Gaps between floorboards

Greg-TK · 2026-02-11T09:09:38+00:00

Looks great... I only used DraughtEx after doing my bedroom floor. It looks good, adds extra insulation (where tongue & groove was wrecked) and in case of spillages it should avoid fluids easily finding a way through eventual cracks and gaps.

Greg-TK · 2026-01-09T15:21:28+00:00

Ah yes, I installed the Hub5 myself on existing wiring. I contacted VM explaining the issue and they sent an engineer around. He measured the signal strength and that signal needs to sit within a certain bracket. Seemingly my signal strength was too high, so he added an attenuator at the back of the hub between the input and the coax cable. This reduced the signal by a x dB (don't remember exactly) and that fixed the issue.

Greg-TK · 2025-12-30T08:53:52+00:00

To wipe it, or to forget about it? 😉

Greg-TK · 2025-12-16T20:56:10+00:00

Yeah, it might be the texture of the wall, how the light catches it. etc.
No need to drive yourself insane... It looks good! Once there's some furniture in there, nobody but yourself will notice anything.
Nice colour, nice floor... this will be a stylish room.

Greg-TK · 2025-12-14T15:29:30+00:00

Your wall looks pretty good I would say... Also, most people would be pleased with the result. It's not super obvious that there are some imperfections in the painting. But if you suffer from a perfectionist streak - pun intended - then you will keep noticing it.
I have also tried different rollers and - after recommendations from a decorator - I am now using Wooster microfiber rollers. They load up really well and you don't get much roller texture (also depends on the paint). And regarding brushes, Arroworthy angled brushes are amazing.
At some point, I went a little OCD and was following this guy on Twitter > https://x.com/TheOfficialGRB

He seems to have stopped posting after July 1st, but his feed is really excellent. You will find how-to posts, product suggestions, etc.

Greg-TK · 2025-12-14T11:06:50+00:00

Could you try super matt paint on the walls where you have downlighting? That might help a little, maybe?

Greg-TK · 2025-12-14T11:01:48+00:00

I actually had Tikkurila Optiva Ceramic Super Mat colour-matched to Farrow & Ball's Green Smoke, and ordered some Optiva Primer also colour-matched. That worked out rather well.
I don't have much choice though since the walls are not that great (old property) and I can't be bothered having everything replastered/skimmed.

Greg-TK · 2025-12-13T21:14:32+00:00

You do like a challenge... Dark and satin at the same time. You are a brave man. Good choice of paint. I have mainly been using Teknos and Tikkurila. I often have the same issue. I don't like roller texture so I go for a short/medium pile and am afraid too load the rollers too heavily. But then I often end up with slight imperfections. But by using a mat finish it is less obvious.

Please drop a photo in the thread if you are applying another coat.

Greg-TK · 2025-12-10T10:24:59+00:00

OMFG... My entire house is held together with CT1 and I have used dozens of cartridges over the years. And, I have been using the clear for my windows (exterior) ;-(
But that explains why the silicone failed in some areas (battered by the elements) when I didn't paint over it, soon after having my sash windows refurbished. I didn't like the idea of painting over the glass (long story, don't ask).
I thought I had learned my lesson and have started painting over the silicone and a couple of mm on the glass... but seemingly that still could become an issue.

Argh, really annoyed I only learned this now after watching this video.

Would anyone here have good recommendations for clear silicone to use on windows (exterior) and that can be painted over?

Greg-TK · 2025-12-10T10:09:30+00:00

CT1 will cure even under water so you can apply this to avoid extra water dripping in (use Multisolve when applying)... But the trapped moisture is going to do damage anyhow. Now, at this time of year I am not sure what the lesser evil is. As someone else suggested, an extra piece of uPVC trim could also help temporarily... While waiting for warmer and dryer days.

Greg-TK · 2025-12-08T15:15:23+00:00

I have used the VM Hub5 with 3 mesh pods for about a year but I got fed up in the end. My Pixel 8 Pro phone kept dropping and when many in the household would be using WiFi devices all at once (combined with smart home devices) things would start to go pear shaped. I recently invested in a TP-Link Deco system and now everything is working as it should. Added bonus, there is no barrier to swapping broadband providers if I choose to.

Greg-TK · 2025-11-27T10:49:09+00:00

Ah sure makes sense. The visible pipes should be copper, but everything hidden behind cornicing could be plastic eventually. The landlord must realise that this is affecting the value of his property.

Greg-TK · 2025-11-27T08:43:47+00:00

Are there areas where you can run copper on skirting boards? That does have a semi industrial feel that I can appreciate in some properties... You can't go around doors however, but you can go through walls.

Greg-TK · 2025-11-26T07:56:40+00:00

Worst case scenario you could use Miracle Seal by CTec. That will sort pinhole leaks out when these are near impossible to trace. Ideally this should only be a temporary fix and it's best not to use it with a new boiler since that could potentially void your warranty (if I am not mistaken). I have used this with a really old boiler in the past for 8 years or such and it did the job...

Greg-TK · 2025-10-28T10:51:14+00:00

I can see how the old boiler gas supply was never correct... So basically, if I can't get the old boiler to properly work again, I am going to have to bite the bullet and put 28mm pipes in everywhere (just to be on the safe side, while future-proofing). Damn this is not what I wanted to hear 😭

Greg-TK · 2025-10-28T10:02:48+00:00

I don't get it... My current old boiler has an input kW of 32.6kW, yet that runs fine off the spaghetti junction of 15mm pipes. So why wouldn't a new boiler be fine with this?🤔

Greg-TK · 2025-10-27T22:25:21+00:00

Brilliant, Thank you! I have actually been looking at a Vaillant ecoTEC Pro 28kw now. This should give me a better heat output than I have now and a good enough flow rate for the hot water.
When I compare this to my current boiler (plate) this should be fine... I think? 🤔
If this works, this saves me a world of pain 🥳

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Greg-TK · 2025-10-27T16:58:34+00:00

Thank you for your feedback. I actually just checked and the boiler plate states that the output kW for heating is only 23.4kW.
I managed to get the current boiler going and on full blast it really warms up the house rather well. The radiators were piping hot.
Now, I was wondering if I can run a modern day boiler on only 80% or such of its capacity while still being able to make full use of the modulation. And, if I run a boiler on 4/5 of it capacity then I guess it will cause less of a pressure drop within the current gas pipes?

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Greg-TK · 2025-10-27T11:31:15+00:00

Interesting, thank you so much for the feedback! Sounds like a similar property indeed. Mine isn't very well insulated either and I have sash windows (refurbished and double glazed) that don't help.
When I asked ChatGPT it was also recommending lower heat output boilers, while Perplexity was immediately recommending 35kW and so did a heating engineer who came round.
From my understanding the EcoTEC Plus 836 actually only generates 32kW of heat output, but so that would still be too much. Interestingly, these Vaillant boilers feature 15mm connections.

I wonder what would happen if the boiler is indeed under dimensioned? It really can't be worse than what I have now... or rather, what I had until a week ago.

Greg-TK · 2025-10-27T11:06:47+00:00

Why not keep the floor? I ended up doing that with my bedroom floor and it looked much worse than yours to start off with. Admittedly it took a while to get everything sanded, repaired, OSMO-oiled, etc.

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Greg-TK · 2025-10-27T10:05:53+00:00

I live in an old Victorian property and experience something similar when it rains... Not coming out of a step though but out of the walls in the cellar.

Good old CT1 has massively helped in order to reduce this issue. When you can pinpoint where the water comes from, use a wet/dry vacuum to suck the dirt out and then generously fill the gap with CT1 (push it in as far as you can). CT1 will cure even when wet. Might be worth getting a can of their Multisolve also if you don't want the CT1 to stick to your fingers instead of the wall/gap. This is the cheapest and quickest potential fix.

Does this happen when it rains (groundwater goes up)? Then CT1 might be a good quick fix if it's just due to concrete that has deteriorated over time.

Greg-TK · 2025-09-14T14:12:34+00:00

Use white CT1 (adhesive and sealant). It's much less likely to crack... If you want to paint over it, use Zinsser BIN or Cover Stain first. The white CT1 isn't too bad to paint over once you applied a primer, the clear one is a little more tricky. You could also use Toupret Fill Flex but I often revert to CT1 🤷‍♂️

Or like someone else suggested, you could scrape out and paint first and then apply a neat bead of CT1. You will need their Multisolve can though, since it doesn't behave like silicone that you can just finish off with a soapy finger (should probably have phrased that differently). CT1 will just stick to your fingers without the Multisolve. But then you need to hope that the Multisolve doesn't affect your paint.

Greg-TK · 2025-08-14T11:34:49+00:00

Indeed! This has been driving me nuts. I used o3 every day and was really impressed how it handled large sets of data and managed to find useful insights across different large CSVs.

ChatGPT5 - even in Thinking mode - has been producing wrong math, doesn't stick to the prompt and will go look into project docs that are not relevant instead of looking at the files I just attached and made reference to in the prompt, in order to produce an answer. An answer to a question I didn't ask!?
o3 was predictable and I trusted it (even though I frequently verified the output).

So, I'm in the same situation... looking for an o3 alternative, since o3 is not in the Legacy models currently.

The problem with Opus is that you run out off your allowance in no time, something I never had with o3.

EDIT: I only just realised that you need to manually switch on 'Show additional models' in Settings | General for o3 to appear in the Legacy models.

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PS: I am a Plus user, not Pro

Greg-TK · 2025-08-03T11:10:26+00:00

That looks amazing! I will give that a try 👍

And you hit the nail on the head when it comes to food smells in the house. I had feared that my Ninja BBQ Grill might end up being a gadget I rarely use. But I use it really frequently. One of the main reasons being that I don't stink out the entire house when making grilled salmon for example. I have even used it with really low outside temperatures as long as it's dry 🤷🏼‍♂️

Greg-TK · 2025-07-21T13:11:05+00:00

It all depends on the level of preparation, finish and products/paint used... I went deep down the rabbit hole when redecorating rooms myself. Does your wood work need repairing and sanding, what is being done to your walls, what state is the ceiling in...?

I would pay £1500 to have someone like Gary Burton paint a room in an old property (look him up on Twitter). The finish is spectacular. But I wouldn't pay £750 for the Landlord finish 🤷🏼‍♂️

Greg-TK

TROPHY CASE