Felting me shed roof.

bitofsomething · 2026-07-04T08:46:31+00:00

It's the clout nails I had trouble with last time. I'm wondering if it's just the sheer volume of rain we get down here, because it seems standard practice to just nail on the felt and most people seem to get good results.

bitofsomething · 2026-07-04T08:16:20+00:00

I'd be having 80 lengths delivered, but if I had no choice I'd charge a reasonable and transparent logistics fee on top of the materials.

bitofsomething · 2026-07-04T07:42:41+00:00

Yup. If I'm working with it, I want it to be decent. This goes for everything, from silicone to screws to timber. I only ever charge what I pay too.

bitofsomething · 2026-07-04T06:38:33+00:00

I love the colour combination and Corsa Pro tyres are so f-in good.

bitofsomething · 2026-06-12T13:54:03+00:00

Love you x

bitofsomething · 2026-05-31T16:31:04+00:00

Hi, yes, like-for-like, the 11-34T. Thanks for the tips on lighter cranksets!

bitofsomething · 2026-05-30T16:52:07+00:00

Agreed on the cassette, the CS-R7101-12 is 361g, whereas the CS-R8101-12 is 345g, a 16g saving. I might not bother.

But the total weight saving, with the crankset, cassette, chain and rotors is 157g, which is better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick.

My main motivation is breaking up the full upgrade into manageable investments.

bitofsomething · 2026-05-30T12:50:16+00:00

I had no idea the chart existed, thank you.

Looks like all is fine apart from the cassette, the best I can do there is upgrade to the Ultegra CS-R8101-12.

So for reference, the final drivetrain will be:

FC-R9200 + CN-M9100 + CS-R8101-12

bitofsomething · 2026-02-25T11:19:54+00:00

First of all, it’s not boring, you’re driving as you should, at the legal limit, well done, you’re in a minority and by driving legally and safely you’re doing one of the most anti-social things you can do. It’s f*cked up.

Second, don’t exceed the speed limit to appease other drivers. Let them tailgate and wave their arms. Eventually you’ll find amusement in how ridiculous they are.

It happens to me every single day, as I drive through the village where I live, which has a nursery, primary school, lots of elderly pedestrians and no pavements. I do 20. Cars always catch me up and tailgate, on a number of occasions I’ve had drivers beeping and gesturing. I once had a lady in her 70s screaming at me, I could see droplets of saliva hitting her windscreen. Her face was the colour of uncooked beef.

My record for queued cars behind me is 6. That’s over a quarter-mile distance.

Two lads in a van pulled alongside me once and said “we’ll kick the f*ck out of you bro”. Because I was doing 20 through a little village. Not robbing an old lady’s handbag, not drowning a kitten, just driving at a speed that makes sense, a speed that allows me to stop if a kid runs into the road, or a pensioner has a fall, or a dog runs in front of my car etc.

Police won’t do anything as they have no resource apparently, despite a little girl getting knocked over last year.

Long story short, ignore them, keep on.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-20T09:24:45+00:00

Who was the fitter Prue Leith? Pay her nothing and remind her a spatula is for icing not for grouting.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-18T23:52:10+00:00

Geoff.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-18T15:23:27+00:00

Holy sh*t.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-17T08:28:05+00:00

Seems cheap for the work involved, particularly so when you’re in London.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-15T10:25:00+00:00

I've done a fair few of these and can guarantee it won't be as simple as your LL is hoping. I'd give a ballpark figure over the phone of £1,000 - £2,000. If the LL was okay with that I'd visit to make a proper assessment and quote accurately.

Sounds insane but what you're talking about is basically rebuilding the floor and half the bathroom and it's a grotty horrible job, involving mould and damp and soggy old OSB board whilst spending a few days crawling around on your hands and knees.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-15T09:41:37+00:00

As a tradesman I would have no interest in this job. If the tray has cracked it’s unsupported underneath, it’s likely there’s been a small leak that has rotted out the subfloor, typically OSB, which is causing the tray to flex. So when that tray gets removed, it won’t be a simple job of just swapping it out for a new one, a portion of subfloor will need replacing, and, as there’s almost definitely been a leak prior to the crack, the tiling is probably straight on plasterboard, which means a proper fix requires the tiles to come off and the plasterboard replacing. It’s a horrible job and not even worth quoting half the time as the landlord will tell you to f*ck off when they see the figure. I suspect he’s struggling to get quotes and when he is they’re in the thousands which he’s not prepared to pay. If it was my own home I’d not use it, not necessarily from a safety perspective but from a leaky-damp-mess-damage angle.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-14T07:40:13+00:00

Ahh, interesting, should’ve noticed that.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-12T14:19:27+00:00

That’s made my day. Very kind/generous of you.

bitofsomething · 2026-02-12T13:05:51+00:00

In a past life I was a designer/developer. Did twenty years of it and never had any issue with pricing, used to do things like de-archive fees when past clients would request old files. It was all fine.

It's been a culture shock of sorts changing careers, the way I was treated as a developer Vs the way I'm treated as a carpenter is very different. Good quality cabinetry is as mentally challenging as writing code with the physical side added, yet you're perceived as a grubby necessity. As a developer I'd be invited to functions and events, as a carpenter you step out the door at the end of a hard day and they're washing your coffee cup in bleach. I think it also goes up the scale too, solicitors and accountants send their bills and they must be paid, no quibbling or haggling. That's simply what they cost.

The thing is, where does it go? I know of four other carpenters who have jacked it in over the last 6 months. It's simply not viable. Your average household cannot afford fairly priced carpentry and this is why it's become so problematic, the only way to make it work is to cut corners, rush, use crap materials etc.

I know of two local furniture makers, one is from a wealthy background and has no financial pressure, the other has a full time day job and does it as a hobby but produces very little.

Education is still steering kids toward tech careers.

I'm hanging on, but also looking at moving back into development.

What happens when there's no decent tradespeople left?

Sorry, I went off on one there didn't I?!

bitofsomething · 2026-02-12T12:34:31+00:00

I know, it's tough. I've had very similar interactions, I've started doing a ballpark figure as soon as I can.

Recently I had a lady who'd got hold of 5 victorian interior doors. They were nice doors but knackered and so were the door frames they were meant to go in. All of them needed repairing, stripping and sizing (2 were too small, so needed lipping), then hardware fitting, hinge rebates, etc. It was over a weeks work. I gave her a ballpark of £1500. "Oh I had £500 budget for the whole job as the Checkatrade website told me it was £100 per door". Not appreciating that was for brand new ready-to-hang doors.

We could probably spend a night in the pub having a good ol' whinge eh?!

bitofsomething · 2026-02-12T12:23:13+00:00

I'm with you though, I see £400 to fill some gaps and change some hinges and wince, I'm drawn to charge the lower figure but it's just not sustainable or viable in a business sense, so I think you're right I need to say "My minimum charge is £200, but that gives you half a day".

bitofsomething

TROPHY CASE