Home DIY

Good going. Satisfying stuff!

Thanks

Fuck. I'll give a couple of places a call and see what they charge but I guess this is going to be another shitty job on the list.

We may also have a blocked or buggered drain. It's fine until it really hammers it down then it overflows. To be fair it's taking the water from both our pitched roof and next doors, so hopefully it's blocked a bit with detritus from our roof works.

How did you diagnose? CCTV?

9" angle grinder, lump hammer & bolster, and various digging things.

It wouldn't have been possible to get any cameras into the drain, as it was all ceramic & cemented in place (including the grill / cover).

I'd still have dug it up in any case - It's the only way you'll get to really see what is going on.

as it was all ceramic & cemented in place (including the grill / cover).

Because life is not hard enough

Fuck knows what the ceramic stuff is made off too - cutting through it makes plenty of silicate dust. But also sparks. And something melty.

Sounds... fun. I can see this escalating quickly.

Even more fun was finding that I was also cutting into a mystery metal pipe buried under the drainage pipe.

No idea what is in it - luckily I only scored it before I saw it.

This is what's prompted possible drain problems. Lot of blown bricks + damp/salt on lower wall or pushing the paint off other sections nearby. Don't remember it being like this last year.

The pointing is also garbage and needs sorting, but I assume more of the wall would be damp if that was the case.

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The green suggests splashback and surface water. I'd be thinking about cutting French drains.

I'll add that to the list of things to research.

Similar joy when digging out our slope for the shed base. I found out we have power and tv/ internet for us and our two neighbours all in their own 80-100mm pipes about 30cm below the surface right along the back of our house. There was also an empty 160mm waste pipe going to the middle of our garden in case a second property was built there. It was fun to try and avoid with the digger. Only cracked one, and it was the useless one.

There was also an empty 160mm waste pipe going to the middle of our garden in case a second property was built there.

Add sink to shed?

Add loo to shed and never have to go back to the house for hours on end :)

Years ago I had good service and a decent price from https://www.burchdrainage.com/ - that was only clearing a blocked drain, but they were prompt, friendly, and not piss-takers. Still see their vans around.

Done. Sink and drain. Sink is just low enough to enable double employment, though I haven't tried it yet.

How did you diagnose? CCTV?

How much is a cheap camera these days?

Pretty sure @stevo_com bought one. Idk if it's waterproof, but I'd have thought that would be the first move, then at least you have a gauge of whether someones just going to dig it all up anyway.

I got a cheap usb one off eBay. Have to use my laptop now as my phone is USB C, so it's a bit of a faff. I very much doubt it's waterproof. Main handy use has been locating joists through down lighter holes. And looking up my nose, natch.

Hmm. A quick look on ebay and £10-15 for a camera + and £25 for a set of drain rods. Worst case I end up with slightly cleaner drains I guess.

Should have said I'm up north, but thanks anyway!

Whats the best way to fix a hole Ive made in plasterboard? One of my selfdrill metal fixings acted as a drill bit and punched a hole into the plasterboard. Wood plug and glue then plaster over it? I suspect im going to need a tub of plaster in this place.

Also, this board seems rather soft and flimsy, whats the best way to secure a TV to the wall? I mean, is there a way to secure it without relying on the plasterboard to support it?

I picked up this one which is waterproof https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NBFTAHE

It's not easy to "steer" it and interpret what you're seeing though. Not sure how clear a picture you'd get underwater, I imagine the lights would reflect off the water a bit (I'm now feeling inspired to stick it down one of my drains and see).

I bought the updated version (which I imagine is identical tbh), it's definitely helped with jobs but takes some getting used to - I think it'd be a lot easier to use if you paired it with some rods. Just electrical tape it to the rod as you feed it in.

My neighbour's house has been empty for a few years, family pop in occasionally to stay/check on it. The son is in right now and since he arrived, we have been woken up or kept up by really annoying vibrating water pipes, intermittent but can go on for 30 mins plus, vibrating through the wall, kind of like your phone on vibrate. It looks like it can be replicated by running the tap, but it has also happed at 3am when no one was up.

I popped round today and it's definitely the pipes, you can see and hear them in the basement. Most are clipped, not obviously hanging loose. I think (but I'm not sure) that the heating is off so it's probably the hot water.

I'll upload some pics of the boiler from my phone in a sec. I'm wondering if there is anything I can try as an easy fix? Not sure if a plumber will be called out any time soon and I'm really worried it will carry on after the son has left again.

Could I top up or reduce pressure, set temperature lower, is there a hot water tank somewhere that could be set too high?

Any help appreciated!

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