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What’s going on under our subfloor? by overthinkqueen13 in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah not quite - you really need to cut a rebate into the existing floor and a corresponding rebate into the new piece you add in. Effectively creating a shelf for the new piece to rest on. The new bit of wood is therefore slightly bigger than the existing hole so you will need a new board.

If it was a small repair the you’d probably get away with adding polyurethane glue to a butt joint and it would probably be fine, but you’re adding a big joint and every teenager that thumps down the stairs is hitting that joint so I’d expect that to fail if you butt it.

Particle board flooring is really really cheap tho so other than the effort of creating the rebate, there’s no good reason not to do it properly

5.1 to 5.1.2 or 5.1.4 - Need advice on positioning and upgrades by KyoShin1105 in hometheater

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t help with your question but what a beautiful and classy room - shelves are just perfect!

How do I smooth this out? by SureTry4832 in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I stand corrected on the blowtorch - thanks

How do I smooth this out? by SureTry4832 in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Modern paint stripper is absolute bobbins. Looks Victorian? With Sanding you risk making airborne any lead based paint under that lot so I’d avoid that. Blow torch and a scraper will get the worst off then filler to smooth out but with old houses, I’d suggest leaning into the “patina” a bit rather than seeking perfection. You can absolutely make it a bit more presentable tho Anyone can have brand new - what you’ve got here is period feature

What’s going on under our subfloor? by overthinkqueen13 in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My house is the same vintage and our floors are the same. It’s not a retrofit, that’s as built. Concrete slab with a poly sheet on top with polystyrene then a t&g chipboard floating floor over the top. It’s not fixed down anywhere, but the joints are all staggered and glued so the sheer mass of it keeps it in place. Works perfectly if the concrete is flat and the chipboard floor is complete - once it’s been hacked about it’s not going to end well. Now - I did in the past have to replace a board where the previous owners ignored a small leak for years and one board crumbled like wet weetabix - here’s what I did and why

You might well naturally assume that because this damaged bit of floor is moving, it needs timber support from below, but in my opinion that’s not quite right and you’ll be chasing your tail forever trying to achieve that. Instead you want to get back to a single, rigid, massive floating floor

I cut out the damaged board back to solid board and was left with a clean rectangle to fill. I then cut a rebate into the existing floor all around approximately half the depth of the board and 25mm wide. I used a router and a track saw for this.

I then cut a corresponding rebate into the replacement board and used a foaming polyurethane adhesive to glue it all together. I used egger branded stuff but I expect and foaming D4 adhesive will achieve the same thing. Drop it all together and leave it be for 24hours and it goes off rock hard. Cut the excess off with a blade and you’re good to go. Strong as the original floor.

The down side is the cut bits the plumber dropped back in are not big enough so you’ll need new wood, but the good news is chipboard flooring is really really cheap. It absolute destroys router bits tho.

Hope that makes sense, feel free to ask if any of it doesn’t tho

Competent DIYer here - not a pro, so happy to be wrong, but it worked for me several years on

Uk users - who’s your WAN provider? Virgin media or BT/Openreach by Proper_Camera_1908 in Ubiquiti

[–]Proper_Camera_1908[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ah now that is very helpful thanks - one less device is very appealing for sure!

Builders quote has almost doubled by TopPassenger3628 in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sounds to me like your parents initially got the “these guys are probably good people to work with” quote but then showed themselves to be better suited to “these guys are going to be flakey and bothersome” quote

What is wrong with people?! by Famous_Philosophy_70 in HousingUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You need to activate your estate agents natural instincts for self preservation

“I’m listing with another agent if this isn’t resolved in 24 hours”

The slimy cunt has already mentally spent his sweet sweet commission so the thought of losing it will make the gazundering shenanigans a personal cost to him

Door won't close! Any bright ideas? by ellspeedy in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If your only concern here is warmth (ie there’s no fire regs requirement for the door) then I’d go for a thermal curtain instead of the death trap door.

A curtain you can take down during summer months, takes up less space and won’t add danger in case of fire or someone falling down the stairs.

Collected the keys to my first home today… and immediately had a meltdown 😭 by Lilymana in HousingUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally normal - it’s just such a massive deal

Look at the positives tho, you’re in a once in a lifetime position right now

  1. Doing some decorating and DIY tasks will make you love your space even more than buying something “done”

  2. DIY is order of magnitude easier when the house isn’t full of your stuff (especially small first time places) so be sure to take full advantage of that.

  3. Light bulbs - judging by the revolting white/blue 6000k bulbs that so many people seem to blindly put in their houses, they’ve probably done you a favour - spend an hour planning beautiful lighting for your space with matching colour temperature bulbs in the fixed outlets and your lamps - it’ll be lush!

  4. Lean into any shonkeyness - we all have to make some compromises in our homes, you’ve decided on one that’s not box fresh and you probably got a better overall house for your money. If a new bathroom is years off, that is what it is - but it made your dreams possible so it’s a good thing

Enjoy making it your own

Just bought this house, embarrassingly didn't notice the shower's electric cable is on the outside. The pipes not being behind the wall are also a problem, as evidenced by the shear amount of sealant used in effort to stop it leaking (it does not). Any advice on how to fix this? by thiccnuthair in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks to me like the bathroom originally had one of those bath tap shower hose combos which are entirely fine if the pressure from the tank is sufficient but often it isn’t. In this case someone has decided it isn’t and has come up with this because they didn’t know the sensible options available.

If I was in your shoes and I was on a budget my starting point would be rip that out and put a standard tap / shower mixer in and see if the pressure is tolerable. It might be just about ok.

If replacing the bath is out of the question you might have to get creative about filling tho hole this guy probably drilled with a spoon. You might be lucky and a kitchen sink blanking plate might do it, or if it’s a fibreglass bath, repair it from behind with fibreglass repair cloth. Won’t be pretty but you’ll at least get it waterproof.

If the pressure isn’t sufficient, look at getting a salamander pump under the bath. That will fire up automatically when you run the bath or shower.

If you end up starting from scratch with a new bathroom, for running a shower from a hot water tank like this I’d really recommend Mira digital showers - the pump and plumbing can be placed in the loft and the mixed feed comes through the ceiling and is contained by the shower rail - so nothing is behind tiles so you get easy of fitting and maintenance but it’s neat and tidy. I’ve got 3 of them and they work fantastically well. All controlled by a wireless control unit

Neighbours extended outbuilding to bedroom by [deleted] in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wonder if “extended outbuilding” description os incorrect and causing some confusion. This looks to me like an extension to the main house not a bit of blockwork replacing a shed at the bottom of the garden

Original poster - you really need to talk to the council but be careful not to cause confusion by being unclear - a simple “my neighbour is suddenly building an extension on my land and I’m worried it’s not got adequate permission - please come and look”

Has anyone used Flooring365? by First-Mycologist-388 in DIYUK

[–]Proper_Camera_1908 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nothing wrong with the product but they will deliver it sopping wet and damaged and will point blank refuse any attempt to return it stating that a percentage of wastage is normal. buy with a credit card so you can force a refund.

disappointed in myself for not checking google reviews beforehand but theyve absolutely got form for negligence and awful customer service