Home DIY

Also, anyone used these guys before - http://www.mdfcuttosize.com/

Want a desktop cut to the width of my second room. Standard price for 2000x750x30mm delivered is £60, sound reasonalbe?. I'm interested in the melamine faced stuff but can't find any info on extra cost. Will have to give 'em a call

To be honest most timber merchants will cut MDF to size, I tend to find PJ Johnsons cheap, easy to deal with, and they deliver in London.

Realise this is the DIY thread, is it still ok to ask questions about hiring professionals to do your DIY?

Flat I've just bought has a potentially very useful loft space (which I actually own, unusually for leasehold) but at the moment it's neither very accessible or useable. I'm interested in having a larger hatch fitted if possible, a ladder and light installed and boards fitted. Some of that I would attempt myself, but there are companies which will do that whole thing.

Thought I'd ask on the (probably unlikely) off chance if anyone had done something similar and had any advice?

Ta

(I did manage to successfully stick a new coat of paint on the bedroom walls this weekend. It's a start)

I fitted one of these as it didn't need a particularly big hatch so I could get away with enlarging the hatch without chopping through any joists http://www.ladderstore.com/loft-ladder-range/loft-ladders/alu-fix-concertina-loft-ladder-2-46-2-73-m-1.html

Enlarging the hatch, fitting the ladder and a new cover and boarding over took about a weekend. Not too tricky

To be honest most timber merchants will cut MDF to size, I tend to find PJ Johnsons cheap, easy to deal with, and they deliver in London.

Glad to hear you've moved at last. This lot in Kentish Town will cut stuff for you... http://www.buttles.com/html/how__where__when.html. Think it was the price of the sheet plus £1 per cut or something like that. Sure it'd be less than £60 for some MDF.

I did a loft hatch at ours - happy to pop aver and have a look for you. Sure you could DIY it.

Cheers gents. Will investigate Buttles and see if they've got what I'm after.

Got someone coming round to offer a quote for the loft business on Tues. Unless it's hideously expensive I kinda like the idea that the whole lot could be done in a day.

Dave, you're welcome to drop by any time regardless. Just get in touch one way or another to check I'm gonna be around.

Fuck stripping wallpaper, paint, rubber, rust, grease, whatever, ever again- I have to get one of these:

Laser Cleaning Removes Rubber Residue .wmv - YouTube

Also, anyone used these guys before - http://www.mdfcuttosize.com/

Want a desktop cut to the width of my second room. Standard price for 2000x750x30mm delivered is £60, sound reasonalbe?. I'm interested in the melamine faced stuff but can't find any info on extra cost. Will have to give 'em a call

Yes, Mrs Quinn used to use them a lot for odd board sizes when she was making and selling mosaics. Nice chap, does exactly what he says on the tin.

Anyone know a washing machine repair person/place?

Sounds like either the bearings are shot, or that there is something trapped between the drum and the tub.

The tub is a bonded unit with the drum inside, so I cannot take it out, or get between the two parts.

These guys: http://www.appleyards.net/

Just replaced a door seal on our machine.

We didn't choose them - the landlord did - but they turned up and did the job.

I just disassembled my machine, I don't think that anything can have got in between the drum and the tub- too tight, too well sealed.

I reckon the bearings are FUBAR.

The machine is 2 years old- out of warranty, but I don't think that 2 years is a reasonable lifespan for a machine, where do I stand, do people think?

Once out of warranty, manufacturers/merchants will just tell you that you've overloaded it and it's got nothing at all to do with their built-in obsolescence.

A washing machine man told me that a full load in manufacturers terms is roughly half-way up the door at the most, which in turn is roughly half of what normal people put in their machine.

Hoover.

I think Dug may be on the money. Sadly.

If the bearings are shot you might be able to replace the unit that holds the bearings and connects to the drum - on my old machine it's a three-armed contraption, bit like a large crank spider.
However, your machine may be non-serviceable in that respect, or the bit might be horrendously expensive.
Worth a look though, cheaper than getting a new machine every third year.

Or do an Obree and make a world-beating bicycle out of it.

I'll order a new machine, then move the noisy one into my workshop for "mending".

Gents, just wanted to check something with you. I had one of these installed in my kitchen.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/mk-logic-plus-1-gang-2-way-dimmer-switch-mains-low-voltage-400w-white/48466

It died. First it stopped working as a dimmer, but still worked as a light switch. But then I noticed it started getting really hot, so hot the plastic eventually cracked. A fire hazard of course to I de-installed it. Screwfix were great and sent me a new switch without fibbing. But before I install it again I need to check whether this happened because of me overloading it.

I had it running two of these:
http://www.madeindesign.co.uk/prod-e27-pendant-by-muuto-ref5112.html

One with a 60 W bulb and one with a 100 watt bulb. These kind of bulbs:
http://www.lamps-on-line.com/globe-120mm-230v-100w-e27-clear.html

Am I OK to install again or would that be heading to crazy town?

Also, anyone used these guys before - http://www.mdfcuttosize.com/
Want a desktop cut to the width of my second room.

Maybe I'm answering too late, but I would really not want to use MDF for a desk, of any size. I tried once and the material started to sag. I suppose you could if you made a very sturdy framework underneath. But if you do intend make a sturdy framework, why not spend the £60 on some thin plywood?

Maybe I'm answering too late, but I would really not want to use MDF for a desk, of any size. I tried once and the material started to sag. I suppose you could if you made a very sturdy framework underneath. But if you do intend make a sturdy framework, why not spend the £60 on some thin plywood?

What thickness did you use? 25mm MDF is pretty strong. Having said that 2000mm is a big distance to span and will need supporting midway.

Apologies for missing replies re. the mdf business. Been too busy actually doing stuff rather than arsing around on the forum.

This is what I'm wanting to replace...

Not sure whether Ikea will sell them separately, but I'd like to pick up another of the supports like the one on the left. Was thinking I wouldn't have them right against the wall at either end so there'd only be 800mm unsupported in the centre. I'd be able to use one of the redundant legs under the middle to prevent against any sagging.

Gents, just wanted to check something with you. I had one of these installed in my kitchen.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/mk-logic-plus-1-gang-2-way-dimmer-switch-mains-low-voltage-400w-white/48466

It died. First it stopped working as a dimmer, but still worked as a light switch. But then I noticed it started getting really hot, so hot the plastic eventually cracked. A fire hazard of course to I de-installed it. Screwfix were great and sent me a new switch without fibbing. But before I install it again I need to check whether this happened because of me overloading it.

I had it running two of these:
http://www.madeindesign.co.uk/prod-e27-pendant-by-muuto-ref5112.html

One with a 60 W bulb and one with a 100 watt bulb. These kind of bulbs:
http://www.lamps-on-line.com/globe-120mm-230v-100w-e27-clear.html

Am I OK to install again or would that be heading to crazy town?

installing these in moisture rich environments reduces their working life, contaminants in kitchen/bathroom vapours deposit on surfaces and eventually lead to tracking and short circuit of electronics

replace and pop a small sachet of silica gel in the wall pattress, will help delay the next catastrophic event

OK so now at the point where we are ready to decorate the first room.

It's the home office - not a huge room - something like 10x6

All the wood work is white and I'm not changing that. I'm thinking of painting the walls grey - one darker than the rest.

Then a nice white desk (bit like Bruns) ikea high five!

But I've also got a cupboard I want to put in there - to hold cycling stuff and work bits. This is pine at the moment. Would a pine cupboard in a room like I've described look crap?

Other alternative is to paint the cupboard with some chalk paint white to match the desk?

Interested in your thoughts.

pine, pastels, forever friends patchwork curtains and accessories - what could go wrong

Washing machine- bearings screech like a feshly-stepped-on cat, if I continue to use it what's the risk?

I'm assuming the axle/bearing assembly can fail completely, but would that destroy the clothes in the machine/the room the machine is in?

could overload the motor, which could catch fire

In response to your question elsewhere - it comes down to what is considered reasonable. i.e. is it reasonable to expect that the bearings should be still in good nick after x amount of time.

If yes, then you can claim against the retailer for it to be repaired.

Which was Comet sadly, who have gone "Pooooom!"