Home D.I.Y.

[rockyroller]

got a fine mesh animal control vent cover, pretty close to the ideal size
View attachment 715038
don't want to open that basement window any more than it is for the winter, so installed the mesh cover over the inside!
removed the screen that came w/ the fan, which was right up against the blade, has very small holes like a regular window screen & really kinda cut back on airflow
View attachment 715039
this greatly increases the square footage of material the air can flow thru, making it easier, plus the holes are slightly larger
View attachment 715040
def. getting better airflow
View attachment 715041
thinking I can increase airflow if I open the basement window more, because I think the small opening is restricting the flow. on the test bench the flaps looked more open, but I didn't take any measurements
View attachment 715042

sure enough, opened the window a cpl more inches. huge improvement in air flow

 

[rockyroller]

dryer vent cleaning day

outside flap before

outside flap after

inside duct before

inside duct after

inside duct during

outside during

 

[cyberknight]

I really need to paint the whole inside of the house but im building up motivation very slowly

 

[Drago]

I'm now in a brand new house and opportunities for DIY are fleeting. There's still building going on and I'm quite matey with the site manager and every time I say something like, "I needed to touch up the paint on the walls from when we moved in", or, "I ought to get the garden turfed," he sends a man round with paint/turf/TV aerial/plane to shave the doors/paving slabs, and the job gets done for free. I always slip the worker a few shekels and ill see the site manager gets a nice bottle of single malt for crimbo.

 

[gbb]

Gtech air ram hoover, was my late mums suddenly decided NOT to turn off when switched this morning. Remove battery, off it went, refit battery, straight back on.
Quick Google (assuming it was a faulty switch) revealed someone else had the same problem, 2 of the 4 LEDs permanently lit, probably BMS fault,
Remove battery cover and short a wire between RST and Ground points (very gingerly, the test points on the pcb are very close to each other)...wahaaaay.
The joys of the internet.

And then I think, how did he work that out ?...assuming he wasn't a gtech tech (he didn't sound like it, it was a kinda home made clip)

 

[rockyroller]

I really need to paint the whole inside of the house but im building up motivation very slowly

that's the way to do it. some ppl call it procrastination but I call it creative scheduling

 

[cyberknight]

that's the way to do it. some ppl call it procrastination but I call it creative scheduling

its called doing enough overtime to count as nearly an extra full week of work each month

 

[CXRAndy]

I really need to paint the whole inside of the house but im building up motivation very slowly

Do a room at a time, then it doesn't overface you

 

[postman]

Home diy on my hearing aid moulds.These are very large moulds,it seems the previous ones were too small and sound was leaking out.So thats what the stuff on my shirt collar was ,anyway the super chap took his wheel to most of it on Tuesday but one was still pressing on the ear.A Stanley knife blade a steady hand a shave here a shave there and Bobs yer uncle a really good fit.

 

[Legs]

A question for the esteemed panel: when we had our extension built three years ago our builder did this lovely verge brickwork detail on the new gable, but row of the reclaimed bricks have subsequently ‘bled’ down onto the render (silicone K-Rend stuff). Now that we’re having solar panels fitted (tomorrow), we have the opportunity to get up the scaffolding and do something. I’m thinking of sealing the affected bricks with a thin application of (neat?) SBR (Everbuild 503), and jetwashing the brick dust off the render (while my wife or willing victim child holds a plastic sheet over the bricks to protect them from the spray!). Is this going to work? Any better products?

 

[derrick]

Cleaned out the heat exchanger on our boiler, we now have hot water again.

 

[rockyroller]

A question for the esteemed panel: when we had our extension built three years ago our builder did this lovely verge brickwork detail on the new gable, but row of the reclaimed bricks have subsequently ‘bled’ down onto the render (silicone K-Rend stuff). Now that we’re having solar panels fitted (tomorrow), we have the opportunity to get up the scaffolding and do something. I’m thinking of sealing the affected bricks with a thin application of (neat?) SBR (Everbuild 503), and jetwashing the brick dust off the render (while my wife or willing victim child holds a plastic sheet over the bricks to protect them from the spray!). Is this going to work? Any better products?
View attachment 717785

View attachment 717786

not familiar w/ these products & siding but that sounds like a reasonable plan. bricks are bricks, of course, & sealing them should help. we use a masonry sealer on our patio pavers

 

[bikingdad90]

Unfortunately @Legs its a hard one to solve.
The solution might be to create a soft/fascia overhang so that any waters runs away from the brick? Alternatively can you identify the problem brick/bricks and chop them out as it looks like an isolated streak, possibly a brick placed upside down so the “textured” bit retains water instead of it gliding off?

 

[Legs]

Cleaned out the heat exchanger on our boiler, we now have hot water again.
View attachment 717788

Wow, you got that REALLY clean 🧼🤣

 

[Legs]

I don’t have the time or inclination to do any significant alterations because we’ve only got the scaffolding up for a short period of time (kind of at the whim of the solar panel installers), and the weather’s not fantastic at the moment.

EDIT 4/1/24

I went out this morning, since it’s set fair for the next couple of days, and SBRed the affected bricks and a few others near the apex. There’s a variety of brick textures there (as @bikingdad90 suggests, there’s a bit of a mishmash of old bricks), and painting sealer over the rougher ones may well leave a rather opaque finish. Remains to be seen how it’s going to come out when it dries…