Home DIY

Has anyone got any experience of fitting things to UPVC windows that involve drilling into them?

We need to fit some window restrictors like these ones to stop toddlers jumping out.

My concerns:

• Doing something bad to the window. Won't it undo the benefit of double glazing? And don't double-glazed windows have some kind of gas in between the panes?
  
• How to cover/fill holes once our toddlers can be trusted to avoid throwing themselves out
  

When we got our Everest sash windows, I was told that there was wood behind the pvc where I wanted to hang blinds. There wasn't, it was hollow. I put the blinds up anyway and they didn't come down in over a year's use. As for filling, I didn't have to worry as our builder knackered some of the outer trim around the window which Everest replaced under warranty. We got them to fit wider trim which covered the holes. You may get an acceptable finish with some silicone though.

The DG properties are in the glazing unit, which unless you're drilling right on the edge of the pane, there shouldn't be a problem. You could use some silicone or adhesive behind what you're fitting, which would help with the durability concern, but would also be more faff to delete further down the line.

@tbc you can also get restrictors that attach to the top of the unit which might be preferable once the kids are a little older so you don't need to cover any holes up. Also being slightly higher up at the top of the unit might make it a little safer (away from the wee greasy paws trying to rip the restrictors off!)

These work well, if you don’t mind fitting them each time you want an open window, and leave no trace. I only know about them because mates brought one with them when they stayed over with their little one.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325252970041

One of our cats has suddenly discovered how to escape our kitchen which is shut overnight. She is seven and has never shown any desire to do that before. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Can I just buy any round door knob I like and replace the handle on that side of the door?

https://youtu.be/kxzrvdFTETk?si=_D1nCDZ3B9T4ezsK

Yes

One of ours has learnt this too, she even does it on the front door if she can't be bothered to walk around to the back of the house. For our bedroom door, we've used a stick wedged under the handle as a temporary measure. It seems round door knobs are almost impossible to buy in Switzerland.

Just a 220v electric item in a wooden room. No water.

Slow reply but this isn't really true - saunas have high humidity, moisture in the environment and sweaty people which all effectively equal water, but most electric sauna heaters also have fake coals you add water to so that you can up the humidity (which makes it feel a lot more sauna like). Combined with lack of clothing the risk of electric shock increases significantly.

You don't have to comply with BS7671/part P of the UK building regs and I don't know what the Spanish rules are, but the inside of a sauna electrically speaking is a special location under the regs. Around the heater itself is zone 1, then the rest can be zone 2 (up to a metre high) or 3 (above a metre). This means controls need to be on the outside, everything needs to be IPX4 rated and good up to 125 degrees C, internal wiring should be minimal, etc. If the heater element can't be sealed it also normally shouldn't go on an RCD due to the potential for earth leakage.

IANAElectrician but it seems to me given all this DIY would be doable but would require a lot of thought and research to understand the safety and thermal principles.

Thanks. I'd intend full to get the electrician to wire in the heater etc. Way beyond my scope and death wish.

👍🏻

Good luck! I'd love one but we don't have the space and couldn't afford the lecky.

Actually, given how much they hoover up and with your local supply of wood, shouldn't you be building a wood fired one? That's a real sauna!

Thanks!

I could build a wood one, but the basement makes a chimney a bit awkward. I need to look into it.
It's a project for sure, and I've a few pressing things to attend to before winter, including that the basement roof (terrace floor) leaks and I need to grind out and re mortar it. So I'm not sure the sauna will happen this winter, but we can hope.

Next to the archway that runs through our dining room to our rear extension where the living room is we have this smaller arch which is in the only corner where the tv can go in the living which will look shit as you will see behind the tv the second you walk into the dining room and makes the corner in the dining room a little less usable. so we've discussed the idea of maybe closing up the side in the living room and making it a storage alcove in the dining room. the light lost would be minimal as the main arch is massive and we get reflected light through the door in the wall beside the arch going into the kitchen.

I'm thinking of getting a sheet of 18mm ply, holding it up to the side shown in picture, tracing the shape of the arch from the inside, cutting it out with jigsaw (then making a template for later), coating with pva to seal it, stapling 2 layers of 6mm wire mesh to the outside face of it. then fixing it into the arch set back a few mm from the wall edge using battens on the bottom and sides inside the arch. then covering it in a thin coat of bonding plaster followed by a skim of easifill. then fixing a piece of plasterboard cut using the plywood template to the inside of the arch to cover the battens, then putting up some simple shelves held with battens at each end.

how solid of a plan does this sound? am i overlooking anything dumb?

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Don't understand why you'd use plywood on either face, even if you're plastering over. Plasterboard with some battens on each side will be perfectly stable and easier to finish.

Other than that, seems straightforward / a good idea.

Best decking oil for bog standard pressure treated pine? Thinking Osmo because I like their indoor stuff but have no experience of outdoor.

If anyone is interested I've a 30% discount on the Drayton wiser site
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Thanks for the response - I'm struggling slight to understand the process here. I can find lots of reference to using threaded rods on the internet, but very little to detail what they are actually being threaded onto. My suggestion was some sort of sleeve insert to fit inside a hole in the wall (maybe via a rawlplug) into which the rod could thread. But maybe people are just using threaded rods because they're more readily available and this is all a big of a red herring? Epoxying a load of rods into the wall and ensuring the angles correct to then receive the various holes and slots of the alcove shelves sounds like it may be slightly beyond me.

But maybe people are just using threaded rods because they're more readily available and this is all a big of a red herring?

This. They are basically just studs and the threads grip well in the epoxy/adhesive.

Ah OK, that starts to make sense. So. basic process would be to mark up the required hole locations, then drill some big holes into the wall (large enough to take the rods) which would then be somehow attached/anchored using epoxy? Any idea of products or methods to look at?

Thanks as ever!
Edit to add:

I've also just found a website recommending just drilling a hole into brickwork the same size as the rod and hammering it in to desired depth. I reckon this is probably how they were fitted previously (no sign of epoxy on the rods etc) so it seems like the wall can take it. Might as well try this first, can always enlarge the holes and go epoxy route if necessary. There are lots of holes in the shelves to take the rod so should be fairly well supported and will only have a few books on anyway....

Figured asking here might be more appropriate as there are more electricals inclined people here;
Any recommendations for a kill a wat style device?

Trying to get a handle on any devices that might be drawing more power than anticipated. Ideally something available from not-Amazon ™

I have one of these which seems fine if you want a smart option.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1488315

I did have a non-smart LCD one but I found it a real arse to read. You had to be almost head on and plug sockets generally aren't positioned for that to be convenient.

It's most likely there's a stud all round that arch. I would cut in the corner by the wall and peel off the plasterboard to the edge of the arch, then cut across the top about 40mm above the arch, 40mm from the other side, take those strips of plasterboard off. Insert a rectangular piece of plasterboard, screw new and old plasterboard to joists using plasterboard screws, tape the joints and fill with easifill or whatever you fancy.

Those Tapo plugs are ok. the problem with a clamp type amp meter that electricians might use is you need to clamp it round the line (live) wire on it's own. If you clamp it round a cable with all three wires in the neutral carrying return current changes the reading.

Caulk, all of the caulk. Next up will be the opposite wall and then up the stairs. #cryfaceemoji

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Question about the panel gaps when I do start to go up the stairs. The above are set with a 100mm panel gap top, bottom and sides. When measuring up hill for the angled panels, do I measure 100mm on the angle or horizontal? Ditto for the actual panel widths. If I measure on the angle, the panels and subsequent gaps will actually be narrower than those on the flat.

I need to buy a tool to use as a prop suggesting 'don't pull something out'. So some kind of pliers/grippy thing.
It should be photogenic. There's kind of unlimited budget. I don't want a set. Just a single tool. What brand should I get (with the intent that I keep it after the shoot). I have some irwin pliers (needlenose/molegrip), I have some other wrenchy type things. I'm open to getting a really nice pair of pliers, but what brand? Or could just get something shiny and have done with : https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-vise-grip-10wr-curved-jaw-locking-pliers-10-254mm-/11724