Home DIY

Anyone wants free pink plasterboard and metal studs? It's cut but not that much. Slim chance prob but let me know if you want to pick it up from SE16
(https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/380008/)

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Anyone retrofitted trickle vents?

https://youtu.be/DlGoG2CdLAk

Is it one of those things that will turn out to be an absolute cunt of a job despite the simplicity of the YT video?

Don't the windows have a "tiny bit open but locked" setting?

No. They're very cheap.

I'm trying to draw up a long list of things to help with winter energy bills.

I'm hoping trickle vents will help to reduce moisture on the cold external wall of the house and prevent/reduce mould.

I’d have a check, even the cheapest windows usually have them. It’d probably be a lot more cm2 opening than a trickle vent though I guess.

In the vein of dbr's question, can you replace the 'window keep' with a double ?

http://www.double-glazing-parts-repairs.co.uk/universal-window-keep-erkunim

Still staying on windows. If anyone's interested I had my first quote through for retrofitting double-glazed glass and draft proofing for a bay window sash set - £5000

Not sure what to make of that, considering that there are other windows that also need sorting, I think it may actually be cheaper to not bother and just turn the heating up.

Draft proofing them is relatively straight forward DIY - if they are in good condition.

As before, retrofitting double glazing is basically (or should be) ripping the lot out and replacing everything, so it’s going to cost you.

That’s the thing!

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I have down this. Albeit, I replaced old vents and didn’t have to drill holes for air to pass through. It was easy enough. If you have to drill you don’t have to be too tidy, the vent will cover any small errors. The bigger concern was working on a ladder as it takes a bit of precision drilling the holes to fit the vent covers.

Cheers.

I'll also check out the catch things. The only thing is in my head the trickle vents are a continuous way for moisture to leave vs a proper drafty opening.

If its just one window you want to have sort of some air movement past then just adjust all the catchs to be looser (summer setting is what id call it!). So even though its closed and locked small amount of air gets around it. Let's in more noise than regular trickles though, they have some pond pump filter material inside too dampen noise.

Got some new window deliberately without trickles so kept the noise out better. Massive improvement over the old budget windows. However the downside is it's approaching airtight so have to defo open them to vent a fart ridden bedroom out in the
morning.

The seal around the perimeter of many dg windows is the same stuff you can buy a tub of it from toolstation thats enough to do 3 or 4 windows for about £22 which defo worth doing it your windows are more than maybe ten years old. New rubber is nice and supple so after some adjustments you can get an almost air tight experience.

Apparently is a good idea to loosen off window adjusters for summer anyway as puts less pressure on the seals, especially when very hot as allows not room for units to move/expand /contract with damaging the seals.

I did some work on windows a few months back using linseed putty. I didn't get round to painting it and it's now cracked. Presumably the answer is just to fill the cracks with more putty and then paint it, but where can you find oil-based black gloss? Everywhere seems to have switched over to water-based.

Any pro paint shop will have oil based usually. That’s what I use where possible - much easier to work with.

Presumably the answer is just to fill the cracks with more putty and then paint it, but where can you find oil-based black gloss?

Hit it with Zinnser BIN then a water based paint will work over the top

Rip out shitty skirting and replace with pre-painted replacement or heatgun/sand/prime/paint existing?

Or just live with shitty skirting.

Fitting skirting well is a bastard of a job. Stripping and painting skirting is a bastard of a job.

Depending on the age of the house and quality of the existing skirting, I’d be leaning towards strip and paint tbh.

what part of the existing skirting is shitty? would be minded to agree with Nef, and depending on how it is, perhaps just a rub down with sandpaper and couple of coats of satinwood might do the trick?

I'd agree with @Nef and @CYOA after having ripped all skirting and re-installed and painting in my Victorian house ...

Thanks @Nef @hvsds and @M4xime

"perhaps just a rub down with sandpaper and couple of coats of satinwood might do the trick?" this appeals the most so far.

It's a small spare room I'm turning into an office but I've actually, for once, made an effort with prepping and painting the walls so it seems a shame to have crap skirting beneath them.

I'm also tempted with a new floor of some description - prob just some kind of LVT. Something that can take my weight on as swivel chair 22 hours a day (I'd put a rug/runner down, I'm not a complete monster). If so, shouldn't that go underneath the skirting? Which brings me back to ripping it off and putting on new?

You can lay edging bead but yes if you are relaying flooring then fresh skirting will be better looking. Expect to fill lots of blown plaster and nail holes

Interesting! I've got some of their Bulls Eye 123 in the shed, would that work?

I need to cut this central rafter to then box out for a new/functional loft hatch.

Is is worth temporarily bracing/connecting to adjacent rafter it from above whilst I chop it? Or is that overkill?
No other loading on it in the loft, just holding up the ceiling alongside its neighbours (spaced at about a 35cm or so).

There’s also something I didn’t expect in that the rest of the loft not above the landing (and thus ceilings in the bedrooms) is raised higher up - though maybe that’s just a design quirk.

edit: bit of googling (like here) suggests I very much should brace from above temporarily, so will do exactly that.

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Had a good go at removing all the old tiling in our downstairs shower and loo today. Plan is to stick up some insulated plasterboard and put a washing machine in there, and plumb in a new toilet.

Got directions from a sparky mate on how to get power safe in there, but I’m wondering if I should leave the old moisture barrier up, if it’s all a bit tatty anyway.

The boards I’ll be putting up will have a build in moister barrier but I’m considering leaving the battens up and screwing into them instead of dot and dab or foam adhesive (foam seems to be getting good write ups these days.

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The only thing is in my head the trickle vents are a continuous way for moisture to leave vs a proper drafty opening.

When there's enough wind pressure for trickle vents to provide a meaningful amount of ventilation, all the other leaky parts of the house are probably more than adequate.
Even when they are closed, trickle vents always leak some air when it's windy because they are flimsy crap.
They make windows noisier because you've cut a load of holes through it.

Without taking the glass out and checking for screws holding a reinforcement in place, the only way to find out is drill a test hole.
Removing the sash from the frame is all well and good until one of the screw holes straps... or you drop the sash.