Recent content by User1234567890

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    Constructing simple oak and glass balustrade on landing - A few questions

    At the moment, there's a small cinderblock wall of about 900mm high x 1200mm long, that is the original balustrade in a 1950s build house. I want to remove the wall, and install an oak and glass handrail/balustrade, and it is just 1 newel post attached to stringer/joist, and a half post at the...
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    Ideas for lifting a 1200x2400x12.5mm plasterboard on highest part of stairs working alone - 4.3m

    Finally getting round to boarding the walls my stairway this weekend. Already done the ceiling and the easier walls, to get into the swing of it, but it occurred to me that, despite me being quite tall, even if I could lift the board at full stretch above my head, it's still not enough, and as...
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    Sealing very absorbent walls

    Thanks, I thought I'd replied to this, sorry. I bought some SBR and that has done the trick, brilliant stuff. The boards are going to be fixed in place with a mix of battens and adhesive. I may go for the foam as it's a real pain mixing up a big bucket of the plasterboard adhesive on this...
  4. U

    Sealing very absorbent walls

    I have banged off back to the brick, and am dot and dabbing 12.5mm boards on. I PVAd the wall with a 5 to 1 mix and then again with a slightly stronger mix, but the walls are still super absorbent and it is sucking the moisture from the adhesive and the boards are not sticking properly. As...
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    Landing ceiling joists massively out of level, all directions, best way to level?

    Thanks mate. I'm liking the laser level idea, I do have one, but the loft hatch frame was blocking the beam from a lot of the ceiling, so your idea with the mark on a piece of wood should fix that. I had already filled between the rafters with PIR as all the insulation that fell out was...
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    Landing ceiling joists massively out of level, all directions, best way to level?

    So, I've bashed all the ceiling plaster and old boards off, back to the joists, on my landing and as always, there's something holding me up. There are 4 visible joists, all at different heights. There's a 40mm difference between the highest and lowest spots, along one wall alone. The loft...
  7. U

    2cm deep battens for securing plasterboard enough?

    Thanks mate, I did it the way you suggested in the hallway on a smaller bit of wall and it worked well, but took me a long time to get the packers right. Used a laser level instead of plumb line, but much quicker to get the boards on after that though. (y) I've got a load of plasterboard...
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    2cm deep battens for securing plasterboard enough?

    I'm plasterboarding the stairs, and as always in this 1950s build, I banged all the old plaster off back to the brick, and the wall are massively out in all directions, but notably, there's a bulge in the middle, almost all the way up. I was going to use plasterboard adhesive, but to use 12.5mm...
  9. U

    Ladders on stairs, safest options?

    Thanks for the suggestions. Didn't have any planks, so cobbled together a sideways step thing out of odds and ends, and screwed it to the stairs. Pretty solid and did the trick, anyway.
  10. U

    Ladders on stairs, safest options?

    I'm looking at banging off the plaster on my landing and stairs (and then plaster boarding, sealing, filling, painting etc). The high point is quite high, so will need to use a ladder. I have a smallish 2 piece combination ladder, and I was thinking of making some kind of L shape platform that...
  11. U

    Cut into live mains cable with metal stanley knife..

    Pulled out the cable, it was only about 40cm, so pretty easy to replace. The bit that got me is the one with the scraper, just a tiny nick, and I found another a few CM away and the live was exposed. Needs a rewire.
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    Cut into live mains cable with metal stanley knife..

    I'm going to have a look at it this afternoon. It doesn't look like I can get to most of it without taking the front door out, and if that is the case, then I think I might have to use an MF junction box splice them together. Will need to chop a bit of block out to recess the box so the...
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    Cut into live mains cable with metal stanley knife..

    It's for the outside light. Whoever installed it, put the back box on the blocks and then removed some mortar and pushed in the cable below the surface, mortared over the top, then to the doorframe and upwards, wedged in, mortared over again and hidden. If you look at the back box from the...
  14. U

    Cut into live mains cable with metal stanley knife..

    I may just do that. I am going to have a look and see what the damage is tomorrow, and make it safe, and go from there.
  15. U

    Cut into live mains cable with metal stanley knife..

    Indeed mate, it jolted me backwards and that made me drop the knife. Glad it didn't stick in my foot. I will be more careful in future.
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