#diyday — Public Fediverse posts

#DIYDay

The work on the sun room continues... the flooring, skirting and janky fix to the ceiling for the light fitting are done.

I need to go around the skirting and sand all of the filled nail holes, run some caulking around the top and smooth that out.

Once everything is dry and cleaned up again, oil the oak skirting and door thresholds.

Then it's just finish the painting, which means go around all of the edges where I've caulked and touch up properly, paint the wood under the light fitting with paint, as it's just primer... fix any little dings and scrapes made... and aside from something that needs doing to the window board on one side (frame not aligned properly on the right, so window company need to adjust)... It'll be ready for the furniture being delivered on Tuesday, and the blinds being fitted on Weds.

#DIYDay

The work on the sun room continues... the flooring, skirting and janky fix to the ceiling for the light fitting are done.

I need to go around the skirting and sand all of the filled nail holes, run some caulking around the top and smooth that out.

Once everything is dry and cleaned up again, oil the oak skirting and door thresholds.

Then it's just finish the painting, which means go around all of the edges where I've caulked and touch up properly, paint the wood under the light fitting with paint, as it's just primer... fix any little dings and scrapes made... and aside from something that needs doing to the window board on one side (frame not aligned properly on the right, so window company need to adjust)... It'll be ready for the furniture being delivered on Tuesday, and the blinds being fitted on Weds.

#DIYDay the solution to the problem... it looks janky now, but it'll be fine once painted.

Basically... created the problem by not being 100% clear with the plasterer that I needed a flat section on the ceiling for the light.

So what I got was a rounded one that meets in 3 places.

Can't fit a ceiling light there because it needs a flat surface, can move the cable to one side without it looking odd... and damaging the fresh plaster that will then need patching and painting.

The solution, a square block of wood 50mm thick, screwed though into the wood structure of the roof, with 100mm screws.

I've added wood filler in any rough places, sanded smooth and now covered with a coat of primer. Once dry, I'll use the same matt emulsion I've used on the ceiling to blend it in... You'll hardly see it once fully painted... I could have done it smaller, but I may install a small ceiling fan at some point next year. So I wanted a piece large enough to take the slight larger base of one.

#DIYDay the solution to the problem... it looks janky now, but it'll be fine once painted.

Basically... created the problem by not being 100% clear with the plasterer that I needed a flat section on the ceiling for the light.

So what I got was a rounded one that meets in 3 places.

Can't fit a ceiling light there because it needs a flat surface, can move the cable to one side without it looking odd... and damaging the fresh plaster that will then need patching and painting.

The solution, a square block of wood 50mm thick, screwed though into the wood structure of the roof, with 100mm screws.

I've added wood filler in any rough places, sanded smooth and now covered with a coat of primer. Once dry, I'll use the same matt emulsion I've used on the ceiling to blend it in... You'll hardly see it once fully painted... I could have done it smaller, but I may install a small ceiling fan at some point next year. So I wanted a piece large enough to take the slight larger base of one.

#DIYDay the electrics are done... but cannot be certified.

He found a fault in the earth circuit.

Now, I'm not an electrician... so here's my understanding of it.

The fuse for the sockets is a 32amp one, and the resistance threshold for the test is 110... Ours is reading 144 and because both the upstairs and downstairs sockets are on the same ring... it means there's more than one solution.

Solution 1: Go around and test every single socket through the house until you find the earth fault... which could be as simple as a loose wire in the back of a socket. Which could take most of a day... there's a lot of fucking sockets and may not find the fault if it's a broken wire somewhere... So we could pay £250 with not solution.

Solution 2: Split the rings, replace the 32amp for 2x 20amp ones which have a threshold rating of 160. So you'll have upstairs sockets and downstairs sockets.... however, depending how the fuckwits wired the house to begin with... you could easily have left side of house and right side of house... or front of house and rear of house... It's a mystery until it's done. The new fuses are £50-60 and it's half a days work.

Splitting them is the quickest way to do it.

So that's going to be an extra £250 bill in a few weeks with a solution rather than at least £250 and maybe no solution..

The fault with the earth will still be there, but it will be well under the threshold specified by electrical regulations. So we can be certified correctly for the new electrics and the house in general.

Since buying the house 4yrs ago, with a current electric certificate done prior to purchase.. We have rewired the kitchen, the utility room, new wiring for a new bedroom and ensuite. Rewired the master bedroom and ensuite, added a couple of spur sockets in another bedroom and new wiring for the conservatory, which also added 2 extra sockets to the dining room.

Only 3 rooms in the house have no had some form of wiring added, or modified... the lounge, the hallway and the final bedroom.

#DIYDay the electrics are done... but cannot be certified.

He found a fault in the earth circuit.

Now, I'm not an electrician... so here's my understanding of it.

The fuse for the sockets is a 32amp one, and the resistance threshold for the test is 110... Ours is reading 144 and because both the upstairs and downstairs sockets are on the same ring... it means there's more than one solution.

Solution 1: Go around and test every single socket through the house until you find the earth fault... which could be as simple as a loose wire in the back of a socket. Which could take most of a day... there's a lot of fucking sockets and may not find the fault if it's a broken wire somewhere... So we could pay £250 with not solution.

Solution 2: Split the rings, replace the 32amp for 2x 20amp ones which have a threshold rating of 160. So you'll have upstairs sockets and downstairs sockets.... however, depending how the fuckwits wired the house to begin with... you could easily have left side of house and right side of house... or front of house and rear of house... It's a mystery until it's done. The new fuses are £50-60 and it's half a days work.

Splitting them is the quickest way to do it.

So that's going to be an extra £250 bill in a few weeks with a solution rather than at least £250 and maybe no solution..

The fault with the earth will still be there, but it will be well under the threshold specified by electrical regulations. So we can be certified correctly for the new electrics and the house in general.

Since buying the house 4yrs ago, with a current electric certificate done prior to purchase.. We have rewired the kitchen, the utility room, new wiring for a new bedroom and ensuite. Rewired the master bedroom and ensuite, added a couple of spur sockets in another bedroom and new wiring for the conservatory, which also added 2 extra sockets to the dining room.

Only 3 rooms in the house have no had some form of wiring added, or modified... the lounge, the hallway and the final bedroom.

#DIYDay or days... for the last 3 days we've been doing the skirting, window boards and thresholds in the sun room... Well... I say we... I mean the joiner with me helping.

It's not quite finished... glue still setting, hence the large plant pots and bricks weighing things down.

He's also put a compound curved piece of wood at the mid point of the ceiling so we can hang a standard light fitting... it'll also be strong enough for a small ceiling fan should be decide to install one later.

Skirting and thresholds are all done in oak, needs some caulking along the walls as it's not perfectly straight (the walls that is) and some paint touch ups, then the skirting and boards need oiling. The window boards are a thing called duraboard which is a moisture resistant core with a pvc coating... won't ever be using it again though... plain old oak or white mdf would have done... it was expensive and the company turned out to be arseholes... will be fighting for a partial refund due to damaged boards.

#DIYDay or days... for the last 3 days we've been doing the skirting, window boards and thresholds in the sun room... Well... I say we... I mean the joiner with me helping.

It's not quite finished... glue still setting, hence the large plant pots and bricks weighing things down.

He's also put a compound curved piece of wood at the mid point of the ceiling so we can hang a standard light fitting... it'll also be strong enough for a small ceiling fan should be decide to install one later.

Skirting and thresholds are all done in oak, needs some caulking along the walls as it's not perfectly straight (the walls that is) and some paint touch ups, then the skirting and boards need oiling. The window boards are a thing called duraboard which is a moisture resistant core with a pvc coating... won't ever be using it again though... plain old oak or white mdf would have done... it was expensive and the company turned out to be arseholes... will be fighting for a partial refund due to damaged boards.

#DIYDay and the floor is finished.

Slight problem... knocking the planks together has shifted the whole floor towards the back wall and disturbed the spacers I had there.

So now the gap at the top end is wider than the skirting. It's also tilted slightly so the left corner has a bigger gap than the right.

I need to figure out a way to move the entire floor about 10mm towards the house, without putting my weight on it to stop it moving, whilst also being very careful not to disturb any of the joins between planks.

I've moved it left to right just fine from the french door opening. Now I just need to move it up towards the house a little.

Otherwise there's going to be a gap all down one wall between the flooring and the skirting.

But overall, I'm rather pleased with the look. I've ordered 2 pieces of oak for the thresholds into the house and garden doors... and if the skirting I've ordered won't work... It only cost £100 (PVC stuff) and I think I'll switch to a 22mm thick oak skirting as I can get that for the whole room for £200 and it will look nice with the oak thresholds and oak effect flooring... I'm tempted to order it anyway and accept the extra cost. I've cut the original cost of doing this room (including all finishes) down from around £32-33k to more like £26-27k... and I've put £4k onto a 0% interest balance transfer credit card over 3yrs... I don;t mind paying £112 a month and having that extra £4k back in my savings whilst I'm taking a break from work and using my savings to top up my mediocre income.

No more updates for a while... waiting of materials to arrive and the joiner to be free.

#DIYDay and the floor is finished.

Slight problem... knocking the planks together has shifted the whole floor towards the back wall and disturbed the spacers I had there.

So now the gap at the top end is wider than the skirting. It's also tilted slightly so the left corner has a bigger gap than the right.

I need to figure out a way to move the entire floor about 10mm towards the house, without putting my weight on it to stop it moving, whilst also being very careful not to disturb any of the joins between planks.

I've moved it left to right just fine from the french door opening. Now I just need to move it up towards the house a little.

Otherwise there's going to be a gap all down one wall between the flooring and the skirting.

But overall, I'm rather pleased with the look. I've ordered 2 pieces of oak for the thresholds into the house and garden doors... and if the skirting I've ordered won't work... It only cost £100 (PVC stuff) and I think I'll switch to a 22mm thick oak skirting as I can get that for the whole room for £200 and it will look nice with the oak thresholds and oak effect flooring... I'm tempted to order it anyway and accept the extra cost. I've cut the original cost of doing this room (including all finishes) down from around £32-33k to more like £26-27k... and I've put £4k onto a 0% interest balance transfer credit card over 3yrs... I don;t mind paying £112 a month and having that extra £4k back in my savings whilst I'm taking a break from work and using my savings to top up my mediocre income.

No more updates for a while... waiting of materials to arrive and the joiner to be free.

#DIYDay As usual, I end up trying to do the most work at the worst time of day.

I did the underlay this morning before 11am, when it was a little cloudy and humidity was around 65%. It didn't take that long, really. It's foam board, easy to cut and you just need a bit of tape to stop it moving about.. the only issue was running out of duct tape and having to resort to using some 'fragile' tape I had laying around rather than go to the local DIY store for more tape.

I then had lunch and a few errands to run... Taking my mum to her pensioners club and picking her up again.

So nothing got done between 12-3pm.

Got back and immediately set about laying the laminate flooring. First laying test rows across the room left to right and realising I'd need 17.5 boards, which means cutting boards lengthways... and having a half board at one end looks a little janky.

So Ilifted them up and laid them across from the french doors, and that works out at 19.2 boards... But because of the skirting, I could ignore the 0.2 part... so it's exactly 19 boards... No awkward cuts and a cleaner look... and I think flooring looks cleaner if run from the window across a room so the lines are perpendicular to the window... As this has windows on 3 sides, it doesn't matter... So for my, the french doors become the focal point and the lines of boards running across from the door to the opposite wall is the right way to go.

But after getting 2 full rows done and 3 part rows done with just cuts to make to the end pieces... I am exhausted... Even with the windows and doors open and drinking cold drinks non stop... I was sweating buckets and could feel myself getting sluggish... I tried working on the shaded side, with no effect... there's zero wind and the temp has been rising all afternoon.

So I'm calling it quits for a few hours... I'll go back out there around 7-8pm when the sun has moved around and hopefully the temp has dropped a little.

Tomorrow I can finish... but tomorrow is also the start of the next heatwave here... 30ºC temps predicted and no winds... humidity will probably be through the roof too.

So, I'll get out there in the morning and do as much as I can before it gets too hot, and then perhaps I can finish in the evening... My knees are pretty shot today crawling around on the concrete cleaning and doing the underlay... and now the heat is causing tiredness. Then there's the contortionism required to fit the planks. I have to slot them together as close as possible... then stretch my leg out to the bottom end to try and make it flat, whilst I reach the top end with the knocking block and hammer to make them fit snugly.... Imagine me balancing on one knee... the other leg pointing backwards with my toes trying to push the corner of a plank down... whilst reaching up to use the hammer and block... It's a little comical to watch.

I'd rather take my

#DIYDay As usual, I end up trying to do the most work at the worst time of day.

I did the underlay this morning before 11am, when it was a little cloudy and humidity was around 65%. It didn't take that long, really. It's foam board, easy to cut and you just need a bit of tape to stop it moving about.. the only issue was running out of duct tape and having to resort to using some 'fragile' tape I had laying around rather than go to the local DIY store for more tape.

I then had lunch and a few errands to run... Taking my mum to her pensioners club and picking her up again.

So nothing got done between 12-3pm.

Got back and immediately set about laying the laminate flooring. First laying test rows across the room left to right and realising I'd need 17.5 boards, which means cutting boards lengthways... and having a half board at one end looks a little janky.

So Ilifted them up and laid them across from the french doors, and that works out at 19.2 boards... But because of the skirting, I could ignore the 0.2 part... so it's exactly 19 boards... No awkward cuts and a cleaner look... and I think flooring looks cleaner if run from the window across a room so the lines are perpendicular to the window... As this has windows on 3 sides, it doesn't matter... So for my, the french doors become the focal point and the lines of boards running across from the door to the opposite wall is the right way to go.

But after getting 2 full rows done and 3 part rows done with just cuts to make to the end pieces... I am exhausted... Even with the windows and doors open and drinking cold drinks non stop... I was sweating buckets and could feel myself getting sluggish... I tried working on the shaded side, with no effect... there's zero wind and the temp has been rising all afternoon.

So I'm calling it quits for a few hours... I'll go back out there around 7-8pm when the sun has moved around and hopefully the temp has dropped a little.

Tomorrow I can finish... but tomorrow is also the start of the next heatwave here... 30ºC temps predicted and no winds... humidity will probably be through the roof too.

So, I'll get out there in the morning and do as much as I can before it gets too hot, and then perhaps I can finish in the evening... My knees are pretty shot today crawling around on the concrete cleaning and doing the underlay... and now the heat is causing tiredness. Then there's the contortionism required to fit the planks. I have to slot them together as close as possible... then stretch my leg out to the bottom end to try and make it flat, whilst I reach the top end with the knocking block and hammer to make them fit snugly.... Imagine me balancing on one knee... the other leg pointing backwards with my toes trying to push the corner of a plank down... whilst reaching up to use the hammer and block... It's a little comical to watch.

I'd rather take my

#DIYDay... the painting is done... can't be arsed to take another pic. I'll take some more when the place has been cleaned properly and the flooring laid... which is tomorrows job. I kinda took Mon-Tues off, just doing minor touch ups here and there... had to wait an extra 5 days for the plaster to dry around the doors into the house... So that was only misted yesterday and then two coats today, as well as the final cutting in around the corners and ceiling.

So here's a pic from the other day before I finished painting.

The ceiling is quite strange... because the rounded over the inside of the pitched ceiling with all 3 sides meet... it creates an optical illusion... you know the ceiling isn't flat... but it tricks your eyes into thinking it could be... when looking down it from the door into it. It's easy to see when you look back towards the house because of the green pitched part of the wall.

Anyhoo... I can hang up the paint brushes now. Window boards and skirting has all been ordered and I bought all of the sockets and switches for the dining room and sun room.... that's another £530 spent. After that the only expenses left are the final electrical fix of around £200 and the help I'll need doing the skirting and window boards... maybe another £200 inc extra materials like adhesives and cleaning supplies.

#DIYDay... the painting is done... can't be arsed to take another pic. I'll take some more when the place has been cleaned properly and the flooring laid... which is tomorrows job. I kinda took Mon-Tues off, just doing minor touch ups here and there... had to wait an extra 5 days for the plaster to dry around the doors into the house... So that was only misted yesterday and then two coats today, as well as the final cutting in around the corners and ceiling.

So here's a pic from the other day before I finished painting.

The ceiling is quite strange... because the rounded over the inside of the pitched ceiling with all 3 sides meet... it creates an optical illusion... you know the ceiling isn't flat... but it tricks your eyes into thinking it could be... when looking down it from the door into it. It's easy to see when you look back towards the house because of the green pitched part of the wall.

Anyhoo... I can hang up the paint brushes now. Window boards and skirting has all been ordered and I bought all of the sockets and switches for the dining room and sun room.... that's another £530 spent. After that the only expenses left are the final electrical fix of around £200 and the help I'll need doing the skirting and window boards... maybe another £200 inc extra materials like adhesives and cleaning supplies.

#DIYDay is much harder when it's a pain day. So I did most of it sitting down applying the light green paint that we're using in the sun room. The colour isn't my choice, but seeing as I'm doing this for my mum as she's never had a sun/garden room to enjoy before... and she's picked most of the colours for the downstairs already (I had a veto on all shades of yellows or pinks).

It's the same colour as the kitchen and rear lobby... so ties a few rooms together.

I suspect that the lounge and dining rooms that connect to both the kitchen and the sun room... will be getting a green theme too when they're done.

Still got the ceiling, edging and any touch ups that need doing to finish. Might get a coat on the ceiling later... think another coat of green is also required.

We're getting closer to the finish line though... Flooring can go down this week... the blinds arrived today... So it's just skirting, window boards to arrange and find a new sofa for the lounge, so the two currently in there can be moved into the sun room.

There's a small section of plaster that's still not dried. It's around the inside edge of the sliding doors from the house into the sun room. That was the last piece plastered on Tuesday and it's still drying out... So that's on the list for touch ups next week.

#DIYDay is much harder when it's a pain day. So I did most of it sitting down applying the light green paint that we're using in the sun room. The colour isn't my choice, but seeing as I'm doing this for my mum as she's never had a sun/garden room to enjoy before... and she's picked most of the colours for the downstairs already (I had a veto on all shades of yellows or pinks).

It's the same colour as the kitchen and rear lobby... so ties a few rooms together.

I suspect that the lounge and dining rooms that connect to both the kitchen and the sun room... will be getting a green theme too when they're done.

Still got the ceiling, edging and any touch ups that need doing to finish. Might get a coat on the ceiling later... think another coat of green is also required.

We're getting closer to the finish line though... Flooring can go down this week... the blinds arrived today... So it's just skirting, window boards to arrange and find a new sofa for the lounge, so the two currently in there can be moved into the sun room.

There's a small section of plaster that's still not dried. It's around the inside edge of the sliding doors from the house into the sun room. That was the last piece plastered on Tuesday and it's still drying out... So that's on the list for touch ups next week.

#DIYDay time and yes... it was actually me doing stuff again.

2 mist coats done on the sun room and a lot of severe cramping in my hand. It was also really hot and humid out there, so I did some this morning and then finished of this evening.

This was just mist coating the bare plaster, which for those who aren't aware is a basic emulsion paint thinned down with some water... about 60/40 for the first coat and 75/25 for the second. This is because the bare plaster can still absorb water from the paint, which can cause the adhesion to fail, and you could end up with paint literally peeling off the wall.

Ask me how I know that... go on... ask me... No don't... I still carry the shame and the scars from it.

Tomorrow, the ceiling can get a few coats of the proper washable white paint I use throughout the house. If there's time, the walls will be getting a light sage green, the same colour we've used in the kitchen and back lobby. There's some of this colour dotted around the house... the shed is sage green, the front door is sage green, the garage roller door... guess what colour that is... go on... guess.

As for the cramps in my hand... gripping a small handled roller for hours on end, going up and down a step ladder and so forth... can cause issues. Taken some quinine though, so that helps... will also help prevent leg cramps tonight because balancing on a step ladder on the balls of your feet can trigger them too if you're not used to it... and I'm not a DIY fan... honestly. I'm not... I do it because I can't afford to pay a professional to do it for me... I only get the pro's in for things I absolutely cannot tackle myself... or am legally not allowed to.

#DIYDay time and yes... it was actually me doing stuff again.

2 mist coats done on the sun room and a lot of severe cramping in my hand. It was also really hot and humid out there, so I did some this morning and then finished of this evening.

This was just mist coating the bare plaster, which for those who aren't aware is a basic emulsion paint thinned down with some water... about 60/40 for the first coat and 75/25 for the second. This is because the bare plaster can still absorb water from the paint, which can cause the adhesion to fail, and you could end up with paint literally peeling off the wall.

Ask me how I know that... go on... ask me... No don't... I still carry the shame and the scars from it.

Tomorrow, the ceiling can get a few coats of the proper washable white paint I use throughout the house. If there's time, the walls will be getting a light sage green, the same colour we've used in the kitchen and back lobby. There's some of this colour dotted around the house... the shed is sage green, the front door is sage green, the garage roller door... guess what colour that is... go on... guess.

As for the cramps in my hand... gripping a small handled roller for hours on end, going up and down a step ladder and so forth... can cause issues. Taken some quinine though, so that helps... will also help prevent leg cramps tonight because balancing on a step ladder on the balls of your feet can trigger them too if you're not used to it... and I'm not a DIY fan... honestly. I'm not... I do it because I can't afford to pay a professional to do it for me... I only get the pro's in for things I absolutely cannot tackle myself... or am legally not allowed to.

#DIYDay but not for me. The plastering is done.

Just got to wait for it to finish drying, before the mist coat can go on.

Hopefully by Thurs or Fri.

#DIYDay but not for me. The plastering is done.

Just got to wait for it to finish drying, before the mist coat can go on.

Hopefully by Thurs or Fri.

#DIYDay but not for me. After the last plasterer ghosted us... We got lucky. A guy we got out to gives us a quote had to cancel an exterior rendering job due to the extreme heat.

So he came out on Monday and then said on Tuesday that he could start on Friday if we wanted.

He's more expensive... but we were backed into a corner a little and didn't have much choice. So we're probably paying about £400 more than I budgeted. But I've saved about £600 by getting a slightly cheaper flooring, and the electrics are basically on budget (within £50)

The blinds are roughly within budget. Ended up being just under budget thanks to a gift card I got for xmas that I could use towards it.

Plastering will be finished on Monday... there's the inside to do, plus a few bit of patching to the render around the side of the garage. Some damage from an old wall mounted hose reel, and where the old boiler flue was moved. Plus a patch on the corner of the house where we removed an old fence post that previous owners built to coop up a large dog in a small space.

Should be painting by the end of next week.

#DIYDay but not for me. After the last plasterer ghosted us... We got lucky. A guy we got out to gives us a quote had to cancel an exterior rendering job due to the extreme heat.

So he came out on Monday and then said on Tuesday that he could start on Friday if we wanted.

He's more expensive... but we were backed into a corner a little and didn't have much choice. So we're probably paying about £400 more than I budgeted. But I've saved about £600 by getting a slightly cheaper flooring, and the electrics are basically on budget (within £50)

The blinds are roughly within budget. Ended up being just under budget thanks to a gift card I got for xmas that I could use towards it.

Plastering will be finished on Monday... there's the inside to do, plus a few bit of patching to the render around the side of the garage. Some damage from an old wall mounted hose reel, and where the old boiler flue was moved. Plus a patch on the corner of the house where we removed an old fence post that previous owners built to coop up a large dog in a small space.

Should be painting by the end of next week.

#DIYDay This morning and this evening, I've been out in the sun room, scraping blown plaster and wallpaper residue, and then going over every single gap with gap filler expanding foam.

May not seem like a big job... but this was in 28ºC heat and 80% humidity, in an enclosed and well insulated space and even with doors and windows wide open... there was no wind today at all... no cooling breeze and no electrics to plug in a fan.

So... basically like working in an oven.

But it's done, I think I've got 98% of the gaps... missed a few tiny bits a few mm wide and a few cm long at the edges of some insulation board... Not enough to make a real difference... and I've run out of foam and solvent now anyway... The biggest and most important parts are done. I'll trim it back tomorrow and get cracking with the wallpaper steamer on the rest of the old residue.

Plaster popped in to do the quote, so tomorrow I'll know how much it will cost... Expecting about an £800-1000 bill for the job. Another plasterer popping in tomorrow to do a 2nd quote.

All because the original plasterer decided to ghost us... so have to start all over again... and probably pay extra.

I need my 2nd shower of the day... and I'm still picking out little bits of foam from my hair because I was working directly above my head a lot... and that stuff can fall down as it expands back out of the joins you squirt it into.

#DIYDay This morning and this evening, I've been out in the sun room, scraping blown plaster and wallpaper residue, and then going over every single gap with gap filler expanding foam.

May not seem like a big job... but this was in 28ºC heat and 80% humidity, in an enclosed and well insulated space and even with doors and windows wide open... there was no wind today at all... no cooling breeze and no electrics to plug in a fan.

So... basically like working in an oven.

But it's done, I think I've got 98% of the gaps... missed a few tiny bits a few mm wide and a few cm long at the edges of some insulation board... Not enough to make a real difference... and I've run out of foam and solvent now anyway... The biggest and most important parts are done. I'll trim it back tomorrow and get cracking with the wallpaper steamer on the rest of the old residue.

Plaster popped in to do the quote, so tomorrow I'll know how much it will cost... Expecting about an £800-1000 bill for the job. Another plasterer popping in tomorrow to do a 2nd quote.

All because the original plasterer decided to ghost us... so have to start all over again... and probably pay extra.

I need my 2nd shower of the day... and I'm still picking out little bits of foam from my hair because I was working directly above my head a lot... and that stuff can fall down as it expands back out of the joins you squirt it into.

#DIYDay but not for me.

The electrician was in yesterday, getting the sun room ready.

he had to channel around the dining room to get electrics out to it.

He also found that the two ring mains for upstairs and downstairs... are joined for some unknown reason. It's not illegal to do so, just that the original electrician did it that way.

It's easy to separate them, he just disconnects the join at the socket and moves one of the main cables from the joined breaker to a spare one... and I do have a spare breaker on the consumer unit.

because he was doing spurs of the main downstairs ring, and because he's channelling around the whole room. he thought he might need to put a fused spur where the cable takes a turn through the wall into the sun room... something to do with electrical regs. But instead of a fused spur, he could put a socket instead.

Which is why in the 4th image, we have 2 plug sockets on either side of a corner.

Instead of adding 3 new sockets in the sun room, we're adding 7. He's also taken the existing internal light switch and installed another on the inside of the sun room, and channelled the cable up to the ceiling... this eliminates the mess that was there previously and also gets rid of a junction box above the doors.

Now waiting on the plasterer... who was supposed to pop round Monday and is now due to pop round today. Fingers crossed he can get it done quickly... it's about 2 days work to board and skim the room, plus redo some scratch and skim coats on the house walls.

Nothing more I can do until the plastering is done.. once done and dried, I can decorate and do the flooring. Then get the carpenter to make up some oak door thresholds... then it's skirting and window boards... and final fix on the electrics.

Getting closer to finishing.

#DIYDay but not for me.

The electrician was in yesterday, getting the sun room ready.

he had to channel around the dining room to get electrics out to it.

He also found that the two ring mains for upstairs and downstairs... are joined for some unknown reason. It's not illegal to do so, just that the original electrician did it that way.

It's easy to separate them, he just disconnects the join at the socket and moves one of the main cables from the joined breaker to a spare one... and I do have a spare breaker on the consumer unit.

because he was doing spurs of the main downstairs ring, and because he's channelling around the whole room. he thought he might need to put a fused spur where the cable takes a turn through the wall into the sun room... something to do with electrical regs. But instead of a fused spur, he could put a socket instead.

Which is why in the 4th image, we have 2 plug sockets on either side of a corner.

Instead of adding 3 new sockets in the sun room, we're adding 7. He's also taken the existing internal light switch and installed another on the inside of the sun room, and channelled the cable up to the ceiling... this eliminates the mess that was there previously and also gets rid of a junction box above the doors.

Now waiting on the plasterer... who was supposed to pop round Monday and is now due to pop round today. Fingers crossed he can get it done quickly... it's about 2 days work to board and skim the room, plus redo some scratch and skim coats on the house walls.

Nothing more I can do until the plastering is done.. once done and dried, I can decorate and do the flooring. Then get the carpenter to make up some oak door thresholds... then it's skirting and window boards... and final fix on the electrics.

Getting closer to finishing.

#DIYDay or should that be BIY Day... Buy it yourself.

Because technically, that's all I've done.

Been looking for flooring for the new sun room. Everything we really liked... was going to cost £1200+

We've already decided that we're getting the blinds we really want... And those are going to cost about £1400.

We can't afford to spend a similar amount on the floor.

So, went looking for bargains... B & Q store, we found these... about £22 sq/m or £40 a pack. Water resistant and quite thick planks... not the thickest, there were others cheaper and thicker... and nicer. But not water resistant... and we want that more than anything as it's the door into the garden... much more likely to get water splashed on it.

I noticed a reduced price on one of the packs... Lifted it out to take a look... open pack, tiny bit of damage on one piece. Underneath that were 2 more open packs for £25 and 2 more for £5 with one having a missing board and the other far too much damage to consider.

We needed 10 packs... which is about 17.8sq/m to do a room that is about 16sq/m because of wasteage and so forth.

The ones with a tiny bit of damage, can be used as the offcuts and wall pieces, that will be hidden under skirting.

Flooring, underlay and a fitting kit cost £386.

At the till... the guy putting it all through for us... made a mistake and thought one of the £25 packs was £5... saving us an extra £20. So with £40 in vouchers (left over from xmas) and that mistake... We only paid £326.

I call that a bargain.

Can't lay it until the electrics and plastering are done though. But I've laid plenty of laminate floors over the last 20yrs.

Also... completely forgot to measure all of the windows for the blinds... and that was the main reason we went all that way... to order the blinds.

So we've gotta go back now... need to order them by next week as they're running a £20% sale on the blinds... and without the sale, we can't afford the £1800 or so they're going to cost.

#DIYDay or should that be BIY Day... Buy it yourself.

Because technically, that's all I've done.

Been looking for flooring for the new sun room. Everything we really liked... was going to cost £1200+

We've already decided that we're getting the blinds we really want... And those are going to cost about £1400.

We can't afford to spend a similar amount on the floor.

So, went looking for bargains... B & Q store, we found these... about £22 sq/m or £40 a pack. Water resistant and quite thick planks... not the thickest, there were others cheaper and thicker... and nicer. But not water resistant... and we want that more than anything as it's the door into the garden... much more likely to get water splashed on it.

I noticed a reduced price on one of the packs... Lifted it out to take a look... open pack, tiny bit of damage on one piece. Underneath that were 2 more open packs for £25 and 2 more for £5 with one having a missing board and the other far too much damage to consider.

We needed 10 packs... which is about 17.8sq/m to do a room that is about 16sq/m because of wasteage and so forth.

The ones with a tiny bit of damage, can be used as the offcuts and wall pieces, that will be hidden under skirting.

Flooring, underlay and a fitting kit cost £386.

At the till... the guy putting it all through for us... made a mistake and thought one of the £25 packs was £5... saving us an extra £20. So with £40 in vouchers (left over from xmas) and that mistake... We only paid £326.

I call that a bargain.

Can't lay it until the electrics and plastering are done though. But I've laid plenty of laminate floors over the last 20yrs.

Also... completely forgot to measure all of the windows for the blinds... and that was the main reason we went all that way... to order the blinds.

So we've gotta go back now... need to order them by next week as they're running a £20% sale on the blinds... and without the sale, we can't afford the £1800 or so they're going to cost.

#DIYDay but not for me.

Roof is on, tomorrow the glass can go in, all the finishing trim done, the render patched and the roof flashing installed.

Electrician is here on Monday... Plasterer within the next two weeks.

#DIYDay but not for me.

Roof is on, tomorrow the glass can go in, all the finishing trim done, the render patched and the roof flashing installed.

Electrician is here on Monday... Plasterer within the next two weeks.

#DIYDay but not for me.

The sun room has begun.

This is one days work so far. Does not include any internal finishing. We're doing that.

What's left to do... finish sealing up all of the gaps in the roof and against the house (I assume gap filler expanding foam), instal the membrane on the roof, batons and tiles, instal the glass and adjust the doors and windows to open/close smoothly.

They reckon it'll be done by Weds.

Electrician is in Monday to do the first fix.. hopefully plastering can be done either end of next week or the week after. Then I can paint, do the flooring, window boards and skirting... 2nd fix electrics (just installing 3 sockets and a light fitting... and we're done.

Estimating furniture can go in early to mid July if all goes well. Got a 2 seater sofa we can put in there, a TV stand and a TV once my mum buys a new one for her lounge.

#DIYDay but not for me.

The sun room has begun.

This is one days work so far. Does not include any internal finishing. We're doing that.

What's left to do... finish sealing up all of the gaps in the roof and against the house (I assume gap filler expanding foam), instal the membrane on the roof, batons and tiles, instal the glass and adjust the doors and windows to open/close smoothly.

They reckon it'll be done by Weds.

Electrician is in Monday to do the first fix.. hopefully plastering can be done either end of next week or the week after. Then I can paint, do the flooring, window boards and skirting... 2nd fix electrics (just installing 3 sockets and a light fitting... and we're done.

Estimating furniture can go in early to mid July if all goes well. Got a 2 seater sofa we can put in there, a TV stand and a TV once my mum buys a new one for her lounge.

#DIYDay part two... I finished.

It's a South facing garden, and it was hot... and I was in direct sunlight at all times... Zero shade.

So I'd do a piece and take a break... let the adhesive start to set.

But it's done, all of the cavities are now closed and there should be no draughts or cold spots on the window sills of the conservatory.

I ordered 7 cavity closers, because I'm apparently an idiot... who for some daft reason thought I had to do 4 walls and got enough to cover 17 meters of the 16 meter walls.

But there's only 3 walls and 12 meters... 🤔 🤦 😆

#DIYDay part two... I finished.

It's a South facing garden, and it was hot... and I was in direct sunlight at all times... Zero shade.

So I'd do a piece and take a break... let the adhesive start to set.

But it's done, all of the cavities are now closed and there should be no draughts or cold spots on the window sills of the conservatory.

I ordered 7 cavity closers, because I'm apparently an idiot... who for some daft reason thought I had to do 4 walls and got enough to cover 17 meters of the 16 meter walls.

But there's only 3 walls and 12 meters... 🤔 🤦 😆

#DIYDay ... in this heat. But jobs need doing, and I'm taking regular breaks.

Job 1, remove the cavity wall insulation and reseat it properly, using gap filler expanding foam as a glue to hold it in place and seal any gaps. I've also pushed it down about an extra 1cm so that there's room for the cavity closers on the top.

Once the cavity wall insulation is done, it's time to clean out the foam gun... and that's when the can of expanding foam exploded as I was unscrewing it from the gun.

It went everywhere... across the slab, across the box containing the rest of the new cans, up the inside of the dwarf wall... and all over my hands.

Then the seal on the cleaner broke, so I couldn't screw it onto the gun to clean inside it properly.

Will likely have to replace the gun if I can't get it clean... But thankfully... the job is finished... so it's not needed again on this project.

Next up, start fitting the cavity closers. The adhesive is taking a lot longer to dry in this heat... so I'll be doing a section, weighing it down with spare bricks and leaving it alone... Time for a break and a coffee.

I figure it's going to take 2 days to fit all of the closers at this rate. Maybe it'll be easier this evening, rather than doing it during the hottest part of the day. Hopefully finished tomorrow... there's only 7 of them to cut and fit. It's the lack of enough bricks to hold them down that's the main problem... the rest are currently holding the insulation in place whilst the foam sets.

#DIYDay ... in this heat. But jobs need doing, and I'm taking regular breaks.

Job 1, remove the cavity wall insulation and reseat it properly, using gap filler expanding foam as a glue to hold it in place and seal any gaps. I've also pushed it down about an extra 1cm so that there's room for the cavity closers on the top.

Once the cavity wall insulation is done, it's time to clean out the foam gun... and that's when the can of expanding foam exploded as I was unscrewing it from the gun.

It went everywhere... across the slab, across the box containing the rest of the new cans, up the inside of the dwarf wall... and all over my hands.

Then the seal on the cleaner broke, so I couldn't screw it onto the gun to clean inside it properly.

Will likely have to replace the gun if I can't get it clean... But thankfully... the job is finished... so it's not needed again on this project.

Next up, start fitting the cavity closers. The adhesive is taking a lot longer to dry in this heat... so I'll be doing a section, weighing it down with spare bricks and leaving it alone... Time for a break and a coffee.

I figure it's going to take 2 days to fit all of the closers at this rate. Maybe it'll be easier this evening, rather than doing it during the hottest part of the day. Hopefully finished tomorrow... there's only 7 of them to cut and fit. It's the lack of enough bricks to hold them down that's the main problem... the rest are currently holding the insulation in place whilst the foam sets.

#DIYDay again... Time to do the rear brakes on the car.

I watched this video first, a few changes regards the 2008 model I have. For example a 13mm bolt instead of a 12mm bolt. I don't have the shim plates, but my pads have spring clips built into them.

I did indeed have a seized slider pin. The lower drivers side pin had to be forced to rotate with a 15mm spanner... and once loose, I just kept turning it and turning it as I pulled on it, until I came out.

That one was quite badly corroded, and had very little grease residue.

So cleaned them out with brake cleaner and some paper towel rolled so I could insert it into the slider pin hole.

Used new grease and new slider pins, making sure I used the correct calliper grease which is silicone based and heat won't degrade it. Grease up the slider pins and hole, put the new rubber boots on and locked everything into place.

Then wind the calliper piston back, again requiring a different tool to the one shown in the video. But I bought a kit, so could easily find the right one that fits.

A little smudge of grease on the back of the new pads as they go in, to help stop squealing.

Took me an hour to do the drivers side, but about 25 mins to do the other side once, I'd figured it all out properly.

As for the old pads... one side was worn down to metal at the bottom due to the stuck slider pin, which explains the metal grinding sound I was getting. The disc were good though, so there was enough material on the pads to stop any gouging of the disc on that side.

Once everything is back together and properly tightened up, wheels on and nuts tightened... thank feck for impact wrenches.... gently press the brake pedal until you feel the brakes firm up... then pull the handbrake on and off until that self adjusts properly too.

After that... a quick spin up and down the road, hitting the brakes firmly as if doing an emergency stop.

No grinding, stops nice and smoothly.

Will take a few miles to bed the new pads in properly. But that's another service job done.

Was going to fit new discs and pads on the front... But my back is protesting profusely... So coffee and some painkillers... front brakes work just fine... They're just getting a little low and I've not replaced the front discs in the 7yrs I've owned it.

I also need to replace all 4 tyres soon... Not a job I can do myself.

But it's nice to know I can still do some basics on the car. Spent £120 pads, slider pin kit, grease, cleaners as well as a new trolley jack and calliper winding tool. That's less than it would have cost at a garage because they'd have found the problem, needed to order the new slider pins... or bodged it to save themselves time and money whilst saying they fixed it. So a garage could have charged me £150-200 inc labour.

But it means the front will only cost me the parts and I bought those 6 months ago.

Every little saving helps, and working on and repairing your own stuff is very satisfying.

Didn't involve any crawling around on the floor either, sat on my tool box, and occasionally used a kneeling cushion to reach under and place the jack stands to support the car... had those 13yrs and this is the first I've used them. Not done anything except minor work and fixes since I sold my old sports car and sold the owners club site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MUcYlmXMhs

#DIYDay again... Time to do the rear brakes on the car.

I watched this video first, a few changes regards the 2008 model I have. For example a 13mm bolt instead of a 12mm bolt. I don't have the shim plates, but my pads have spring clips built into them.

I did indeed have a seized slider pin. The lower drivers side pin had to be forced to rotate with a 15mm spanner... and once loose, I just kept turning it and turning it as I pulled on it, until I came out.

That one was quite badly corroded, and had very little grease residue.

So cleaned them out with brake cleaner and some paper towel rolled so I could insert it into the slider pin hole.

Used new grease and new slider pins, making sure I used the correct calliper grease which is silicone based and heat won't degrade it. Grease up the slider pins and hole, put the new rubber boots on and locked everything into place.

Then wind the calliper piston back, again requiring a different tool to the one shown in the video. But I bought a kit, so could easily find the right one that fits.

A little smudge of grease on the back of the new pads as they go in, to help stop squealing.

Took me an hour to do the drivers side, but about 25 mins to do the other side once, I'd figured it all out properly.

As for the old pads... one side was worn down to metal at the bottom due to the stuck slider pin, which explains the metal grinding sound I was getting. The disc were good though, so there was enough material on the pads to stop any gouging of the disc on that side.

Once everything is back together and properly tightened up, wheels on and nuts tightened... thank feck for impact wrenches.... gently press the brake pedal until you feel the brakes firm up... then pull the handbrake on and off until that self adjusts properly too.

After that... a quick spin up and down the road, hitting the brakes firmly as if doing an emergency stop.

No grinding, stops nice and smoothly.

Will take a few miles to bed the new pads in properly. But that's another service job done.

Was going to fit new discs and pads on the front... But my back is protesting profusely... So coffee and some painkillers... front brakes work just fine... They're just getting a little low and I've not replaced the front discs in the 7yrs I've owned it.

I also need to replace all 4 tyres soon... Not a job I can do myself.

But it's nice to know I can still do some basics on the car. Spent £120 pads, slider pin kit, grease, cleaners as well as a new trolley jack and calliper winding tool. That's less than it would have cost at a garage because they'd have found the problem, needed to order the new slider pins... or bodged it to save themselves time and money whilst saying they fixed it. So a garage could have charged me £150-200 inc labour.

But it means the front will only cost me the parts and I bought those 6 months ago.

Every little saving helps, and working on and repairing your own stuff is very satisfying.

Didn't involve any crawling around on the floor either, sat on my tool box, and occasionally used a kneeling cushion to reach under and place the jack stands to support the car... had those 13yrs and this is the first I've used them. Not done anything except minor work and fixes since I sold my old sports car and sold the owners club site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MUcYlmXMhs

#DIYDay It's the simplest jobs that cause the most pain.

Had to rejoint the paving in the garden after jet washing it last week.

But even though it was only about 20sq/m and all I had to do was literally brush this 'dansand' Nogrow into the joins to lock them together again. It that constant stooping whilst brushing that triggers spasms in my lower back.

So after an hour... I was done with the main part, I've left some on the surface as I'll need to go over it again as it settles.

The product is a mix of granite dust and particles that reduce the ability for moss and seeds to take hold. It's only about £5 a bag more than kiln dried sand. Hopefully it mean I don't need to redo it again for a few years.

It also means I've got another 15sq/m or so to clean and rejoint at the rear of the house... and about 50sq/m of block paving to jet wash and rejoint at the front of the house.

#DIYDay It's the simplest jobs that cause the most pain.

Had to rejoint the paving in the garden after jet washing it last week.

But even though it was only about 20sq/m and all I had to do was literally brush this 'dansand' Nogrow into the joins to lock them together again. It that constant stooping whilst brushing that triggers spasms in my lower back.

So after an hour... I was done with the main part, I've left some on the surface as I'll need to go over it again as it settles.

The product is a mix of granite dust and particles that reduce the ability for moss and seeds to take hold. It's only about £5 a bag more than kiln dried sand. Hopefully it mean I don't need to redo it again for a few years.

It also means I've got another 15sq/m or so to clean and rejoint at the rear of the house... and about 50sq/m of block paving to jet wash and rejoint at the front of the house.

#DIYDay well... afternoon. The paving in the garden is both hideous and hideously dirty.

3yrs since I last pressure washed it, all of the joins filled with moss and dirt, and everything looked dirty grey after the building work.

The pavers are red with grey block edging.

Now at least 75% of it has been pressure washed and cleaned off. Still need to do around the back of the new conservatory foundations and sheds.

I cannot wait until I can rip all of this shit up... It's the cheapest crap you can buy... and this plus the shittiest conservatory previous owners built... you know that pride and competence wasn't their concern.

Plans for next year are to build raised beds in a U shape around the old decking to create and semi hidden seating area. Later on, getting rid of the decking entirely and replacing with a nice paved patio using some kind of sandstone that has loads of colours in it.

Then just a basic path over from the doors to the seating area and around the corner to the sheds.

But for now... it's being cleaned.

#DIYDay well... afternoon. The paving in the garden is both hideous and hideously dirty.

3yrs since I last pressure washed it, all of the joins filled with moss and dirt, and everything looked dirty grey after the building work.

The pavers are red with grey block edging.

Now at least 75% of it has been pressure washed and cleaned off. Still need to do around the back of the new conservatory foundations and sheds.

I cannot wait until I can rip all of this shit up... It's the cheapest crap you can buy... and this plus the shittiest conservatory previous owners built... you know that pride and competence wasn't their concern.

Plans for next year are to build raised beds in a U shape around the old decking to create and semi hidden seating area. Later on, getting rid of the decking entirely and replacing with a nice paved patio using some kind of sandstone that has loads of colours in it.

Then just a basic path over from the doors to the seating area and around the corner to the sheds.

But for now... it's being cleaned.

#DIYDay The final touches to the new conservatory project.

A small step, made from some slabs removed for the base. Sitting on a compacted base. At the moment the slabs need a good clean, as does the rest of the paving... those paving slabs are actually a dark red... they look almost grey at the moment.

Will pressure wash them with the patio attachment., and then redo the joins with a resin based product that should keep the weeds at bay.

The conservatory itself has been booked and ordered... install sometime in 4-6 weeks.

Not a lot I can do before then... just strip back the wall to remove some old paper, take of part of the render with the SDS drill/chisel.

There's a gap around the base of the new walls, it varies because whilst the walls are square to the house... the paving isn't.

So ordered some bags of decorative stone to fill them with.

#DIYDay The final touches to the new conservatory project.

A small step, made from some slabs removed for the base. Sitting on a compacted base. At the moment the slabs need a good clean, as does the rest of the paving... those paving slabs are actually a dark red... they look almost grey at the moment.

Will pressure wash them with the patio attachment., and then redo the joins with a resin based product that should keep the weeds at bay.

The conservatory itself has been booked and ordered... install sometime in 4-6 weeks.

Not a lot I can do before then... just strip back the wall to remove some old paper, take of part of the render with the SDS drill/chisel.

There's a gap around the base of the new walls, it varies because whilst the walls are square to the house... the paving isn't.

So ordered some bags of decorative stone to fill them with.

#DIYDay but not for me.

Inner block wall went up yesterday, and today they did the damp proof course and the corners.

So tomorrow ill be filling in between those corners and the house and the last 3 courses to bring the outer wall level with the inner.

They've done a really good job of spacing the bricks out. When they were delivered, they obviously came from 2 batches as the colour was quite different. With some being more orange than red. The bricks are a close match to those used on the corners of the house and the bay windows, there's also a band of then vertically around the middle.

#DIYDay but not for me.

Inner block wall went up yesterday, and today they did the damp proof course and the corners.

So tomorrow ill be filling in between those corners and the house and the last 3 courses to bring the outer wall level with the inner.

They've done a really good job of spacing the bricks out. When they were delivered, they obviously came from 2 batches as the colour was quite different. With some being more orange than red. The bricks are a close match to those used on the corners of the house and the bay windows, there's also a band of then vertically around the middle.

#DIYDay but not for me.

They poured the concrete slab over the insulation yesterday afternoon.

Today they are going to start on the brickwork. for the outer dwarf wall and the inner block wall.

Starting late as waiting for the delivery, but should get the engineering bricks for the damp course in place this afternoon. Which is about 4 or 5 rows.

#DIYDay but not for me.

They poured the concrete slab over the insulation yesterday afternoon.

Today they are going to start on the brickwork. for the outer dwarf wall and the inner block wall.

Starting late as waiting for the delivery, but should get the engineering bricks for the damp course in place this afternoon. Which is about 4 or 5 rows.

#DIYDay But not for me.

Builders are back to do the concrete slab for the base.

They'd backfilled it on Friday, so today was laying sand and getting the whacker plate on it to compact it all down properly.

Then they laid a damp proof membrane, 100mm of PIR insulation, then another layer of damp proof membrane.

Just waiting for the concrete truck to arrive to do the 100mm slab on top.

They were just laying the sand and getting the whacker plate going when I went out, came back and it's ready for the concrete.

#DIYDay But not for me.

Builders are back to do the concrete slab for the base.

They'd backfilled it on Friday, so today was laying sand and getting the whacker plate on it to compact it all down properly.

Then they laid a damp proof membrane, 100mm of PIR insulation, then another layer of damp proof membrane.

Just waiting for the concrete truck to arrive to do the 100mm slab on top.

They were just laying the sand and getting the whacker plate going when I went out, came back and it's ready for the concrete.

#DIYDay but not for me.

Builders in for a few hours today, just to finish off the foundation walls and backfill around them.

You can now see the old concrete path that was around the rear of the house before the old conservatory was built... they just concreted over the top of it.

As it's on a solid base, it's ok to leave, they broke it up either side for the trench for new foundations. There's enough room for insulation and the slab on top.

Meanwhile, I discovered that the previous owners who had the original conservatory built... left the sill plate for the french doors in place and put flooring over the top of it.

So now I need to see if I can cut it back level with the new doors without damaging them, as those were installed to the old sill plate. Just leave the part under the door itself and concrete up to the top of the foundation, and then get it as level as possible with the flooring... Which will most likely be a nice tile about 12mm thick. Builder has said he'll leave me at least 15mm

#DIYDay but not for me.

Builders in for a few hours today, just to finish off the foundation walls and backfill around them.

You can now see the old concrete path that was around the rear of the house before the old conservatory was built... they just concreted over the top of it.

As it's on a solid base, it's ok to leave, they broke it up either side for the trench for new foundations. There's enough room for insulation and the slab on top.

Meanwhile, I discovered that the previous owners who had the original conservatory built... left the sill plate for the french doors in place and put flooring over the top of it.

So now I need to see if I can cut it back level with the new doors without damaging them, as those were installed to the old sill plate. Just leave the part under the door itself and concrete up to the top of the foundation, and then get it as level as possible with the flooring... Which will most likely be a nice tile about 12mm thick. Builder has said he'll leave me at least 15mm

#DIYDay but not for me... Day 3

Yesterday they broke up some more of the pad and dug the trench for the footings. Today, they levelled and squared of the trench, and filled the skip with all of the old concrete slab.

Then it was time to pour the new concrete footings. Finishing just as a light shower started.

#DIYDay but not for me... Day 3

Yesterday they broke up some more of the pad and dug the trench for the footings. Today, they levelled and squared of the trench, and filled the skip with all of the old concrete slab.

Then it was time to pour the new concrete footings. Finishing just as a light shower started.

#DIYDay but not for me... I'm paying people to do the job properly.

The old slab was pretty poorly done. No insulation, a poor damp proof membrane and moisture had gotten underneath the flooring and rotted out the base under the tiles.

So they broke it all up, and removed all of the block work around the outside of it. The digger wasn't delivered this morning... so they can't dig the foundations for the new wall until it arrives in the morning.

Got the guy coming round to recheck measurements next Monday for the conservatory. Hopefully the price won't be too bad.

#DIYDay but not for me... I'm paying people to do the job properly.

The old slab was pretty poorly done. No insulation, a poor damp proof membrane and moisture had gotten underneath the flooring and rotted out the base under the tiles.

So they broke it all up, and removed all of the block work around the outside of it. The digger wasn't delivered this morning... so they can't dig the foundations for the new wall until it arrives in the morning.

Got the guy coming round to recheck measurements next Monday for the conservatory. Hopefully the price won't be too bad.

#DIYDay time once more... The conservatory is no more.

It all came down, with a lot of effort but without completely destroying it all. We deconstructed it in pieces... only resorting to cutting/grinding/breaking where fixings had rusted entirely.

The floor was a fucking mess... I still have to lift it, but there's stick on vinyl planks, laid on top of damaged tiles which were laid over what looks like MDF laid on top of the concrete... which has completely disintegrated... Installed by fuckwits. 🤦

But it's down... tomorrow it will be taken away, we did it in a day. The roof was off by noon, and we never started until 10am. Then started again about 1:30pm and finished just after 4pm.

#DIYDay time once more... The conservatory is no more.

It all came down, with a lot of effort but without completely destroying it all. We deconstructed it in pieces... only resorting to cutting/grinding/breaking where fixings had rusted entirely.

The floor was a fucking mess... I still have to lift it, but there's stick on vinyl planks, laid on top of damaged tiles which were laid over what looks like MDF laid on top of the concrete... which has completely disintegrated... Installed by fuckwits. 🤦

But it's down... tomorrow it will be taken away, we did it in a day. The roof was off by noon, and we never started until 10am. Then started again about 1:30pm and finished just after 4pm.

Seeing as I was let down today by the guy helping to take down the old conservatory... I spent my #DIYDay (well, afternoon) painting the fence and fixing some handles to the shed that finally turned up.

7 Panels painted now, another 6 to go. Decided to paint by hand rather than use the sprayer, because they were previously a dark brown that had badly faded and hadn't been treated in years. So going to a dark anthracite needs a heavy coat and a spray gun puts thin layers on.

I've been assured that he's coming tomorrow at 9:30... I'm going to get stuck in too as he's got the tools to remove the trim pieces for the glass and roof... the rest of it basically screwed together. We'll dismantle it in a day with any luck and get it on his trailer to take to recycling.

Will post some before/after pics of that tomorrow.

Seeing as I was let down today by the guy helping to take down the old conservatory... I spent my #DIYDay (well, afternoon) painting the fence and fixing some handles to the shed that finally turned up.

7 Panels painted now, another 6 to go. Decided to paint by hand rather than use the sprayer, because they were previously a dark brown that had badly faded and hadn't been treated in years. So going to a dark anthracite needs a heavy coat and a spray gun puts thin layers on.

I've been assured that he's coming tomorrow at 9:30... I'm going to get stuck in too as he's got the tools to remove the trim pieces for the glass and roof... the rest of it basically screwed together. We'll dismantle it in a day with any luck and get it on his trailer to take to recycling.

Will post some before/after pics of that tomorrow.