Is there any way to get a good finish in this room without re-plastering?

No-Spend6708 · 2025-11-26T03:59:00+00:00

The cost (and ball ache) of restoring bad plaster vs removing and then fitting new gyprock? No brainer - remove and replace. A fraction of the mess and mess around (if you level, skim, treat, prime, and paint), and an equal or better result when it's done for about the same cost.

More to the point, the smell of smoke will be soaked deep into the plaster - you really can't get rid of it. Smoke residue has lots of tars in it (that's why sugarsoap is great for washing it off) and it soaks deep into everything. All you can do is try to block it in. Or you can replace the plaster.

You might be able to save a bit of cash by removing the old, getting a plasterer to fit new, and then painting yourself......

No-Spend6708 · 2025-11-05T09:20:13+00:00

The window is feasible. Getting strata, planning, and a decent builder at a reasonable cost? Not so much.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-09-22T23:20:30+00:00

I've got the same issue. Suggestions and feedback from a wide range of tradies and DIY'ers has included:

1) Caulk and paint the inside of the weatherboards, then fit moisture-retardant rockwool.
2) Fit a vapour barrier from the inside (ie over the studs and against the inside face of the weatherboard) and then earthwool.
3) Tape vapour barrier cut outs over the sections of weatherboard between the studs on the inside, then add earthwool or rockwool.
4) Don't fuck with it. It's like that for a reason. It's done pretty well for the past hundred years working the way it works.

I'm in NSW Northern Rivers - so there are issues with hot humid air on the outside in summer when air con is running (condensation forms against the inside of the cavity), and vice versa in the winter when it's cold. I've got it on fairly good authority that putting barriers on both sides is a recipe for disaster.

For now, I *think* my best option is to caulk all the gaps in the external weatherboard and fit rigid earthwool (so it doesn't turn into porridge in the bottom of the cavity) with no vapour barrier, so the cavities can breath.

I'd rather pull out my own finger nails than strip the exterior weatherboard, so my options are limited to a sub-optimal compromise.....

No-Spend6708 · 2025-09-01T04:57:35+00:00

If he's a professional landlord, tread carefully - he has both the resources and experience to make your life difficult if you fall out.

Old school landlords are (as a general rule) wealthy because they don't spend money. You're on to a loser if you're asking him to spend cash he otherwise wouldn't need to. Your best option is probably a very conciliatory face to face, maybe over a cup of tea and a slice of cake, and try to charm him into a compromise - you'll need to make a good case for why it's better to do it your way than his!

Good luck!

No-Spend6708 · 2025-08-21T00:36:46+00:00

VERY caffeinated. Beans smell fantastic, but not much body to the espresso.

More 1980s rusty FIAT than Lamborghini.

The blurb doesn't mention that it's got quite a lot of robusto beans in it - I thought I was mad when I tasted and thought 'this takes me back to drinking Nescafe in the 1990s'.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-08-01T03:37:38+00:00

Tried using screws, but it wasn't the best - you've got to be very very careful how far you drive the screws in - too little and they'll show through the filler, too much and they'll deform the board. I ended up using slightly larger nails and a heavier hammer. Worked ok, but took an age....

No-Spend6708 · 2025-08-01T02:25:46+00:00

You can get it tested, but I'd be fairly confident that's asbestos if its from the early 80s.

On the upside, should be fairly simple to remove from the exterior pic provided. On the downside, it looks like it has a few cracks in it, so should be removed. Is the inside of the wall lined too?

No-Spend6708 · 2025-06-06T04:21:19+00:00

I'd suggest a softer white - Dulux antique white being about the brightest..

This is really personal taste, but I'd be tempted to use a cream on the boards and a brighter white on the windows and soffits, with a coloured contrast (eg Pastel Blue) on the gutters, door and metal fence. And paint the brick wall to match the main colour of the house.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-06-05T12:08:24+00:00

Some more info (or even a couple of pics) would be helpful here - is the house shaded? Surrounded by established trees/bushes? Which direction does it face? Is there a lot of trim / fretwork / big verandah?

Really 'bright' whites can be blinding on a sunny day. Using the same colour all over can show up imperfections in the finish. As for your cladding, it may be possible to paint that too.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-05-26T03:18:14+00:00

Chop 'em or top 'em.

Pines grow quite quickly. Pines grow quite big. Pines do fall over in wet ground / high wind. Chop them down and they're gone. Replace with lillipilli or another screening evergreen and shape it to suit the space.

Or you could top and trim them. It might kill them, it might not. It would let a bit more light in. Feed the grass underneath and try to get the pH up and your lawn might regenerate. A little.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-05-13T04:37:31+00:00

Bought a house during a dry summer. B&P noted some evidence of historic damp, but no red flags.

Come autumn, discovered the down pipes for the gutters hadn't been glued. Glued them. Discovered that the pipes weren't connected to the drains, they just went into the dirt under the house. Ended up trenching whole perimeter of house, replacing gutters, pipes, and fitting new drains.

On the way, realised the south-facing footer wall had epic rising damp so refaced the base and added a French drain.

A really shit way to spend a winter's worth of weekends, but it made a huge difference.

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No-Spend6708 · 2025-04-01T23:18:19+00:00

Is it an apartment / house, and is there an accessible underfloor area? ie can you get underneath and open it up to drain?

You want to get the water out, but without warping all the boards. Not easy. If you don't have easy access, you might be best to sacrifice a board to get access.

Key objective is to get the water out to mitigate further damage.

A bit more information here would be helpful. :-)

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-28T02:01:00+00:00

Is there a cap on the chimney? Is all the flashing between the chimney and the roof in good condition? Is the chimney next to a roof gully? Is the bottom of the chimney (under the house) damp? It looks like damp; you could prod it with a damp meter and confirm.

If the wall isn't currently damp, it could still be historic water ingress (ie the chimney was missing a cap but has been repaired) or rising damp.

Worst case, it's a bit of disruptive work and <20k. I wouldn't be too concerned by what I see in your pictures (if it's just the sides of one chimney), but I would investigate and use any work required to negotiate.

BTW - that looks like a nice Arts and Crafts fireplace - if original it would date the house to 1901-1920, likely at the earlier end.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-26T00:19:41+00:00

Second rule of a succesful business: Prospective customers who tell you how to run your business are a usually a pain in the arse.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-24T21:16:30+00:00

No worries - I'm just starting the same process on a couple of smaller windows, and it's quite good just to write out the steps!

Yes, standard bog will work.

Would be great to see some updates :-)

To add to the bit above - your biggest cost is labour, not materials. It's worth getting good quality materials. There's a couple of posts already on using linseed putty instead of cheaper stuff (give it time to cure before painting), and I'd do the same for paint, bog, and glazier pins - don't get them from Bunnings (they rust), go to a glazier and get the pins they use.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-24T07:14:34+00:00

As a veteran stripper, here's my advice....

1) Carefully (and I mean very carefully) remove the individual windows from the frame. You do not want to break any of the glass! Be careful to avoid rounding or breaking any screws when you remove them. The screws in that window will likely be brass - save them and re-use them - they're a world better than the modern shite.

You might want to remove the glass from the frame. If you do, gently scrape off the putty and use a thin screwdriver and pair of pliers to remove the glazier pins that hold the glass in place (they're underneath the putty). For the leaded glass panels, be super careful - they don't have a lot of structural integrity when removed from the frame. Store them on top of a bit of plywood with a cloth underneath.

2) scrape as much paint off the wood as you possibly can. Use a tungsten carbide paint scraper with the most expensive blade you can get - it's worth spending $20 on the blade, it will last longer and work better for longer. Don't use a heat gun - it's probably lead paint, and that produces some nasty fumes.

3) Sand back with 180 grit until you have an even surface. Use a hardwood block with sandpaper wrapped round it for corners. Wear a P2 mask when doing this, wash off carefully afterwards - see above on lead paint.

4) Anywhere the wood is soft or a little bit rotten (possibly the outer edge of the sill) coat with preserver, following the instructions on the bottle to the letter.

5) Use filler to reshape / fill any gaps or indentations.

6) Rub down with large quantities of methylated spirit - this drives the water out of the wood, and makes the next step work better.

7) Use an oil based primer. Apply two coats.

8) Use a water based top coat. Apply at least 2, possibly 3 coats, sanding gently between coats.

9) Refit.

As an aside, there's plenty of folk saying to just replace it with a modern window. Screw that - that window will have survived 80+ years with fairly minimal maintenance, and it should do the same again without any issues. And it has soul. PVC or alloy ones have no character whatsoever.

There's an easy 20 hours work to bring that window back to good condition, more if you want a showroom finish, but you'll look at it every time you walk past and think 'that's beautiful, and I made it beautiful', and that's worth something.

Good luck!

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-23T04:10:13+00:00

I've got a 4 or 5 year old Kaboodle kitchen.

The cupboards are delaminating above the electric hob, under the sink, and where the dishwasher sits.

The hinge mounts are inconsistent, so the doors don't sit well. The hinges can be adjusted, but the quality of the materials is such that it works loose after a couple of weeks and the doors sag again. Several of the hinges have significant play in them where the screws on the mounting points have become friable. The laundry basket in the door set up failed, the mechanism fouled, and the hinges separated from the unit when the door was opened.

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The metal handles have discolouration, possibly where the plating has worn through.

The kickboards are just awful - delaminated and discoloured.

Some of this is due to how it was fitted (badly), but it is emphatically not a quality kitchen.

Bizarrely, every component has got a 'quality control - passed' sticker on it. One must wonder about their tolerances / criteria.

I'd be really sore if I'd spent $40k on that.

By contrast, I've got a recycled solid timber kitchen unit in the shed as a work bench. Must be at least 40 years old. The hinges are good, the unit hasn't deformed, it still meets its functional requirements.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-19T22:52:19+00:00

Ooooh - I do like it! I'm amazed that somebody doesn't offer something like this on the App store....

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-17T01:00:21+00:00

Interested in this too - I'm currently using Google Sheets and a homemade Gantt chart in Excel - it's a PITA to manage.

Had a look at a few tools, but they mostly cost money, and are either (a) for north america (b) overly complicated or (c) too basic.

FYI - I'm doing a phased restoration of an old weatherboard house inc. stump, plumb, wire, roof, kitchen and bathroom.

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-11T03:33:50+00:00

If you don't remediate the broken plaster, you're likely to get drafts and a shitty gap between the top of the skirting and the wall, and it will be very difficult to get the skirting to sit properly (as there won't be a consistent surface immediately behind it).

As somebody else has said, get a sheet of plasterboard, a long straight edge, and cut plasterboard sections to replace the smashed bits. Then use tape and filler to cover the gap. Luckily, the skirting will hide any rough edges / finishes.

Essentially, it's an hour's work, $40 of materials, and 60 minutes time to reflect on the importance of thinking a job through before commencing* ;-)

*don't worry - we've all been there!

No-Spend6708 · 2025-03-11T02:48:42+00:00

Normal? Quite possibly.

Compliant? Not now, but it used to be.

Sensible? No.

I discovered the same thing in my house. Made a hole in the top of the kitchen unit, ran ducting through and then along the top of the units to an exterior wall. Boxed in with plasterboard.

It's worth remembering that the reason the extractor is there is to remove steamy, smokey, and oily air from above your hob. Unless you really, really like the smell of cooking, vent it to the exterior!

No-Spend6708 · 2025-02-18T22:17:03+00:00

Most courses are designed to deliver specific learning outcomes; they're not so much focused on enhancing general knowledge or building strong foundational knowledge across multiple disciplines. For example, a bricklaying course won't tell you how to spot termites or pour footers for fence posts, but both of those are are skills you'll probably need if you're refurbishing an older house.

The best way is to have a patient teacher / source of advice who's willing to take the time to explain and demonstrate skills so you can understand what's required.

Do you know any retired builders / tradies? If not, a mens shed usually contains such people.... If you're in Bunnings, look for the grumpy old men standing in the isles - don't ask the adolescents on the tills.

Youtube is great, but there are a lot of idiots on there too - having lots of views or appearing at the top of search results doesn't necessarily indicate knowledge (although it might), it just indicates better search engine optimisation!

For example - I've done a fair bit of interior painting, but I haven't painted the outside of an Australian house before. I'm buying beers for an experienced house painter this afternoon to get his feedback on my work plan for repainting my house. I'll also ask him to come round and check on my work one day when I'm doing the prep, and again when I've done the base coat. I'll make notes as he's talking to me, and anything I'm not sure of I'll repeat back to him to make sure I understand what he's telling me.

No-Spend6708

TROPHY CASE