DIY woes

[snowcat]

If I insulate it and completely replaster this is going to become a massive job.

TBH looking at the state of the walls your easiest option is going to be board over the existing its fruitless to re-board and not insulate, with 9" solids you are just throwing £££ notes away year in year out.


You don't need to buy the backed board its easy to use but expensive, you could use seconds for your insulation board, batten over for the air gap then board on top. none of that will cost you fortunes in material, labour is what kills building work.

I have got a shed load of 20mm battens left over you could have, 25mm give you more to "hit" but 20mm would do.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

labour is what kills building work.

Especially when people have to pay someone else to come and correct the first chaps cock up.

Seems to happen a lot these days.

 

[snowcat]

Especially when people have to pay someone else to come and correct the first chaps cock up.

Seems to happen a lot these days.

Trades cock up…. No such thing

Bag of skim and a spread in for a day..he should sort that in a day and might cost £150 tops. Do a bit of overtime to sort his money and put this to bed. I would rather go and work a day doing my job and pay someone a day doing there's and eradicate the worry and stress

£150 in the S/E!!!! They don't get out of bed for less than £200...A day being 6hrs of course.... and that's if and when they decide to turn up.

 

[Brad93]

Yeah we are in Essex remember.

 

[Brad93]

This is a small room, putting Battons on the wall, insulation then plasterboard is gonna make it a cupboard.

As said I’m going to insulate the exterior wall next year and render over the top.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Trades cock up…. No such thing

I refuse to site bash anymore.

Not my problem is far to common these days instead of solving a problem.

Spent the last few days replacing kitchen units and worktops after a gas leak/fire.
Caused by negligence on the gas installers part.
3 incidents on the estate in mk

Horseshoe layout worktops. 3 screws holding the lot down.
None of the base units were fixed to the wall despite the brackets being in position already.
In fils and end panels flapping around unfixed.
Dishwasher on blocks where the legs have been snapped off and the fixing brackets on the top also snapped.

10mm out of level from one side to the other and didn't bother squaring up the units so had to work off jig to keep my overhangs parallel.

Standard to see installs like this.

 

[Brad93]

I refuse to site bash anymore.

Not my problem is far to common these days instead of solving a problem.

Spent the last few days replacing kitchen units and worktops after a gas leak/fire.
Caused by negligence on the gas installers part.
3 incidents on the estate in mk

Horseshoe layout worktops. 3 screws holding the lot down.
None of the base units were fixed to the wall despite the brackets being in position already.
In fils and end panels flapping around unfixed.
Dishwasher on blocks where the legs have been snapped off and the fixing brackets on the top also snapped.

10mm out of level from one side to the other and didn't bother squaring up the units so had to work off jig to keep my overhangs parallel.

Standard to see installs like this.

Wanna come do ours. Howden’s (or their installers) done exactly the same thing.

I’ll give you guys some background.

My girlfriend of 7 years’ Mum passed away unexpectedly in September so my girlfriend inherited the house.

All work always carried out on the cheap or via first bloody company quoted, like howdens or cold callers.

4 year old Kitchen and bathroom shocking, electrics shocking (now sorted), thermostat was broken, porch is falling to bits.

Tiling is terrible, they left the bloody white spacers in and grouted over the top.

Toilet isn’t even fixed to the floor.

 

[Nomad]

Ignoring the insulation stuff (as you're doing that next year) a quick and easy fix is :
* paint the walls around the window with watered down *matt* white emulsion as whitewash, mixed 50%/50%, so you can see any faults.
* use "superfine filler" (I get tubs from our pound shop), use a credit card to smooth the filler into the cracks and to level any hollows. Sand smooth if needed.
* repeat both steps above as often as needed, when done paint it in your chosen coluor.

Allow plenty of time to dry between each step.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Welcome to my world Brad. Spend my working days working around stuff like that. I cant walk out the door if its not up to scratch and hate it when someones previous bodged work stops me doing mine properly.
Be a bit of a trek for me mate. Wouldnt be a deal if I didn't have thw kids id do a week away.
Might be worth asking for recommendations on here mind.

Must be doing something right. Year and a half going it alone and I dont have to look for work. It's finding me.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Ignoring the insulation stuff (as you're doing that next year) a quick and easy fix is :
* paint the window receces with watered down *matt* white emulsion whitewash, mixed 50%/50%, so you can see any faults.
* use "superfine filler" (I get tubs from our pound shop), use a credit card to smooth the filler into the cracks and to level any hollows.
* repeat both steps above as often as needed, when done paint it in your chosen coluor.

Allow plenty of time to dry between each step.

If your going that route might as well use easyfill. Skim over the lot and sand it up

 

[snowcat]

M

This is a small room, putting Battons on the wall, insulation then plasterboard is gonna make it a cupboard.

As said I’m going to insulate the exterior wall next year and render over the top.

True your lose a bit more than 2" off the external walls, However internal insulation on battens offers some big advantages. It will form a basic tank so help prevent not only damp but salt draw and other reactions working over old materials often bring,

It crucially also keeps the external shell of the building doing what its always done, letting both water in but crucially out again, There's decades of problems been caused on some old houses because matey had a heap of sand and cement to use. Most old places have very iffy DPCs if any at all, if the external face cannot let water out they have a habit of pulling it from the footing course and if it cant go out it goes in.

 

[gaz1]

Its not this end either brad like someone before posted see endless other peoples job still not finished right

 

[snowcat]

I refuse to site bash anymore.

Not my problem is far to common these days instead of solving a problem.

Spent the last few days replacing kitchen units and worktops after a gas leak/fire.
Caused by negligence on the gas installers part.
3 incidents on the estate in mk

Horseshoe layout worktops. 3 screws holding the lot down.
None of the base units were fixed to the wall despite the brackets being in position already.
In fils and end panels flapping around unfixed.
Dishwasher on blocks where the legs have been snapped off and the fixing brackets on the top also snapped.

10mm out of level from one side to the other and didn't bother squaring up the units so had to work off jig to keep my overhangs parallel.

Standard to see installs like this.

I always wonder who signs this work off, or who would pay the bill on sub work...…. I know many builders and trades, not a single would I recommend. Its why I do as much work as I can physicaly manage myself.

 

[snowcat]

Wanna come do ours. Howden’s (or their installers) done exactly the same thing.

I’ll give you guys some background.

My girlfriend of 7 years’ Mum passed away unexpectedly in September so my girlfriend inherited the house.

All work always carried out on the cheap or via first bloody company quoted, like howdens or cold callers.

4 year old Kitchen and bathroom shocking, electrics shocking (now sorted), thermostat was broken, porch is falling to bits.

Tiling is terrible, they left the bloody white spacers in and grouted over the top.

Toilet isn’t even fixed to the floor.

Well I started on a place like that in 1996 granted its not all the same place however over 2 decades latter I'm still going.. It wont stop.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

I always wonder who signs this work off, or who would pay the bill on sub work...…. I know many builders and trades, not a single would I recommend. Its why I do as much work as I can physicaly manage myself.

Likewise mate.
Do most of my own plumbing. As much enabling as I can for sparks
Tiling
General building.
Its not just the work quality either. Half the time trades dont turn up when they say or turn up late and do a half shift.

 

[Olderisbetter]

As Gaz1 has pointed out i would Use the fillets to pack out, On the inside i would use dabbing or hardwall to fill big holes and off cuts of plaster board dabbed in to save drying time and finish with sand-able skimming filler, Always PVA it helps blend new to old well.

 

[Brad93]

As Gaz1 has pointed out i would Use the fillets to pack out, On the inside i would use dabbing or hardwall to fill big holes and off cuts of plaster board dabbed in to save drying time and finish with sand-able skimming filler, Always PVA it helps blend new to old well.

Got a guy coming Saturday to have a look.

Cba to spend any more time on the bloody thing when the to do list is so long.

 

[Olderisbetter]

Got a guy coming Saturday to have a look.

Cba to spend any more time on the bloody thing when the to do list is so long.

My mate has a great poster in his man cave... "I'D RATHER D.I.E. THAN D.I.Y."

 

[Brad93]

Ive changed all bulbs in house to LED today and seeing the savings on the smart meter already.

I’ve got the other back bedroom window to sort in the morning, and I’ve just started on the creaking stairs.
Unfortunately I can’t get to the underside as someone has boarded the inside of the cupboard under the stairs with sheet metal. Post-WW1 homes aye.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

someone has boarded the inside of the cupboard under the stairs with sheet metal.

Their idea of a bomb shelter?