Home DIY

Central heating pipework is completely seperate from the hot and cold water supplied to basins/sinks/showers/bath/hose etc.

If you have no gas central heating currently fitted then they'll bang a radiator under each window, run a dual copper pipe-ring round the house to connect them all up to the new boiler.

They'll want to put the new boiler wherever the old one is, and simply connect that to the existing pipework- less work for them, innit?

However, if you are on electric heating now then that might complicate the issue, as the boiler needs to go on an external masonry wall that allows the flue to emerge 30cm+ from the nearest opening window.

=Need more detail

Ok I'll try and upload a floor plan idea.

I don't have a before and after on the proper floor plan software but this is knocked up quickly in excel;

If this isn't straight forward let me know and I'll explain.

Edit - The windows aren't very visible on the rubbish quality pdf they are just above the 'en' in kitchen.

It's dulux trade. True it's pricey, but while my DIY knowledge has its limitations I am pretty convinced about the worth of premium paint.
I've used all sorts of cheap white vinyl paints in various art galleries I've worked and they really look shit.

I am just trying to understand my mistake. Would it not have happened if I had waited a few days longer? Or did I water down the paint too much when I painted or something? The tape is the bog standard Leyland SM stuff so I don't think its that?

I definitely agree about using quality paint. The Dulux Diamond stuff is very good there is a Crown equivalent and one from Little Greene. Bang for buck Mcpherson paint is very good value they do a flat oil paint which is great for kitchens and bathrooms and is almost totally matte.

I think, to answer your question, both are true if you had waited for the paint to cure fully and used a good quality tape you would have been ok. Probably. I hate using tape for this reason. Buy a decent brush and cut in by hand. The blue 3M masking tape is great, stays put but isn't so sticky it'll ruin surfaces.

Also 5 coats????? That could be the problem right there, mist coat and 2 to cover -with decent paint.

I've always found taping round door/window frames etc more of a hassle than cutting in by hand. Once you get the hang of it it easily halves the time it takes overall.

I'm trying to work out why I can't get hot water to the bath at a decent rate. Pipe is insulated. If I turn the tap down so that it's only just turning the boiler on I can get scalding water, but at a decent flow the water is lukewarm.

I have a thermostatic shower that I want to install but without a proper hot water supply it will be useless.

Is it a combi boiler? If so it is perhaps down to the fact the water coming in now is much colder. If it is a combi (the type that heats up the mains water on demand) and you want a shower you will be probably best advised to either fit an electric shower or for the best all round performance fit a small immersion heater type cylinder and a header tank to supply the shower only.

I've always found taping round door/window frames etc more of a hassle than cutting in by hand. Once you get the hang of it it easily halves the time it takes overall.

And don't cut corners with cheap 99p throwaway brushes. Last time I decorated a house I bought a set of these
http://www.tradepaintdirect.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/e/set_of_bristle_paint_brushes_1.jpg

and one of these
http://www.decorating-supplies.co.uk/WebRoot/BT3/Shops/BT3825/49D6/5FF0/E237/10A7/F5FC/0A0A/33E7/3FE0/brush_0020_mate.jpg
They were worth every penny.

£50 on a set of brushes may sound extravagent but the difference in the quality of finish and the ease with which they get the paint on is huge. The brushmate box hangs the brushes in an atmosphere that keeps the paint fresh on them so no cleaning of brushes needed when finishing up for the day. In fact, I dug the box out and checked the brushed over a year after I put them away and they were still soft and ready to use.

Can anyone recommend a decent quality sliding ward-drobe door system?
Had a look in local stockists. Wickes/Selco/B&Q
and wasn't impressed.
On a budget, but willing to pay for quality(=longevity?),
picked up some internal doors from freegle, so this is next on the to-do list.

(Still can't quite convince myself some unistrut would work fine if I could find some wheels/castors).

Repointing inside fireplace, what mortar??? I had a search on google but getting mixed info from Lime mortar, fire cement and refractory mortar.
does a ready mix bag exist for convieneince

Can anyone recommend a decent quality sliding ward-drobe door system?
Had a look in local stockists. Wickes/Selco/B&Q
and wasn't impressed.
On a budget, but willing to pay for quality(=longevity?),
picked up some internal doors from freegle, so this is next on the to-do list.

(Still can't quite convince myself some unistrut would work fine if I could find some wheels/castors).

I've used Henderson http://www.pchenderson.co.uk/ which are good quality but not cheap. Their site has a product selector thingy. Even less not cheap are separate parts available through Haefele. Haefele only sell direct to trade/account holders, best bet is find part numbers do a google search and buy from retailer online.
Avoid B&Q Wickes etc. they're shit.

^^^^ + 1 on Brushmate. No more cling film round brushes which get forgotten and thrown away, oh that reminds me........

Repointing inside fireplace, what mortar??? I had a search on google but getting mixed info from Lime mortar, fire cement and refractory mortar.
does a ready mix bag exist for convieneince

Look for fireproof screed. I used it to back a fireplace off, and it is still doing the job a couple of years later. We have a fire regularly, no cracking at all. Give me a mo, I will see if I can find the stuff I used... a ready mix tub.

Repointing inside fireplace, what mortar??? I had a search on google but getting mixed info from Lime mortar, fire cement and refractory mortar.
does a ready mix bag exist for convieneince

Look for fireproof screed. I used it to back a fireplace off, and it is still doing the job a couple of years later. We have a fire regularly, no cracking at all. Give me a mo, I will see if I can find the stuff I used... a ready mix tub. I am talking about right inside the hearth mind..... right next to the coal, wood and flame.

Here's one: http://www.rangemoors.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=1517&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=49

Another: http://www.hotfrog.co.uk/Companies/Vitcas/VITCAS-Heat-Resistant-Plaster-New-Improved-Formula-93155

And so on...: http://www.hotline-chimneys.co.uk/stove-fireplace-care/heatproof-screed-10kg-bucket.html

Im sure this would do the job, getting a wood burning stove put in having opened up an old victorian fireplace.

Cheers for the links nice one

hmm having looked at the links im not sure this is quite right, as im keeping the bricks exposed its jut the mortar in between need re pointing, scree acts more of plaster covering ??

How does one line the inside of a chimney?

Without recourse to sending primary school aged children up there with a float and spreader.

you can get flexible liners, drop them down the flue with rope attached to bottom, so you giggle it about if it gets caught on curves.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/flueliner.htm

pop a liner in > http://www.fluesupplies.com/

hmm having looked at the links im not sure this is quite right, as im keeping the bricks exposed its jut the mortar in between need re pointing, scree acts more of plaster covering ??

Reading the blurb on the links, yes, you are right. And that is how I used it to, to face the surfaces in the hearth. Not sure if it could be used for pointing or between bricks.

I tell you how I found out about this stuff, I went into a fireplace place and started asking. There's a couple on Holloway Road, and one on Essew Road - that's where I am, don't know if they're any help to you.

Ta Andrew, think that's the best thing for me to do got to go check out stoves any how. Cheers again

Can anyone help with queries up thread?

Spenceey, you can certainly have the exsting hot and cold in the bathroom connected to new pipework so you could renew your bathroom at a later stage.

I assume if the gas is not connected the house doesn't currently have central heating? If so pipes will need to be run every where. You could take up any floor coverings as prep. Also if the floorboards are good and you want to sand and finish them instruct the fitters to raise entire floor boards rather than just cut access holes. Plumbers and electricians can be right thugs with floors as they assume or want to believe that everyone has fitted carpets.

The boiler doesn't have to go on an external wall although this is what boiler engineers like to do as the flue run is shorter and easier. Modern condensing boilers can go many metres from where flue emerges.
I moved mine 4 metres last year and bought a new flue kit.
There are also boilers which use twin pipe flues which can be up to 10 metres away from exhaust.

The boiler doesn't have to go on an external wall although this is what boiler engineers like to do as the flue run is shorter and easier. Modern condensing boilers can go many metres from where flue emerges.
I moved mine 4 metres last year and bought a new flue kit.
There are also boilers which use twin pipe flues which can be up to 10 metres away from exhaust.

http://www.keston.co.uk/our-products/c-range/30c/

now upto 21 metres.
(No commercial interest in Keston boilers,
had a good chat with one of their tech guys at Ecobuild in 2011).

Paint. Paint, paint, paint. If you want 'heritage' colours and a very flat, chalky finish, get Little Greene Absolute Matt. Want it flat but a bit more durable? Intelligent Matt. Their eggshells are also lovely. Way, way better than F&B. Looking for a vintage white rather than a stark white? Shirting. Fucking lush. God, all this talk of paint has given me a semi...

I've used Henderson http://www.pchenderson.co.uk/ which are good quality but not cheap. Their site has a product selector thingy. Even less not cheap are separate parts available through Haefele. Haefele only sell direct to trade/account holders, best bet is find part numbers do a google search and buy from retailer online.
Avoid B&Q Wickes etc. they're shit.

Many thanks for the reply.

Funny thing about Hafele,
I saw one of their shops last summer,

but it was on the road out of Bodrum, Turkey.