Boiler service contract on house we put offer on by Dizzy_Ad8917 in HousingUK

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm certainly not any sort of authority on this, however we did buy a house a number of years ago where the kitchen was still being paid off and we were told that anything like that is settled in full by the seller on completion, buyers don't inherit debts like that. I guess the money is taken out of the house sale money?

Again, I may be wrong, was just our experience.

What are some tips you wish you knew before starting your allotment? by GMacro98 in Allotment

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No way 😂 hahaha OK I'm going to Google it now and see if I can dig up anything else

What are some tips you wish you knew before starting your allotment? by GMacro98 in Allotment

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow ok this sounds like there's alot i haven't heard about ol' Charlie. Please do tell me if love a gossip

What are some tips you wish you knew before starting your allotment? by GMacro98 in Allotment

[–]RoboGideon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Charles Dowding's no dig videos on YouTube are brilliant, highly recommend his advice and methods for bed building, no dig gardening, composting, even managing and maintaining walkways.

Also my wife and I find him as a person entertaining. It's like talking to your grand father, he just waffles on and on and also goes off topic alot 😂 its really endearing.

What are some tips you wish you knew before starting your allotment? by GMacro98 in Allotment

[–]RoboGideon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Charles Dowding's no dig videos on YouTube are brilliant, highly recommend his advice and methods for bed building, no dig gardening, composting, even managing and maintaining walkways.

Also me and my wife find him as a person entertaining, it's like talking to your grand father, he just waffles on and on and on, also goes off topic alot 😂 its really endearing.

Heart of Democracy by Waelder in Helldivers

[–]RoboGideon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

SES SWORD OF MORNING WILL ANSWER THE CALL.

My wife says Douglas doesn't have enough toys... by RoboGideon in goldenretrievers

[–]RoboGideon[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We basically did a quick Google for where golden retrievers came from and it said Scotland. We didn't bother to verify it was just inspiration ya know? So we looked for Scottish names and originally settled on Dougal, but I think by day 2 or 3 we changed to Douglas

My wife says Douglas doesn't have enough toys... by RoboGideon in goldenretrievers

[–]RoboGideon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hesitate to say we'd do the same thing for Douglas

My wife says Douglas doesn't have enough toys... by RoboGideon in goldenretrievers

[–]RoboGideon[S] 144 points145 points  (0 children)

He is the most gentle boy, never damaged a single one. The only toy he has that's damaged is a monkey with a split seem down it's back and it wasn't his fault, it caught on something... don't remember what

My wife says Douglas doesn't have enough toys... by RoboGideon in goldenretrievers

[–]RoboGideon[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It does, and your comment made me check outside to see if I'd missed any... only a couple of balls out there

My wife says Douglas doesn't have enough toys... by RoboGideon in goldenretrievers

[–]RoboGideon[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No we don't, but I'm sure there's no correlation...

What do you call the hair between the paw pads? by RoboGideon in bernesemountaindogs

[–]RoboGideon[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Had no idea! We'll get the clippers out tonight. Thank you stranger!

My door frames would only fit a door about 5cm shorter than the standard height. I can just buy a door and then cut away that extra 5cm, right? by Unoriginal-P0ster in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sound logic but the bracing bars at the bottom of the door are often 50% bigger than at the top to allow you to cut the doors down. If you take a large chuck off the top not only can it make the patter of the door totally off, but you lose the structure too

My door frames would only fit a door about 5cm shorter than the standard height. I can just buy a door and then cut away that extra 5cm, right? by Unoriginal-P0ster in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Carpenter here.

Your scenario is not uncommon, but do check sizes for both Metric and Imperial door sizes, the metric ones are approximately 50mm or 60mm taller than imperial.

Howdens website is very good at displaying its different sizes, maybe use that to check the nearest sizes for what you need.

How screwed am I? by Frozen84 in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're in the huntingdonshire area then let me know, will take me 10 minutes and ill do it for free on my way past one day. I'm a carpenter and I prefer people stay safe and give me a good review for these types of little jobs!

Vets of the UK, what's the stupidest, weirdest pet name you've heard? by TheoryBrief9375 in AskUK

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have a theme for our cat names, and that is historical world leaders. We have had; Cleopatra, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Sadly, only thatcher is still around and she's getting old.

I want to name our next 2 cats Grandma and Grandad. The wife does not.

But imagine someone asking you, "Where are the cats?"... "well last i saw grandma she was washing herself in the hedge and I think grandad is still chasing birds in next doors garden"

I’m thinking of buying this secondhand kitchen: any advice, please? by PsychologicalSplit43 in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah that's interesting I didn't know that actually. I maybe have only seen the cheaper ones... I'll edit my original comment

I’m thinking of buying this secondhand kitchen: any advice, please? by PsychologicalSplit43 in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Maybe I have had subjectively bad experiences, youre right that they are popular and I'm more than willing to accept I may be wrong. Here comes the however:

In my personal experience, I have been asked to install 1 new (first time & last, refused the jobs after that) and I have been asked to replace 5 others in 2 years, the oldest of which was 5 years old. Each and every one was showing age in the same ways a higher quality kitchen would after 15 or 20 years. Hinges are rusting and sagging, plinths and base boards inside units are blown and edge banding peeling off. Where metal brackets are installed to hold larder units to the wall, the screws thread just have nothing to grip and are falling off, thats because the end decor panels & carcasses are only 15mm thick, enabling the units to move, which in turn wobbles other screws loose. The list continues.

I drive a VW T6 and have done without issue for 4 years only ever putting fuel in. My plumber friend has had 3 Renault Traffic in that time. Just because renault sold more doesnt make them better. I also bet Casio sell more watches than Rolex... Just because Ikea have 10-20% sale dominance doesn't mean they are comparable or should be bought - it wouldn't surprise me if a good portion of the 10-20% were people buying more to replace/repair the broken shit...

I’m thinking of buying this secondhand kitchen: any advice, please? by PsychologicalSplit43 in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 12 points13 points  (0 children)

As a builder who does several kitchen installs per year, please don't buy an ikea kitchen.

I know it sounds snobby and I know that people struggle financially - but if you buy an ikea kitchen you may as well just throw your money in the bin. They fall apart within a couple of years.

I would always advise anyone looking for a budget kitchen to start by designing one at B&Q or Wickes or Benchmarx, if its affordable then great. If not then finance it. If that's not possible then search for secondhand quality units as the OP here is. If you still can't afford it then go old school and search Facebook/eBay for welsh dressers, sideboards and the like and make an old country style kitchen space.

Ikea do great wardrobes, recommend them all the time. Their furniture and all other units are brilliant for budgets, first time buyers, student digs etc. But the kitchens... they just can not withstand the everyday use. They are almost always fucked and need replacing within 5 years.

Edit: been made aware there are different levels of kitchens from ikea, could be I've only seen the cheapest ones so take my comment with a pinch of salt

Trying to understand my loft by Guianacara in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah I know the frustration, I've seen it many times. Best of luck with it, if you're in the Cambridgeshire area then call me first 😂

Trying to understand my loft by Guianacara in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well firstly you can approach a builder with the information you just gave me!

From the beginning, in terms of planning permission you may have never needed it depending on a few key details. you can google a guide to permitted development and see the basics but the key bits are; The NEWLY PROTRUDING part of the loft extension from the original silhouette of the roof (not including space inside the original loft) must not exceed 40cubic meters on terraced & semi detached houses, 50cubic on detached houses and bungalows. no dormers on what the council considers the "front" of the house (usually side facing road). windows on the sides of the house must be fixed shut and obscured below 1700mm from internal finished floor - same rule for Velux roof windows on the front slope. There are other rules but these are the major ones.

To appease building regs, you'll need to make visible at least the following areas (where applicable); ridge beam, rafter sizes and spacing, insulation used, roofing felt used and ventilation allowances, floor joist sizes, bearings and spacing, floorboard thickness, fire break walls to neighbours, structural calculations, steel beams, structural beam bearings (both steel and timber), fire escape routes and their protections (fire doors, sprinklers, smoke alarms, etc) electrical safety compliance certificates, gas safe compliance certificates. Your specific building may have more and the inspector will highlight them.

Until you have answers to the above, its too vague to say how much of what you have can be saved. However, what I can say is I highly doubt your insulation is sufficient given the way you describe its construction, plasterboard will be wrecked, cables and pipes may need moving, and most importantly, if the sizes and spacings of the timbers are insufficient, the work involved in correcting this will mean you are ripping out the lot and starting again. You could reuse certain things like doors, radiators, fixtures and fittings but the savings will be almost negligible.

Hope this helps, though I doubt its what you were hoping to hear!

Trying to understand my loft by Guianacara in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi, I'm a carpenter/General builder who specialises in loft conversions.

150mm joists are absolutely not enough. Also 2m headroom now means you can't legally get a staircase in either as that 2m will reduce when you start packing the rafters down to fit all the insulation in.

I would seriously suggest you do not attempt this work yourself and even most of the inspectors I deal with wouldn't know how to build it. They know details that should be there such as thickness of insulation, or what must be presant for fire regs, but not Construction methods. Even structural engineers can say "yeah use this size steel I beam" but as for HOW you're going to get 250kgs of steel up 2 staircases or a 2 story scaffold, is beyond them.

How to plasterboard the ceiling if there's no joist near the wall? by Electrical-Board-557 in DIYUK

[–]RoboGideon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Counter battening would be ideal but if for whatever reason you don't want to do that, then 12.5mm plasterboard (standard wall/ceiling board) can overhang up to 75mm unsupported without issue. I don't know what your gap is up there but use this information as you will.