What "man jobs" have you done today?

McDaniel · 28 Jul 2022 at 12:46

ChrisD. said:
Nice work! Did you hammer in any of the panels or just use glue?

Is it a shelf at the top of it? Where did you get the panelling from?

I've been meaning to do our living room and bedroom for ages.

All glue except for the bottom left corner where i needed a nail - its a new build and the walls were surprisingly level so didn't really need anything beyond the glue.

It is a shelf yea, its 90mm deep I used wood for that, bolted a smaller piece underneath for support then screwed that into the wall - was a bit worried about strength of using MDF so went that option. The panels are 6mm thick MDF - i got a 2.4x1.2m sheet from B&Q - had them cut it into 100mm width strips (they give 5 cuts for free, 50p for each cut after so was a few quid).

ChrisD. · 28 Jul 2022 at 13:34

Thanks for the info @McDaniel.

Martynt74 · 28 Jul 2022 at 13:38

theone8181 said:
That does remind of a guy I used to work with, his Hirst house had woodchuck on the walls. Can't imagine how much of a ballache that was to remove.

My mother in laws house had this in one room. Was an absolute nightmare!

DXP55 · 28 Jul 2022 at 19:37

Do you mean Woodchip ? We had that in 70s-- ball ache to get off especially on ceiling. Plenty of hot soapy water sprayed on.

Harnser · 28 Jul 2022 at 20:57

Fitted a new UPVC door handle after the postie pulled the handle right out of the last one.

Easy job but the internal handle has a couple of cm play in it meaning the inside and outside handles don't line up. As that's visible through the glass it's annoying the heck out of me. Disappointed with the lack of quality, but will take it off and pack the shaft if that's where the movement is and see if I can make it work.

theone8181 · 29 Jul 2022 at 06:17

DXP55 said:
Do you mean Woodchip ? We had that in 70s-- ball ache to get off especially on ceiling. Plenty of hot soapy water sprayed on.

Yea my phone had autocorrected and I didn't notice

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HugsHeal · 30 Jul 2022 at 18:28

New wiper linkage installed on our old corsa, then on to a non working horn on the cmax. Bit of a ballache as I don’t have any ramps so had to take the front bumper off. Corroded contacts just as I thought.

dlockers · 30 Jul 2022 at 18:35

Getting ready to move out in a few weeks! The adjustable she is using is a OG King Dick inscribed Fred, who was my late father's late friend.

Uhtred · 30 Jul 2022 at 19:22

I painted the walk-in cupboard under the stairs. The walls are in terrible shape (the boiler used to be there) but it looks a bit better with some repairs and a coat of paint. My wife thinks i'm nuts that I eventually want to get it skimmed when we do the rest of the downstairs, but it's just so bad and it really annoys me.

Harnser · 31 Jul 2022 at 08:25

Uhtred said:
I painted the walk-in cupboard under the stairs. The walls are in terrible shape (the boiler used to be there) but it looks a bit better with some repairs and a coat of paint. My wife thinks i'm nuts that I eventually want to get it skimmed when we do the rest of the downstairs, but it's just so bad and it really annoys me.

Bad plastering makes a big impact IMO and I notice it everywhere I go. I've bought a sander to try and improve the finish round our house as getting it all skimmed is expensive and I haven't mastered the skill. My wife doesn't notice any of the imperfections on the walls.

DXP55 · 31 Jul 2022 at 13:02

Spent two houres in shower this morning - My word it is clean.

Washed it all down with soapy water with my clay mit then again with Mr Muscle - Rinsed and dried it all off then got Collanite car polish out and polished two shower panels - then some trade glass cleaner for door and two glass panels -The chrome on mixer only needed drying off so now wife is banned for a week so the shower can get used to being free of greasy soap and body lotion - That doesn't half mess the glass up.

We do dry it after every shower but she isn't as good as I am at drying and getting in corners.

Uhtred · 31 Jul 2022 at 20:50

Harnser said:
Bad plastering makes a big impact IMO and I notice it everywhere I go. I've bought a sander to try and improve the finish round our house as getting it all skimmed is expensive and I haven't mastered the skill. My wife doesn't notice any of the imperfections on the walls.

yeah all the plastering is really poor and the walls haven't been prepped and no mist coats applied. We've had problems with peeling paint and it looks awful when the sun shines on it from certain directions.

We've had the 2nd bedroom and the landing done and it makes a world of difference but yeah, not cheap.

Today I put up 2 coat hangers and some curtains. I put all my tools and decorating stuff away in the garage and the wife asks me to put some pictures up! So, that's tomorrow's job.

IvanDobskey · 2 Aug 2022 at 09:21

Painting the loft hatches, staircase and under the stairs. I really hate painting woodwork

Such a messy and fiddly job.

Takes ages to cure fully too, so it can stick to anything resting against it.

DXP55 · 2 Aug 2022 at 09:49

DXP55 said:
A bit of drivel to start with.

Found another project - Got a mate who had a call from one of his mates wife who asked if he would like to clear out her deceased husbands garage.
People of our age love doing that because there is always something they have kept for a rainy day and it might be usefull - So he bought it home and it sat in his garage for a while so he asked me if I wanted it (Them) Turned out to be three pipe wrenches (Stilsons)
I gave one to the post man as he came when I was having a clear out so he also had a toolbox -screwdrivers and one of the wrenches.
One wrench was near brand new but the other was a bit rusty and tatty.Quite big at 18" -Its also sat in my garage for a year or so -
I have now started to refurbish it and cleaned it up a bit - It has a name of Wraforge stamped on handle and also patent pending so after a load of googling I found out they no longer exist as that name but did find they had also put in for a Patent on these wrenches and they called them Stilsons -
They also went to the 1950 Industrial show and thats where I lost the name - I can only assume they were taken over - Their factory was not far from where I used to live - I was in Quinton (Brum) and the factory was on industrial site down Mucklows Hill near Halesowen.

This isn't going to be a posh refurb - just going to paint them black with the name recesses red ( I have both colours in Hammerite and don't want to spend a lot of money. The only thing I have to replace is the rivet holding it together - might just use a nut and bolt. I can find some stainless steel ones - they will stick out a bit but can change it if something else turns up.

I have finished my project but haven't put pictures up because I am ashamed of the result -
I don't think you should put undercoat on polished metal and Hammerite isn't really the right paint for a smooth nice finish.
By time I had assembled it there was finger marks everywhere and left it over 24hrs to dry.
While it looks better than it was and works then I will let this one slip through the hoop.

theone8181 · 2 Aug 2022 at 10:54

IvanDobskey said:
Painting the loft hatches, staircase and under the stairs. I really hate painting woodwork Such a messy and fiddly job.

Takes ages to cure fully too, so it can stick to anything resting against it.

You using oil based or water based? I'm guessing oil.

IvanDobskey · 2 Aug 2022 at 12:29

theone8181 said:
You using oil based or water based? I'm guessing oil.

It's Dulux once satinwood. I think it's oil based. I thought water based was supposed to be inferior?

b0rn2sk8 · 2 Aug 2022 at 13:05

Oil will give a better finish but will yellow over time.

IvanDobskey · 2 Aug 2022 at 13:07

b0rn2sk8 said:
Oil will give a better finish but will yellow over time.

Which is easier to paint with though?

SexyGreyFox · 2 Aug 2022 at 13:20

Quite proud of these.
I'd made wooden gates many years ago but a couple of weeks ago looked over into my neighbours garden and he'd got two metal gates that didn't belong to him because his drive is less wide than mine.
They had been given to him to give to his Grandson who deals in scrap metal but I asked if I could have them.
I've now got a lock on them so feel a bit more protected.

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b0rn2sk8 · 2 Aug 2022 at 13:27

IvanDobskey said:
Which is easier to paint with though?

Both are a pain but for different reasons.

Oil is more forgiving in terms of brush marks etc, but it takes a good day to dry between coats. It’s harder to rectify any mistakes.

Water can be re-coated in a few hours but that means it starts going off very quickly, within a few minutes or even less if it’s really dry and hot. You have to work quickly and there is no going over and previous areas. It will also just wash off if you get it somewhere it shouldn’t be.

Personally I use water everywhere. While the finish isn’t as good as oil, 18 months down the line, it’s still white unlike oil which will be in varying shades of yellow depending on how much natural light it gets.

Oil yellows so quickly these days now they have had to take all the toxic compounds out of it, it’s just not worth it (IMO) because it just looks bad once it starts to yellow, particularly if you have any white or light coloured walls.