Home DIY

Patio advice anyone?

Have purchase a load of second hand bricks to lay as patio. Started to dig up what I thought was a load of soil to find a thin layer of soil on top of pea shingle on a sloping concrete base.

Plan is to level out the pea shingle, cover with anti weed membrane, then sand before placing the bricks.

Guessing as it’s got a concrete base compacting the gravel/shingle doesn’t need to be as thorough?

Anything else I’ve missed?

Finally got round to starting this plastering course, definitely chucked in at the deep end. Pretty chuffed with this for a first attempt ever!

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Very impressive, especially considering you must have been crouching down the whole time. :)

Haha! The instructor showed us where to collect steps to reach up and immediately said "Not you, you don't need them"

So did he give you any negative steps instead?

They just excavated a hole for me to stand in

Very good, that would have provided a learning space for the hole-digging and hole-filling courses.

I'm debating putting up a heavy punch bag in our spare room, but am slightly afraid of shaking the house down.

It's like this

A pretty burly unit. The wall I have eyed up is an internal partition wall. House is a 1930's semi, the wall is solid, I believe its made of breeze blocks, but not sure. I've drilled a few holes and they are grey coloured.

The bag is a heavy thai bag, maybe 40kg? Was planning on getting some big wall anchors to secure to the wall, or possible those fixings that glue in.

Is this a terrible idea?

Is this a terrible idea?

It's not the dead weight that's the problem, but the movement.

Breeze blocks are quite soft - certainly a lot softer than modern brick or cent blocks. I'd worry that any anchor would crumble it over time.

Chuck it in the garden with a frame made from 4x4 fenceposts, concreted into the ground.

Outside isn't an option for me. I train barefoot in shorts and have an aversion to cold.

How about chemical fixings instead of wall anchors? I have no experience with them but have heard they don't budge.

Or maybe I should just get on with the garden office / gym dream and chuck it in there.

Can't you attach it to the ceiling joists above? I've done this before. Needed just two holes and was sturdy enough for a boxing bag.

^ This sounds ideal.

Alternatively could you run long-ass bolts all the way through that wall to a plate or very large washers on the other side? Then you're just compressing the breeze blocks, which is what they like.

long ass-bolts

https://xkcd.com/37/

Where can I get MDF cut to size in East London?

Has anyone had a micro-cement finish to their bathroom?

I think @Fox might have in his fancy Japanese bathroom?

Might be wrong though...

Most B&Q's have a cutting service in the same section as the sheet goods.

@moocher I hadn't considered this. I think the ceiling is lath and plaster beneath ceiling joists. Do you think that would work better than going into the wall?

@Ndeipi I like the way you think. It would invade into our recently redecorated bedroom though.

It would invade into our recently redecorated bedroom though.

Put a picture / cabinet / clock etc etc on the wall in the bedroom to hide the plates.

Or some of those Live Laugh Love things. They're pretty original...

I'm not sure about better

My ceiling was similar, I used a big U-shaped bracket and two large screws (pretty sure I got it from the same shop as the bag) something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meister-Ceiling-Hanger-MMA-Punching/dp/B07BZX4HPS/

Next time I'd probably put a bit of mdf/ply with appropriate holes in it between the hanger and the ceiling to minimise marking the ceiling.

Finding the joists was the other issue...

Chemical anchors would probably be bare minimum. Most breeze blocks are hollow in places so you would be relying on lucky spacing not to have just a wall of cement and a big gap, that's where the chemical fixings come in.

It's not a definitely bad idea but you probably need to try it and see, it might work, it might not. It's easier to test out than a hammock!

If it falls off, you can just claim it was because of your epic right hook.

A bit of hardboard on the floor, breakdance style?

I'm not going to get away with hanging a heavy bag inside, and am planning on hanging one from a 4x4 & 2x4 frame, and slapping some hardboard on the floor when I'm using it.

I like @Ndeipi's through bolt idea - maybe with a plate on either side & bushings.

Or 2x4 against the wall with a bunch of bolts to spread the load -

I think the ceiling is lath and plaster beneath ceiling joists. Do you think that would work better than going into the wall?

I'd expect that to shake the joists & cause everything attached to crumble

They're not as fun as heavy bags, but how about a floor standing bag?