The DIY thread

[Follyfoot]

20 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

Woah, I have questions here, so you just pop it on grass, cooking side down? then you wash it the next day, and its easier to clean? This sounds like voodoo, and I am not sure I trust voodoo.

Yep

[Marka Ragnos]

6 hours ago, av1 said:

If it has damaged your razor you obviously have power at the outlet, which means that the outlet itself has failed. Swap it over and you should be grand. 
 

Whilst not entirely familiar with American products a failed outlet shouldn’t have damaged your razor, so the other possibility is that your razor has failed which in turn has damaged your outlet. 

Wow -- you're so helpful. Thank you. I will let you know how it turns out. I'll be tackling it in next few days ...

[Tegis]

Been replacing a wood decking all day. Removing old screws from semi descent wood is right pain in the bollox.

To the Tipple thread!!!!!!

[foreveryoung]

1 hour ago, Tegis said:

Been replacing a wood decking all day. Removing old screws from semi descent wood is right pain in the bollox.

To the Tipple thread!!!!!!

Cordless Impact screwdriver a godsend.

[Tegis]

5 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Cordless Impact screwdriver a godsend.

How does the impact part prevent the stripping of the torx-pattern of a deeply sunken screw? (I have a cordless screwdriver)

[foreveryoung]

9 hours ago, Tegis said:

How does the impact part prevent the stripping of the torx-pattern of a deeply sunken screw? (I have a cordless screwdriver)

Vibrates the screw, making it easier to get out. Cordless screwdriver just tries to turn it.

[Tegis]

29 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Vibrates the screw, making it easier to get out. Cordless screwdriver just tries to turn it.

Cool, I've tracked one down at a friend. Will give it a go. Hurting today

[Rds1983]

How tricky would it be to move a ceiling light and run a second one off it in order to make a room brighter?

I swapped the old light fitting for a new one so reckon I could probably reposition this one and run a connection off it.

Would it be a load of faff though? Lifting floorboards above it etc.

One concern would be that it's in a converted garage and whoever did the original light has run it off the mains and not the lights circuit (discovering that was a shock - almost literally).

[Stevo985]

I've bought some sticky tiles for our porch floor. It's only a small space, I reckon 0.75m x 2m, if that.

It should be an easy job, but how do I line up the tiles? Do I just start in one corner and go for it?

i've seen stuff say you should start in the middle, but with such a small area it doesn't seem practical. It's not even wide enough for two of the tiles I don't think, so starting in the middle seems like it would cause extra faff as I'd have to cut pieces for both sides

Edited July 17, 2023 by Stevo985

[delboy54]

37 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

I've bought some sticky tiles for our porch floor. It's only a small space, I reckon 0.75m x 2m, if that.

It should be an easy job, but how do I line up the tiles? Do I just start in one corner and go for it?

i've seen stuff say you should start in the middle, but with such a small area it doesn't seem practical. It's not even wide enough for two of the tiles I don't think, so starting in the middle seems like it would cause extra faff as I'd have to cut pieces for both sides

Its one of the DIY jobs that my wife has banned me from. Any types of tiling, floor, ceramic etc and carpet laying......too much swearing she says ....

We got a guy in to tile the bathroom, he did it in 2 days, would have taken me weeks of frustration coupled with the silent treatment by the wife giving me the "I told you so" look.

[Stevo985]

1 hour ago, delboy54 said:

Its one of the DIY jobs that my wife has banned me from. Any types of tiling, floor, ceramic etc and carpet laying......too much swearing she says ....

We got a guy in to tile the bathroom, he did it in 2 days, would have taken me weeks of frustration coupled with the silent treatment by the wife giving me the "I told you so" look.

If I was doing a big room like a bathroom (in fact our bathroom does need doing) then I'd get a professional in.

But this is such a small area, and they're just sticky tiles, that would seem like a waste.

My plan was just to start from the corner with a fulle size tile and see how far I get before I have to start cutting things

[AVFC_Hitz]

I don't know much about tiling but I'm 99% sure you start from the middle.

[AvfcRigo82]

2 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

I've bought some sticky tiles for our porch floor. It's only a small space, I reckon 0.75m x 2m, if that.

It should be an easy job, but how do I line up the tiles? Do I just start in one corner and go for it?

i've seen stuff say you should start in the middle, but with such a small area it doesn't seem practical. It's not even wide enough for two of the tiles I don't think, so starting in the middle seems like it would cause extra faff as I'd have to cut pieces for both sides

It is a relatively easy job in such a small area. Whenever i've had to do this before, I would always lay out the tiles first and I would start in the middle. You soon have your pattern with them layed out to see if/what needs cutting and where around the edges etc. 

You might get lucky and have 3/4 lanes that all fit perfectly in place without any cutting of tiles required, but the chances are you will probably have to cut a few I would guess.

Given that they are only sticky back bendy tiles then they should be easy to cut with a good Stanley knife?

Other than that, if you can't be arsed with it looking professional and equal then just pick a corner and start sticking and just cut out the shapes for any small spaces at the end that you need.  

 

[Mandy Lifeboats]

3 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

I've bought some sticky tiles for our porch floor. It's only a small space, I reckon 0.75m x 2m, if that.

It should be an easy job, but how do I line up the tiles? Do I just start in one corner and go for it?

i've seen stuff say you should start in the middle, but with such a small area it doesn't seem practical. It's not even wide enough for two of the tiles I don't think, so starting in the middle seems like it would cause extra faff as I'd have to cut pieces for both sides

 

Starting in 1 corner is NOT a good idea.  If the room is a few mm wider at one end (many are) then you tiles will not line up correctly.  You will also have a tiny gap that will be awful to fill.   

Find the middle of the room by placing string from opposite corners.  Where they meet is dead centre.  

Then lie out the tiles without adhesive.  Move the centre point up, down, left of right if you get very small gaps at the edges.  Cutting very thing slithers is a nightmare.  They rarely stick.  

 

 

[Stevo985]

See this is the kind of knowledge I don't have!

[chrisp65]

Will the porch floor get a bit wet or damp at times?
If it’s not an insulated space and there’s a chance it can get a little bit damp then those sticky tiles might have a limited life, the adhesive doesn’t work great in the damp. If its a modern and dry space, no problem.

With the starting in the middle, that’s definitely the right thing to do…but…you will need to decide if starting in the middle means middle of the tile, or the joint between two tiles. Hope that makes sense?

So, if your porch was 1200 wide and tiles were 600 wide, then it would make sense for the middle to be the joint. That way you use 2 whole tiles. Put a tile in the middle and you have 1 whole tile and 2 half tiles.

Basically, do it on a piece of graph paper first and see what looks least faff.

[choffer]

I'd forgotten this thread existed!

I've been tasked with fixing a problem in the OH's kitchen. Not sure why it's on me rather than her landlord and I fear I'll make it worse rather than better.

There's two storage drawers under the hob and both of them have clearly been botched in the past. The screws holding the runners, are loose in the holes that have been drilled for them in the wood (chipboard) so the drawers keep dropping (insert KW*). Trying to find a fatter screw that isn't too long is proving a pain. Is there something I could use to fill the hole and then re-screw the screws into it? Rawl plugs haven't worked so far as they're too long. Maybe I could snip the ends? Any advice appreciated.

 

*appreciate that most of this post is KW-worthy.

[Stevo985]

1 hour ago, chrisp65 said:

Will the porch floor get a bit wet or damp at times?
If it’s not an insulated space and there’s a chance it can get a little bit damp then those sticky tiles might have a limited life, the adhesive doesn’t work great in the damp. If its a modern and dry space, no problem.

With the starting in the middle, that’s definitely the right thing to do…but…you will need to decide if starting in the middle means middle of the tile, or the joint between two tiles. Hope that makes sense?

So, if your porch was 1200 wide and tiles were 600 wide, then it would make sense for the middle to be the joint. That way you use 2 whole tiles. Put a tile in the middle and you have 1 whole tile and 2 half tiles.

Basically, do it on a piece of graph paper first and see what looks least faff.

It'll get a bit wet but only from wet shoes. It won't be exposed to rain or anything. And it'll have a mat for walking directly on, so minimal damp.

To be fair they're a temporary solution anyway. i know they're a quick cheap fix, just a placeholder until we do something more permanent with it.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Stevo985

[Seat68]

1 hour ago, choffer said:

I'd forgotten this thread existed!

I've been tasked with fixing a problem in the OH's kitchen. Not sure why it's on me rather than her landlord and I fear I'll make it worse rather than better.

There's two storage drawers under the hob and both of them have clearly been botched in the past. The screws holding the runners, are loose in the holes that have been drilled for them in the wood (chipboard) so the drawers keep dropping (insert KW*). Trying to find a fatter screw that isn't too long is proving a pain. Is there something I could use to fill the hole and then re-screw the screws into it? Rawl plugs haven't worked so far as they're too long. Maybe I could snip the ends? Any advice appreciated.

 

*appreciate that most of this post is KW-worthy.

Ikea units have these screws that have a bigger girth than standard screws but also a shorter length, how much length and how girth do you want, I say this as I may have a few left over.

 

Googling ikea short fat screws will give you an idea.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Seat68

[chrisp65]

Ron Jeremy gif