Home DIY

Where are you based? I have a £60 Karcher one taking up space in my garage that you can have.

Have a look on FB Marketplace, we got a decent Karcher for really cheap.

Mates got a middle aisle pressure washer and it cleaned up their patio perfectly, so Idk how fancy they actually need to be for occasional use.

I've got a baby karcher (k2?) on permaloan from my mum. It has the patio attachment which is fairly good Imo. If you're thoughtful about how you pack it down it doesn't take up too much space - which for me is important.

You can also easily get a range of attachments like foam guns as well as spares.

I've got a Karcher K2 which is the cheapest model and ~ £60 I think. Plenty powerful enough to get rid of most muck and also risk washing out the grout.

I did end up buying a few extras (the patio attachment and variable wand) to make it more usable so you may be better getting a set with those in, although I generally got them by setting up price alerts and getting them when they were cheap.

The large patio cleaning heads are great for keeping the overspray down but I think they need the larger models to power them

Karcher at least, the patio head has different nozzles depending on what you are connecting it to so it works with the smaller models.

Pro tip: if you're an occasional user rather than a bastard neighbour, colour code your nozzles with a wrap of coloured electrical tape.

I went yellow for normal and red for savage.

I bought from the karcher outlet 10 years ago and still fine. Its a basic bitch domestic model

I’d like to build a low wall (4 courses) on top of a porcelain patio. It’s purely cosmetic to hide the gravel boards and messy edge of the patio. Being vitrified I assume mortar won’t adhere to the tiles? Is there a magic product that will get them to stick?
In an ideal situation I’d grind the tiles out and build the wall on the sun base, but I’m not going to go to all that hassle.

thanks all for the tips and @soul i am based in guildford (thanks for the offer but iirc you live somewhere further)

reading about grout/destroying stuff I am slightly paranoid. is it better to just start with some patio cleaner 'wet and forget' type stuff? i want to clean the drive, patio and this wall..... welcome and very much appreciate your thoughts on best approach

For the wall I would use oxygenated bleach, a broom/scrubbing brush and regular hose.

You're probably going to have to use a cleaner anyway. So why not start with cleaner, a broom and a regular hose?

Then if it's not shifting get a k2 with the patio attachment.

agreed - seems the best approach :-) thanks

From the pictures none of that looks like limestone, but just in case you hadn't considered it, be aware that if any is you'll need a different cleaner that's pH suitable.

After all this rain the humidity in the brick shed is higher than I expected.

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I think I need to put a plan together to present to the PM/Finance for approval.

It's one of those catch 22 jobs though where it's shit to sort because I can't store anything outside because of the shit weather, but the shit weather it's making it shit to store anything...

Question: can I remove one of these bricks and put an air brick/similar here?

In case it matters, it's a single brick wall with a reinforced concrete roof.

If, no, then a follow up question; can I remove and fit an air brick from inside only - i.e. without having to go into my neighbours garden?

Cheers.

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Drill a few holes in a current brick and screw one of these on top?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/map-vent-fixed-louvre-vent-with-flyscreen-brown-229mm-x-76mm/158hy#product_additional_details_container

Will an air brick really help much? I don't think so. Got power? Just run a dehumidifier a bit.

The patio / decking attachment should be fine on the paving stones. It's like sanding, just gotta keep the thing moving. That way it doesn't cause any damage or streaking.

The neighbours garden is now above the DPM and Idk what sort of condition the bricks are in anyway. Unfortunately I doubt a dehumidifier will do anything but burn electricity.

What I really need to do is fix it on the neighbours side, but this is quite involved for a number of reasons.

My current thinking is:

Stage 1: Get some ventilation back in...

• air brick of some sort
  
• humidity fan wired to a plug, set high so it's mainly for extreams and when the tumble dryer is on.
  
  

Stage 2: add internal waterproofing...

• liquid DPM
  
• tanking slurry on back wall and the first part of adjacent walls
  
• SLC on the floor + some sort of paint
  
  

Looking online I think the hardest part of the above is going to find the correct series of products to add together (mainly the SLC). The SLC needs to be OK to adhere to a liquid DPM, but also designed to work as a finished surface, as well as being paintable/sealable. I'm not too fussed about the floor, I just want to be able to clean it. Currently there's lino, which looks shit but is practical.

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Thing is, if its really wet outside, like it is currently, humidity will be high inside with or without an airbrick if its cold. I think a dehumidifier or a little electric rad left on low would make the most difference as its very cold in there.

Yeah....there is no way I'll get approval for either a dehumidifier or rad.

Also the electrics are quite low(?) and we have an outdoor freezer in a small store room adjacent. When our patio was being layed the l guys kept tripping the electrics running loads of tools.

My thinking is just to give a way to get some air flowing though. Because right now I don't think there is anywhere for it to escape to.

You know what? Given the structure and the cost effort ratio it deserves, I think this is a really good shout.

Cheers.

I use wet and forget a fair bit at work on our tennis/hocky/multi use surfaces and it’s pretty good. Everything must by DRY for it to work though. Oh and not too hot, don’t use it in baking sun.
Brush the worst off with a broom, if you have a leaf blower dust it off too. Spray with W&F and pray it doesn’t rain for the next 6 hours. Then forget about it, if you look at it everyday you won’t notice that it is working, but go back a week later and you really can see the difference after a couple of weeks it looks good. If using somewhere that doesn’t see direct rain fall run a hose over it to wash the dead stuff off after a week and then again the next week and it’ll work ok.
I use it because it’s pretty low in the toxic stakes and it seems to keep things clear for longer than the harsher stuff, which at point of use cleans and kills things much better. Good if you are cleaning as a one off. But IME the mold, moss etc comes back much quicker and gets a stronger hold later.

As an example I sprayed the Polytunnel off 3 weeks ago and this is it today

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humidity fan wired to a plug, set high so it's mainly for extreams and when the tumble dryer is on.
Is the TD venting to the outside? Or condenser. Assume so.
I think your plans are throwing good money after bad.

I think an airbrick is akin to pissing in the wind. A fan is better. Dehumidifier a lot cheaper than all your plans.