What "man jobs" have you done today?

Moved 10 ton of chippings to dust from the front to back and raked level to bring up 140m2 patio to level ready for slabs :mad: feeling it today
 
Finally got out my plunge / track saw and cut down my kitchen clad panels to size. Been putting it off as the kitchen was end of line so one wrong cut would have been a major problem. The track saw has been one of the most handy tools I've bought.
 
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Participant said:
Very timely!

Apparently laying hens are hard to come by at the moment due to large increases in demand; do you already have chickens or are you planning to get some?
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So we ended up getting six hens just over a.week ago (last bank holiday Friday) :

2 Sussex Whites, 2 Bluebells and 2 Standard Browns a.k.a. Bluebell, Henrietta, Truffles, Ginger, Mrs Clucks and Amber :D

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After just over a week of being in and settling down I put up the "signs" my daughters made and trimmed / stapled the wire around the door.

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Also dug in an old paving slab to give a level base for the water hopper and sorted out two "dust baths"

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Also, this weekend did a fair bit of weeding / sorting if borders and tidied up the raspberry (cane) bed.

Then a job I've been meaning to do for ages but never got round to. There are two sizable trees in the back garden which ivy is taking over so cut the ivy back at ground level and then 4 feet or so up the trunks. Hopefully it should die off above as its all the way up the trees

One before

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And both after

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These are both sizeable, mature trees, and really wouldn't want anything to happen to them:

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The hedge on the right is 8 foot and the fence on the left 6 foot to give a sense of scale ....

I even have a potting shed and two compost bins hidden under them

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Still shed loads of stuff to do to get it anywhere like and I don't even like (absolutely hate) gardening ....
 
Painted a large iron gate and the bay window and porch soffits (think that's what they are called)

Painted the same colour in santex exterior wood and metal gloss black, thought I was being clever buying one time for both jobs at £34, should have bought the £20 tin because I've barely used any!

I'll use it on the lead flashing when I get some ladders
 
NickK said:
.... coffee first!
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The tap connectors are bitching corroded on, and the angle grinder is too large - so I need something like a mini saw or a thin hacksaw. The back stem is very difficult to access. I had to leave that for now. Also found that water is going down the back of the taps. Probably due to my attempts to remove the tap connectors.. I feed the need for a new tap.. :)

The shower is in. There's a minor leak that needs fixing from the exit of cold water isolation valve compression joint. So switched off it's not a problem. No other leaks - liquid PTFE is awesome.

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I need to fit the back panel to take the weight of the valve long term but at the moment ok, I need to fit and seal the front and seal/fix the rain shower bar. I also noted whilst having a shower this morning that there was a small drip from the rain shower when the valve was off that needs sorting and I'll clean the check valves again.

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I crimped and soldered the ends of the pipe for the bath taps. Then once the tap situation is sorted I can simply cut the crimp off - use a spanner to ensure the pipe is circular and then fit the tap flexible pipes.

The mrs is happy at the moment.
 
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I always swap out any brass olives that fittings come with to copper olives. Brass is a lot tougher than copper so requires a lot more force to compress and get a good seal IMO.

I put a tiny amount of fernox LS-X sealant on the olive if I have any issues with weeps that wont seal. Always leaves a very clean finish.
 
fobose said:
I always swap out any brass olives that fittings come with to copper olives. Brass is a lot tougher than copper so requires a lot more force to compress and get a good seal IMO.

I put a tiny amount of fernox LS-X sealant on the olive if I have any issues with weeps that wont seal. Always leaves a very clean finish.
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Thank you - I may try that. The valves have copper olives so I may try your approach with LS-X.

I'm trying to think of the best device to cut the corroded tap connectors off - one suggestion from Dad was to use a wire saw. It may be the cheaper option that going down the power tools route.
 
Do you have a reciprocating saw? I've got a milwaukee 18v one with some very long blades on it. Very handy to get in hard to reach areas!
 
Multitool with a metal cutting blade? I have used that to cut hard to reach pipes before? Have you got a picture of the bit you want to cut?

Dave
 
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Hot tub blown up and cleaned.

Just gotta put in position on patio and fill with water!

Happy days!
 
fobose said:
Do you have a reciprocating saw? I've got a milwaukee 18v one with some very long blades on it. Very handy to get in hard to reach areas!
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I was looking at reciprocating saws but it's getting the nose in - however with a long blade that may work better (controlling it rather than having to move the saw to cut.
 
Can't you just use a basin wrench with a large wrench on it?

I've never been beaten by a tap connector.

You can also wedge a block of wood against the tap to stop it spinning.
 
Hedge said:
Can't you just use a basin wrench with a large wrench on it?

I've never been beaten by a tap connector.

You can also wedge a block of wood against the tap to stop it spinning.
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not enough space unfortunately. I’ll try again but I think I’m either going to break it fix it.
 
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