What "man jobs" have you done today?

{SAS}TB · 25 Apr 2022 at 13:04

Yes very nice mate - top job

radderfire · 25 Apr 2022 at 13:15

Nice work Participant, looks a lot better.

kaku · 25 Apr 2022 at 13:50

Participant said:
Replaced the 'cloakroom' as my mum calls it (containing no cloaks).

<snip>

So glad it's over. It took way longer than I thought it would. I did 100% of it myself.

Looks lovely. If you had to do it again, would you change anything? Anything you wish you'd known/checked before tackling it?

Participant · 25 Apr 2022 at 15:00

Thanks all.

kaku said:
Looks lovely. If you had to do it again, would you change anything? Anything you wish you'd known/checked before tackling it?

If I did it again I would have:

- Boarded the whole room level and plastered, rather than chip away the bottom half of the plaster and half board.
- Worried more about waste; getting water away properly and lining everything up is much harder than bringing it to.
- Bought or hired a proper wet saw for hard porcelain; the grinder with a diamond disc worked very well actually but took ages.
- Put down a slightly thicker layer of self-levelling compound; there were a few hairline cracks in the very thin bits.
- Read and re-read the instructions for the toilet frame; I had to remove some timber to do it properly after I realised I missed a step.
- Doubled my estimate about how long it would take to finish.

Delvis · 25 Apr 2022 at 19:49

Richie said:
Front lawn done today with cutting, scarifying, overseed and top dressed.

Unbelievable how much Moss and thatch came up on the front. About ⅓ the size of the back yet had just as much crap as the back. North facing front vs South facing back so I guess that has a big factor.

Overseeded with some shade tolerant seed which should help this time.

Any pics of the process? And/or how you scarified?

I need to do some filling on my lawn and repatch some bits, so any advice is appreciated

Richie · 25 Apr 2022 at 21:30

No pics really but the process is relatively straightforward.

Went round and dug.out any obvious weeds. No need to be careful as I was filling holes etc with compost/topsoil later in the renovation.
Cut the grass pretty low, almost scalping it and remove all the cuttings
Scarified using an electric scarifier with the blade head rather than tined head. First pass up and down and 2nd pass across the way making sure I raked up the thatch between passes. Also use of a spring time (springbok) rake for the bits I couldn't get with the scarifier.
Levelled any areas with topsoil. If it buried the grass, I was fine with that as I was overseeding.
Overseeded with grass seed. I used a mix of standard seed (33%) and shade tolerant seed (70%) due to North facing garden shaded most of the day.
Sprinkled compost over the top and then lightly raked the seed in.
Give it a decent soak.

Job done

Scarifying removes a lot of debris and can leave your lawn looking bad but it will come back even healthier in around 5-6 weeks. Just be patient and don't freak out if you end up with bare patches which were all moss and the scarifying ripped it out. That's what the overseeding is for.

Scarifying with a machine is probably one of the best things you can do to your lawn. Using the blades rathe than the tines allows 3 things:

It goes deeper than the tined attachment removing more thatch
It cuts slits in the soil layer allowing rain and nutrients to get into the soil easier
It slices the rhizomes of the grass encouraging fresh growth and therefore thicker lawn.

m4rmite · 26 Apr 2022 at 08:56

Watching the plasterers hard at work.
Makes a change for me to be the one relaxing.
Next comes the paint/sofa choice :rolleyes:

vail3r · 26 Apr 2022 at 09:47

Made a big mess and put a lintel in. This will be the doorway to the utility room

Fireskull · 26 Apr 2022 at 13:00

{SAS}TB said:
Nice work indeed!

Put up some trellis

Before

Can I ask where you got the door from please? exactly what I am after.

{SAS}TB · 26 Apr 2022 at 16:22

Fireskull said:
Can I ask where you got the door from please? exactly what I am after.

Yes, of course it's a Solidoor

NoobCannon · 26 Apr 2022 at 20:13

Stripped my oak worktops that the previous owner painted with some god awful varnish, he also obviously mistook the “1ltr per sqm” and read it as “1ltr per inch” and it was so thick.

Have got some osmo oil, need to sand tomorow/thurs and then give it a few coats. Has been 3 evenings of graft so far!

Macky · 28 Apr 2022 at 22:07

NoobCannon said:
Stripped my oak worktops that the previous owner painted with some god awful varnish, he also obviously mistook the “1ltr per sqm” and read it as “1ltr per inch” and it was so thick.

Have got some osmo oil, need to sand tomorow/thurs and then give it a few coats. Has been 3 evenings of graft so far!

Looking to do similar with mine. Did you scrape existing varnish off first? Did you use an orbital sander? Best way to apply the oil? Cheers!

Scania · 28 Apr 2022 at 22:22

Driven my 44ton hgv from Stoke to Hull, down to Uttoxetter and back to Stoke.

dlockers · 28 Apr 2022 at 22:29

Scania said:
Driven my 44ton hgv from Stoke to Hull, down to Uttoxetter and back to Stoke.

Sexist

Uhtred · 28 Apr 2022 at 22:35

Macky said:
Looking to do similar with mine. Did you scrape existing varnish off first? Did you use an orbital sander? Best way to apply the oil? Cheers!

There's a tungsten carbide wood scraper in the pic. I've seen others use a 'card scraper' too. I think either of those is going to be quicker and less likely to accidently remove wood than using an orbital sander

zuludawn · 28 Apr 2022 at 23:57

Skirting 280ft in 6 rooms cut, profiled and velvet flock roller painted

NoobCannon · 29 Apr 2022 at 08:02

Macky said:
Looking to do similar with mine. Did you scrape existing varnish off first? Did you use an orbital sander? Best way to apply the oil? Cheers!

I used paint stripper, and then scraped it off with a carbide scraper. Then used an orbital sander to get the lines out and the remaining marks.

Finished now, happy with the result. Just needs some some silicone around the edges.

Macky · 29 Apr 2022 at 10:04

NoobCannon said:
I used paint stripper, and then scraped it off with a carbide scraper. Then used an orbital sander to get the lines out and the remaining marks.

Finished now, happy with the result. Just needs some some silicone around the edges.

Awesome, cheers. Need to get myself a scraper and a sander. Sorry for all the qs but what grade of sandpaper did you use? How many coats of osmo did you apply?

dlockers · 29 Apr 2022 at 10:22

zuludawn said:
Skirting 280ft in 6 rooms cut, profiled and velvet flock roller painted

Any guidance? If my house sale goes through I think I'll be replacing skirting in each and every room.

NoobCannon · 29 Apr 2022 at 10:22

Macky said:
Awesome, cheers. Need to get myself a scraper and a sander. Sorry for all the qs but what grade of sandpaper did you use? How many coats of osmo did you apply?

I used 80 120 and then 180 for a finish (the instructions say to use no finer than 180) as for coats i put on a thin coat with a straight brush and then used an old t shirt and put on a final coat

Oil - Osmo Top Oil-Clear Matt 0.5 Litre 3058 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002AP6...i_i_39XZP7ZAXSJZ9N186WDD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Brush - Osmo Natural Bristle Brush - 50mm To apply Osmo Oil https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005ZR2K9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_M6WCMA079PZ9YW6T9AK4

Scraper - https://www.screwfix.com/p/harris-heavy-duty-tungsten-carbide-wood-scraper-2/45940?_requestid=318215

Paint stripper - https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-paint-varnish-stripper-2-5ltr/724gt