Home DIY

Kitchen woes continue. I am the arsehole as the measurer can't seem to understand email me and not do what was agreed about discussions possible compensation for the wrongly speced units.

Sorry lynx, I haven't had time to reply properly to your earlier post but from my point of view, as someone who is paid to fit kitchens as part of his job, it sounds like you guys are in the right and should definitely expect compensation from the suppliers and fitters for dicking you around. If I get the time tomorrow I'll write a more detailed explanation of my thoughts, but seriously don't let some incompetent dick be the cause of your relationship failing.

Edit. These type of companies live and die by their trustpilot ratings. If you are in contact with a manager let them know you are not afraid to write a scanning review things tend to get resolved much quicker this way.

Thank you but no need as I think it is going to drag on. GF jus wants to finish the kitchen even if it not what she wants. I'm the get what you want, even tho we will have to wait a bit.

I’m sure you’ve been through this with her, and you already know it, but getting things right now (with a four week delay) will negate the niggling feeling of having compromised, a feeling that’ll be there every day for the next four years.

Of course, this logic only works if she’s sensitive to the details. Lots of people just don’t care.

Would anybody ever store volatile chemicals next to the fuse box?
(i'm assuming such people would not be familiar with the term consumer unit).

Current Wiha website prices.

Lots of people just don’t care.

I really admire and envy this kind of people from time to time. I feel my life would be much simpler and happier if I was better at don’t care.
Generally speaking. Not a comment on lynx’s situation.

When I was putting up lining paper a few weeks ago, I left one edge of the chimney breast quite untidy, thinking I would be be covering it with trim.

That was stupid, and predictably, plans have changed and now I'm not doing so.

What's the best way to try to tidy this up, short of ripping off the lining paper and starting again?

Is there some kind of tape that might leave a smoother seam I could fill over? I thought about a piece of corner trim but that might look a bit out of place and further accentuate how crooked the chimney breast is.

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Oh shit. Heard a noise in the night. A 5 metre section of stone and witchert wall had come down. Maybe not a DIY job.

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Looks like your veg patch survived at least!

Is that in London?

Nope, and I don’t even ride fixed any more. Out near Aylesbury. Wall is a mix of mud and stone.

Not pictured: 12 hours of having my head stuck in a fireplace. The cloud of shite that covered me when the closure board came off is one of the most disgusting things I've ever experienced. Also not pictured: the small fan I bodged into the flue to try and get a draught going so I didn't get too much cancer from the lime/cement/HCl fumes.

Squirrel though

ToBeCont.

a) What did you use to clean the bricks?
b) Use the wood burner sparingly, they’re are awful for the environment and your family health.

a) Chisels, acetone and sticky stuff remover (limonene?) for the foam adhesive residue (possibly completely ineffective), hot soapy water, and 1/10 conc hydrochloric. Some stains and residues still there so considering further action
b) Reports are misleading and always lump in open fires, and I've thus far found no conclusive evidence that high efficiency stoves with tertiary air supply for good secondary combustion contribute meaningfully to pollution or health issues.

She is sensitive to the details, but at the mo the major thing is the flat filled with kitchen stuff and flooring stuff, cats not happy and cousin arriving on thursday. The kitchen thing has been going on for 18 months with lots and lots indecision and fck ups.

@drøn I know what you mean. Many times I wish I was like that.

Can you not just use a new strip of paper, draw a new straight line few inches in from the edge on the existing paper and cut with a sharp blade , then hang the new strip

Try putting a little caulk over the seam then feathering it out with a clean, flexible filling knife.

You and I have had very similar weekends...

Your squirrel looks ace. I spent Saturday refurbishing the Lion I picked up cheaply on gumtree. Really impressed with the quality.

Are you getting someone in to fit the flue?

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That's some serious reconstruction! Nice job on the stove too. What's that, like, 8 kW? We looked for second hand as well but couldn't find any suitable and wanted it in before Christmas.

Yep, 8 kW. Hoping it'll heat a good portion of the house.

Built in wardrobes. I'm thinking about maybe speccing an ikea PAX and having some bespoke doors built, or having the whole thing custom made. I'm looking for a carpenter over a Sharpes type outfit. I'm in Catford. Any recommendations? @Bobbo, I seem to remember you mentioned someone a while ago?

b) Reports are misleading and always lump in open fires, and I've thus far found no conclusive evidence that high efficiency stoves with tertiary air supply for good secondary combustion contribute meaningfully to pollution or health issues.

I'd love to read more about this as it keeps cropping up on here. We live in Sweden where most people on the country side has a fire going on a daily basis. Old stoves are now forbidden here as they're very innefficient, but I still can't see how they'll affect the air inside the house if fired properly.

We're having a Morsø 1412 installed in our new home office space after new years, really looking forward to having a fire going during work hours

Gary Sheppard, Catford local. 07816 934312‬ / info@sheppardhomes.co.uk. Gets regular recs on the Corbett Facebook group, has done some stuff for me that I'm happy with.

Yes, a pretty sizeable proportion of the population have a cupboard under the stairs that contains the consumer unit and some aerosol cans of different stuff, paint and some cloth material. Apparently car or diy materials are usually carrying the biggest threat.

The change back to metal consumer units was due to the number that had melted due to arcing and allowed the fire to spread that little bit quicker. There are future plans for Arc Fault Detection, it's just become a recommendation and will probably make it onto the regulations.

I think people view the 'fuse board' as pretty inert and safe, which it should be and largely is.

The figures might shock you :-

https://blog.se.com/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality/2013/06/18/electric-arc-fault-detection-helps-put-out-home-fire/

Fitting skirting board to an old asymmetrical bay window is a horrible task