Home DIY

All good points @Dugtheslug, @konastab01. And as you say @aggi, I wanted to air this dirty laundry to understand what the options were.

I think I mainly want to have a backed guarantee that the roof work they've done over our loft is good enough for many years. Especially where the new lead flashing on the chimney meets the existing tile and cement. If anything goes wrong, we it's not likely the insurance will cover poor workmanship, and we don't have any agreement with the contractor.

I doubt you'll get anything worth anything from anyone going down the "official" route, other than some smiling and nodding.
If the job is signed off by the neighbour's building control officer then that's good enough for an insurance company/surveyor.
Are they a reputable company? Do they want to squander their rep by doing a shit job on something that is easy to do correctly?
I'd suggest talking to them openly and directly and asking them how they've weathered the roof, and express your worries to them.

when the carpet is up spend some time working to get rid of or improve any squeaks.it is so worth it. the painted bit and the bits under the runner could have some extra screws sent through them to tighten things up without being visible when the job is done. We made a dumb mistake when we did ours, we used some floor filler to fill but used brown filler because wood is brown and that was what was abundant not white filler because the paint was going to be white(ish). Now cracks in the paint show up more than they would have done. What paint will you use? If doing a woven runner consider putting the staples in long ways down not across ways

Thanks, will have a look re squeeks

What paint will you use?

uurm, green paint I think...though in seriousness I have no idea, I'll get to that much later (or my GF will get impatient and just buy something because she likes the colour and insist we use it)

Just for surface stuff, not structural, this is worth a watch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=46vpG9arDAM

He just uses a carbide scraper to remove the paint, and the finish ends up pretty good in the end

His other videos on plaster casting new moulds are also great if you’re into that sort of thing

Did ours last year and the heat gun and a scraper was far superior to any kind of paint stripper. Which I have generally found to be fairly ineffective. They probably used to work better when manufacturers were allowed to used toxic chemicals.

Anyone got any tips for permanently removing the squeaks without any screws shoing on the treads or risers? Currently have under-stair access.

Have at it with a sander. I did ours, which were in a much worse condition, in a day. To be fair, I just repainted the risers white and sanded back the treads to bare wood. Saved a lot of effort.

If you have access under the stairs, have a look where the current screw placements are, re-tighten and maybe add a few more. There are usually wedges as well which I have seen come loose. So, test those and hammer back in + glue.

Did you check for lead paint at all? That's my uneducated concern with using a heat gun

Didn't even cross my mind, damage to brain now done.

Although DEFRA say wear a mask and don't get it too hot (and do loads of other safety related things) and it should be fine.

Just checking that home DIY for the 24/25 season is:
-Vlogging about your “tiny home” which is still twice the size of an average UK 2 bed.
-Posting continual reels of yourself painting very large areas with very small brushes (sped up and often with the help of a spouse, child or pet).
-Applying “panelling” consisting of T&G sheets (or more usually beading trim in square shapes) on every visible surface until your 50s semi resembles a cheap theatre set of an 18th century knocking shop.
-Painting the aforementioned surfaces with the aforementioned method in extremely dark colours.
?

I’m just jealous mostly.

-Applying “panelling” consisting of T&G sheets (or more usually beading trim in square shapes) on every visible surface until your 50s semi resembles a cheap theatre set of an 18th century knocking shop.

no-one is continuing this ..

I feel it’ll all be ripped off and binned in about five years.

Hope not,, it peaked at hanging grass cloth in the square frame - with it's three shades of gray surrounding

Has anyone ever installed drip trays on their own roof? If so, how difficult or annoying was it?

I need this doing, plus refitting a gutter so it is straight and has the right fall on it, plus some pointing, plus a tiny bit of lead flashing.

The drip trays need installing onto a pitched roof that is above the flat roof of a rear extension that I have good access to via a door from the first floor landing. As such, I wouldn't need to be up on big ladders for any of this.

The first quote has come back £1300 for the work. I will continue to get other quotes, but at that price it's the territory of stuff I feel I'd rather learn to do myself. That is unless it's particularly difficult or more annoying than I am imagining.

In my head it's taking up a few rows of tiles from the bottom, screwing drip trays onto roofing battens, and then putting the tiles back where they came from.

Panelling check , but in my defence just a small bit under the stairs .

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Hole in ceiling fixed (not by me)

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This weekend I'm going to chisel off this concrete/cement along the side of the house.

Do I need a chisel? A bolster? I figure something with a wide impact surface will be better/faster.

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It depends. Once you get one bit off the rest might basically fall off.
An SDS with chisel would be nicer but hammer will work. Start in a place you can't see easily incase you do damage getting the first bit open. Eye protection.

Any suggestions for a neat, waterproof (won't be submerged but will be outside) connector for two 13A wires? Can be wall mounted but everything I've seen looks a bit bulky.

Something like this?
https://electricway.com/blog/relicon-gel-cable-connectors-reliable-protection-for-electrical-connections/

Loads of duct tape and some choccy blocks.

As a more expensive option, Wago inline splicing conector and a good quality heat shrink with an adhesive inside. Although it would be a permanent splice you could remove it later with a great deal of faff if required.
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/WA2401.html

Loads of duct tape and some choccy blocks.

I like this thinking.... 10points for spiderproof

Is it reasonable to ask why? And what brick type is it laying on, there are hole markings in that which could be assumed to be from a 'damp proof treatment' - I'd have the biggest fear to be taking the surface of the brick(?) off with it -[surface=or weak point in brick/ chunk of brick] but if you have a way to recover that go for it