Home DIY

Anyone know a good fencer/bricklayer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41118992

Asking for a friend!

This curtain rail is taking fucking ages... Mind you I'm on my own, only have one ladder and it didn't come with any sort of instructions. The double jointed connection pieces also make the whole thing much more difficult to work out the correct pole lengths.
Just realised I might have put the joints in upside down. Hmmmm.

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The ladder should be at a 1 in 4 angle (75 degrees), that could slip out from under you and send you through the window.

Clear some space and use it in the stepladder configuration. Be safe...

It's at 60° with big rubber feet at each end. Could lean it against the boxed in section for a bit more angle but then I'd be leaning off it to reach stuff. Stepladder configure would have me standing on the top or second to top rung with nothing to hold onto :)

Stepladder config would still be safer. I know what you mean though, you're standing on it so you get a feel for how secure it is. Looking forward to the future of the internet h&s remote policing though. :)

BBC says accidents with ladders are the largest cause of diy deaths.

Also, you shouldn't be working on your own, you should have someone there to nag you.

Hah, I panicked and leant it on the boxed section. Was about twice as awkward to do the remaining brackets but no one died. In retrospect stepladder would have been just about ok but feels like more chance of toppling over straight through the window. Especially given working at right angles to the fold.

The cat is here for the supervision ;)

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He wouldn't let you die, unless there's someone else who can open that cat food.

They'd probably just feast on my face instead.

To be fair if the cat thought the ladder was going to fall over it would probably leave the room. Canary in a calming style diy accident detection.

#remotemonitoringhealthandsafetyforthewin

Hello, was wondering whether any of the thread experts could help me out. I am having some repairs done to my sash windows. One of the ones in the living room bay window has two cables going through it, which connect us to the internet. There's currently a junction box on the inside of the window, as you can see in the photos, which turns the two cables into one.

What I would like to do is replace the junction box with the smallest possible version that will do the job, drill a hole in the new windowframe, reconnect the cables and fill the whole thing to keep the weather out.

I'm happy with the drill 'n' fill aspect but not the electrical parts - anything I should look out for? Also, what's the thin cable likely to be doing - is it an earth?

Thanks

Pictures:

That is your main BT connection and you don't own it or anything else until the first connection box in your house. If you want to change it you would need to get BT in to do it.

It's pretty simple to DIY though and you can sometimes get enough cable from the drop wire (the one that comes from the outside to the inside) to get it through the wall under the windowsill and then fit a recessed box in the wall with a cover plate. You'll have trouble getting BT to do it though or it will be expensive and you'll probably not find anyone else willing to do it. If you do it and screw it up (which is unlikely) BT will most likely charge you through the nose to fix it rather than take you to court.

Hard to identify the other wire but it might have been for a bell that rang for the whole house rather than individual telephones ringing or just an antiquated extension.

Can anyone recommend a good bathroom installer in London? We need a shower tray installing (trap will need relocating under the floor and a bit of tiling will be required).

If that ladder is the same as mine (which I bought from Lidl), you can use it in platform configuration, which feels nice and stable. Obviously that depends on whether you can reach high enough and whether you have the metal plates that lock on top of it.

I have the plates yeah, used them for the curtain rail upstairs but this ceiling is way too high!

Odd question... I am putting some batten up above windows to hang curtain rails off (can't drill into external walls as flint, so need to spread the load) and wanted to use wood that is of rounded profile so that they blend in nicely, essentially I want something that is like an architrave or skirting but rounded on both edges, could do it with a router but that is a pain. Anyone seen anything like this off the shelf?

Do you mean bull nose or radius on both edges of one face?

It is the kind of thing you'd normally do with a bearing guided router blade in a light router or on a router table if you can be bothered to set it up for a few cuts!

Bullnose I guess, ideally on all four edges. yes I suspect router will be the only way to get it done, was hoping there would be some off the shelf batten in about 4" I could buy, but guess would still have to rout the ends anyway... sigh...

Here I am again with more wiring questions:

I would like to have 2 lights running from the same switched FCU - Am I correct in thinking I can simply wire in 2 x 1.5 T+E into the outlet terminals of the FCU? meaning both lights will then be controlled by the 1 switch?

Also, the FCU has a 13A fuse in it which my research has led me to believe is too high. I will be running an absolute maximum 2 x 8w energy saving bulbs (60w equivalent). Should the fuse be 3 or 5a?

Finally, would just like to double check this is not classed as 'spur off a spur'.

Ta

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I've asked about this before, when I was installing my kitchen under cabinet lighting (which like in your case, I've worked into the main ring as opposed to lighting ring).

In your particular case, I think what you are describing is perfectly reasonable as long as the circuit terminates in two sockets which could only ever have light bulbs fitted (so, say 300W maximum). The 13A fuse protects the cable, and depending on how your cable is fixed, it will likely handle >13A anyway. But you are right, it would make sense to fit a lower amperage fuse like 3A.

I'm on the lookout for a company to supply some MDF and ply, cut to size. Is there a forum recommended wood shop?

Champion Timber are great but part of that might be that their Bromley branch is less than 1km from my house...

If it's straight cuts b and q do it.. and they usually don't even charge. But they are supposed to. 50p a cut iirc