Yes, that's what I'm about to do. As for what the electrician does... will the plasterwork need a lot of work?
Live Spice Rack
- Thread starter Quilted
- Start date
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I didn't realise cables might go straight up, I thought they would go left and right. Of course I was wrong....
The screw that wouldn't go in was the top right. Both of the left screws went in fine - in fact I'd drilled holes, put in no more nails and then a a wall plug in and then the screw.
Is it possible that it'd be safe just to close up the holes, paint over the top and forget about it? Or there going to have to be some kind of repair work done? I realise it's not possible to tell what will happen.. but is it a possibility? Edit : I mean one the electrician might suggest. I'm not just going to close up the holes and forget about it myself.
The screw that wouldn't go in was the top right. Both of the left screws went in fine - in fact I'd drilled holes, put in no more nails and then a a wall plug in and then the screw.
Is it possible that it'd be safe just to close up the holes, paint over the top and forget about it? Or there going to have to be some kind of repair work done? I realise it's not possible to tell what will happen.. but is it a possibility? Edit : I mean one the electrician might suggest. I'm not just going to close up the holes and forget about it myself.
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You've put the left hand screw of your spice rack right in the "safe zone" which runs vertically up/down and horizontally left/right from any electrical accessory (in this case the switch with the neon indicator on it)
You should NEVER drill in safe zones - coz there's a very good chance you'll hit a cable and kill yourself or someone who comes along and touches whatever you've put up.
You should NEVER drill in safe zones - coz there's a very good chance you'll hit a cable and kill yourself or someone who comes along and touches whatever you've put up.
NO!
If the spice rack has become live then you've damaged a cable.
Damaged cables cause fires.
I guess that means an electrician and a plasterer then :/
Read up about safe zones. Then you'll know where not to drill in future.
In fact, in your position I'd do exactly what I did myself when I first started DIY'ing my own house. Get a good DIY book or two (Julian Cassell's is pretty good - this one) and have a good read through them.
You'll learn a lot - stuff that you didn't even know that you didn't know - and avoid all sorts of common mistakes and pit falls.
In fact, in your position I'd do exactly what I did myself when I first started DIY'ing my own house. Get a good DIY book or two (Julian Cassell's is pretty good - this one) and have a good read through them.
You'll learn a lot - stuff that you didn't even know that you didn't know - and avoid all sorts of common mistakes and pit falls.
I've already read up on them... as soon as someone mentioned them in the thread I read up on them....
I've about had it with DIY.
I spent more than it would cost to get a tradesmen to do the decoration of the flat, because my dad made a mess of it - wallpapering done badly, all his gloss work has gone yellow.
Since then anything I've done has gone wrong - floating shelves a disaster, spice rack a disaster.
Nothing turns out right. I either mess it up because I don't have the right tools, or I spend a fortune on the right tools and it's still not right.
I've about had it with DIY.
I spent more than it would cost to get a tradesmen to do the decoration of the flat, because my dad made a mess of it - wallpapering done badly, all his gloss work has gone yellow.
Since then anything I've done has gone wrong - floating shelves a disaster, spice rack a disaster.
Nothing turns out right. I either mess it up because I don't have the right tools, or I spend a fortune on the right tools and it's still not right.
Don't let it get you down.
Take a step back from hands-on DIY and get a book or two for Christmas. Take the time to read them cover to cover (that'll cost you nothing and won't cause any damage to your flat!!!).
Then you'll have more confidence for the next project you tackle, and hopefully it will go smoothly.
Take a step back from hands-on DIY and get a book or two for Christmas. Take the time to read them cover to cover (that'll cost you nothing and won't cause any damage to your flat!!!).
Then you'll have more confidence for the next project you tackle, and hopefully it will go smoothly.
you think all us tradesmen on this site havnt made mistakes when we were all learning,hells bells we still make mistakes from time to time.
but what we learn from them is how not to do them again and how to get over the problems we may have caused/done,we are after all only human.
as said DEEP BREATH read up and learn through your mistakes.
and remember if your gut is telling you it feels doggie then it probably is.
but what we learn from them is how not to do them again and how to get over the problems we may have caused/done,we are after all only human.
as said DEEP BREATH read up and learn through your mistakes.
and remember if your gut is telling you it feels doggie then it probably is.
I don't have the option of leaving it until Christmas. My home is a disaster right now and needs fixed.
I've made my 6th attempt on the floating shelves, and failed.
The wall plugs came back out when I used the Plasplugs kit which had the drill bit I was supposed to use inside it. I tried using the yellow fischer plugs and the screws pulled them out too. Now I'm trying with red plasplugs in holes too small....
I no longer have a boiler, so no hot water or central heating until that's fixed.
Even when it is fixed I don't have a shower or bath because of the missing edge strips around it.
If I don't get these floating shelves fixed then I'll have 20 drilled holes in my wallpaper looking bad.
Plus my home is a mess because of everything being done and I can't easily tidy it away until things are sorted.
Book last Christmas would have been good. It's too late now.
Edit : I do seem to have fixed the shelves... and even a little win seems to have lightened my mood
I've made my 6th attempt on the floating shelves, and failed.
The wall plugs came back out when I used the Plasplugs kit which had the drill bit I was supposed to use inside it. I tried using the yellow fischer plugs and the screws pulled them out too. Now I'm trying with red plasplugs in holes too small....
I no longer have a boiler, so no hot water or central heating until that's fixed.
Even when it is fixed I don't have a shower or bath because of the missing edge strips around it.
If I don't get these floating shelves fixed then I'll have 20 drilled holes in my wallpaper looking bad.
Plus my home is a mess because of everything being done and I can't easily tidy it away until things are sorted.
Book last Christmas would have been good. It's too late now.
Edit : I do seem to have fixed the shelves... and even a little win seems to have lightened my mood
Hello mate, a basic of screwing into walls is that the rawplug fits sunggly into the hole you've drilled. Look at the size of the drill bit you are going to use and hold it next to the rawplugs. Should be approx the same size.
Around the house i use a 6mm drill bit and red rawplugs. When drilling keep a firm pressure on the drill so as to not let the drill bit start to wander and end up making a much bigger hole. You only need to drill to the same depth, plus 5mm, as the length of the screw to be used.
Own what you are doing. Be in charge of what happens. Think about potential problems (like where the wiring runs or where there may be water pipes).
If someone you know is doing to some diy then offer to help (especially if they know what they are doing). Ask questions. Take it all in.
Remember things like the paint that you used before going yellow so as not to buy that paint again.
It takes years to gain a good sound knowledge of diy. You've started. You've made mistakes. Learn from them.
Think SAFE. Electricity is an unseen danger and potential killer. Gas too.
Don't buy a chop saw just yet ....pleeeeze
Around the house i use a 6mm drill bit and red rawplugs. When drilling keep a firm pressure on the drill so as to not let the drill bit start to wander and end up making a much bigger hole. You only need to drill to the same depth, plus 5mm, as the length of the screw to be used.
Own what you are doing. Be in charge of what happens. Think about potential problems (like where the wiring runs or where there may be water pipes).
If someone you know is doing to some diy then offer to help (especially if they know what they are doing). Ask questions. Take it all in.
Remember things like the paint that you used before going yellow so as not to buy that paint again.
It takes years to gain a good sound knowledge of diy. You've started. You've made mistakes. Learn from them.
Think SAFE. Electricity is an unseen danger and potential killer. Gas too.
Don't buy a chop saw just yet ....pleeeeze
I think the problem is where I end up painted in to a corner, so to speak.
My dad and I have different opinions on things. I'd rather buy the best tool, he'll buy the cheapest, I'll think a job out from start to finish, he'll get it started as quickly as possible.
I learned from him, and it's only now that I'm realising I'm right, and he's wrong in many things.
It was him who told me not to bother with a stud locator. He picked the cheap paint that went yellow. Him that did the wallpaper in the bathroom rather than what I wanted to do which was get a decorator in. He picked up the screws and wall plugs that are terrible...
I of course make plenty of mistakes, however I'm prepared to learn from them. His attitude is always that it wasn't his fault.
I'm now using red wall plugs with a 5mm bit - that's what I used when I got the shelves finally working. I used Spax 5x30 screws and I think I'm going to pick up a box of 5x35 screws for red plugs and 4x30 for yellows. I'm going to keep using the 5mm bit for reds and 4mm bit for yellows and see how that gets on.
The electrician will fix the wiring I'm sure, and I'll get a plaster to do the wall afterwards - I'll ask them about the spice rack and see if they can get it done at the same time as they're sorting the wall. I can paint the wall myself at least... and the spark and plasterer won't charge that much in total, so it's not the end of the world.
A tiler is coming tomorrow to look at sorting my bath. He's going to have fun with the little quadrant tiles as the gap is slightly under an inch at points and the bath is in squinty and part of it goes into the wall for a few mm. However if it wasn't complicated I'd be able to do it myself, that's why I'm getting a professional in.
After that I've got screws to put into wood in a cupboard to build a rack for my tools, and I've a few curtain hold backs to put on and that's all the DIY I'm doing until I've read a book or two.
All I managed to get this week so far was defeated, and eventually it wears you down!
My dad and I have different opinions on things. I'd rather buy the best tool, he'll buy the cheapest, I'll think a job out from start to finish, he'll get it started as quickly as possible.
I learned from him, and it's only now that I'm realising I'm right, and he's wrong in many things.
It was him who told me not to bother with a stud locator. He picked the cheap paint that went yellow. Him that did the wallpaper in the bathroom rather than what I wanted to do which was get a decorator in. He picked up the screws and wall plugs that are terrible...
I of course make plenty of mistakes, however I'm prepared to learn from them. His attitude is always that it wasn't his fault.
I'm now using red wall plugs with a 5mm bit - that's what I used when I got the shelves finally working. I used Spax 5x30 screws and I think I'm going to pick up a box of 5x35 screws for red plugs and 4x30 for yellows. I'm going to keep using the 5mm bit for reds and 4mm bit for yellows and see how that gets on.
The electrician will fix the wiring I'm sure, and I'll get a plaster to do the wall afterwards - I'll ask them about the spice rack and see if they can get it done at the same time as they're sorting the wall. I can paint the wall myself at least... and the spark and plasterer won't charge that much in total, so it's not the end of the world.
A tiler is coming tomorrow to look at sorting my bath. He's going to have fun with the little quadrant tiles as the gap is slightly under an inch at points and the bath is in squinty and part of it goes into the wall for a few mm. However if it wasn't complicated I'd be able to do it myself, that's why I'm getting a professional in.
After that I've got screws to put into wood in a cupboard to build a rack for my tools, and I've a few curtain hold backs to put on and that's all the DIY I'm doing until I've read a book or two.
All I managed to get this week so far was defeated, and eventually it wears you down!
Personally, I use a 5.5mm bit for red ones (including the ones which say 6mm).
For screws, I recommend picking up a trade case from Screwfix when they're on sale, then start adding screw sizes to it (you'll need new inserts) as and when. This is a good starting point: http://www.screwfix.com/p/turbogold-general-trade-case-1400pcs/57297
I picked up a similar selection for £15 a case a while back when they decided to change the range.
I then got one of these on sale a while back: http://www.screwfix.com/p/goldscrew-handy-trade-screw-plug-case-2000-pieces/26797
I keep the fairly crap wallplugs for minor things. The case is what I wanted.
Depending on how much damage the electrician needs to do, he may be able to sort the wall himself. Ask him, because if he can, it'll be cheaper (and for a small patch, even a sparky can get it right..
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