Home DIY

The issue is that you’ve got a concrete floor that doesn’t leave anywhere for the water to go. Is it completely flat?

Guttering would help to some degree. I wouldn’t bother with wooden beaters - they’ll be sitting in water. It’d be much better on concrete bearers.

http://www.montonfencingmanchester.co.uk/concrete-fencing?product_id=188

Yeah, so it's probably rain water running off the roof hitting the slab, then splashing up and hitting the cladding. The cladding won't really dry well once wet because of where it is.
I'd just replace what's rotten, then put some guttering on the Shed to stop the run off falling directly onto the slab

Edit: just seen the diagram, are the runners directly on the slab. If so that's not good. You could raise them with paving slabs so they don't sit in water?

12v acdc Led spotlights that flicker....tell me more? How do I fix?

Shelves Pt.II

The eagle-eyed might spot my second fuck-up, but I think the first one is quite well hidden.

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Looks neat. When I’ve done similar shelves, I’ve run a rail underneath the front edge to finish it off and hide the rails on the walls.

That’s probably a bit fussy for a laundry cupboard but then again, I always cut plugs to hide screws too.

I think I'll probably go as far as painting the battens and leave it there - I think (hope) once the shelves are oiled and the battens white they'll be a bit less noticeable.

Some roof felt used as flashing would do the trick, good dose of bitumen along the top edge and tuck the bottom well underneath...

Cheers for the feedback.

@%~} The concrete bearers look like the right option, but a logistical nightmare. I guess if I could find someone to deliver them and someone to help install them.

I like Backstop's flashing idea, especially as I have some felt left over from when I redid the roof.

I think I'm going to go with:

• treated wood + ronseal fence paint
  
• double up the fence side bearer
  
• paint outside bearer with roof paint
  
• felt flashing
  
• guttering
  
  

Idk how long we'll be here, but that should make good for at least 3yrs and if we stay then we'll likely have work done so I'd be able to organise concrete bearers.

I'll also keep an eye out for cheap / free paving slabs.

I need to fill some holes in exterior brickwork but they need to be redrilled as it's for hanging out front gate. Looks like it's been filled before but it's very sandy and the top area won't hold the weight of the gate when it's swung open.

Quite a few different types of products out there but wondering if anyone has done this before?

We will kill, er I mean bake, again!

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Possibly a silly question, but do I need a special product to treat the cut ends of pressure treated wood, or can I use the ronseal fence paint I have spare?

Cheers.

Is the hole grossly oversized?
You might find a Shield anchor loose bolt does the job without any filler.
Toolstation has a range of no-name, Rawlbolt and for those feeling flush Fischer.

It's got a M10 plug in there at the moment, but the main problem is the brick has been filled badly with some sort of sandy shite. I get the feeling I need to dig all that out and fill it with something really solid, then drill fresh and probably use those anchor bolts.

It's a good idea to soak the cut ends in preserver for a couple of hours as the inside of the word you've exposed won't be that well treated compared to the original surface.

Then fence paint to help out, if it's in the ground not going to help a lot. If outside then it'll help weather proof.

sandy shite

Probably some on-site knocked up sand/cement mixture,
with insufficient cement by the sound of it.

A non-slumping epoxy repair mortar would be ideal,
(apologies I no longer have ready access to such materials),
but no-one sells just a cupful!
Toolstation item 46209 is the kind of thing,
(don't know for certain it is non-slumping),
but at £25/4kg it makes a small diy job kinda pricy.

I queried the freshly cut ends when we had a new fence - the contractor used a copper carbonate based end seal, then left me the remainder of the unused tin which I've since used on other things. It appears to work and can be overpainted once dry - just painting with ronseal might be ok but I'd imagine it sits on the surface as opposed to wicking up the end grain.

I used some epoxy cement in a contractors tube to do this job. It worked very well, surprisingly well in fact.

You could cement a bolt in cut it down and then put a nut on it as an option.

I bought a 'pipe' brush to get the remains of dust and stuff out of the hole after drilling. Apparently it works better than hoovering. It formed a very strong bond.

Thanks guys, got some Everbuild Anchorset Green on order with some wall anchors. Some reviews said you can fit the anchors in before the epoxy sets. Should give a nice solid fitting!

Been a long time since I've dabbled in the dark arts of tongue and groove - what's my best bet these days? A router? My handtools are all long gone - I don't want to have a buy a router but if it's a guarantee, if it's quick then I'd be tempted (though I'd also want to plane and thickness the wood I'd be using which is more cost I'd rather avoid. I've got a couple of planes still but not sure I can face it).

Alternatively, is there somewhere I could send a load of mucky timber to get planed/thicknessed and in some cases t&G'd? Is that something places do (i.e. collect other peoples wood, sort it, send it back)?

If not - is there any online service I can place an order with that would sell me me 2 x 160*50cm*40mm planks cut up with a tongue and groove ready to be joined to form a 100*160cm surface?

Obvs wider than standard 20-22cm so, if wood, it could be multiple t&g equalling that total or could be whatever - doesn't matter what material - just solid at 40mm (work surface / can ply withstand t&g?).

Cheers for the comments on the preserver.

Although it seems a bit much to spend for 6 strips of wood, I guess it's the sort of stuff you can keep for future use.

I heard it keeps well...

Definitely not a DIY job here but thought I'd share a pic of the steel beam that was 'supporting' our balcony until a few days ago.

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I've got this glued joint that I didn't clamp properly. I'm being anal I know but id like the to close it. Thinking of using a Japanese saw to slice through it and reglue it. Does anyone have a better idea?

It's pva(titebond ii) and oak

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All done, thanks for the tips. I did consider lifting floor boards as others mentioned, but was worried about the number of floor boards i'd need to lift in order to be able to get enough access to lift the hearth fully.

There are few tiny bumps, but generally much more level than it was previously. Is it worth trying to seal it? Its quite thin at one end.

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is there a non-DIY building works thread? where to get advice on planning permission etc as well?