Home DIY

Any idea how I can get the rubber mushroom shapes bits into the holes. I’ve tried pushing them with no result.

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Pour boiling water over everything. Then push them through the holes

Push them harder?
Sorry couldn’t resist.
Lube is the answer

There should be no voltage on the bike itself - there’s something wrong. No two ways about it. And if it’s 160v it’s coming from the 240v supply side, not the low voltage side of the charger (which I imagine would be 24 or 36v). There’s a chance it’s just eddy currents but I’d be surprised and concerned if I got zapped by it and it was measuring 160v to earth. All kinds of wrong. It should absolutely be insulated to the point that no voltage reaches the bike.
It might only be a little zap, but that’s like saying a cars “only a little bit on fire”.
Take it back to the shop. Contact Bosch. Tell them there’s 160v to earth from the frame of the bike. It would be insanity for them to ignore you.

The actual units will be a 600 single screwed to a 1200 wide double. The wood (cheap) tops are separate across the 1200 and 600 piece, but that listing implies an 1800mm glass top.

Normally (and per the diagram in their listing, the 600mm unit is just tacked on the end, but that looks as though they’ve added a ‘seamless’ top, which wouldnt’ be an issue for you if you intend to dispose and use a different top anyway.

Thanks, I appreciate the help. I'm just trying to work out how it could be happening. It's the same with both of their bikes, my mum's is just older and gets a bit more use so maybe that's why it is showing more damage.
It wasn't really a zap, just the kind of buzz you get from a laptop when you use a non-earthed charger.

Painting stain question (answer is probably Zinniser). We recently had our bathroom repainted in Leyland hard wearing matt, a light pastel colour. Prior to that it was dark blue, F&B paint with decorator's varnish on top. There were quite a few sections where it looked like the varnish was dripping, especially noticeable after a shower.

I scrubbed down all the walls myself with sugar soap prior to painting, and in general the new paint looks great, but a couple of drips have come back again.

What's the best solution? It's not a massive area (2 x 1.5m) that I could repaint as a whole section if necessary. Just worried that zinnser or similar will leave an equally annoying patch if I only paint over that one spot. I have a tin of 123.

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It wasn't really a zap, just the kind of buzz you get from a laptop when you use a non-earthed charger.

160v is 160v - unless you're measuring it wrong, electricity isn't something you can measure on feel.

I'm no expert - unlike @Nef - but I strongly suggest you listen to him as this sounds potentially dangerous and with all due respect not time for amateur hour.

I'm 90% sure the answer to this is going to be Gardz® by Zinnser™ 😆

Any hot tips on composite decking suppliers? I started adding up joist, boards and trims on the Cladco website last night and it gets a bit eye-watering for a 2.4 x 1.8m deck.

I need composite everything because it'll be completely enclosed so no ventilation.

edit: Will probs just do a timber frame and accept it's gonna rot after 5 years. I could replace it 3 times and still be cheaper than the plastic ones.

I really wanted to use some kind of composite/recycled material for my deck for lots of reasons. But the cost meant I instead built it out of wood and just made sure I did everything possible to extend the life (post savers, treated cut ends, extra treatment for horizontal/mating surfaces, water run off etc). Expect to do annual maintenance also, but it's difficult to find ecologically responsible treatments that are actually good/well rated.

The last deck I built when I really had no idea what I was doing (posts resting on bricks, for example) was still going perfectly strong after 5 years when I moved. This one may outlive me.

Yeah, I'm sure it'll last long enough, and I could replace the joists 3 times over and still be in pocket (which should be fairly easy given the way it's going to be constructed).

My concern is it's going be ground level, but suspended on a blockwork edge and with a soakaway area underneath, into which will run some small land drains. I'll pipe some vents in too and it'll probably last longer than most ground level decks do.

Probably. But patch it or paint the whole wall in Gardz then emulsion?

Stop using immediately. Seek professional advise.

Non professional advise...... If its a cheap bike then corrosion on all sorts is going to hapoen. Best uk outdoor storage solution is to be protected from above and the back from weather, but with front open. A lean to against shed to stop almost all the rain falling on it and then plenty of air flow so it will dry asap. Avoid waterproof covers.

If could be a slight anoidic affect caused by the electrical fault causing extra corrosion (like a boat). What bike is it exactly?

What you describe is exactly how it is stored. It's not a cheap bike, hence the Bosch motor. I expect corrosion to happen on bikes used daily in the UK, but the kickstand was disintegrating far quicker than I have ever seen. Interestingly, the kickstand isn't used whilst charging as the bike is locked to a wall anchor, but as you say it's looking exactly like a sacrificial anode on a boat would.

If the boards are nailed, getting them up will be the difficult bit. Putting in new boards (ones that aren't cut to accept the posts) will be dead easy.

Good quality tools and fixings will make life easier. Buy a decent handsaw (fine for cutting decking lengths) and use decent nails/screws to fix them down.

Building a big desk, may have gone too big. Think it’s about 6cm too deep (currently 75cm deep). Would it be madness to try and trim with jigsaw?

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What’s the top?

When I endorsed 2x1 I didn’t realise you were doing a frame with it, though it was just battens on the wall…

Oh god. Is it wrong? Going to be Valcromat or however is spelled.
Going to do a centre support.

Gardz is fine patched then whole wall emulsion. Depending on emulsion you might even get away patching that too.

I think Gardz is specifically to seal alkaline filler and dusty / crumbly stuff though. I’m sure Zinnser make a more appropriate product

Ah yeah it’ll be fine with a central support.

If you’re going to caulk in the back edge you could trim it with the jigsaw, get a perfect scribe while removing your extra depth. Use a very course blade so it doesn’t wander too much and hide the cut line with the decorating.

Phew.
I’m going to do a splash back back and sides to hide any imperfections.
Trimming depth with it mounted is the challenge!

I don't think 75cm is too deep at all. Enough space to spread out plans, photographs, flow-charts, etc without constantly having to "move stuff".

Intersting, I am still thinking of doing this as I have a big sheet of 18mm birch ply in the garage - how are you planning on getting cables to the top?

Leg room is just as important as desk space/distance from monitors. I'm just short of 6' and would consider 75cm to be absolute minimum.