What "man jobs" have you done today?

[Sin_Chase]

Got some time to start seriously getting on in the flat renovation. First fitted all the plumbing and started preparing the old joists for new WPB Ply.

Pressurised the plumbing and it doesn't leak so that's a start..... First time I've worked with push fittings.

Just need to solvent cement the waste into place then do a full leak test. Will probably check flow carefully as the room I had to work with to achieve a drop was tricky. If that's fine I understand it's good to plug the exit and flood the pipework fully to recheck for leaks.

 

[Jez]

Push fit stuff is stronger than anything else in my recent experience, i had a JG Speedfit fitting which i couldnt remove as it was partially buried into a wall which had been boarded and plastered after it was put in, and the copper pipe that it was connected to ended up breaking first as i brute forced it with big grips.

 

[clubb699]

Got some time to start seriously getting on in the flat renovation. First fitted all the plumbing and started preparing the old joists for new WPB Ply.

Pressurised the plumbing and it doesn't leak so that's a start..... First time I've worked with push fittings.

Just need to solvent cement the waste into place then do a full leak test. Will probably check flow carefully as the room I had to work with to achieve a drop was tricky. If that's fine I understand it's good to plug the exit and flood the pipework fully to recheck for leaks.

I love looking at DIY and building work keep us updated

 

[paintguy]

I used to hate plumbing until I discovered push fit. Changed my life

This little lot provides for my kitchen taps, H&C running right to the utility room with a dishwasher feed just out of sight. H&C to the shower room running to the left and also an outside tap. All fitting behind/beneath/between the cupboards.



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Finished painting the outside of the house today, one of the hardest jobs I've had to do. The new smooth render downstairs was a doddle but the upstairs and front of the house was a super rough Tyrolean finish. It absolutely drunk the paint and we ended up needing at least double of what the Sandtex calculator predicted.

Even with the longest pile Harris roller I could find it was still extremely slow going, doing less than a square foot at a time and having to go in multiple directions to get the paint deep into the texture.

Never again, lol. It's supposed to last 15 years so by the time it needs doing again I might not even be around

 

[Sin_Chase]

Today I cut the 8x4ft 18mm WPB ply to size and dry fitted checking size. Heavy work alone! Allowed me to test place shower tray in about right position for when I've battened out walls. Marked trap and cut out. Once I was happy the flexi waste would meet my dry fitted waste pipe I removed floor and solvent weld cemented all the pipe joints. No going back on that now.

Will leak test the waste tomorrow and all being well i'll screw and glue the floor into place.

 

[Sin_Chase]

Glued and screwed floor, scraped all walls to get as plumb as possible for battens. Know I'm going to need shims though.

Boarded up old main house window opening with some insulation behind and fixed a hole in the wall which I caused with some.... over-enthusiastic demolition. Just cut the smashed bit open larger into something more geometrically sound to accept some new board. Will skim, sand and repaint later on.

I have also decided one wall is just way too shagged to batten with timber. Bought some Gyproc Metal channel and upright to erect a stud slightly away from the existing wall. Should be fun!

 

[eviled]

draught-proofed the lounge floor with 100m of DraughtEx

hand on the hands but worked an absolute treat and much warmer for winter!!

Anyone has draughty Victorian floor boards I highly recommend this

 

[Kimi]

Take a look at the metal battens brackets mate. The brackets they fix to have 5 holes I think it is so you can get each wall bang on without having to use spacers.

https://www.buildingmaterials.co.uk/gl2-gyplyner-metal-stud-fixing-bracket-75mm-leg-1-box-100-pieces

 

[Sin_Chase]

Thats exactly what I've got Kimi.

Gyproc channels, uprights and the flat brackets you bend at right angles into a U shape to stand off against the wall.

I think I'm going to be ditch the timber all together for the walls and do them all in the same system. It's not very expensive either!

 

[azazl187]

I fit a stair gate.... Does that count?

 

[Kimi]

I'm doing similar. Going to put s some insulation behind mine as well. Is going on a single brick external wall.

Doing a job at the moment where is being used. Seems a great system.

 

[topgun06]

Keep the pics coming @Sin_Chase, all very interesting. I'll be renovating my bathroom soon so every picture helps prepare me

What did you use to glue the ply?

 

[Sin_Chase]

Gap filling adhesive, ended up with grip fill. No bounce or squeaks.

Builders merchants lorry arrived today with a HIAB and some pallets! Metal channel, HardieBacker, insulation was the bulk of it.

Put water resistant plasterboard on ceiling today and built first metal stud wall off from old naff one. Most of the time is spent ensuring the bottom and top channels are perfectly square and level. Once that's done the uprights are easy. Very happy with result so far, time will tell how it all holds up when tiled. The official YouTube videos are super helpful.

Need to do some research on a tanking kit now. Rather be safe than sorry, even with cement based tile backer.

 

[Pabl0]

Any reason to use metal channel over cls? Looks like a pretty good job either way.

 

[Kimi]

That one on the right, closest to the pipes coming up. If you run the studs that way along you'll get another inch of space. Had to many beers to explain properly but I'll try to post some pictures tomorrowto's what I mean

 

[Sin_Chase]

Any reason to use metal channel over cls? Looks like a pretty good job either way.

The walls are skimmed/concrete rendered really badly and chewed up. That particular wall has about a +/- 25mm variance over the whole surface.

I'd probably spend about 100 quid on packers just trying to get a plumb surface to tile on and probably still end up with an uneven surface.

The channel let me throw up a stud up easily and quickly. The floating uprights make alignment on the Backer board easy also. It probably worked out cheaper than timber too.

 

[Simon]

I would have just stuck Marmox to that wall. Dot and dabbed with spankers put in after.

 

[Buffman]

...

Looks like a good effort. Is the metal channel purely to make the wall level or insulation also?

Is the pipework all plastic? Any concerns about leaks etc compared to copper?

I see you've put ply down under the shower tray, my plumber laid mine straight on the floorboards but not sure if that's correct! :X (was a stone tray and spread across the suspended floor so should be OK

 

[rexehuk]

Tore out and rewired S plan unvented system, whoever originally wired it was on drugs, sea of colours!

Now hive nicely working

 

[Sin_Chase]

The metal channel primary function was to get a square wall. I'll also be putting some acoustic (internal) and thermal (external) wall insulation in the but this was a secondarily consideration.

I'm putting in a stone resin tray and I don't see why you wouldn't install it on the subfloor, whatever that is. Direct to floorboards seems a bit of a bodge to me? What's the centres at? Can't be much less than 400mm centres. I'd be concerned about the load not being evenly distributed along with deflection and flex.

The plastic v copper debate is endless and ongoing. Some won't touch anything but soldered copper and others swear by plastic and push fit. Time will tell. Plastic is easy to work with, can do longer runs around bends without fittings and you don't need to use a blow torch next to flammables. I'm no plumber and I chose plastic and push fit for the convenience and ease of install rather than any perceived or actual benefit / disadvantage over the copper.