Recent content by DaveFix

Good point about using the board. Anyway, I've been shovelling the new ballast delivery and it's not very difficult getting the spade in at all. My previous bad experience was with a bag that had stood for several years, so I think it was only difficult because it had become compacted.

Went back to the builder's yard thinking I could get it all sorted today, but they threw a spanner in the works and said they don't do 10mm ballast. I'm not that experienced with concrete. Not sure if 20mm ballast would give as good a finish with PIC as 10mm would. Also I would have to bring...

According to noseall's post here: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/cement-ballast-by-volume-of-weight.92001/post-617142 1.9 tonnes of ballast (+ cement and water) will make 1m³ of concrete. (I'm not sure his calculations to take account of the weight of the water?) Since I need 0.62m³ which...

I'm having a go at PIC concrete garden paths and patio. I've measured the areas and calculated the total volume as being 0.611m³ (cubic meters). I went to the builder's yard and asked for a quote for 10 bags of cement and a 0.62m³ (rounded up for margin of error) bag of 10mm ballast...

I'm looking for the most robust method of screwing the newel post to the stretcher. Would it be better to drill a large pilot hole through the side of the newel post so that screw threads only grip the stretcher, thereby pulling the post closer to the stretcher? Or pilot drill through both so...

I had this problem in a flat, it was coming from the cupboard where water services rise/fall between flats. If you opened the cupboard door you could clearly hear every word the neighbour below was saying. Your neighbour might not be keeping their service cupboards closed. Also check around...

It's not actually a pit. As mentioned, the garden is on a hill and divided into terraces. The retaining walls only need to be on three sides. The fourth side will face the lower ground level of the next terrace. I will try to upload a sketch...

Oops! Let me rephrase that last bit. If I dig out a deep base and build a 3m high shed near the boundary (and surround with retaining walls) so that the top of the shed is still only 2.5m above the original ground level - would this be acceptable?

My question is similar, but regards going down instead of across: I have a property on a slight hill so the rear garden has terraced sections. This is all original from when the houses were built. On the highest terrace in the garden, if I dig out a deep base and build a 2.5m high shed near...

My front garden slopes down towards the highway. I would like to build a retaining wall and dig the garden out to create a PIC driveway. I understand that creating a non-permeable driveway greater 5²m would require planning permission. As the footprint of my car itself is over 8²m I've recently...

Thanks for the image Freddie. That means I should get at least 4mm spare, so the hinge plates won't be seen from the front of the door.

If I removed that finial then I think I'd need to remove them all to match, but it would mean a lot of money's worth of oak finials and caps wasted, and I'd need to buy new caps as the existing caps have been bored out for the finials to sit in. The caps are for chunky 115mm posts and the...

I accept the easiest way to check would be to hold them there and look at them :giggle: but these are hinges I was going to order online. I don't live there - but yes you're right the photo is of a house in Lavenham.

I'm about to fit new doors which are 35mm thick. I like the chunky appearance of some firedoor hinges which are 100mm x 76mm. Will these hinges fit a 35mm thick door - or be too big?