Home DIY

Yes, the ceilings are all artex, ripping it out from underneath gives an excuse to get it replastered but also turn nailing down a riser and filling a gap in to a big job lol

Looks so good! Flooring complements the other features so well.

Previous owner (cheap landlord) asphalted right up to the brickwork. I'm trying to excavate a french drain to allow better drainage and expose dpc.
After one layer it looks like concrete and can't see a dpc - do I need to dig out the concrete too or is that some kind of footing?

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Can you get under the floor on the inside? Should be able to see the dpc from there

The dpc should be above the ground level in any case. It could be slate or pitch, guessing the age from the brickwork.

Also guessing, it's unlikely to be a footing - they tend to be flaired brick footing.

The concrete might just be another previous shitty path effort, and that damp looks like it could just be splashback. Dig it up.

Cheers both - that was a fun afternoon 😑

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Fairenough, far from any expertise, is it possible that the pitch of the paths lead to the trench and is that that being changed ?

Top work - Doing all that with a lump hammer and bolster is going to hurt tomorrow!

When I did similar, I may have hacked into the footing a little more than that..

Is that down pipe just going into the soil?

Oh, we could just change the gawd awful door handles to start with. Look they are only £20 ish each, we have 15 doors Liz! Look what’s been delivered, that’s a job for the break then.
2hrs later I’m 7 door down, so much for take your time there’s no rush.
Another 2hrs later.
Shit! I miss counted! Lucky Liz didn’t it was 16 doors she’d ordered the extra 1 :D
They look so much better.

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Good work sorting this out.

DPC should be 150mm or two brick courses above external ground level
The air bricks are required below suspended floor joist level, if you are adding a french drain (perforations directed away) and sit outside of the existing footing and slight fall 1:100 should be sufficient.

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Haha - don't worry, the pick-axe is just out of shot.

The downpipe does go into a drain (now with no cover...)

And cheers for the french drain tips - I might just see how well the soil drains for a few weeks - I think it will probably be ok and maybe the pipework ain't necessary.

Good work. I did the same thing a few years ago. Patience and practice are important 😃

Ha, I wish you had done this five years ago when we changed all our doors and I wanted period door handles for them. I had to pay a fortune for the stuff you've just thrown out!

It’s not gone yet, but it is all 1990’s reproduction stuff anyway. The last owners spent a lot of time and money putting naff stuff in a 1950’s bungalow conversion.

Apparently it was 8 years ago - funny how time flies. Even then we knew we'd be moving on soon, but not soon enough to live with the old doors. 1990's repro stuff would have been better quality than the 2015 repro stuff I ended up getting. Given the price of door furniture I'd put it on eBay - you will get something for it, especially if you clean it up first.

wrong thread.

Mould. I know the idea is ventilate/regulate temp and humidity etc.

But there's a corner of our bedroom that even with heating going /windows open or dehumidifier on still seems to pick up some mould. We're planning on decorating it this month. Is there something I can do that will prevent it returning? Some kind of anti mould paint presumably won't work if we're painting a specific colour? I.e. anti mould base coat would just be covered and rendered ineffective?

You gotta work out what’s causing it, and fix the problem, otherwise it’ll always come back.

Mould needs moisture to form; find the source of that.

Lime-based plasters naturally inhibit mould growth, and are breathable.

A bit of fun DIY for a change over the weekend. Feeling left out when the kids and wife are all playing on their Switches, I took a punt on a steering wheel. Needed somewhere to put it though so put the old kitchen worktop to good use and hacked up a chair.

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Also made a pedal box.

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It's high up so realistically going to need to someone out to look which is a pain.

I wonder if it's anything to do with next door being vacant (for over a year) but it was there in that corner when we first moved in a few years ago and has come back again this winter (though less drastically with us keeping an eye on humidity). Hoping it's just condensation.

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You need a car seat for that

Agree, but I had to work with what I had in the shed!

Looks like there are salts coming through the render to the left of the circle, so it might not be coming from the parapet wall. Have you had a look in the loft to see if the roof is letting in water around that point?

Edit: assuming yours is the one on the left

Edit 2: which it obviously isn’t because the door on the right is open…

Is it second floor level? If it was me I'd get up a ladder and have a look, check the gutter, flashing, pointing/render etc. Obvs only if you can set a ladder safely. If it all looks in good condition it's possibly just an annoying corner that lacks airflow. Do you have access to loft? If so check that corner for missing insulation, anything that makes that corner colder will encourage condensation.

If you can't see a damp issue to fix, give the area a wipe down with white vinegar for an easy mould discouragement. Let it soak in a bit and leave to dry.