Home DIY

Pretty sure he does. He's so good I really don't mind paying properly. Now, just need to save up for his services!

Ha!

I'm watching these now too.

Thanks.

Probably going for this one:

as it seems to be the shallowest one on TLC's site. Although wondering if yours will require less work.

Good to see it in situ and useful point on having it hinge-side, I think that's what I'll do. Just debating a cheap pendant vs a roundy bowl light.

Anyone interested in a plasterboard lift? Invaluable for hanging ceilings- I've done every room in my flat now, and it's ready for its next owner. Tip top condition. Cost £100 new but yours for £50. Collection from Leyton or I could deliver reasonably locally...

3 Attachments

My partner just impulse bought 3 car boot loads of reclaimed parquet floor blocks for our kitchen (level concrete floor). Is laying these easy diy or should i be selling vital organs to fund paying someone to fit them?

Depends, I did a bit of both - I cut them to size (for the herringbone pattern I wanted) then got a mate to glue them down, then got a different company to sand and seal them.

I think it now looks awesome, what I'd do differently would be to cut the blocks upside down (bitumen face up) to improve accuracy.

Ta. Sounds like I better start saving the £££'s. Hoping we can settle on a square based pattern that'll mean less cutting of blocks, or else Santa brings us a Mitre saw and a lottery win.

When you discover a mysterious Heath Robinson type contraption beneath your floorboards...

1 Attachment

Does it point towards a fireplace?
Wondering if it could regulate the amount of air coming from under the floorboards into a hearth?
Fully open to get a (wood) fire going,
nearly closed to keep the fire 'in' overnight?

It's for Victorian sexy time.

The Ripper type...

Oh interesting. I assumed it was a doorbell, but it does go to the hearth. Maybe it connects to the back of an air brick or something on the front of the house.

@Airhead : sorry for cork bathroom repetitive chat.
Our bloke is coming round to run through the multiple jobs we'd like him to do (wardrobe in one room, pipe boxing, and get rid of the tiles in the bathroom.

We'd like cork floor. Tiles. As they look like the best way to replace them. In an earlier post you said something about solid floors.

Should we:
rip all tiles up (yes)
replace the mdf/whatever it is under the tiles (as i think that's got wet and is causing the tiles to pop up or the cement/glue has got wet and is dissolving.
put new base down
then put cork tiles down

OR
A better way?

Bathroom is splashy.

Sounds like you have understood the process.
Remove existing tiles
Remove damaged sub floor (probably ply, possibly some kind of tongue and groove OSB).
Fit 18mm ply subfloor fixed to joists at 200mm centres with countersunk screws
Screw heads filled and sanded
Lay cork tiles on adhesive recommended by cork tile manufacturer.

You have a choice whether to remove the skirting first.

I wouldn't under estimate the screwing down and filling of screw heads. On some floors this whole process adds a days labour. I use a 2 part filler because it worries me that a powder filler can break up but I do feel sorry for anyone who has to undo it. It's pretty normal for a thin ply layer to be attached to an exiting subfloor if it's in reasonable condition. With any glued cork or vinyl tile floor the sub floor must be very smooth and very clean when the floor is being laid. Easier to do with tiles than it is with a huge sheet of vinyl.

Those are the cables and pulleys etc for mechanical servants' bells. They will all have run from near fireplaces (or sometimes above beds in bedrooms) to a run of bells in the kitchen and/or a maid's bedroom if you have one.
I'm therefore making a guess that your house was constructed between 1850 and 1910 - after which electric servants' bells became more commonplace.

Screw heads filled and sanded

How come?

To prevent them moving up over time with temperature / humidity changes in the ply? Or so there is no "low" spot?

Great. And with cork tiles, are they all the same or is there a brand I should aim at and a treatment I need to apply?

I think removing the skirting might be overkill, but if the toilet,sink, bath panel etc are all coming up to take the tiles and flooring up....

Lovely insight!

1890 I think. Might reinstate them.

It’s not a big house though, surprised there were servants at all.

Definitely servant bells you would be surprised what families had servants in the 19th early 20th Century BobbieB thanks for the reference to electric bells

Servants aren’t too cheap these days, but good luck with the restoration.

Yup, even the most lowly of bank clerks would have had some kind of home help - whether daily or live in - til about the end of the first war.

Hey guys,
I need to replace the silicone in our shower. Do I remove the old stuff with a knife/scraper or use some chemical remover stuff?

I used a combination of a silicone scraper, a stanley knife, a chisel, and some wd40 to keep things lubricated. Took forever and my back has never been the same since. I'm never replacing that shit again.

Ha. Thanks. I'll go at it.

I also found one of these useful
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Home-Kitchen/Hultafors-380070-STK-Chisel-Knife/B004VQRJTE/