Recent content by UnusualCapybara

Wider pic here. Have temporarily sistered a bit of timber on it to calm my nerves

Runs off to the left along the exterior wall - I can't measure the span but can see the first approx. 4 metres worth but it might be longer

Hi, Just in the process of ripping out an old bathroom and found some notching on one of the joists which made me stop and pause. I can see why it's done as there are no other routes for the shower waste to come across but it does look severe. The wall with the exposed block is an exterior...

Just about to embark on my first ever DIY bathroom - it's a small ensuite (2.5m x 1.3m) which will have a shower, toilet, and basin on a vanity. I was planning to use Fibo boards on the walls to avoid the need to deploy my awful tiling skills and to save time. I'm going to get started this...

Not yet, I only finished clearing the old shed yesterday so I'm still working out what I'm going to build but I'm aware that at the dimensions stated, I'd need planning.

The existing concrete is 80mm thick but the level is all over the place with a 35-40mm drop in height in some areas due to cracking/splitting. I had planned for the new shed to have it's own timber floor structure so it would just be a case of getting this new structure level.

We just demolished an old tin shed and what lies below is an extremely unhappy concrete base - some pics attached for amusement. The plan is to self-build a mega-shed/workshop (approx 10M x 4.5M) on a timber frame but the levels in the current concrete are so poor it's not usable as a base. I...

We have a bathroom which doesn't get used so pretty much gets used as a storage cupboard. It's possible we want to bring the bathroom back into use at some point in the future so won't rip it out but I do want to decommission it for the medium term. My thoughts are: - Where there are isolation...

Thanks for the suggestions @JohnD and @Odds. I like the idea of safety grass actually to maintain the look of the garden. Any first hand experience of a decent spray weed killer?

Hi, I have a particularly unloved area of my garden which I'd like to turn into a kids play area with swings and a trampoline. The area itself is uneven and littered with a layer of bricks and debris just under the surface where the previous owner had bonfires there. It's been strimmed in the...

I should have been more clear - the zip wire is braced between two big trees, the platform is a launch point rather than bracing the wire. We don't have any particularly close neighbours but it's a good point about keeping any 'dwelling' below 3m.

Renting a mini digger for a weekend for a bunch of garden projects so a large hole is entirely possible! If this were a dig by hand job, I'd absolutely not be considering it :) Edited to say: The blocks are really dense - 30kg of weight from a block measuring 44x20x13 so seemed to offer a lot...

I'm building a 3.5M tall climbing frame / zip wire platform in the garden and want to make sure the legs are well secured particularly given the height and leverage. I have a lot of very heavy concrete blocks from a demolished outbuilding, would it be practical to dig a larger hole, throw in a...

Thanks everyone for the guidance and opinions on this. Took the opportunity to learn a new skill and rip out all of the plastic pipework and pushfit connectors, replacing it with soldered copper. Invested in a pressure tester pump to satisfy myself that the pipework held under pressure and I'm...

I think soldered copper is probably the strategy I have the most confidence in - I've never done it but have watched enough YouTube to understand the methods and I'll try most things to learn a new skill. One question - how do you test the joints after fitting? Just whack the system back on and...