Home DIY

On the other end of what you're after, im in the middle of something similar at the moment.

Similar wind concerns as we're in the true north on a hill so it can get blustery so im planning on carrying on with this the rest of the way round. If the wall wasn't completely on the piss, I probably would have tried to drill into the tops of the caps and epoxy steel threaded rods into them.

I will be putting another couple of slats on top what's there for a tad more subtle privacy then trimming down the tops to be flush.

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I would like to turn this fence panel into a gate. Mainly as I'm blocking my existing gate with a new shed.

Its 1500mm approx and looking for absolute easiest possible solution mainly due to my DIY abilities.

Current thinking would be to rip fence panel in halfish, beef it up. Then hang both sides on either post with some hinges and have something on the top to keep them together? I can then kick through my swing doors into my garden with my bike like I'm entering a Saloon. Any easier suggestions welcome before I inevitably have to get someone to do it for me..

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this looks really good to be fair.

our neighbour is being tricky about party wall stuff - so i think i'll do what you've done to be on the safe side

My initial feelings/observations are that you've already got a gate - so if at all possible swap them around.

I think you will be unpleasantly suprised at how ropy those fence panels are even when new. However, they can be taken apart easily. I picked up a taller one that was damaged on a discount and then partially took it apart, fixed the damage and put it back together.

I've found that those concrete screws are great for concrete fence posts and make screwing into them so much quicker.

Can't recall who, but someone made their own garage doors. Maybe have a search in the thread and pm them for advice?

Has anyone had any experience with infrared heating panels as an alternative to radiators?

Fixed a leak. Get to use the Vacmaster for its actual design purpose rather than blowing in my sweaty face

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Like in the 1940s!, my neighbour says his will heat a room real good in 10mins, but attached to a wall id expect major markings (black shadows)

^or like a pub garden?

They look a bit like wall mounted flat screen tv's. Someone suggested them as the best/most economical form of heating for a property not on the gas grid.

I think they could be right, but most economical is a tough one, as in a 1850s flat would "want" heating ~5-6+ months a year but a 2012 build 5-6 days per year

I’m still undecided on oil or varnish (waterbased Osmo or Bona) for a strip hardwood floor.
bit difficult without seeing a floor done but oil is in the wood and i guess will look slightly better as maybe it will bring out the grain and variations in the wood.
Varnish slightly tougher and with a bit more sheen but it sits on top of the wood.

cost is the same, both easy to apply. the pro for the oil is it’s slightly easier to spot repair, the varnish is probably tougher and slightly longer lasting but needs a whole strip back and refinish.
opinions?

It's a 200 odd year old, stone built farmhouse in quite an exposed rural location. The infra red will be a secondary form of heating alongside a couple of log burners. Just a bit stuck with what other form of heating to use. I don't like the idea of oil filled radiators, the property lacks insulation for an air source heat pump, worried electric radiators might be heinously expensive.

I used a ultra matte osmo polyx wax oil on some maple flooring. Joiner suggested osmo was pretty universally view as the gold standard.

We have radiators connected to a lasian 45kw wood boiler. If wood is free?

Not sure this is necessarily the right place for this as I’m not sure how DIYable it is, but let’s see.

The house we bought last year has a slightly odd and ugly elevated sun room type thing built on steel supports. We not only dislike it aesthetically, but it serves no purpose as it’s too cold in winter and a sauna in summer.

Our thought is to remove it, keeping the floor to turn it into a small balcony/seating area. It gets loads of sun and would be lovely in the summer with plants and and a table and chairs.

So, I’m wondering how easy this would be to DIY or if I’d need to get builders in. If builders would it be a fairly straightforward job? Anything I need to consider?

Just at the idea stage obviously, but want to get an idea of how a big a job I’m facing.

Cheers

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I like the oil option for it’s repairability and for the fact that it just looks better.

I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will pitch in, but I can’t imagine it’d be a big job at all. It won’t be holding anything else up. It’s basically a plastic shed on stilts. I suspect builders would just smash it to pieces and make good the brickwork.
I also suspect you could do the same, or at least the bulk of it.

No need to smash it up, just pop out the glass, slip off the plastic roof and unbolt the frame work. (Of course you could just cut the sides down to the height you like, drop the top rail down and fill the gap with white plastic the same as the lower section) Put up some gutters. Repoint the bricks where it was screwed to the wall and the bit where you’ve removed the flashing. The only bit you may want to farm out is making a nice bespoke set of railings.

Fair, just implying that it wouldn’t require any particular finesse to remove. But yes, doesn’t have to be smashed up :)

Just used Osmo semi matt clear on our pine floors. We just sanded them and it is worth being aware that 'clear' doesn't mean that they will stay the same colour as it will bring out the natural colour of the wood. Didn't quite expect it to go as orange as it did but it still looks really great. I called the people at Osmo who were super knowledgeable and helpful so I'd recommend giving them a call prior to buying instead of after as I did

:) you’ve right though a builder would probably just smash it to crap and leave bits of glass everywhere. (Not all builders are the same, your experience may be different depending on mileage.)

Nothing will work very well if it isn’t insulated. Heating using electricity is expensive, probably even if you have a heat pump to multiply the kWs of electricity you put in. Even more so if you’re just converting electricity to heat (infrared panel or any electric heater).

Putting in any form of water-based central heating will be more expensive to install. Air pumps and ground pumps the same. IR panels are much cheaper to install. They’re good-ish but weird, they don’t exactly heat the air up in the same way as a radiator, but radiate heat from the panel to heat “things” ie you.

An alternative / addition is electric storage heaters - older ones are too hot at the start of the day and cold by the evenings, but I’m told the new ones are much better. That requires the installation of economy 7 (use cheaper overnight electricity to heat up the bricks in the heater, slowly let it out all day/evening).

If there was economy 7 installed in the past and the circuit is still there, get new storage heaters + IR panels. Get both with timers or ideally smart, so you can turn them on and off remotely. If no econo 7, IR panels seem fairly good to me. I have a combination of smart electric convection radiators and IR panels, and will have some storage heaters too. I didn’t get all IR, because they were more expensive and I didn’t fancy it in bedrooms personally.

Now wait for someone to disagree with everything I’ve said!

TBH they don't jump out to me as the obvious solution for an old house. Generally old buildings like that are designed to be heated up totally so that the ambient temperature of the building is raised.

@user155447 - there is a heating / insulating your home thread.
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/379366/?offset=1000#comment17017613
I think that will be the best place to ask. However, unfortunately I think you're going to need to invest in a long term system, or suck up short term costs.

Nothing to add to the other advice. But one thing I'd think about while your doing the work - especially given the comments about fixing pointing - is to build some outdoor storage cupboards against this wall.

I also wonder if you could reuse some of the glazing for a cold frame / mini greenhouse against the other wall.

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that is screaming out for a firemans pole so you can leave the house in style.