is derated or is over specced already. Electrician who came round said it would be fine but again seems like someone else could say otherwise and I’d rather not burn my house down..

The fact it is nailed to timber in most places is supposedly beneficial at helping dissipating heat.

Cables are mostly for lighting and one electrical shower cable

Ideal solution would be to rewire so cables can sit ontop of new insulation but ££ and previous electrician didn’t fancy the job/ said it wasn’t needed.

Thoughts?

See Pics:

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I asked an electrician about doing the same and was told it should be fine. It's unusual to use a cable at its upper current limit in domestic settings I think.

Thanks, I suppose smartest thing to do would be get an electrician round to test/ tell me the current limit / how close to it my circuit is.

It’s such a pig of a job that I don’t want to have to rip it all up or constantly worry my house is going to go up in flames

Relevant article:

https://www.voltimum.co.uk/articles/cables-spaces-containing-thermal#:~:text=Requirements%20of%20BS%207671,be%20covered%20by%20thermal%20insulation.

It's true that cable is rated depending on how it's run.

https://professional-electrician.com/technical/thermal-insulation-and-its-effect-on-flat-twin-earth-cables-niceic/

Here's the table :-

http://www.batt.co.uk/upload/files/table4d5_1545390425.pdf

The electrician who has already looked at it might well have calculated based on cable size and the fuses that you would be ok.

Yeah just didn’t know to ask him specifically if he’d calculated it at the time or just done a finger in the air. I was expecting him to come round fit some new lights and re run some cables so there was enough slack to go on top of the new insulation rather than under as I’d read that was the ‘proper’ way to do it.

When he said no need, I didn’t think/ know to ask at the time.

I know a spark who bought a house that had 3 phase in, first thing he done when he moved in was rig the electric 😂😂😂

So nobody had a ‘mastic man’ recommendation but this chap has had me in stitches, NSFW as a potty mouth but if he was london based he would be siliconing my bathroom
https://www.tiktok.com/@martyncoops/video/7257562577155280155?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7238689338824492570

Alcove shelves. I have some that came with the flat but I've never fitted. They also come with this bag full of threaded rods. There is no threading on the shelves so i assume i need some sort of rawl plugs with threaded insert into which i screw the rods, to align with the holes on the back of the shelves and the groove at the sides and the shelf should just then slot in? Does this sound about right and does anyone have any installation recommendations and/or links to likely insert bits? Cheers

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Ones we got made in our last flat were solid wood and just used the slots on the sides over some lengths of rod that were epoxied/stuck into the walls using something hardcore. Not sure if it was actual epoxy or some kind of construction adhesive. I'd say for non solid wood, some along the back would be a good idea. Not rawl plugs though as those threads would not bite in the same way that screws would. Also, screws are tapered which causes the plugs to expand the way they need to work.

Gripit fixings can fuck right off. They fail all the time and they’re a complete pain to fit. Wish I’d never used them 5 years ago when we moved in.

Now I’ve got to fill 6 of them this week. They’re 20mm holes.

What’s the best way to pack them out before filling or can I just build up some toupret quick dry stuff?

Expandable foam?

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If I had the bits on hand, gluing some lolly sticks behind the hole at least stops it all falling out the back. A bit fiddly tbh. If you can get the filler to hold and don’t mind doing a couple fills that might be the most straightforward.

blob of foam is what i use for back filling, only had a few grip it’s fail and i have used a lot of them. what i find odd in your pic is how neat the hole is which should mean a nice secure fixing.
just used some blue ones for radiators in insulated plasterboard so bought the undercutting tool to clear the space behind in the insulation and they feel very secure.
now use fischer duopower for blinds, pictures etc as they use a smaller hole and seem to work well in the insulation, the duotec fixings are good too if a bit pricy.

Don’t think I’ll be able to get filler to stick to the rear plasterboard. I could glue some lolly sticks but, at 20mm, it’s not easy to even get a finger in there to fix one in place.

Current plan is to place a dab of expandable foam to the rear of the plasterboard on the other side of the cavity then use that as backing for the filler.

Doing some reading, the original ones (which I used) had a habit of having the wings fail to open, stay open or close. The new ones (white plastic with coloured centres) allegedly fixed the issues but i just use metal wall anchors as they’re much more secure.

I use the Grip-It as a last ditch effort if things have been going wrong. I would mix some Toupret TX110 (or whatever it's called now) pretty stiff and overfill the holes by a decent amount. Maybe it will sag but you should get a decent first fill to add a top layer to.

If you are glueing lolly sticks in you need to use a small screw or piece of string to pull it tight to the back of the hole once you have got it in the hole. You could use a hole saw to cut a piece of plasterboard and knock that in with some filler. I have lots of small pieces of plasterboard for this kind of thing but it's not something most people have hanging about.

I've (edit - also) had reasonable success by using a screw to move & hold the stick bits, then use mitre bond to stick them.

Faux panelling, new dado, wonky walls, precut "kit" beading being ALL the wrong size so defeated the point of getting a kit in the first place. I have much caulking in my near future.

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Matches, string and super glue should get you there a bit easier. I leave the details to each person's imagination.

Lincrusta instead?

I may have one in a week if still of interest.