Home DIY

I'm going for option 2 on that list.

I'll take my measurements to B&Q and get them to use their "big saw"* to cut to size, then finish the plywood doors myself.

*This, I am sure, has a proper name

It's called a Wall Saw...;)

He reckons if he just repointed it should last about 15-20 years, or thereabouts, but then it would start doing the same thing, so he's proposing a Damp Proof Membrane (DPM) made of bitumen, which will then be covered with masonry paint (more because it's black and I don't want black walls than anything else). Apparently this keeps the moisture in/behind the wall, and add considerably to the life of the pointing, which is why he thinks its a better option, and it will keep the cellar dry too because it traps any moisture behind.

My only worry about this was what happens if the water builds up behind this layer, but as he has pointed out an underground wall is always going to have moisture in it, and it's actually very dry for a cellar anyway, so I think I'm happy to do it this way.

I'm getting him to pour a new concrete floor too, and he's going to put a DPM under that too in case water ever came up from below.

I would be VERY wary of this builders suggestions, they are likely to introduce far worse problems than they seek to solve.

There is a huge knowledge gap within the building trade when it comes to working on old houses - applying modern building techniques and materials to old houses can be a recipe for disaster.

A lot of good info here: http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussion_forum.htm

It's called a Wall Saw...;)

I call it a panel saw.
;-)

I wouldn't trust either one of those saws or the person operating it to achieve the accuracy needed for a kitchen with 3 mm door gaps.

I've made a few kitchens using HPL (high pressure laminate ie. Formica) on birch ply for the doors with a mix of Ikea and custom carcasses.

If you find a small cabinet shop with a decent saw with a scoring blade ( little backwards spinning blade in front of main blade to stop laminate breaking out) they'd cut up the ply exactly to size and you could drill hinge mortises or drawer fixings and finish edges with a laminate trimmer sandpaper and a bit of oil. A pre laminated sheet of 18mm birch ply costs between £130- 180 depending on quality of laminate. Medium sized kitchen with upper cabinets will use less than 3 sheets. The laminate is really tough needs minimal finishing and comes in a bazillion colours. I did my kitchen at home 70s orange.

Poggonpohl on the cheap.

What would I need to bribe you with to pop over and help me plan this out Mr Absurd?

I like the idea of 70's orange myself, with old laboratory worksurfaces.

I'd keep the gas taps, also.

Also- I still need to speak to your reco'd sparky, which one is most friendly right now?

I would be VERY wary of this builders suggestions, they are likely to introduce far worse problems than they seek to solve.

There is a huge knowledge gap within the building trade when it comes to working on old houses - applying modern building techniques and materials to old houses can be a recipe for disaster.

A lot of good info here: http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussion_forum.htm

Agree.
I recommended lime wash or microporous
paint to allow the old wall to breathe.
The cellar wall is bellow the damp proof course there will be moisture build up in the walls, if you seal them the moisture cannot easily vent out which will cause problems the least of which would be the seal 'falling off'

I like the idea of 70's orange myself, with old laboratory worksurfaces.

I'd keep the gas taps, also.

Yeah exactly the look.
I've got solid Iroko Worktops which was what was used in labs back in the day.
It's not very cast iron friendly though. Lots of black rings now.

What would I need to bribe you with to pop over and help me plan this out Mr Absurd?

As I do this shit for a living, money works well.

:-)

I'm sure we could work something out.

Also- I still need to speak to your reco'd sparky, which one is most friendly right now?

Did I give you Marty's number?

As I do this shit for a living, money works well.

:-)

I'm sure we could work something out.

Puts vintage Mavic groupset back in draw

Money works, are you free to pop over in the evening at some point this week?

Mavic?
Pah! Suntour Superbe Pro next....

I'd happily come and give advice for a few beers.
But you'll probably want to master Sketchup or something similar and draw it all up properly.
Very busy finishing off a vile black marble bathroom for a millionaire this week, might be finished by thurs.

Hah- grab me an offcut for making pasta on?

We have gas and central heating!

Tomorrow adding more back boxes for plugs, Sunday laying path outside house.

the trusty makita packed up on friday, enter the new dewalt 717, yes, nice, very nice

Bit wordy but I am stumped so thought I would give all the background.

Odd one. We have a mains socket under the stairs which is supposed to be used for the boiler. I think it was a rudimentary way to make it slightly automatic by plugging in the boiler via a timer socket instead of hard wiring it as it is a fairly old boiler.

We have been using the socket for all manner of things (hoover, lamp to see under the stairs, wireless doorbell, boiler, etc - not all at once). We did away with the timer because I much prefer just turning it on for a bit when we want hot water or heating (plus I couldn't work out how to use the timer so instead of admitting my stupidity, I declared it "fucked" and threw it in the bin).

This has been fine for over 3 years until last Thursday. Some gardeners were doing some landscaping work out the front and needed to plug in a disc cutter. I asked them if they normally used it on domestic supplies and they said yes, it also just looked like a big angle grinder, certainly nothing industrial. They plugged in their extension lead, the tool span up but as soon as they touched the concrete, it crapped out.

I immediately assumed they had blown the fuse in the consumer unit, one of those old wire types. But then the other plug sockets in the house were working. It was then I found out that this plug under the stairs runs off it's own circuit with a 15amp fuse wire in the CU. I tried the lamp and the doorbell in the socket and neither worked. I then plugged an extension lead into the next nearest plug and tested the lamp, worked fine. Tested the boiler, worked fine. It's just this socket.

The fuse wire didn't look damaged but I replaced it anyway. Still no life in the socket. I went to the hardware shop yesterday and bought a new socket, fitted that, nothing.

I am completely stumped. There is something wrong between the socket and the CU but the cable goes up into the ceiling and must go into the back of the CU.

Anyone got any bright ideas?

sounds like a radial circuit (15A fuse wire straight from CU to socket). As a 15A fusewire pops at about 8xFLC (was it the correct lump of fusewire, or a bit of wire nail?!) I'd wager the large inrush load has melted a bit of the copper cabling at either the CU termination, or the socket. Check the live, neutral and earth.

Also, consider replacing your re-wireable CU with a nice MCB CU with RCBO.

sounds like a radial circuit (15A fuse wire straight from CU to socket). As a 15A fusewire pops at about 8xFLC (was it the correct lump of fusewire, or a bit of wire nail?!) I'd wager the large inrush load has melted a bit of the copper cabling at either the CU termination, or the socket. Check the live, neutral and earth.

Also, consider replacing your re-wireable CU with a nice MCB CU with RCBO.

Would love to, but it's a rented flat. That would have been one of the first things to go if it were my flat.

It was the correct fuse wire in place and I refitted correct wire. The stuff that was there didn't look broken but I had some wire so replaced it anyway as a sanity check. I replaced the socket and took off a few inches of cable when doing so to make a "fresh" connection.

Must be something in the CU. Will email the landlord tomorrow and plead ignorant.

Unless, somewhere buried in the wall, floor, etc., there's was a joint that's now open circuit..

If it's a renter though fuck it, claim his contractors have caused damage which means you've had no hot water.... Partial rent rebate for the month!

I very much doubt there is a joint. It's about a 10m run with one end at the CU and one end at the socket. Nothing else off the cable.

Very busy and sunburnt day yesterday.

Getting on with the front garden whilst the weather is nice - I reckon 3 more weekends we could have it done.

I spent most of yesterday queuing for the dump with bags of rubble it was boring until it kicked off as somebody drove in from the wrong direction and was nearly dragged from his car*

Next step is to finish the drain 'making good' and then do some re-pointing and replace some lintels.

Besides needing an accro (sp?) is it generally a straightforward thing to do?

*not by me.

What would people recommend for painting taped and filled plasterboard walls?

Google is giving me conflicting arguments for diluted paint/diluted pva/plasterboard primer

I've got about 100m^2 to cover so keeping things on budget is a consideration.

thanks

Moog, how happy are you with your seams? I am finding that getting the taped+filled seam absolutely dead flat is a bit of a pain/I'm no good at it.

So- any advice very welcome.

Ended up going for wide smooth feathered in joints rather than flat. The nature of the pitched roof, beams and awkward metal work has meant we had loads of none tapered edge joints.

I'm hoping that matt paint will hide/not highlight the bumps too much

Issue I seem to have is that when trying to get the joint totally flat I end up leaving it slightly concave, which is hugely frustrating.

You can only see it (when painted) if you put your head next to the wall and look down it, if that makes sense, but it is annoying so I will fill and sand again.