Home DIY

Cheers, still a bit out of budget. looking in to getting a local fab shop to knock me up the track as the rest could be pretty easily made from standard ali sections and with these £3 things as the rollers.

I've got some random rails and other bits from some bi-fold doors that I didn't need. I used the doors, but none of the fitting kit.

I've no idea if it would be of any help, but it is just gathering dust in my loft so you are welcome to it if you can be bothered to come down to SE London to collect.

If you might be interested I can grab it from the loft later and take a pic.

(Obviously this is in reply to @Silly_Savage but I didn't click the reply bit...)

Very kind, but I'm in that there Bristol.

edit: did the same thing @Samuelson!

Ah, a bit far away. And they are only from some crappy B&Q doors so not worth posting!

@princeperch did I read ages ago that you'd installed a solid fuel stove and had your chimney lined and stuff?? What was required for building regs?
I've already got a 5 inch flue in place from the removal of a back boiler. Will that suffice for a stove and be ok with building regs? Can't see why not..

I'm all ears if anyone else can offer advice??

Got a 1/2" titan router last week after no less than 3 tool hire companies fucked me over.
So a £50 router it is, works, don't expect if too last long on anything that actually uses a 1/2" bit, and under load you can detect the flex in the main bearing / shaft.
It also doesn't maintain speed under load, even with smaller bits. So wouldn't want to attack anything worth £££ with it but does job better than nothing!

Wardrobe on an external wall. That's a no no right?

How well insulated is it?

It's brick, we've got radiators inside. I don't think it's a good idea.

Take the back off so air can circulate to it.

We've got built in on an external wall, basically a 4m sliding door run with carcasses inside for shelving and hanging but the back is the wall itself so it all breathes and doesn't mould up.

Interesting

Has anyone here built stud walling for acoustic insulation?

It's something I'm considering for my flat as the wall is thin so there's a lot of noise transmission, and the room is large so I can bear to lose a few hundred millimetres along one edge.

Can anyone recommend a carpet fitter for v straightforward job in North London? Individual or company. Thanks!

@Cupcakes yes I have built stud walling for acoustic insulation if you want more information you are probably best PMing me there is a lost to it and you can spend a lot and still get sound coming through the wall. Is it sound you are making or that your neighbour is?

Nice one, thanks i will pm.

Just the neighbour making noise right now. Not really their fault, it's an old, thin and porous wall.

At a guess you aren't living there.

Replacing a floorboard - DIY or pay someone to do it?

I'm currently doing quite a bit of cutting out and replacing rotting floorboard sections. I'd say DIY if you have the tools - a saw blade on a multitool is a wonderful thing.
Reasons to pay someone else:

• time.
  
• sourcing a replacement floorboard of a matching width and thickness.
  
• not owning a cable / pipe detector.
  
• lifting the old floorboard reveals problems beyond your ability to deal with - often related to the age of the property and previous owners' competence.
  

I just laid birch plywood planks over the top of the old floorboards - the floorboards are ugly but structurally fine. Doesn't take too long of you've got decent tools, and you can get your local timber merchant to cut the ply into 2240x240 lengths (making 5 boards per sheet). A lot cheaper than using real wood, and looks ace.
If you're laying over the old floor, you might want a thin sheet of board over them to level the floor.

How are you going to get at pipes and so forth that are now under two layers of floor-board?

I'm just prepping our small toilet room for repainting. I've was just filling holes and trying to make the terrible plastering look a bit more acceptable when I came across a slightly raised section of plaster to the right side of the toilet.
Further investigation made the plaster come away from the wall a revealed a section of what looks like filling plaster that is still wet.
The wall is external, and though the rest of the surface is cold it isn't at all damp.
I've looked at the external wall and there isn't anything obvious, but to be honest I'm not really sure what I'm looking for.

Not quite sure what to do now.....

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The plot thickens. Further excavation has revealed a pipe opening, which looks like it was crudely cut off and plastered over.
I can't seem any opening from the external so I'm guessing it's the gradual ingress of damp through brick?

So. Sealing up an old pipe then filling the plaster around it. The pipe was surrounded by damp sand :-/

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I'd be doing some plumbing too, that kink in the cistern tail would annoy me.

Are the joists in pieces by any chance? Could do with some wood for my in laws fireplace as we speak

One thing at a time eh?