# Weekend DIY



## Octet (30 May 2015)

As the title suggests, what are your current weekend DIY projects or tasks (or mishaps)? Whether it be putting up a shelf, tinkering with the bicycle(s) or building a garden deck. 

I'll kick us off with my helping of weekend DIY, building a _"sprung"_ floor and associated barre. The total project cost me about £20, excluding the cost of the power tools which I recently got from Lidl (and so far I'm impressed by their quality despite the price).

The base is 12 mm chipboard, which sits on offcuts which itself sits ontop of an EVA foam mat (the type you get in a gym). This sandwich of layers is what makes it springy, an essential when doing (or attempting to do) any sort of dancing (or even exercise) on a concrete floor.
Over this, I used some PVA to stick down some 'Cultisheet' (the stuff used to stop weeds growing through in the garden). This seems to give me a decent amount of friction so that I don't go arse over heels, but at the same time I can (attempt) to do a pirouette.

The barre is a broom handle, chopped at either end and fed through two curtain rail holders. Considering the brackets of a professional barre are in the region of £100 each, I didn't think this was too bad. I then just padded it out with some fabric tape, to prevent it slipping.

So, that's my weekend DIY project! Next week, I'm going to attempt a work bench (God help me...)

What's your weekend project?


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## vernon (30 May 2015)

This weekend will be mostly spent eating, drinking and merry making.


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## Octet (30 May 2015)

vernon said:


> This weekend will be mostly spent eating, drinking and merry making.



[QUOTE 3720964, member: 45"]Eating Doritos and watching the cup final.[/QUOTE]

Productive weekends then?


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## vernon (30 May 2015)

Octet said:


> Productive weekends then?



Weekends are there to be enjoyed and enjoying them is a virtue not a vice.


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## TVC (30 May 2015)

Nothing this weekend, having spent the last few weekends stripping out and completrly redecorating the bedroom.


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## shouldbeinbed (30 May 2015)

First weekend off for a few with work and making a garden again pretty much from scratch. It looks very good even if I am blowing my own trumpet.


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## MontyVeda (30 May 2015)

my weekend project is to strip the wall paper in my kitchen and repaper it, then paint... and making a spice rack of sorts. This has been my weekend project for months, but sitting on my arse and gorping at CycleChat keeps getting in the way.


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## Octet (30 May 2015)

MontyVeda said:


> my weekend project is to strip the wall paper in my kitchen and repaper it, then paint... and making a spice rack of sorts. This has been my weekend project for months, but sitting on my arse and gorping at CycleChat keeps getting in the way.



I'd be interested to know how your spice rack project goes, my mum has been going on about how she wants me to make one for a while, I haven't a giraffe on how to start it though.


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## gavroche (30 May 2015)

No DIY for me this week end cos took my grandson to emergency dentist which was closed!! then to "3" shop to renew my mobile contract, lunch in Asda, and a 42 mile ride this afternoon before resting in front on tv for rest of the day. Oh, cut the grass yesterday morning too.


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## Billy Wizz (30 May 2015)

DIY, This weekend what ever pleases her, next weekend,The IOM TT kicks off.


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## HertzvanRental (30 May 2015)

Dinner with my sister, then tomorrow, spend the day with my grand-kids( 5 & 3).
Sod the D.I.Y!


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## cosmicbike (30 May 2015)

Just finished fitting new kitchen, currently installing some rather nice Richard Burbidge balustrading, landing run finished yesterday, started the stairs today. Find working with wood very relaxing.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (30 May 2015)

Beer in the beer fridge, wine in the fridge fridge - nobody here to help me so I suppose I'd better Do It Myself


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## MontyVeda (30 May 2015)

Octet said:


> *I'd be interested to know how your spice rack project goes*, my mum has been going on about how she wants me to make one for a while, I haven't a giraffe on how to start it though.


so will I... knowing me I'll get the measurements fuddled and the jars won't fit. 

As for how to start... My dimensions are three jars high and seven jars wide. Other than that, it's just a little bookshelf


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## Tin Pot (30 May 2015)

DIY ruined my last summer. It's not doing it to me again!

Kids, bikes, sunshine, woods and running for me.

I've got a long list of projects I would love to do, but it seems I need a wage to motivate me to work rather than a sense of achievement.


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## gavroche (30 May 2015)

Marmion said:


> Beer in the beer fridge, wine in the fridge fridge - nobody here to help me so I suppose I'd better Do It Myself


I hope you don't put red wine in the fridge?


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## rich p (30 May 2015)

I lost interested in DIY years ago - I only do minimum maintenance under duress these days.


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## vernon (30 May 2015)

gavroche said:


> I hope you don't put red wine in the fridge?



*Which reds should you chill — and for how long? It’s complicated, but consider their body.*

Body refers to the weight and intensity of a wine in your mouth. Generally speaking, big-bodied wine will be full in your mouth and powerful, a light-bodied one will be thinner, less intense. There’s also a correlation with color and opacity; if you hold a light bodied wine up to the light, you can usually see through it.

Chances are, even the bigger-bodied bottles of red you have stored at room temperature would benefit from a quick 45 minutes in the fridge, until they’re slightly cool to the touch. (Some wine experts say you shouldn’t drink any bottle of wine above 65º.)

That said, don’t go overboard, especially with expensive, more nuanced wines; you don’t want to cool down a nice $50 red wine too much, because then you might not experience the flavor subtleties you paid more money for. Unfortunately there’s no hard and fast rule for what to chill and how long. But light-bodied wines can certainly handle a little more time in the fridge — about an hour or so, until the bottle is starting to feel cold. So let’s start there.

*Here are some red wines to try chilled, and how.*

Chill half of a bottle, and try a pour of that and a pour of the same wine at room temp side by side to experience firsthand how temperature affects _your experience_of a wine. Because the most important thing is what you like better.

The key word here is “try.” While some of these wines, like Lambrusco and Beaujolais, are traditionally consumed chilled, not all are. You can even experiment with cooling down a number of other reds not listed here — like Merlot, or a young Spanish Rioja. You can’t guarantee it’ll always be great, but what better way to learn than to try.

And in the meantime, you can say fun, wine-experty things like, “I think this wine_shows itself_ best at a warmer temperature,” or “This wine _drinks better_ a little colder.”

*Lambrusco*

Lambruscos are very light-bodied sparkling wines made in northeastern Italy of Lambrusco grapes. Supposedly they were first produced by the Etruscans. As you may know, wine results when yeast eats sugary grape juice; if a winemaker stops that fermentation before the yeast are through, there will be sugar left in the wine. Some Lambruscos are sweet (meaning the winemaker has left sugar in the wine itself), some are medium-dry (meaning there’s some sugar in the wine) and some are dry (meaning there’s little to no sugar left in the wine itself).

Why is Lambrusco spritzy? The simplified answer is that the other by-product of fermentation is carbon dioxide. In order to make a sparkling wine like Lambrusco, winemakers first produce a still wine (with no sparkles) and then add more sugar and let the yeast go to town again — what’s called a “secondary fermentation” — this time trapping the gas in the wine.

becoming appreciated by American wine writers and consumers again. It’s as light in color as a cranberry cocktail, isn’t sweet, and is oh-so-refreshing. Just be sure you emphasize to a wineshop owner you want a _dry_Lambrusco.

*Beaujolais*
Beaujolais is the wine that comes from the Beaujolais region of France. It’s made out of the Gamay grape, which produces some of the lightest-bodied reds out there. There is a general relationship between how big a wine’s body is and how long it needs to be aged in bottle before release. It’s Gamay’s _petit_ personality that enables some Beaujolais to be released as quickly as possible after a harvest as “Beaujolais Nouveau.”

Though some people first heard about it in _Sideways_, Pinot Noir is one of the world’s most revered wine grapes. It’s the basis of the red wines of Burgundy — one of France’s most iconic regions — and it’s planted lots of other places, including New Zealand, California, and Oregon. It’s lighter bodied and produces famously complex and delicious wines.

Also in northeastern Italy, the Barbera D’Asti region relies upon the Barbera grape, which is the third-most planted grape in Italy. Barbera D’Asti wines have relatively high acid, aren’t tremendously complicated and aren’t usually aged for a long time, which is all good news for chilled drinking.

_White_ Zinfandel is a wine product derived from Zinfandel grapes, loaded with sugars and preservatives, and sold by the likes of Beringer and Franzia. This is not that, making this yet another example of a great wine whose good name has been sullied.

Zinfandel is arguably the flagship red grape of California — for a long time, in fact, people even thought it was native there. (Since genetic testing came about, it’s been discovered it’s the same as a red grape from Italy called Primitivo.) The biggest bodied of the wines on this list by a long shot, Zinfandels are not often consumed cold, nor should they all be.

As with the Pinot Noirs, you can break the bank with Zinfandel — and there’s no need to for these purposes. You want something inexpensive, bright, and jammy. Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley is a great place to source from. Do not judge the Dead Bolt Zinfandel, on the left, by its garish bottle; it was dee-licious cold.


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## screenman (30 May 2015)

Started and finished a major service on the wife's car including fitting front discs and pads, this afternoon I valeted the inside of it, for somebody that keeps the house nice and clean she sure can make a mess in a car. Full of toe nails, a right tough old job to get out of the seats and carpets.

She is a chiropodist and does some home visits, why she has to take the evidence back in the car I do not know.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (30 May 2015)

gavroche said:


> I hope you don't put red wine in the fridge?



Only white wine tonight - Picpoul de Pinet and an Aussie Chardonnay - but (as per @vernon's post) I do sometimes chill red wine in the beer fridge; I quite like Rioja at beer fridge temperature, and Pinot Noir, Barbera and Grenache.


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## Mrs M (30 May 2015)

Mr M and myself are hopeless at DIY, apart from painting.
I finished my first ever flower bed today, (when Mr M away golfing) 
Looks a bit tragic just now but enjoyed doing it and it'll look better soon.


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## ScotiaLass (30 May 2015)

cosmicbike said:


> Just finished fitting new kitchen, currently installing some rather nice Richard Burbidge balustrading, landing run finished yesterday, started the stairs today. Find working with wood very relaxing.


Sounds nice!


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## Supersuperleeds (30 May 2015)

I made a floating boom out of some pipe lagging and old hose pipe for the pond today. That is about as far as my diy skills go.


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## screenman (30 May 2015)

I enjoy DIY most of the rooms in this house which I built 7 years ago have been decorated at least 5 times since.


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## Cuchilo (30 May 2015)

Supersuperleeds said:


> I made a floating boom out of some pipe lagging and old hose pipe for the pond today. That is about as far as my diy skills go.


Why do you want a floating boom?


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## Lullabelle (30 May 2015)

The Velvet Curtain said:


> Nothing this weekend, having spent the last few weekends stripping out and completrly redecorating the bedroom.




The room is perfect


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## Dave 123 (30 May 2015)

Coming to the end of redoing our bedroom which consisted of ripping out a load of 80's fitted wardrobes which was therapeutic!
We have replaced them with free standing stuff from M&S. Not cheap, but cheaper than decent fitted stuff (but it's a few bikes worth)waiting on final wardrobe to be delivered....
Tomorrow it's fitting blinds and painting the spare room.


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## gavroche (30 May 2015)

Marmion said:


> Only white wine tonight - Picpoul de Pinet and an Aussie Chardonnay - but (as per @vernon's post) I do sometimes chill red wine in the beer fridge; I quite like Rioja at beer fridge temperature, and Pinot Noir, Barbera and Grenache.


White wine yes but not red. This chilling red wine must be an American thing and what do they know about food and wine? Same with cheese like camembert and brie, never keep it in the fridge as it stops the maturing process and flavour.


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## Drago (30 May 2015)

I've got a log cabin to assemble.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (30 May 2015)

gavroche said:


> White wine yes but not red. This chilling red wine must be an American thing and what do they know about food and wine? Same with cheese like camembert and brie, never keep it in the fridge as it stops the maturing process and flavour.



Nope, not an American thing at all. 

And I used to be a cheesemonger <no innuendo> and wine merchant so know a thing or 2 about cheese and wine. Mostly how to eat and drink the stuff


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## cyberknight (30 May 2015)

Nowt this weekend,recently installed roof membrane under tiles in the loft.


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## Dave 123 (30 May 2015)

Drago said:


> I've got a log cabin to assemble.




Bet that'll be a pine in the arse!


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## lee1980sim (30 May 2015)

This weekend = nothing worked all day Saturday, hopefully solo ride early Sunday morning then time with family


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## Davos87 (30 May 2015)

The sun was shining brightly this morning so decided to paint the garage door. Not great at DIY so read the instructions on the tin which said " stir well and always put on 4 coats when using this product "
I was bloody boiling by the time I'd finished.


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## Supersuperleeds (30 May 2015)

Cuchilo said:


> Why do you want a floating boom?



I've got a floating oxygenating plant that spread likes wild fire, unfortunately the pond is full of tadpoles that get caught in it when I try and net it out. Idea was put a floating boom in a corner and sling the plant into it and the tadpoles can get back into the water. Seems to be working, once the tadpoles are big enough I'm going to try and get rid of the plant altogether.


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## postman (30 May 2015)

Davos87 said:


> The sun was shining brightly this morning so decided to paint the garage door. Not great at DIY so read the instructions on the tin which said " stir well and always put on 4 coats when using this product "
> I was bloody boiling by the time I'd finished.





At least you didn't pierce the tin and stand in boiling water for twenty mins.It hurts your feet,i can tell you.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2015)

I've got to pull the WC pan off the branch from the soil pipe and off the flush pipe. The screw that holds the seat onto the pan has fallen off and there's no other way of getting to it and reattaching it. Working next to an open soil pipe is my least favourite activity.
It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2015)

Drago said:


> I've got a log cabin to assemble.


[media]
]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg[/media]


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## Lullabelle (30 May 2015)

vernon said:


> *Which reds should you chill — and for how long? It’s complicated, but consider their body.*
> 
> Body refers to the weight and intensity of a wine in your mouth. Generally speaking, big-bodied wine will be full in your mouth and powerful, a light-bodied one will be thinner, less intense. There’s also a correlation with color and opacity; if you hold a light bodied wine up to the light, you can usually see through it.
> 
> ...




Red at room temperature


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## gavroche (30 May 2015)

Lullabelle said:


> Red at room temperature


Agreed, and that is for all reds.


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## Katherine (30 May 2015)

I planted out the runner beans, mostly with my left hand. Luckily I prepared the ground last weekend as I'm meant to be resting my right elbow. Mind you, all the digging last weekend was probably a contribution to my current tennis elbow. 
Contemplating some left handed ironing tomorrow..


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## cosmicbike (30 May 2015)

slowmotion said:


> I've got to pull the WC pan off the branch from the soil pipe and off the flush pipe. The screw that holds the seat onto the pan has fallen off and there's no other way of getting to it and reattaching it. Working next to an open soil pipe is my least favourite activity.
> It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it.


Sandwich bag over the pipe held on with elastic band, worked for me when I had open routes to the stack whilst doing the kitchen.


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## slowmotion (30 May 2015)

cosmicbike said:


> Sandwich bag over the pipe held on with elastic band, worked for me when I had open routes to the stack whilst doing the kitchen.


Thanks @cosmicbike. I've used duct tape and plastic bags before but a rubber band makes a lot more sense. I always half expect a giant rat to leap out and go for my face!


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## raleighnut (31 May 2015)

I've just finished off the decorating in the front room and about to start the hall, stairs and landing (not doing bad as I can only stand for about an hour on my broken mended leg before needing a rest 
Only snag is that due to the bodgery committed by Maz's ex-husband on painting the doors (he didn't even wipe them before painting them with another coat of gloss, let alone sanding them down a bit) I've now got 5 new doors to hang. 
Might take me a bit more than a weekend.


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## Octet (31 May 2015)

With the way the thread was going at first I was sceptical, but it does seem CC has a few DIYers out there!


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## subaqua (31 May 2015)

gavroche said:


> I hope you don't put red wine in the fridge?


why . rioja chilled is stunningly good. even the spanish do it

http://www.ehow.com/info_8027516_red-wines-need-chilled.html


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## Lullabelle (31 May 2015)

subaqua said:


> why . rioja chilled is stunningly good. even the spanish do it
> 
> http://www.ehow.com/info_8027516_red-wines-need-chilled.html


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## subaqua (31 May 2015)

Lullabelle said:


>


That's what I thought when swmbo suggested it.


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## Moodyman (31 May 2015)

Octet said:


> With the way the thread was going at first I was sceptical, but it does seem CC has a few DIYers out there!




And wine drinkers.


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## Beebo (31 May 2015)

Drago said:


> I've got a log cabin to assemble.


Or a log pile to burn?


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## tyred (31 May 2015)

Been one of those weekends where I've put the kiss of death on everything I've touched!

Efforts to service my old VW were thwarted with a replacement diesel filter which wouldn't seal properly due to a small and barely perceptible amount of damage around the sealing ring. Of course I only figured this out after wasting most of the morning trying to work out why I had a misfire and I ended up putting the old filter back on.

I had problems last weekend with a loose cotterpin on one of my 3 speed bikes. I always had a question mark about the parentage of this bike as although it has made in England written all over it, it has some continental style features. I removed the cranks, serviced the BB with new balls and fresh grease while I was at it and went to refit the cranks with nice shiny new cotterpins only to discover it takes the 9mm continental size and not the 3/8" ones like I thought it should so have now ordered some of those from Ebay at £4 for the pair when I have a big box of 3/8" ones sitting on the shelf so my favourite pottering about bike is now off the road awaiting parts so not pleased.

I built my hybrid gear project last night and the mech broke this morning and I had to walk home from my test ride!


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## jongooligan (31 May 2015)

Mrs. jg has thirty odd cookery books (I think she uses one recipe from each). Time for some shelves.


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## User6179 (31 May 2015)

Fitting new central heating , 7 radiators and all the pipe work , using Speeedfit plastic pipes with copper tails from the rads , hardest part is lifting the floor boards without damaging them , so far 5 rads in with 2 to go .
Confident there wont be (M)any leaks .


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## howard2107 (31 May 2015)

I hate DIY and gardening.


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## threebikesmcginty (1 Jun 2015)

I put some flat-pack book shelves together but with the end uprights the wrong way around so the holes for the shelf supports were on the outside of the unit.


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## Octet (1 Jun 2015)

threebikesmcginty said:


> I put some flat-pack book shelves together but with the end uprights the wrong way around so the holes for the shelf supports were on the outside of the unit.



At least you had holes, I remember putting together a flatpack table once where they'd forgotten to drill any holes at all.... I had to go around and make them myself.


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## Stephenite (10 Jun 2015)

I'm scraping bluddy masking tape off the windows.

I've never left it on more than a couple of days before. This time, however, we had a visitor between coats - she ended up staying 2 weeks. It never occurred to me that it would stick so completely.


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## Archie_tect (10 Jun 2015)

After 23 years we have finally decorated the room we've always kept the door shut on, which's been used as a dumping room for everything from the last house that we never got round to needing after we'd moved in... lifted the floor and put thicker Weyroc boards down, a new toilet +whb + new svp/ built in wardrobes, new insulated partition, skimmed 2 ceilings, new LED ceiling lights, 2 new radiators and 3 new doors and 2 carpets and some lino.... that's it, never doing any more.
We started it off at the end of February... we got help, not that daft!


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## vernon (10 Jun 2015)

Archie_tect said:


> After 23 years we have finally decorated the room we've always kept the door shut on, which's been used as a dumping room for everything from the last house that we never got round to needing after we'd moved in... lifted the floor and put thicker Weyroc boards down, a new toilet +whb + new svp/ built in wardrobes, new insulated partition, skimmed 2 ceilings, new LED ceiling lights, 2 new radiators and 3 new doors and 2 carpets and some lino.... that's it, never doing any more.
> We started it off at the end of February... we got help, not that daft!



I find this comforting. There's still some unopened boxes in the loft from a house move twenty seven years ago. Curiosity might get the better of me sometime.


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## HertzvanRental (10 Jun 2015)

vernon said:


> I find this comforting. There's still some unopened boxes in the loft from a house move twenty seven years ago. Curiosity might get the better of me sometime.


You may have more bikes than you think!!


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## raleighnut (10 Jun 2015)

Stephenite said:


> I'm scraping bluddy masking tape off the windows.
> 
> I've never left it on more than a couple of days before. This time, however, we had a visitor between coats - she ended up staying 2 weeks. It never occurred to me that it would stick so completely.


Sticks like poo to a puppy dunnit.


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## Mrs M (10 Jun 2015)

Stephenite said:


> I'm scraping bluddy masking tape off the windows.
> 
> I've never left it on more than a couple of days before. This time, however, we had a visitor between coats - she ended up staying 2 weeks. It never occurred to me that it would stick so completely.


Try nail varnish remover, maybe worth a go.
Got a few stuborn marks off Mr M's White gold bag with this, also when I got glue on my hands this worked. 
Disclaimer - Use in a well ventilated area.


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## Piemaster (10 Jun 2015)

vernon said:


> I find this comforting. There's still some unopened boxes in the loft from a house move twenty seven years ago. Curiosity might get the better of me sometime.


You're not the only one.
I also know people who have moved more than once, taking unopened boxes from loft to loft as they do so.


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## Stephenite (10 Jun 2015)

Thanks for the advice Mrs M. Mm.. smells lovely. Though I've found washing-up liquid and warm water, elbow grease and a glass scraper gets it off.

Did you know there are different types of masking tape? Coloured and graded according to how long you'll be leaving it on.


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## Mrs M (10 Jun 2015)

Stephenite said:


> Thanks for the advice Mrs M. Mm.. smells lovely. Though I've found washing-up liquid and warm water, elbow grease and a glass scraper gets it off.
> 
> Did you know there are different types of masking tape? Coloured and graded according to how long you'll be leaving it on.


Didn't know that, thanks.
Just usually buy frog tape from Homebase and rip it of asap.


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## MontyVeda (5 Mar 2020)

Thread resurrection!

I did make the 'spice' rack mentioned on page one, very chuffed with it I am too; no nails, just really neat joints that are barely visible and some glue.

After having a new boiler fitted, I'm currently refitting the old airing cupboard as a broom cupboard. This is the filthy hole I've got...






It needs a ceiling, a side and back wall to hide the lats and plaster, a shelf a bit higher than the one that used to hold the water tank, and that brick wall tarting up and painting, and a couple of doors making.


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## cyberknight (5 Mar 2020)

I like a filthy hole


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## MontyVeda (5 Mar 2020)

cyberknight said:


> I like a filthy hole


If I'd known you could have come and cleaned mine out


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## cyberknight (5 Mar 2020)

MontyVeda said:


> If I'd known you could have come and cleaned mine out


Monday night i had to recover pipework, rewallpaper , nail down floor boards and add carpet grippers after we had a pipe burst and as we are trying to move house and had a viewing the next day , i have had enough diy and holes that are wet and dirty for this week .


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