Couple of DIY questions

Merlin5 · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:13

Hi chaps. I've got two very long, fairly thick pieces of wood that were supports for an old front garden fence. Too long to fit in the car so I need to chop in half so I can take to the rubbish tip.

I don't own a proper saw, only a hacksaw which would obviously be useless. So I guess I'll need to buy a saw which will hardly ever get used. Will any cheap panel saw, like this http://www.diy.com/departments/spear-jackson-panel-saw-l22/152626_BQ.prd

do the job?

Second question. I painted the white tops of my front wall a couple of years ago with masonry paint. I didn't prepare them and the paint stayed on fine. Recently I was going to paint it again but my builders did it anyway. This was a few weeks ago. A few days ago I noticed it started flaking off. It only seems to be on the corner pillars and the main length of wall seems fine. I'll get a wire brush and scrub off any remaining loose paint, but what should I do before repainting it?

AHarvey · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:26

1) ask on FB if any mates have got a saw, one of them will

2) wire brush, repaint with masonry paint. Shouldn't need much if any prep work as long as it's clean.

Merlin5 · 22 Jan 2017 at 16:35

AHarvey said:
1) ask on FB if any mates have got a saw, one of them will

2) wire brush, repaint with masonry paint. Shouldn't need much if any prep work as long as it's clean.

1) Ah well, I'm not a member of FB so will probably just go and buy a saw.

2) So what's to stop the paint flaking off again if there's no prep? Then again, I don't know why it didn't flake off when I painted it a few years ago yet it flaked off this time when the builders did it.

BigBoy · 22 Jan 2017 at 16:53

1) got a local screwfix? £8 for a decent hand saw that if kept properly will last you years (as you don't use them often) http://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-jack-universal-saw-20/95247

2) probably cheap paint, I would be brushing it back with a wire brush and using some proper oil/egg shell based masonry paint.

tigerstyle · 22 Jan 2017 at 17:00

Merlin5 said:
1) Ah well, I'm not a member of FB so will probably just go and buy a saw.

Yeah but you have mates : or ask a neighbour, perfectly reasonable request

acake · 22 Jan 2017 at 17:00

1) a hack saw will cut it but a bit slow but it will do it if you cant get a saw

2) As a few above have said cheep paintmore than likely . so wire brush it make sure its dry for a few days to get moister out then repaint with a good masonry paint

radderfire · 22 Jan 2017 at 17:12

The saw you have linked to would do it fine.

touch · 22 Jan 2017 at 20:29

Just stick an ad on gumtree offering it as firewood or something. Someone will come and take it away for you.

darreny · 22 Jan 2017 at 20:43

Set light to them in the middle with them lay down, should burn through quite fast then snap them

rubberduck · 22 Jan 2017 at 21:48

I would cut that with a hack-saw if I didn't have a better tool for the job... Failing that go to Wilko and get a hand-saw for under £5.

Merlin5 · 23 Jan 2017 at 00:56

Lots of good suggestions! Thanks chaps. Hmm, burn, saw, hacksaw, gumtree. Not sure if anyone would really bother to come and take it for firewood though.

I think the masonry paint they used is in my shed, will check what it is tomorrow.

Semple · 23 Jan 2017 at 08:51

I think you'd be surprised what people would take away for free.