Home DIY

I’m going to have a perfectly functioning 2 yo, integrated 7kg washing machine going, in SE4.
I feel slightly bad about scrapping it. Anyone know anyone in need of a short or quick fix or any charity or group who could make use of it?

New light for the living room arrived today from Germany. Most unnecessarily large box ever. Even comes with a pallet attached. Going to be this weekends project. Stand by for the ceiling collapsing.

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Well remembered! The table never made it up there due to weight (surprise surprise). Could be possibly but the spacing is about 2m between the joists so would sagging would become an issue. I'll probably put them in the shed for a while then move them into the loft or garage afterwards for final drying.

Getting this gone

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Has anyone got good or bad experiences of Victoria Plumb, esp their own brand stuff?

They have a freestanding bath that is the ideal size and shape for our new bathroom, but it's made out of 3.8mm acrylic which seems very thin. Trouble is, the only other baths I can find that are similar are £1000+ and cast iron, which doesn't seem like a great idea for a loft conversion.

Our loo, tap and heated towel rail came from them for our new bathroom.

Only 6 weeks in but all of them are high quality and look great.

No complaints with them from me.

My bathroom came from them. No complaints about the big bits (bath. Basin etc) but all the plastic fittings didn't seal well and I replaced most of them. They were shit about replacing a part of a shower screen that broke. Lots of phone calls, sent wrong part, argued it wasn't their fault.

Anyone want a roca bath, has two small chips in the enamel. Were defects so bath being replaced.

Anyone want it?

I guess eventually I'm going to have to take on all the dodgy internal doors/knobs in this house. They're pretty in their 'shabby' way but the fact that some knobs/spindles are loose and fall apart when I turn them, others have to be turned clockwise fully then turned anti-clockwise to full hide the latch and close it, others the latch gets caught behind the latch plate etc... They'll need some attention at some stage whether repair or replacement.

Is there a good resource (a book or website or something) for learning about this sort of stuff? Seems basic but there are a multitude of issues and I'd like to do it properly.

Generally, locks are a bit like caring for bike drivetrains. They just need to be clean, not too worn, and lubricated if necessary. What’s more complicated is sagging doors due to poor hanging or movement in the building. So check alignment of the latches/plates before you start pulling them apart. Latch springs also weaken over time.

Q: should I repoint this garden wall with lime mortar or cement given that:

a) a scary amount of the original lime mortar seems to be very weak / turned to dust.

b) it has a hell of a link/ lean further down, probably because of degraded footings & being built against with another skin of bricks on the other side.

c) some of the bricks are already a bit frost damaged.

d) it is already painted, doubtless not in anything breathable/ and will be painted again.

I'm leaning toward cement as it'll likely be a bit stronger and might hold it together by brute force a bit longer, even though it's not the 'right' thing to do .

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If you use cement, the bricks will be fucked worse and quicker.

Lime mortar is softer, permeable, and it moves.

As the wall moves in warm and cold, and wet / dry / frost, the lime mortar will suck up the moment instead of the bricks. Then you just repoint.

If you use cement, it resists movement and water, and the bricks suffer, with spelling and crumbling.

Pointing with lime is pretty easy, and for a wall like that, plane pointing would be fine. Just remember to wet the brick first, and consider protecting the brick with a sheet after.

I may have a thing for lime mortar...

Cool, where do you get lime that isn't crazy money? Also do you care to explain to me the difference between hydraulic and hydrated to me? And is it worth adding plasticiser to the mix?

I guess painting with Dulux Weather should would defy the point of all that?

Its hydraulic you wamt - hydrated lime is quicklime.

NHL 3.5 will probably be OK for pointing, and is as easy to work with as cement mortar.

I tend to buy the pre-pack stuff (20kg aggregate, 5kg lime, with the aggregate colour matched) for ease, at £10 a pop.

When I get round to rendering, I'll be buying a 500kg bag for £80/ish.

You could just lime wash instead of paint. Or use a clay paint if you want fancy pants colours.

I'm after some more original hinges for my internal doors. My mate has a similar 30s house and has these. Any idea what they're called and where I'd find some?

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Rising hinges

Cheers. Bit worried about how the limewash will sit over the existing paint, bit hopefully the overall effect will be alright.

Will probably have a go at mixing some mortar up myself as I have a load of builders sand sitting in the garden.

Wonderful, thanks very much!

Started painting my garage walls and floor on Sunday. Just need to wait for it to dry, it's taking ages!

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Looks like the render around the window for the downstairs bathroom has disintegrated.

It's powdery and just falling away.

Obviously it needs replacing but anyone have any idea as to the possible cause? I don't just want to repair and have it happen again...

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Water ingress from the top of the window?

Could be; the only thing that's odd is that the top is blown (as you can you see from the photo) but the middle part of the window is solid.

The bottom is the worst bit (the bit where it's come away).

Not sure how water entering the top would have fucked the top and bottom bits and left the middle alone...

Looks like it could have been poorly mixed too. It's not uncommon where there's no room for expansion/contraction that a small crack opens up, water gets in, freezes and expands the crack then stays wet and eventually destroys the mortar. There would normally be some kind of frame sealant to help avoid that.

A little shrunken head would look great in that hole though.