Home DIY

I'd put insulation under the final floor.

yes this is on the plan indeed

Thanks for input to door dilemma. Next up, lighting. Currently have a number of E14 screw-in spotlights which I've replaced with Phillips LED reflector lamps. Does anyone know if the lighting profile from these is dramatically different to GU10 LED spotlights? Need to buy more fittings for kitchen refurb and wondering whether to add to existing or get a load of new GU10 housings.

How difficult is it to change a ceiling light fitting? Or is that a how long is a piece of string question?

Do you just mean one of these?

If so, they're super simple to change. Just make sure you turn off the electricity at the box, take pictures of the wiring, undo and install the new one by matching your pictures.

If you're keeping it in the same position, not very difficult. Take the old light off and you'll likely find a ceiling rose termination underneath. It should be screwed to a joist to take weight of light.

You can then attach new light to this ceiling rose termination, either by screwing cover straight on (lightweight light fitting) or placing a bar behind to take weight of heavier light fitting.

If you want to move light to new location on ceiling, then it's involves finding the closest joist, routing cable, installing new ceiling rose and patching up old hole which can be difficult to blend in with ceiling.

there was definitely a shimmer last night

You must mean 'a shimmy'. :)

You might want to check the ring final circuit (ring main) because the wiring up there on the original may not be as simple as the new thing you want to put up. If its just a + & - say red and blue then it is a simple swap.
I messed it up once - switched the light on and had a light come on in the stables and the neighbours leafblower died.

sort of thing :)

It's probably not a ring main for the lighting per se, it's usually a radial but the classic three plate means that your lighting circuit loops in and out and a switch line allows you to switch the supply on and off. What you see when you open them up is a mess of wires with none of them identified and quite often not sleeved to tell you that a blue cable is actually live switch return! As a consequence a lot of people cock it up.

Not moving them so that sounds good! Thanks all

Except this, that doesn't sound fun

What's the cost of an office garden like their builds?

There is no straightforward answer to that question as they are all bespoke....But to give you an idea ours is 7x4.25 meters with a pitched roof of 4 meters high, (semi)soundproofing, partition for toilet, 3.5 meters bifolding doors and 2 extra windows and the DIY kit came at just above 20k....Does not include the slab/foundation and electricity though...If you go for a more common 2.5m high flat roof it brings the cost down significantly.

I need someone to come and oil/wax my worktops. I don't have time. Who should I be calling? Se London.

No planning considerations then?

The variability in price from some of these places is nuts - I've seen ones similar in size to the one I'm looking at, going for 4 - 5 times the price

Any handyman?

Also - euph?

No planning considerations then?

No planning needed with those dimensions as long as it's 2 meters away from boundaries (and a few other restrictions).

Agreed on prices....In my case I needed the head space (pitched roof) so I was a little bit more limited.....I had about 6 or 7 quotes from different providers for similar builds. A couple came cheaper but they looked crap and you could tell the quality wasn't there but most came higher with no added benefits...these guys came recommended, quality of materials and experience was bang on. They came across really patient, nice and helpful during site visit. And the fact that they do DIY kit allowed me to save a considerable amount...I looked at building it myself from scratch but decided against it at the end....

Yeah I thought there might be experts out there who can work with my hard wood and ensure a good finish after rubbing it down and oiling it up.

wrong thread :)

Do you have any photos of it so as to give perspective?

Seems like a good way to add space without the issues of approval.

@soul has an amazing one but his was dear if i remember correctly.

good finish after rubbing it down and oiling it up.

weird boner

This is it
https://www.lfgss.com/comments/14040935/

Mine was £16k installed:

1 Attachment

What's the current finish on yours?
I've only ever used cheap mineral oil (manufacturer recommended) on ours. Pour it on (get the thinner stuff) let sit, wipe off. Ours lasts about 6 months of medium use. By the way, our counters are 'restaurant quality' maple, meaning not bespoke fanciness, but still 1 3/4" thick and much tougher than Ikea or equivalent.

OH!! I honestly thought it was much more!