DIY/Home Improvement Thread

[Sol thewall Bamba]

1 hour ago, Greg2607 said:

Welcome to 13 years of Tory Britain. 

Welcome to an environment where University is peddled as the only worthwhile path after school.

[kenny]

2 hours ago, Greg2607 said:

Welcome to 13 years of Tory Britain. 

Significant increases in pay for working class jobs? It's not what they are usually known for.

[Greg2607]

8 hours ago, kenny said:

Significant increases in pay for working class jobs? It's not what they are usually known for.

Nope. The erosion of spending power for the general population.  But for the record, plumbers, builders etc, are no longer working class jobs. They are skilled labour with a high price tag.  The working class jobs are call centers, carers, shop workers etc.  Especially because we stopped training enough people to do these trades and used cheaper European imports to do it....  

[kenny]

1 hour ago, Greg2607 said:

Nope. The erosion of spending power for the general population.  But for the record, plumbers, builders etc, are no longer working class jobs. They are skilled labour with a high price tag.  The working class jobs are call centers, carers, shop workers etc.  Especially because we stopped training enough people to do these trades and used cheaper European imports to do it....  

Apologies, I was using the Emily Thornberry definition of working class.

[danny.]

On 07/05/2023 at 10:35, Kinowe Soorie said:

Not true.

That’s been my experience. Well done if you’re rich enough to afford ~£1k/day, I’m not. 

[Uncle knobhead]

On 03/05/2023 at 13:46, Tommy G said:

Anyone who uses a trade who is after that much a day should be a cast member of Dumb and Dumber 

 

Absolute clueless comment from someone who obviously never been self employed. When you take in the shit money you have to be on for few years to learn a trade then have to invest in a van and all your own kit. Public liability insurance the fact you have to pay your own tax, no holiday pay and no sick pay and no pension with a company matching your contribution. Accountant bills plus going around spending your own time quoting jobs on time wasters, collecting materials first thing or last thing of the day.  Constantly waiting on people to pay invoices. Advertising too plus recessions and quiet periods. Plus the actual stress of not having a guaranteed income to keep a roof over you. This along with all the shit you have to put your body through on your joints and breathing dust in every day. Joe Public that want 2 days work in 1 for peanuts... could literally go on. Decent reliable tradesmen around leicester should be minimum £220 + a day else your better off working your way up somewhere like aldi. My advice is once you've found a decent reliable trade keep hold of them and be willing to wait for them. 

[Kinowe Soorie]

36 minutes ago, danny. said:

That’s been my experience. Well done if you’re rich enough to afford ~£1k/day, I’m not. 

I wouldn’t be paying any trade that sort of money. I’m a tradesman myself, and do not earn anything remotely close to a grand a day. 

[danny.]

Me neither, it’s totally unaffordable to me even if I wanted to. 

[Tommy G]

1 hour ago, Uncle knobhead said:

 

Absolute clueless comment from someone who obviously never been self employed. When you take in the shit money you have to be on for few years to learn a trade then have to invest in a van and all your own kit. Public liability insurance the fact you have to pay your own tax, no holiday pay and no sick pay and no pension with a company matching your contribution. Accountant bills plus going around spending your own time quoting jobs on time wasters, collecting materials first thing or last thing of the day.  Constantly waiting on people to pay invoices. Advertising too plus recessions and quiet periods. Plus the actual stress of not having a guaranteed income to keep a roof over you. This along with all the shit you have to put your body through on your joints and breathing dust in every day. Joe Public that want 2 days work in 1 for peanuts... could literally go on. Decent reliable tradesmen around leicester should be minimum £220 + a day else your better off working your way up somewhere like aldi. My advice is once you've found a decent reliable trade keep hold of them and be willing to wait for them. 

It was a comment in reference to someone saying a tradesman was quoting between £800-£1000. I stand by my comment. 
 

Even scrubbing by on £800 a day on a 47 week working year your take home pay would be circa £190k - an average c suite salary - cry me a river if you couldn’t slap £10k into a pension and have plenty left for the long list you mentioned above. 
 

I actually agree on your point of £220 a day and you could easily pay more for someone who is exceptional. 
 

I’m not self employed but know plenty that are including my wife. I employed 10-15 self employed tradesman when renovating my house. 
 

I hope you’ve just made the mistake in getting your knickers in a twist and quoting the wrong reply 🤣

Edited 8 May 2023 by Tommy G

[Uncle knobhead]

11 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

It was a comment in reference to someone saying a tradesman was quoting between £800-£1000. I stand by my comment. 
 

Even scrubbing by on £800 a day on a 47 week working year your take home pay would be circa £190k - an average c suite salary - cry me a river if you couldn’t slap £10k into a pension and have plenty left for the long list you mentioned above. 
 

I actually agree on your point of £220 a day and you could easily pay more for someone who is exceptional. 
 

I’m not self employed but know plenty that are including my wife. I employed 10-15 self employed tradesman when renovating my house. 
 

I hope you’ve just made the mistake in getting your knickers in a twist and quoting the wrong reply 🤣

Either way I've let off some steam and made valid points for people to read in the thread. 👍

[danny.]

Thanks for pointing out that businesses have overheads…

[FoxesWalk]

I recently moved into a 6 year old house with one old lady former who did no diy from new build. A few settling cracks about which I have fixed. Some are right in the corner between plaster board and window. The windows are fine, seal is fine. What type of filler should I use here? To adhere to upvc and plaster board... Couldn’t find a clear answer online. I am a DIY newbie, sorry if it’s a stupid question. 

[Parafox]

9 minutes ago, FoxesWalk said:

I recently moved into a 6 year old house with one old lady former who did no diy from new build. A few settling cracks about which I have fixed. Some are right in the corner between plaster board and window. The windows are fine, seal is fine. What type of filler should I use here? To adhere to upvc and plaster board... Couldn’t find a clear answer online. I am a DIY newbie, sorry if it’s a stupid question. 

Did your search suggest this:

 

Decorating caulk has a number of uses and it's a widely used product by decorators to quickly and easily fill gaps and cracks on walls and surfaces prior to painting. Blemishes, holes and cracks often appear around skirting boards, ceilings and architraves as a natural process of house movement.

 

I've used it often to fill gaps around windows and skirting. It comes in a tube similar to sealant so you just pipe it on.

 

I'm not a professional BTW. Just DIY where I can.

 

 

Edited 11 May 2023 by Parafox

[FoxesWalk]

12 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Did your search suggest this:

 

Decorating caulk has a number of uses and it's a widely used product by decorators to quickly and easily fill gaps and cracks on walls and surfaces prior to painting. Blemishes, holes and cracks often appear around skirting boards, ceilings and architraves as a natural process of house movement.

 

I've used it often to fill gaps around windows and skirting. It comes in a tube similar to sealant so you just pipe it on.

 

I'm not a professional BTW. Just DIY where I can.

 

 

Yeah, I saw similar, plus acrylic based and silicone based sealants/fillers all suggested for the same job, not really sure which advice to listen to having not done it before. Figured since it needs to be relatively flexible (for example around French doors regularly being opened and closed, and in full sun) and needs to bond strongly to upvc, I’d need something specific rather than just regular caulk. But if so, easy peasy and I already have it.

Edited 11 May 2023 by FoxesWalk

[Parafox]

8 minutes ago, FoxesWalk said:

Yeah, I saw similar, plus acrylic based and silicone based sealants/fillers all suggested for the same job, not really sure which advice to listen to having not done it before. Figured since it needs to be relatively flexible (for example around French doors regularly being opened and closed, and in full sun) and needs to bond strongly to upvc, I’d need something specific rather than just regular caulk. But if so, easy peasy and I already have it.

In which case I think you'll struggle to find something that specific. If you haven't found it via Google it's unlikely you'll find it anywhere. Maybe ask a window fitting company if they know of anything?

 

I've found Screwfix staff (face to face) very helpful for various things I could find.

 

Good luck.

Edited 11 May 2023 by Parafox

[RobHawk]

I'd use any of the ones mentioned tbh, depends what I had in my garage at the time. 

 

Again though, just diyer myself but I wouldn't see the harm in any of them as it's only cosmetic

[Bellend Sebastian]

Decorator's caulk is what you want for interior stuff. As well as being flexible (and relatively cheap), its main advantage is you can paint over it easily, unlike anything silicon based.  I'm not sure it bonds especially well to UPVC but I'm sure I've used it in similar situations

[Wolfox]

A bit of caulk is the answer to that as @Parafox said 👍🏼 

[kenny]

55 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Decorator's caulk is what you want for interior stuff. As well as being flexible (and relatively cheap), its main advantage is you can paint over it easily, unlike anything silicon based.  I'm not sure it bonds especially well to UPVC but I'm sure I've used it in similar situations

Silicon is generally paintable.

 

In this case I would go for silicon as caulk has a tendency to shrink.

[Bellend Sebastian]

8 minutes ago, kenny said:

Silicon is generally paintable.

 

In this case I would go for silicon as caulk has a tendency to shrink.

Maybe with gloss, but anything water based doesn't really stick when I've tried it

[kenny]

9 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Maybe with gloss, but anything water based doesn't really stick when I've tried it

There are different types, the cheap stuff suitable for frames rather than the stuff for the shower is normally suitable for water based paints.

 

 

[Bellend Sebastian]

While we're on the subject of sealants, is it actually possible to clean mould off of silicon bathroom sealant or do you have to replace it?

[danny.]

@FoxesWalk don’t use silicon! Use decorators caulk, this is fine https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-decorators-caulk-white-310ml/57568 you need a gun to apply it https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-sealant-gun/988hp

 

apply to the gap proud and then go over with your finger at the end, you can then paint it. If the gap is too deep you can caulk to fill in the gap, wait for it to dry and the go over a second time. 
 

You can get a better finish with interior filler, but it’s more time and energy. 

[FoxesWalk]

35 minutes ago, danny. said:

@FoxesWalk don’t use silicon! Use decorators caulk, this is fine https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-decorators-caulk-white-310ml/57568 you need a gun to apply it https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-sealant-gun/988hp

 

apply to the gap proud and then go over with your finger at the end, you can then paint it. If the gap is too deep you can caulk to fill in the gap, wait for it to dry and the go over a second time. 
 

You can get a better finish with interior filler, but it’s more time and energy. 

Thanks, already have that exact brand of caulk 👍🏼

[yorkie1999]

On 02/05/2023 at 12:13, Greg2607 said:

bought myself a Nail Gun this weekend...... now I feel like a real man! 

I feel the same after buying a cement mixer a couple of days ago, best bit of kit I’ve owned.