Home DIY

Can anyone recommend a finish for a light oak dining table. Also, is there something to apply before the finish to remove water marks or do I sand it all?

Back to doors.
Is there a sensible way to reverse the door opening without putting in a new door lining?

You can reverse door openings by patching where the hinges / locks were. I prefer to do it by patching in bits of timber so that they fit perfectly but his does take a bit of skill and experience. It can be done effectively using filler with patience and attention to detail, you will have to fill multiple times especially when filling where locks have previously been.

To be honest though, standard door liners aren't that expensive and if you are replastering already the cost of replacing the liners Vs the work to fill, sand, fill, sand etc. is 50/50. It's not hard to install a door liner if you are even remotely considering replacing doors I'd always advise new door liners anyway.

"Retiling the bathroom" just got a lot more fun, SDS drills make shit so much easier. Nearly back to a solid sound layer of mortar now on walls, and ply layer on floor, then I'm almost certainly just going to Marmox board everything and retile.

What's the best way to level the floor if I'm boarding rather than tiling? Presumably adhesive will allow some adjustments?

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I'm tempted to replace a ceramic hob with an induction one.

There's an identical model so all the dimensions, etc are the same. Am I allowed to rewire it (it's a 30A one) or does it need signing off or something

Was it this thread in which someone posted about jacking up their shed a few bits of timber? I can't find the post now for the life of me, or a relevant youtube video.

This the video?

https://youtu.be/2UFFx7Sslzs

It was @hugo7 doing it I think

If it's a straight swap and the kVA of the induction is the same as the ceramic it can go under the radar.

Cheers, I'll do some digging to confirm the requirements

Cheers, you're right, I'd mis-remembered it, I thought he'd been lifting the whole shed from the base. I need to get my Asguard on to some bits of timber to slide it over to the other side of the garden, although thinking about it, there's an overhang on the roof so that should work after all.

When I did my decking I got a bag of beeswax pellets, melted them down in a double boiler and brushed the liquid wax on the end grain. I can’t remember where I got the idea from, but it seems to have worked.

Water marks are hard to remove, give them a go with a random orbital sander, but you’ll probably have to remove a fair bit of material before they’re completely invisible.

Finish with Osmo Polyux if you use coasters / aren’t too bothered by marks, aging etc. or Fiddes Clear Glaze Matt if you want it more hard wearing. Two very thin coats of Fiddes worked in with a foam roller, it’s easy to build up too much and end up with a plasticy finish on the surface. Osmo is easy to apply and will look / feel the best but isn’t as durable or waterproof.

I’m due to lay oak parquet flooring in my house on to 12mm WBP ply across the ground floor circa 25 m2. I’ve ordered Wakol PU 225 so precision batch gluing is essential. Plus building a mitre guide to get started with herringbone pattern.

To cut pattern for perimeter border. I’m looking for a compact circular saw which has a side mounted guide for precision cutting parallel to wall.

Any recommendations appreciated
cheers
Almac

I’m looking to achieve this, as I have loads of interesting recesses with fireplaces

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Have you laid this type of flooring before? It's a long and drawn out process, adding a border makes it even more so.

All circular saws come with a fence that can be turned upside down and used to establish an offset from a wall. You will also need a multi tool with appropriate plunge blade to finish off cuts.

To be honest though I would not use the wall to cut against for the border as unless the wall is dead straight (and I can pretty much guarantee it won't be) any curve will not only be reflected in your cut but amplified this will stand out like a sore thumb when up against the straight edge of the border. Instead I would invest in a good chop (mitre) saw and spend as much time as needed setting it up to cut accurately. Then spend a long time setting out the floor preferably with a Japanese ink line as it gives a much more defined line. Mark the border on the floor then dry fit each cut piece until you are 100% certain that the fit is perfect.

You could do the border cuts with a track saw but you will still need a multi tool as well as a variety of different lengths of track to be able to fit into all the alcoves.

Thanks Bobbo,

I have a decent chop saw, multi tool, accurate layout for herringbone pattern. I will focus on buildup from wall, skirting line two depth border and brass inlay to establish sharp straight line on masking tape for each herringbone cut during dry fit. I will need that mitred 90’ start in the centre of the room then work back and forth toward bay window half of the first room.

thanks for the advice to dry fit first.. I plan to do everything very slowly before sticking down the final herringbone row to border and will practice with chop saw to gauge good fit. Working around the W tops/bottoms not sides of the room will be where I will be most tested. So I’m going to invest in a decent length straight edge for checking alignment. I have over ordered parquet so should have enough to practice with / destroy. Gonna need my knees to forgive me. This will be quite a challenge, but I hope a great learning experience.

In terms of moisture and expansion of blocks when is the best time of year to install?

A 'friend' just sent some pictures of a yellow pipe he's uncovered while looking for a water leak on his property and has asked if it's gas.

It's at a stupidly shallow depth and had no warning tape laid over it.

I told him to stop digging and call Northern Gas about it.

I haven't heard back from him.

I haven't heard a boom either...

So I’m going to invest in a decent length straight edge for checking alignment

Best straight edge I've ever found is............. String (it's also the cheapest). If you drop it, it won't bend or get damaged it can be a near infinite length yet roll up and be put in a pocket you don't need special cases for it and if you join to lengths together it will not mess up and have a kink at the join.

In terms of moisture and expansion of blocks when is the best time of year to install?

Herringbone parquet is more forgiving than T&G solid wood flooring the glue prevents much of the expansion, although if you regularly soak it - mopping for example you will get lipping at the joints this is because although the bottom cannot swell or move the top will although this requires a lot of moisture regularly. So it shouldn't matter too much.

I stuck a garden fork thru the yellow gas pipe at my sister's house. I called the gas people and they turned up and fixed it while I had a fag.

Ha, ha!

He's covered it back up and is getting Yorkshire Water to repair the leak. Not sure if he's called Northern Gas though...

We uncovered a yellow plastic pipe on the neighbours side, very shallow in a flowerbed when we were rebuilding party wall foundations.. no boom either but our ground workers come across this regularly, in fact expects it despite what is indicated on utility layouts from highway to house often not that accurate for proximity.

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Most utility layouts are guesswork on their part. Especially when it enters private property.

Any utility up to the meter (gas or electric) is the suppliers responsibility.

Water Companies will try and fob you off that the supply ends at the street stop tap but you should be entitled to one 'free' repair to the main stopcock inside the property. Problem is if a previous owner had one.

I have the Festool system and it's one of the least comprehensive tools I've ever used. It has a system for calculating offset that usually results in pins being drilled at different heights on the sheets. However the function of the carriage for the 5mm router bit is excellent, so if you can get your head around the offset bit it does the job very well.

It could probably be made from ply wood and some 5mm pins though. I've made jigs for all sorts of purposes, it's really hard to give yourself the time to make them properly until you realise it's the only way to do the job and it just has to be made.

Alternatively measure and drill, or cut a piece of Mdf that has a drill guide in it and a 5mm pin, you could fit a level to it or clamp a bit of Mdf to the edge of the work. My most used jigs are usually like this. If you're buying 5mm drill guides then buy a few, they come in very handy for all sorts of things.

Surprised black (HV power) isn't on there.

When I did my ground services clearance NVQ, many moons ago, the instructor told us that hitting HV is normally safer than LV. This was explained to me that the cut offs (RCDs I think but I am not a sparx) tend to be more sensitive and better maintained so it cuts off quickly. You still get an explosion but are unlikely to have some poor sod literally stuck to any uncovered line. I was very sceptical of this at the time, is any qualified person able to confirm or deny?