Home DIY

Hammerite to cover all the ills

Just buy a new one in the colour you want. Stripping that in situ will take forever and probably poison you. it doesn't look integral to the stairs unlike traditional balustrades, so it might be easier than usual to remove it and swap it out.

Alternately, take it all off and get it dipped then refinish it outside.

Finally got round to trying to rebuild my stone work.
Had one of the road locals talk me though a bit of it as he passed, used to do it as a job, now retired and 95 but still active. Top chap.

Kinda easier than expected, taken about 5 applications due to depth but all going well.

Next up some proper paint.

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Got a before shot?

What's the rationale for stripping? I can't see any fine detailing that would be lost. Or has it been power coated?

Not that I'm an expert, but if it was me I'd sand it as required for a smooth finish and paint with an etch primer (white or light grey at a guess for bright green).

Although if it were actually me I'd go for a more forgiving crinkle hammerite in a similar colour to the existing one.

Or else strip, oil, and let the metal take on a natural patina that tells the story of your home and your relationship with it.

Thanks @hugo7 & @Howard, this is something that came with the house and was custom-made and installed by the previous owner. We'd just like it to be a different colour and trying to work out how that might be achieved!

if it were actually me I'd go for a more forgiving crinkle hammerite

If you like the hammered finish and can find a colour you want, then this is the easiest/laziest (read: the one I'd go with) method. That stuff sticks like shit, but the finish isn't for everyone.

I think decide on the colour and finish you want and work backwards from there.

@Howard here ya go!

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How do I stop a flush pipe from leaking? It's a back to wall, cabinet, and cistern type set up. When I disassembled it, the pipe seemed a bit short, not extending in to the toilet as far as the ridge. I've replaced the pipe (now going in to the toilet as far as the ridge) and the seal cone thing that goes in to the toilet, but there is still a very slight seep from the cone.

Thanks! Let’s see if it lasts the winter…

Bish, Bash, Bosh.

need to sand it and give it a final skim tomorrow but not looking too bad so far and if it ends up looking shit I'll just put a bookcase in front of it.

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did a plywood insert screwed into battens rawlplugged into edges of the arch. the other side will have an offcut of plasterboard screwed into the same battens, i'll seal around the edge with some filler and paint it then I have some lovely white mdf shelving boards to cut to size and batten up.

oh and i stapled some leftover wire mesh to the plywood to give the bonding coat something to stick to.

Kitchen sink backed up then totally blocked this evening. We haven't done anything with the kitchen in the 3 years we've been here as the plan is to rip out and extend. Easy fix, or it should have been until I started dismantling the trap only to have it fall into pieces that had been held together with silicone. Screwfix stop on the way home from drop off tomorrow it is. Fuck this kitchen, fuck it into the sun. Loathed to spend any money on it.

Good work - bay window curtain poles are a horrible thing to work on and this looks a neat job.

looks great - if it helps, we have a similar job to do and my OH got a quote for £800...

Fucking plumbing, fucking knackered old sinks, fucking proprietary trap systems. Three separate trips to different DIY shops this morning. Finally got everything together (super bodge), and the fucking flexi pipe has a pin hole in it. Bell end. Slathered that in fernox ls-x. Fuck it. Another joint also weeping, that got the ls-x treatment also. Waiting two hours before testing/finding the next joint to suffocate with the sticky, stinky goo.

What are the forum-approved paint brushes and rollers? Is it worth paying more for something premium or just stick to the cheapo stuff?

i'm enjoying using the wooster sherlock gt poles and cages, the pin style clip stops the cage twisting off in use when you use the matching one but it also has a screw adaptor in the base which i've used for things like radial sanding disc

https://www.mypaintbrush.co.uk/wooster-gt-sherlock-extension-pole-2-4ft
https://www.mypaintbrush.co.uk/wooster-sherlock-9inch-roller-frame

if you need to move around to cover a lot of ground i've found this to be excellent as well
https://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/s/SIMMS_TRAY_ARM_KIT/

and this is living up to it's handy name for cutting in stuff with a paint brush
https://www.ldmdirect.co.uk/product/tools-painting-tools-scuttles-scuttle-liners/bercom-handy-paint-pail-f00790/

have literally just finished putting on my first primer coat in 3 bedrooms using all of them this evening and did a whole room and 5 ceilings with them already as well

for the roller heads i tried the purdy colossus as i saw them come highly recommended online but they just covered everything in fluff and ruined the first wall i did, so i've been using some pro-dec one from wickes as they seemed to be the best they had in store when i went, i don't hate them but i'm sure there's better out there.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/ProDec-Advance-Medium-Pile-Microfibre-Paint-Roller-Sleeve---9-x-1-75in/p/236650

100% this and it is my fucking fault for unthinkingly blocking the drain

Yeah, in hindsight I have added to the problem but the crud that came out of some of the bits I removed were nearly solid so clearly long over due. Anyway, it seems to be resolved now so hopefully my bodging lasts a year or so then I can gleefully launch it all into a skip. Plus the main sink has a shiny plug hole now. Also took the opportunity to fix the perma knackered shelf under the sink that was being held up by the 5l bottle of carpet cleaner, which I can use now seeing as it is no longer structural.

That tray arm kit looks functionally appealling but £35 for a bit of plastic attached to a roller tray seems steep! Will definitely get one of the paint pails though, looks a great find.

I was just reminded that B&Q do a 9" tray that you can also buy liners for. Makes clean up much easier. Same tray also has a sealed lid you can buy so you can take more time between coats without having to clean out the tray or waste paint. Brushes still get wrapped in a sandwich bag, or if I'm wearing gloves, I grab the head of the brush and pull the glove off around the brush to cover it.

great job - what filler did you use? I'm about to need to do the same.