Miscellaneous DIY Projects (or bits of jobs)

[Stanley]

LINK
Sorry Ken I doubted you, but here you are, the proof.

[Big Kev]

Didn't get the ceiling rose up today, got distracted by middle offspring's car not starting. Went over with the diagnostic kit and identified the immobiliser was unable to communicate with the transponder in the key. 'Oh yeah' says offspring, 'the key fell apart the other day'. A bit of searching and he found the key innards in his bedside cabinet, all sorted.
I did cut some plywood to fit around the cabinet, tidied up some cables and the sofa was collected this morning. Ceiling rose and lining paper tomorrow

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Still needs some architrave to cover the screws and some light oak wood stain on the plywood.

[Stanley]

What would they do without you....

[Big Kev]

What would they do without you....

It's what dads do

Ceiling rose is up, I used a similar grab adhesive to 'sticks like sh!t' and a couple of screws into the plywood packer piece.

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[Big Kev]

I painted the ceiling but it went downhill after that, closer inspection of the wiring found it to be a bit 'crispy'. Only access was from above so it was move the bed, roll back the carpet and lift the floor. Definitely crispy, looks like speaker wire. Fortunately the rest of the lighting circuit looks sound and I had a bit of t&e in the cupboard. Sorted now.

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[plaques]

Our lighting circuit is three core (with earth). I made sure that the metal of the chandelier was always earthed even though the chinese wiring to the lamps were only two core. Some doubt crept into my mind that a lot of LED's have one connection as power and the case of the bulb as the return. Also the lamp wiring in the chandelier arms didn't always follow the same convention and was possible for the metal case to become live if it shorted. This should trip the mains circuit breaker which although annoying is OK providing you're not hold of the lamp when it goes live.

[Big Kev]

The circuit under the bedroom floor, albeit red and black, does have an earth, this is now connected to the metal light fitting in the front room.

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[plaques]

Very nice. Now back to ground level where you're curled up like a ball.

[Big Kev]

Very nice. Now back to ground level where you're curled up like a ball.

Pretty much I've been undercoating skirting boards.

[Stanley]

An entertaining read. Bit of a bummer finding the speaker wire. I'd be wondering if the same DIY bum had done any more little jobs.....

[PanBiker]

Bit of a bummer finding the speaker wire. I'd be wondering if the same DIY bum had done any more little jobs.....

I have related the tale before from my field servicing days when I had to pull the YEB fuses on a house on Green End Road in Earby. Handy hubby had rewired the house and sprinkled new sockets in the kitchen using figure 8 bell wire and no earth! They were only getting 100v out of the sockets.

[Big Kev]

I used 2.5mm t&e flex, a bit of overkill but I only needed a foot and that was all I had in the cupboard

[Big Kev]

Self powered wireless doorbell fitted, very impressed with the functionality. Hopefully it'll stand the test of time.
The transmitter (bell push) has it's own 'generator' that creates the signal to activate the two receivers, these are plugged into a standard 230v socket at either end of the house.

Just an update on this from 2020, the doorbell is still working

[Stanley]

That's valuable long term research!

[Big Kev]

Things moved on in the front room yesterday (back working today so it's all stopped again). All the wiring is in for the surround sound speakers, 3 walls are now Kyoto pale pink and the woodwork is white gloss. The carpet has gone to the tip and any gaps in the floorboards sealed with rockwool and gaffer tape. One wall to paper and the oak laminate floor to lay, both jobs for tomorrow

An 'outside' job came up yesterday too, middle offspring's exhaust. The back box had rotted away on one side and a quick fix was required, two baked bean tins, a pair of snips, a tub of Gun Gum and some self tapping screws. A feat of engineering
Not sure how long it'll last but it's a lot quieter for now.

[Big Kev]

It's been a quiet day at work so I managed to fit the surround speakers to their brackets and connected to the amp. I just need to hang paper on one wall and put the floor down.
A while ago Ian gave me an old radio, I will be adjusting a pair of bookshelf speakers to fit inside it and it will sit on top of a tall cabinet in one of the alcoves.
A shiny new leather suite will finish the room off nicely. Nearly there.

[PanBiker]

A while ago Ian gave me an old radio, I will be adjusting a pair of bookshelf speakers to fit inside it and it will sit on top of a tall cabinet in one of the alcoves.

Stick some LED's in it Kev and make the flip up dial light up.

[Big Kev]

A while ago Ian gave me an old radio, I will be adjusting a pair of bookshelf speakers to fit inside it and it will sit on top of a tall cabinet in one of the alcoves.

Stick some LED's in it Kev and make the flip up dial light up.

That's in the plan Ian.

[Stanley]

I tripped over a Youtube video yesterday of a bloke repairing a bum LED bulb by prising the dome off, identifying which chip was faulty and curing the bulb by sticking a piece of foil over the top of the chip to short it out.
Just thought I'd mention it!

[PanBiker]

Aye, most of the lamps are made up of multiple LED's which are connected in series so If one fails the lamp is duff.
I have also seen a You Tube video of a fix but that bloke took a more professional approach and chopped out the faulty SMD LED and bridged the contacts with solder. Same result but more substantial.

[Big Kev]

The laminate floor is in and I've been to the pub for tea.

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[Stanley]

Did you put your tools away and tidy up before you went?

[Big Kev]

Nope. Still got a 3 inch strip to cut and fit and then some trim around the edges. Run out of time before the dinner booking

[Stanley]

[Big Kev]

Still a few little bits left to do but it's ready for furniture
Before

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After

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