Home DIY

Aldi/Lidl clamps work fine for me. I'd imagine from the same Chinese factory and usually half the price or better

Down lights? I've had them do similar in a bathroom where they'd obviously been shorting out a bit and the arcing left some black burn residue. I cleaned them up and reinstalled them and it stopped. Problem for the next tenant...

Oof... nah won't be doing that. I reckon we'll get a better saw and have a go on one the side that won't face the door and see how we get on.

THANKS ALL

I've got some of the Irwin ones and they are nicer to use than the cheapo ones I have (although probably not much difference in actual clamping ability).

Do you have a fancy dimmer switch? If you press on/off too quickly they go into program mode and go dim - bright- dim to show you they are in that mode and then you spend half an hour trying to find the online pdf for the particular model and the on/off dim/bright steps to get out of the mode.

Never heard of the auto-deploy draft strip… which product is it?

I’ve got a beautiful original Victorian 5-window front door that I pulled out of a skip that I’ve been meaning to refurbish and fit for years, but the appeal of a modern insulated door with decent locking and seals is strong…

Hiding cables… talk to me.
I know running cables through drywall should be relatively easy but I’m hitting horizontals and my insulation is kinda solid.
Truncking on the wall is one option, but I’m wondering if there’s a way to set the trunking into the plasterboard.

Anyone any other ideas?

I assume you mean a vertical run? 12.5mm trunking exists but there'll be nothing to fix it to behind apart from the horizontal noggins / insulation you are hitting.

Yeah, Zactly.
I’m thinking my back splash or whatever they are called will actually be near the same height so could integrate.

Not DIY but had colour flooring cork installed yesterday.

1 Attachment

Hold up…

Thanks to everyone for the help on wall paints. We've decided to go with Little Greene intelligent matt emulsion on 2 of the rooms, and I'm gonna paint them myself before we move in. We've done the paint calculator, and we need a total of 13 litres of paint (8 of one colour and 5 of the other). I've done some smaller bits of painting walls in the past, and we couldn't find any decorators locally with any availability before the new year. We will likely do more redecoration in the future, but that will likely wait a couple of years.

I have some paint rollers and brushes in the garage, but am fairly sure that I bought them in the past with price as the primary consideration. I've decided I'd like to buy some new brushes, rollers, masking tape, dust sheets, and potentially an extension pole for the rollers to make sure the job is as easy as possible, and the quality of the finish is good. I'd hate to end up unhappy with the result and then wasting time and money paying a pro to fix my mistakes later.

I'm quite lucky to live very close to a ton of builders merchants and decorator shops, so the level of choice is baffling me at the minute. We've got a Screwfix, Toolstation, Huws Gray, PaintWell, Jewson, and Brewers all within close range - and probably more that I don't know about. Anyone particularly recommend one of these over the others?

From a quick look I'd planned to get the following. Any concerns, or things I've missed?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-painters-masking-tape-50m-x-50mm/872kh
https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-painters-masking-tape-50m-x-24mm/520kh,
https://www.screwfix.com/p/harris-trade-fine-tip-brush-set-5-pieces/7354x
https://www.screwfix.com/p/fortress-trade-dust-sheet-12-x-9-/331fm
https://www.screwfix.com/p/fortress-trade-12-roller-set-4-pieces/879fm
https://www.screwfix.com/p/fortress-trade-telescopic-extension-pole-0-64-1-1m/968fm

buy yourself a nice cutter brush, i bought big and small, think it may have been an Axis mink.
you do realise the woodwork will probably look iffy once the walls are done unless it’s been done in last couple of years.

Extension pole is a must, it makes painting walls much quicker and less tiring.

Albany brushes at Brewers are well priced, don't go expensive unless you WILL clean them. Otherwise you just end up disappointed next time you want to use them!

Wrap your brush/roller in cling film after use and they will last to the next day. Buy a scuttle and liners, I use a big scuttle with liner bags which I can tie and use again the next day.

Make sure you give your paint a good mix, Little greene will look good after the second coat.

If painting wood a colour, it's best to get an undercoat tinted for that colour. Little greene do a tinted undercoat which works well for me.

https://www.decoratingcentreonline.co.uk/purdy-paint-pail.html

This is my best buy, it's very comfortable to hold and has a magnet for your brush. I use the liners so I don't need to clean it after use.

How crucial is your masking? If it's something where there is the risk of it bleeding and looking terrible I'd go for the frog stuff.

Personally I didn't get on with one big thick dust sheet and preferred the thin stuff on a roll https://www.screwfix.com/p/fortress-dust-sheet-roll-50m-x-2m/457fm

B&Q do a 9" roller tray, with liners, and a sealed lid. Makes clean up and storage between coats a breeze.

Thanks all for your replies - very kind!

@Mr_Smyth

you do realise the woodwork will probably look iffy once the walls are done unless it’s been done in last couple of years.

I hadn't thought about that ... I know it was completely redecorated within the last 7 years, and the woodwork looks fairly good to my untrained eye, but currently everything is white. I appreciate that it might look very different with colour on the walls. I may well be coming back for more advice down the line if I decide that I need to do the skirting and door frames as well!

@Haggis

https://www.decoratingcentreonline.co.uk­/purdy-paint-pail.html

This is my best buy, it's very comfortable to hold and has a magnet for your brush. I use the liners so I don't need to clean it after use.

This looks great for the brush and small roller - I will buy one and a set of liners.

@aggi

Good tip on the dust sheet - I will amend my plan accordingly. I think the masking will be very important, as we're keeping the ceiling white and going a relatively dark colour on the walls. You reckon the stuff I linked will be naff and Frogtape masking tapes will work better at getting a sharp line? If so, definitely a false economy to go cheap and I will go for the Frogtape.

@stevo_com

I had a look on the B&Q website and struggled to find it (which reminded me that I hate that website). Is it something like this plus some liners? https://www.diy.com/departments/goodhome-woven-polyester-medium-pile-roller-set-4-pieces/5059340016696_BQ.prd If there's any chance you can remember a brand or dig out a link that would be really helpful. I was thinking I'd go for 12 inch rollers just to get it done quicker (and I have a 4 inch roller for finer stuff). Or is there a good reason to go for 9 inch over 12 inch (said the actress to the bishop)?

It is exactly that. I've only ever used 9" as that is often what is most readily available when I walk in somewhere and remember I need rollers. Then also because i usually already have 9" trays.

These are the liners

https://www.diy.com/departments/goodhome-240mm-roller-tray-liner-pack-of-3/5059340016870_BQ.prd

Their Good Home rollers and extension pole are also OK.

Possibly wrong thread but has anyone had velux windows replaced or repaired recently ? We have several that are leaking and have rotten frames, waiting on some quotes atm, trying to get an idea of how much it will cost

no dimmer switch, just a regular on off switch

i'll replace all the bulbs and check the halogen driver

thanks all

@ILb we have had velux's replaced and repaired - the repair was a blown double glazing unit and replacements were switching from 25 year old velux's to new inset conservation velux's. Both repair and replace is fairly straightforward. Obviously matching the size makes it a lot easier for replace. We had three replaced in a day if that gives you an idea of the complexity. Cost of the replacements was ~£800 not including the units, that also included some lead skirting and a few slates that naturally got broken.

The Frogtape works very well. When we moved into our place it was freshly decorated but white walls throughout so we painted a fair few rooms up to a third height just to quickly get some colour into the rooms and we didn't get any bleeding at all.

Cheap stuff sometimes doesn't adhere as well and you get little spider legs of colour. I normally have some cheapo stuff as well which I'll use for dust sheets and stuff.

Splashback is the tile / glass bit behind a sink. what are you wiring and where ?

I saw someone on Instagram recommend that if you do a first pass on the masking tape with the base coat then apply your top coat/colour you don't get that bleeding issue. Not tried it yet so cannot confirm.