Miscellaneous DIY Projects (or bits of jobs)

[Big Kev]

You do amazing projects Kev!

I wouldn't go that far but they keep me out of mischief

[Big Kev]

Today's exciting job was to cut a hole in the ceiling and fit a new loft hatch and ladder. Fortunately it was a lot easier than expected as the upstairs ceilings are all plasterboard rather than laths and plaster
I fitted a light while I was up there too.

IMG_20240321_134642.jpg

IMG_20240321_135320.jpg

[Stanley]

Up to the usual standards Kev. Not a job I'd enjoy!
One thing that has always nattered me about old houses is that the loose hatches fitted in loft accesses are usually made of matchboard and in stormy weather move about in their frames and rattle. When I moved here I was rebuilding the Fulling Mill at Helmshore and dealing with some heavy timbers so I used some inch and a half thick oak oak off-cuts to make a better hatch. That one has never lifted in a wind!

[Big Kev]

The hatch is insulated plastic, very straightforward to fit.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/manthorpe-gl ... SFAppShare

[Big Kev]

Now I have proper access to the attic space I can move in to the next job, extractor fan for the bathroom.
Biggest job was the 5in hole through the wall into the loft space.
Took a while as the drill packed up halfway through, fortunately it was still under warranty so I bobbed out to Screwfix for a replacement.
There wasn't room above the bathroom window lintel so the ducting will have to go through the corner of my office, into the attic
and then to the bathroom ceiling above the shower

IMG_20240326_131651.jpg

16 inches of stone burnt out the brushes in the drill.

IMG_20240326_131712.jpg

Shiny new drill with the 5 inch core cutter

IMG_20240326_131758.jpg

A bit of boxing in required in the office.

IMG_20240326_131746.jpg

The hole for the grille above the shower cubicle.

Time for a brew and then part two to follow

[Big Kev]

Part two, it took a while to wire it in to the lighting circuit. The neutral loop was easy enough to find in the bathroom light, the live loop a little harder. I was expecting to find both loops in the light fitting but nay, the live loop is in the switches.

[Stanley]

That's where I would have fallen down......
I texted my builders before weekend to ask them to bring a chimney cowl and fut it while they are on the roof this week. Got a reply yesterday 'Will do'. That makes me happy......

[Big Kev]

That's where I would have fallen down......
I texted my builders before weekend to ask them to bring a chimney cowl and fut it while they are on the roof this week. Got a reply yesterday 'Will do'. That makes me happy......

Did you get a chimney cowl fitted?

[Stanley]

Haven't seen hide nor hair of the builders since that text. I sent another text yesterday..... "Any time now?"

[Tizer]

One of the 6ft fence posts between our garden and the neighbours was snapped at the base during the gales a few weeks ago. We dithered about getting it fixed because there are so many bushes there and access isn't easy. We didn't want big-booted fencers trampling over our shrubs. Then I heard we were going to get more gale force winds and luckily I found the Post Buddy web site: Post Buddy It had good reviews, was cheap and the site provided lots of information. I ordered a pack yesterday and it arrived first thing this morning by DPD. I fixed one on our side and then did the other side in the garden of our neighbours, Mr and Mrs Hussein. They were delighted, especially because he admits to definitely being a poor handyman! The job was easy, the post feels solid now and we're happy bunnies. Bring on the wind!

[Stanley]

Re. builders. Text from John, they want a dry day to go on the roof, chase the leak and fit my cowl. Just a question of being patient.The damp patch in the front room has dried up a bit since I took the big picture down off that section of wall. The damp wasn't doing the picture any good.
Well done Peter! That looks like a good repair. And yes, we are expecting storm Kathleen today..... There do seem to have been a lot of them.

[Tizer]

40+mph winds forecast for here today and tomorrow.

[Big Kev]

Bought a used Bose surround sound system a couple of days ago and finished the installation today. I managed to reuse the speaker cabling from the Sony system it replaced but had to reroute a lot of it, the Sony had the amplifier under the TV so all the speaker cables came from there. The Bose has the amplifier in the sub so the speaker cables have to plug in to that, it would have been relatively straightforward but it sits behind the sofa on the opposite side of the room with just a control unit under the TV. The four sets of cube speakers required new fixings for their brackets as they're considerably heavier than the Sony kit. Needless to say it's all in and sounds magnificent,

IMG_20240414_112614_1713110002942.jpg

The centre cube speakers on the mantlepiece under the TV.

IMG_20240414_193332.jpg

and one of the wall cubes.

[Stanley]

My new telly does clever things with sound but it won't be as good as that!
Susan and Mick saw it for the first time yesterday and Susan, who has lousy hearing and two hearing aids said the sound was very good for her.

[Big Kev]

My TV is limited by speaker size, they're made so slim there's no room for decent sized speakers. Hearing aids (we both wear them now) made a difference but the better quality surround system definitely improved things.

[Stanley]

I'm sure it would have the same affects for me but after spending £1,000 on the new set I can't justify any more expense and it really is adequate.
I am reminded of a conversation that was relayed to me between two High-Fi buffs. One was telling the other that on a record his system was so good that you could hear the guitarist's waistcoat buttons rubbing on the back of the instrument. The other man said "Not for me. I had my hearing tested and that has defined my limits".

[Big Kev]

I'm sure it would have the same affects for me but after spending £1,000 on the new set I can't justify any more expense and it really is adequate.

I certainly wouldn't have bought a new surround system, it came up at the right price and I sold the old one a couple of days later and recouped half the cost.

[Stanley]

Muck to t'midden as they say.....

[PanBiker]

Spring cleaning stuff. Made a start on jet washing the yard. Sally wants her new mini greenhouse setting up which has a knock on to other jobs. Its sits against our neighbours kitchen wall, and as that is the full length of our yard we look after the stone paint on it, brilliant white. Our backyard wall is at right angles to that and its where we fit our three bins. I have jet washed the first three strips of flags which covers the full depth of the yard and entire area for the next job which will be the stone painting of those two walls. I gave the walls a jet wash as well to get the mense of the algae off ready for painting. They just need a wire brushing now to get any loose bits off.

I need to do a bit of arepair on the yard gate as well. It's T&G construction with two hinge rails and a cross member and a top rail. The first T&G board , (which is only half width) and the top rail has some wet rot so needs replacing before it get it's annual coat of blue fence paint. I will pop down to Merrits and see if they have any offcuts that might do the job.

[Stanley]

I remember when John Northage had stone-painted my mother's house in King Street he said to me "You'll see. It'll spread like a rash!" He was right.....

[Big Kev]

Re. builders. Text from John, they want a dry day to go on the roof, chase the leak and fit my cowl. Just a question of being patient.The damp patch in the front room has dried up a bit since I took the big picture down off that section of wall. The damp wasn't doing the picture any good.

Have they been?

[Stanley]

Not yet Kev..... I don't believe in nagging but I'll admit to getting a bit antsy!

[Big Kev]

Give them a little nudge.

[PanBiker]

We saw John and his wife the other day when out walking. Asked if he could do our troughing, he said yes but not holding our breath

[Stanley]

I did as you suggest Kev, a small polite leg pull about dry weather....
The good thing is that as the weather is dry the wall is drying slowly of its own volition!