Projects At Home During Lockdown

[pete376403]

fair enough, the downlight wiring is not legal too, no primary insulation is allowed to be visible or able to be touched, any real sparky would be onto that though,

Could you clarify that please? Are you saying the wiring insulation inside the roof cavity has to be covered - are we going back to the days of conduit? I recall an electrician at work saying the wiring (ie fully insulated) could be exposed 2.4 metres above the floor level.

[jellywrestler]

Could you clarify that please? Are you saying the wiring insulation inside the roof cavity has to be covered - are we going back to the days of conduit? I recall an electrician at work saying the wiring (ie fully insulated) could be exposed 2.4 metres above the floor level.

secondary insulation is the white stuff, that is what they were talking, primary insulation is the first layer of coloured, primary is not allowed to be accesible without tools, so the way those downlights are is illegal. people usually find out when their insurance is declines

[TheDemonLord]

secondary insulation is the white stuff, that is what they were talking, primary insulation is the first layer of coloured, primary is not allowed to be accesible without tools, so the way those downlights are is illegal. people usually find out when their insurance is declines

After everything was all said and done, I can definitively confirm that the primary insulation is not accessible without tools.

Probably due to my crap photography, but the small downlights were already wired in, the White cord goes into a little white box, that then has a plug for the LED lights. For the feature light, The white cable goes into a sheath that sits inside another little white box, where the wires are stripped and connected.

But good to know.

I've had great 'fun' learning about all sorts of rules and regs.

[jellywrestler]

Probably due to my crap photography, but the small downlights were already wired in, the White cord goes into a little white box, that then has a plug for the LED lights. For the feature light, The white cable goes into a sheath that sits inside another little white box, where the wires are stripped and connected.

plugs are often a mistake, using them means the circuit then has to have RCD protection, ok on new build but often hard to accomadate on a retro fit. Also adds unneeded costs to the job. There is only one trade qual for electricians and a lot know so little about domestic work and give bad advice way too often.

[TheDemonLord]

Turns out that Self-levelling compound should in fact be referred to as Self-Lumping compound.

And now I have to get the Belt Sander out again.

\RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

[pete376403]

Turns out that Self-levelling compound should in fact be referred to as Self-Lumping compound.

And now I have to get the Belt Sander out again.

\RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

If this is floor levelling compound, it sets dead hard, dont think the sander will do much. I used some, followed the instructions for mixing and laying to the letter. It did seem a bit thick but I assumed they knew what they were talking about, anyway it didn't set level. I'm probably going to have to cut that section for floorboards out and try again.

[george formby]

If this is floor levelling compound, it sets dead hard, dont think the sander will do much. .

A decent rotary sander is required, 250mm disc minimum. 400mm betterer. And quite a few discs.. They are bitey and care needs to be taken to avoid cutting big smiles into the floor.

I think the trick with levelling compound is speed of application, starting from the lowest areas and working up, quickly.

[TheDemonLord]

If this is floor levelling compound, it sets dead hard, dont think the sander will do much. I used some, followed the instructions for mixing and laying to the letter. It did seem a bit thick but I assumed they knew what they were talking about, anyway it didn't set level. I'm probably going to have to cut that section for floorboards out and try again.

I've emailed the company going 'Halp!'

I mean - if it takes a few belts - belts are cheap. but yeah....

Same...

[TheDemonLord]

A decent rotary sander is required, 250mm disc minimum. 400mm betterer. And quite a few discs.. They are bitey and care needs to be taken to avoid cutting big smiles into the floor.

I think the trick with levelling compound is speed of application, starting from the lowest areas and working up, quickly.

I put it on really quick - I think in my case, I over-estimated how much I needed for the area and should have used less.

I'll chat with the local hire place to see what they have and swear profusely.

[TheDemonLord]

I tried a Barrel Sander (at the recommendation of the Hire Place) which turned into a very expensive way to turn Sanding Belts into Rubbish.

Eventually called the Builder and said 'Halp!' - He sent his Apprentice round with a circular Grinder thing with a fancy disk on it and they spent a couple of hours cleaning it up.

Which in the end (despite the extra cost) was the right call.

So, after much Sugar Soaping (because holy hell, even with a Shop Vac, Dust Attachment AND Drop sheets sealing the area off, it still was an absolute dust-storm) - Walls are Primed, Ceiling is painted and Backerboard is down (woo!)

Side note - Nailing Backerboard down is now also on my list of 'Absolute Cunt of a Job' - I've had less wrist strain on a 24 hour Wankathon.

Jokes aside - hopefully getting the Paint on the walls tomorrow, then can lay the tiles down, then it's a matter of wait for the Kitchen to be installed.

[TheDemonLord]

So here's the updates:




Ceiling painted and walls primed



Starting to get the Backerboard down



Backerboard completed



Walls painted with final coats.

This Weekend will be getting the tiles down and then the room is ready for whenever the Factory finishes the Kitchen.

[TheDemonLord]

Excuse the fact I haven't sugar soaped them yet (although after laying, I did give them a quick sponge down) - but that was my Sunday - not gonna lie, I'm feeling pretty thoroughly fucked. My Back in particular was twinging last night.

That said, according to the Tile Shop - to pay someone to do it, would have been upwards of $2.2K, and in terms of Tools, I've spent probably about $500 - so I've saved myself about $1.7K

Not bad, feeling pretty stoked with myself - lots of binge-watching YouTube tutorial videos - and the floor looks infinitely better than the 1980s Lino that was on there.

Big shout-out to the Tile Warehouse, their local shop was were I got all the supplies and a metric crap-tonne of advice - so if you need tiling done and are thinking 'well if some fat IT Nerd can do it, so can I' - definitely go check them out.

[george formby]

DIY, the gift that keeps on giving.

We did a quick tidy up of a property over the last couple of weeks.

Found the laundry and bathroom floor had rotted out due to a leaky washing machine.

Cutting out the rotten floor with a chainsaw was an ass puckering experience. Nearly as bad as removing the old toilet unit, masks don't help.

Had to replace some gib in the bathroom so I put in some extra nogs for a floating vanity unit before I put the new gib in. Pretty sure the original builders must have been alcoholics, not a straight line in the building.

All done now, looks really good for an amateur effort.

[TheDemonLord]

DIY, the gift that keeps on giving.

We did a quick tidy up of a property over the last couple of weeks.

Found the laundry and bathroom floor had rotted out due to a leaky washing machine.

Cutting out the rotten floor with a chainsaw was an ass puckering experience. Nearly as bad as removing the old toilet unit, masks don't help.

Had to replace some gib in the bathroom so I put in some extra nogs for a floating vanity unit before I put the new gib in. Pretty sure the original builders must have been alcoholics, not a straight line in the building.

All done now, looks really good for an amateur effort.

Yeah, if you look up close, in a couple of places you can see a few issues, but overall - I'm really happy with everything.

The next project is to re-GIB the upstairs and one of the Living rooms, got new Windows coming in a few months (to replace ones that are fooked) - then the house is pretty much done.

We might replace the carpets and put some thicker underlay as there's about a 3-4 mm step between the existing floors and the new tiled area.

And cutting floor with a Chainsaw does sound quite puckering - no skillsaw?

[george formby]

Used the Skilly to tidy up the areas I could access after the rough chainsaw job, had to cut along the walls so no access for anything with a foot plate. Used the saber saw and multi tool to tidy up edges and corners. Love sabre saws!

Dunno if it's just me but I always end up using every tool I posses for the simplest of jobs. The time spent grabbing more gear and taking it all back is sometimes longer than the job.

I also found out that ants love, really love, setting up home between the floor and expol. Never seen so many!

Pest control is the next job... Dunno quite how I'm going to get rid of them.