What "man jobs" have you done today?

[Mark A]

Shows how little I know about proper DIY. Self tapping screws have little drill bits on them right? I can buy some. Should I get a selection of sizes for wood?

But anyway, I just removed the screws my builder put in (he replaced some of the fencing) and reused them lower down. They needed to be drilled into the post, they wouldn't have gone in with just using the electric screwdriver I don't think?

You don't use self tapping screws for wood. They're usually used for metal, i.e screwing things to metal partitioning, or fixing sheet metal in place.

For wood you can usually just screw a woodscrew straight into softwood fence posts etc without pre-drilling. In hardwoods, or if you're screwing into internal joinery that will be on show, or a thin piece of wood that might split, you can pre-drill a hole before putting the screw in. I usually hold a drill bit up to the screw and find one that is the same diameter as the screw neck, but smaller diameter than the thread.

HSS drill bits are for use with metal and can also be used on wood. Don't use them on masonry, it'll destroy them. Cobalt just means it has had cobalt added to the alloy of the steel, which I believe allows them to drill harder metals.

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks NoobCannon and Mark A, that's good info for me for future DIY. Yeah, I guess my builder would have just screwed straight into the wood. I'll do that in future, certainly save a lot of time instead of finding appropriate drill bits.

"You don't use self tapping screws for wood". Ah ok, but why then did NoobCannon and The Craig suggest self tappers? I'm confused, lol.

 

[Buffman]

Thanks NoobCannon and Mark A, that's good info for me for future DIY. Yeah, I guess my builder would have just screwed straight into the wood. I'll do that in future, certainly save a lot of time instead of finding appropriate drill bits.

"You don't use self tapping screws for wood". Ah ok, but why then did NoobCannon and The Craig suggest self tappers? I'm confused, lol.

Sorry I mean wood screws (most would do it!)

Edit: yeah it's tungsten carbide bits you want for masonry also (not cobalt!)

 

[Sin_Chase]

For wood that soft / of that size not really an issue driving straight in.

Be wary with smaller or harder stock as you risk splitting the wood if you don't drill a pilot hole.

 

[Mark A]

"You don't use self tapping screws for wood". Ah ok, but why then did NoobCannon and The Craig suggest self tappers? I'm confused, lol.

"self tappers" usually refers to the screws with a small drill bit on the ends and then a fine thread that is designed for cutting into metal. These wouldn't be great for use in wood as the thread is way too fine.

There are some fancy wood screws like the Screwfix 'turbo gold' that claim to not need a pilot hole. I have found them to just work exactly the same as normal gold screws in practice. You still need a pilot hole in thin stock with them as the screw doesn't remove any material and will still split the timber. They also drive just as easily as a normal wood screw in thicker timber, so they're just over priced woodscrews imo.

 

[Participant]

Swapped the Golf's smashed fog light units out and replaced the halogens with LED bulbs. Looks great, everything went well, go to test and...'bulb out' error on dash. Guess the change in electrical load has triggered something in the VW system. I never appreciated that this could be an issue as the eBay listing just said 'plug and play'.

Bah.

 

[Kimi]

Emptied water from the boat. Again

I need to buy a boat cover

 

[adwol48]

Swapped the Golf's smashed fog light units out and replaced the halogens with LED bulbs. Looks great, everything went well, go to test and...'bulb out' error on dash. Guess the change in electrical load has triggered something in the VW system. I never appreciated that this could be an issue as the eBay listing just said 'plug and play'.

Bah.

did it also mention it wouldnt trigger any CANbus errors.

 

[Duke]

Last weekend and this weekend, sealed garage floor and walls before painting. Also a chance to clear out some rubbish. Going to get a quote for running electric to it and get a roller door (possibly electric one) to replace the original 1970s up & over.

 

[Participant]

did it also mention it wouldnt trigger any CANbus errors.

No. It's a ten year old car so if there's not a cheap / simple solution, I'll just suck up the error light and tell my wife (whose car it is) that it means extra bright fog lights have been successfully detected .

Last weekend and this weekend, sealed garage floor and walls before painting. Also a chance to clear out some rubbish. Going to get a quote for running electric to it and get a roller door (possibly electric one) to replace the original 1970s up & over.

Looks like good work but can I ask what the point was? Genuine question in that I see a lot of people painting / sealing their garages, whereas to me it's a space that's perfectly suited to being messy and unfinished.

 

[Simon]

Clean floor and stops dust from concrete. White walls make it lights.

Looks loads better !

 

[Firestar_3x]

Ripped up the main lounge carpet and underlay, new underlay and carpet fitted (not me) followed by a pub lunch, hard day!

 

[Duke]

Looks like good work but can I ask what the point was? Genuine question in that I see a lot of people painting / sealing their garages, whereas to me it's a space that's perfectly suited to being messy and unfinished.

Clean floor and stops dust from concrete. White walls make it lights.

Looks loads better !

For those reasons - the amount of dust created by the concrete floor and walls was annoying which was the main thing so yeah you could just seal it and leave it at that but thought I would go the full hog and paint it too

 

[Kaka]

I like the bare brick look in a garage, but I definitely agree on either painting the floor or have mats. The amount of dust an unsealed floor creates is ridiculous.

 

[DXP55]

Last weekend and this weekend, sealed garage floor and walls before painting. Also a chance to clear out some rubbish. Going to get a quote for running electric to it and get a roller door (possibly electric one) to replace the original 1970s up & over.

Yes yes - do get a electric roller door - I have a up and over electric and next door had a roller fitter this year - So so much better and no gaps - they also have the alarm fitted which is a rubber tube on bottom of door and if anyone put's their hands under and lifts the alarm goes off - Thing is i never even thought about a roller door.

 

[samcat]

Yesterday - removed all the rotten wood from the veranda and rebuild with good wood





One pair of hands, so I cheated a pair of extra hands.






Had to use a pair of breaker bars and a rubber mallet to persuade it onto the upright posts and to adjust the verticle posts using a spirit level.
Class 4 treated timber, so suitable for very wet environments.. Then painted with soak in treatment (tanatone) on all cuts, drills and joins, then coated all surfaces. Got about 3 coats on most of it, but ran out for the front face of the last bit. More on the way.

Other side needs doing sometime as its also showing signs of rot, but nowhere near as bad as the side I replaced. Looking at it, built using untreated timber/not suitable treatment and then lots of screws etc from above (so water had an 'in').

 

[tedaC]

started giving the decking some much needed TLC before winter really kicks in. Half way through (ran out of decking paint).

 

[Kol]

Quite a transformation!

 

[DXP55]

Out with the old

A big hole but will the new one fit - they are same make but the kitchen fitters cut the hole crooked - If it was a upright square it was leaning to the right by about 10mm - Had to wait 2 hrs before new one came and it slotted in fine.

A new Siemens Induction Hob and free pans - I have always wondered what people meant about the buzz and now I know - on boost it buzzes like mad.

 

[adwol48]

Built up an ikea hemnes 8 draw chest of draws took far longer than i thought it would came in three different boxes