The DIY thread

[Stevo985]

Just now, blandy said:

It was partly a call back to the food thread... 

But seriously, a fence panel is made up of some lengths of wood nailed together.

You've measured the width, you can do the same for the height and thickness, you can look at the internet at Jewson or B&Q and see what size timber they sell. You get a saw, some nails, some wood clue, some wood treatment like Ronseal, a brush and away you go.

Cheers it's a fair point.

But I think the easier option, as above, is to buy exisiting panels as they're pretty cheap, and trim the end off

[blandy]

Just now, Stevo985 said:

the easier option, as above, is to buy exisiting panels as they're pretty cheap, and trim the end off

Yeah, just remember to treat the exposed wood, or it'll rot quite quickly.

[Jimzk5]

5 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

@Jimzk5 here it is

 

As mentioned the complication is it’s a 256cm gap so not a regular size for a fence panel (or two)

Also that concrete post on the left is shared by another panel (the garden next to us is weird in that it comes to a point which converges there) but I think there’s enough room to get another panel in next to it

You putting a new shed up against it then as blandy says your best bet is to run 3 lengthss of cls timber across the gap (Tom middle and bottom) and then get some feather edge panels and nail them to it, where about do you live now

[Stevo985]

Just now, Jimzk5 said:

You putting a new shed up against it then as blandy says your best bet is to run 3 lengthss of cls timber across the gap (Tom middle and bottom) and then get some feather edge panels and nail them to it, where about do you live now

Yeah I've been thinking even more about this. Working from home today and went out to look at it again.

The new shed/structure will be right up against it again. As you can see the concrete base (which I need to extend) runs right along the border of the garden.

So I'm actually tempted to not put a fence there at all. That's what the last owners had done, the shed essentially performed the job of the fence.

 

Even if I did put a fence in, the concrete base in the picture is so far up against the border that to put a fence post in would have to be inside that little triangle of land, which makes it really awkward given the lack of space

 

So I'm reallly tempted now to just leave it and let the new shed form the boundary

[Jimzk5]

Fair enough, no point putting a fence in place when your just gonna hide it with a shed that does the same job

[Stevo985]

1 minute ago, Jimzk5 said:

Fair enough, no point putting a fence in place when your just gonna hide it with a shed that does the same job

That's what I'm thinking  

All this worrying about spending a shit load on a fence that's just going to sit right up against a shed anyway. May as well leave it

 

Thank you for your help though (and everyone else!)

[Genie]

5 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

Correct

aka somewhere for me to hide

100% you don’t go in there 3 weeks after it’s installed. 

[Stevo985]

Just now, Genie said:

100% you don’t go in there 3 weeks after it’s installed. 

Yeah this has crossed my mind...

The cheaper alternative would be to just put a normal sized shed on the existing concrete base.

 

Full story, that massive shed I pictured before only had a base under half of it. I assume originally it was a smaller shed and then they extended it, but just didn't bother with a base for the extension.

 

So what we're left with is a concrete base that would be big enough for a normal shed, but we'd be left with a shed sized hole in the ground next to it that we'd have to do something with.

OR

We fill that hole in with concrete, thus extending the existing base to something long enough to hold a summerhouse/side shed

 

I prefer the latter option, but it will probably cost twice as much at least

[Genie]

About 8 years back I got some fence panels made to custom sizes and they were not a lot of money at all. Can’t you measure the gap and then call a few fence panel makers and ask them for a quote to make 1 bespoke panel and just slot/nail/glue/fix it into that gap somehow. Slot it into the concrete post on the right and screw it to the wooden post on the left.

I bet you could get one for about £50. 

[Genie]

10 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Yeah this has crossed my mind...

The cheaper alternative would be to just put a normal sized shed on the existing concrete base.

 

Full story, that massive shed I pictured before only had a base under half of it. I assume originally it was a smaller shed and then they extended it, but just didn't bother with a base for the extension.

 

So what we're left with is a concrete base that would be big enough for a normal shed, but we'd be left with a shed sized hole in the ground next to it that we'd have to do something with.

OR

We fill that hole in with concrete, thus extending the existing base to something long enough to hold a summerhouse/side shed

 

I prefer the latter option, but it will probably cost twice as much at least

You can get a ton of topsoil delivered for about £50 to fill the void. Chuck some seed or turf on top to finish it. 

[Genie]

@Stevo985 checkout midlands decorative aggregates on facebook. I got some topsoil delivered from them a couple of months ago. Very good service. 

[one_ian_taylor]

1 hour ago, Stevo985 said:

Yeah this has crossed my mind...

The cheaper alternative would be to just put a normal sized shed on the existing concrete base.

 

Full story, that massive shed I pictured before only had a base under half of it. I assume originally it was a smaller shed and then they extended it, but just didn't bother with a base for the extension.

 

So what we're left with is a concrete base that would be big enough for a normal shed, but we'd be left with a shed sized hole in the ground next to it that we'd have to do something with.

OR

We fill that hole in with concrete, thus extending the existing base to something long enough to hold a summerhouse/side shed

 

I prefer the latter option, but it will probably cost twice as much at least

If only there was a real shed enthusiast on VT who could help

[Chindie]

I am terrible at DIY. My dad, who wasn't, would be ashamed. Anywho...

In the next couple of weeks I've got a project to complete. Thoughts welcomed.

My living room has a chimney breast with alcoves either side. On one side the fusebox lives. On the other theres some pipes which lead behind the fire and go through the opposite wall to a cupboard - I believe this was some heath robinson way of heating that cupboard as a kind of airing cupboard. The floorboards in these alcoves don't go anywhere near the wall, theres massive gaps that are open to the joists etc beneath. As a result these are regularly where we see spiders coming from, and I'm ashamed to say I've occasionally woken up to slug trails on the carpet coming from the gaps.

The alcoves currently have some absolutely awful plywood 'cupboards' in them. They are terrible, literally 4 bits of plywood screwed together and doors slapped on them. They don't even have backs. The one is cut to allow for the heath robinson pipes, so it esentially steps in. If you were to put a back on it you would either need to step it or make the whole thing comically shallow. They also essentially sit on the floor - they don't have a kickboard, which looks even shitter. The chimney breast also isn't straight - it markedly bows in on the one side. As a result the one cupboard touches the bottom of the chimey breast at the bottom but by the top is 2 or 3 cm away.

My idea is as follows.

Fill the gaps in the floorboards with expanding foam to combat the wildlife invaders.

Use some timber to make plinths for the cupboards, raising them up and giving a bit of a kickboard that can be carpetted up to and will look better.

Take the doors off the cupboards and replace with sliding channels, and get some 3mm or similar ply to make sliding doors - mainly for space saving and ease.

I'm torn on what to do with the backing. The one side is awkward as it has the fusebox in it which will need to stick through, and the other is awkward because it's stepped.

Then to deal with the gap get some thin ply/MDF/board of some sort and use that to fill the gap with some batons supporting it. It'll look somewhat shit whatever I do but the fact of the matter is the chimney is like a banana and theres no getting around it. Then to block off the top get some worktop or similar to top it off and try to match the wall profiles somehow.

Bearing in mind I have the DIY ability of a goldfish this seems like a task destined to fail, but I need to do it because the living room looks **** shit and I need some cupboards. I speak as someone who, legitimately, **** up putting some shelves up so badly it took a professional a day to fix it.

Thoughts?!

Edited August 22 by Chindie

[blandy]

17 minutes ago, Chindie said:

Fill the gaps in the floorboards with expanding foam to combat the wildlife invaders

Don't do that, it's too gash.

If I've understood correctly, the gaps in the floorboards are inside the cupboard area? So probably the best way to keep critters from entering the inside of the house would be to cover that little part of flooring with hardboard. You can make a template using paper, if the shape is irregular, but if it's rectangular then it's even easier. The hardboard won't be visible, but is much better than that horrible expanding foam. Another alternative (depending on the size of the gaps) would be wood filler.

Some photos would help with trying to work out how to make the rest look OK, but it sounds like your plan is decent. Maybe not use worktops on the tops, perhaps some wood instead, which you could stain, varnish or paint, and it'll be easier to profile for any curvature or whatever in the walls it goes up against. Or you would make a little vertical ledge on the back, rather than profile it,  to stop stuff falling down any gaps where it backs onto the wall. If necessary you could make the ledge partly fill any such gap, by profiling the ledge back, or using filler again.

[Milfner]

9 hours ago, blandy said:

Depends on how much money you’ve got. I’m not a plumber either, but do my own plumbing and some boiler stuff in the house. Here’s the thing; to fix the leaking rad, you basically need to drain the system, which is easy. You also would be wise to drain the system to possibly fix the boiler and because the house has been empty for 6 months. So…. Number one, you need some radiator flushing juice and some rust inhibitor juice for after. You also need an olive(s), ptfe tape, adjustable spanner, fine wet and dry paper, junior hacksaw and mole grips and a hose. Do you have them?

you want to drain the system ( central heating) to replace the leaking radiator valve, or fix whatever part of the rad is leaking. There’s usually a drain point downstairs on one of the rads. Attach a hose and feed it to a drain or outside and then open all the bleed valves and wait till all the water is out. It’ll be filthy. When that’s done replace the leaking valve, close all the bleed valves, close the drain tap. Put the flushing liquid into the system, refill the system with water. Run the central heating with all the radiators on max for a few hours and then next day, drain it again. Then put the rust inhibitor in and refill. So that’s the system flushed and radiator leak fixed. But you’ve still got the hot water issue. There’s a few things could cause that. If it’s only the hot water and not the central heating that’s affected that will give a clue, so it might be/is definitely worth finding out. In my old boiler a similar problem was caused by an easily replaceable little flow sensor, which is basically a little turbine that senses how fast the water is flowing and adjusts the flames accordingly (when it works). Mine was sensing the initial flow of water, so the flames came on, but it wasn’t turning properly so the boiler thought “there’s hardly any flow, so I’ll turn the gas right down” and the water then went cold again. I think I posted about it in this thread maybe 4 or 5 years ago.

It’s fine DIYing the water side of central heating, but the gas side, get a qualified (gas safe) engineer to sort.

Let us know how you get on. It’s not complicated even though it might initially appear so.

Fixed the one radiator already so that's one ticked off. 

For the second radiator that leaked ... I think it only leaked when I topped up the boiler for the first time (it was completely empty) so probably due to too much water firing around the pipes (?). Had an engineer round today to do a service and he gave the heating a run and it didn't leak (was dry to touch afterwards). 

After I posted, I knocked down the radiator setting from max (6) to 2 (whatever that means). Hot water through the taps is now fine ... however the shower just isn't strong enough. Needs a new plate heat exchanger according to the engineer. £520 

[blandy]

6 minutes ago, Milfner said:

For the second radiator that leaked ... I think it only leaked when I topped up the boiler for the first time (it was completely empty) so probably due to too much water firing around the pipes (?). Had an engineer round today to do a service and he gave the heating a run and it didn't leak (was dry to touch afterwards). 

 

There can’t be “too much water”. There can be too much pressure, though. 1 bar (cold, off) is generally the correct pressure.  If you did over pressurise the system, the engineer would have noticed, but you can check the reading on the gauge yourself. I’d be wary that leaks don’t fix themselves, so just keep an eye on the suspect rad for tiny seepage - put a piece of loo roll or tissue paper where the leak was, as a tell tale. If it gets damp, then it’s not fixed.

Sorry that you’ve got an expensive fix to pay for. Not sure why a plate heat exchanger would cause weak shower pressure. As I understand it, the heat exchanger transfers heat to the running water from the burner/CH circuit. It doesn’t pump the water.  Does cold water come out weakly too, if you set it to cold?  Or do you mean that to get it hot, you have to reduce the flow rate?  That would make sense.

[Xann]

@Stevo985 - Could send you a passion fruit from our garden?

Instructions couldn't be much simpler.

Chuck it at the base of the ugliest bit of fencing.

Give it a couple years, et voila, you won't see the fence again

 

[Milfner]

11 minutes ago, blandy said:

There can’t be “too much water”. There can be too much pressure, though. 1 bar (cold, off) is generally the correct pressure.  If you did over pressurise the system, the engineer would have noticed, but you can check the reading on the gauge yourself. I’d be wary that leaks don’t fix themselves, so just keep an eye on the suspect rad for tiny seepage - put a piece of loo roll or tissue paper where the leak was, as a tell tale. If it gets damp, then it’s not fixed.

Sorry that you’ve got an expensive fix to pay for. Not sure why a plate heat exchanger would cause weak shower pressure. As I understand it, the heat exchanger transfers heat to the running water from the burner/CH circuit. It doesn’t pump the water.  Does cold water come out weakly too, if you set it to cold?  Or do you mean that to get it hot, you have to reduce the flow rate?  That would make sense.

Sorry yes - flow rate is the term I was looking for all along! 

Going to shop around anyway ...  the part is around 150ish so 370 on labour for something that takes a couple hours to do seems a bit steep? 

Thanks for the tip on the tissue paper, will be a while before the heating is fired back up hopefully. There is brown dirty water spurted up the radiator so does look like it shot out the side. 

[Chindie]

2 hours ago, blandy said:

Don't do that, it's too gash.

If I've understood correctly, the gaps in the floorboards are inside the cupboard area? So probably the best way to keep critters from entering the inside of the house would be to cover that little part of flooring with hardboard. You can make a template using paper, if the shape is irregular, but if it's rectangular then it's even easier. The hardboard won't be visible, but is much better than that horrible expanding foam. Another alternative (depending on the size of the gaps) would be wood filler.

Some photos would help with trying to work out how to make the rest look OK, but it sounds like your plan is decent. Maybe not use worktops on the tops, perhaps some wood instead, which you could stain, varnish or paint, and it'll be easier to profile for any curvature or whatever in the walls it goes up against. Or you would make a little vertical ledge on the back, rather than profile it,  to stop stuff falling down any gaps where it backs onto the wall. If necessary you could make the ledge partly fill any such gap, by profiling the ledge back, or using filler again.

The gaps are at the worst under where the cupboards are but they also extend around the chimney breast a bit, hence thinking the foam might be a good idea. 

I guess I can scribe the gap. It's not very big - either side is about 90cm wide and 35cm deep.

The top I was thinking of getting some wood panel style stuff, not kitchen worktop style chipboard with a veneer, just a cheap constructed top. Like what the yanks call butcher block bit thinner (and cheaper).

...

Who am I kidding this is going to be a disaster.

[tinker]

1 hour ago, Chindie said:

The gaps are at the worst under where the cupboards are but they also extend around the chimney breast a bit, hence thinking the foam might be a good idea. 

I guess I can scribe the gap. It's not very big - either side is about 90cm wide and 35cm deep.

The top I was thinking of getting some wood panel style stuff, not kitchen worktop style chipboard with a veneer, just a cheap constructed top. Like what the yanks call butcher block bit thinner (and cheaper).

...

Who am I kidding this is going to be a disaster.

Post a picture......why don't you just remove the cupboard and reinstall floorboards? if you then want a cupboard buy a free standing one.

If you bodge it then you will be revisiting it in a few years time or if you try and sell it will cost you even more off the price of the property.