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Post by DIYDafty on Sept 10, 2020 22:02:28 GMT
Just thought I'd update.
Boxed in and plastered over those pipes.
Skimmed the ceiling, painted and fitted new downlights.
Skimmed most of the walls and existing boxing in etc.
The old rad was behind the fridge in the pic which I'm planning to replace.
Kitchen is now paid for. 2.8K from diykitchens. The only other thing I need to get is an induction hob (about £300) and a sink. Keeping oven and dishwasher. I wonder how many other folk get an entire new kitchen (not a small one at that) for less then 3.5K.
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Post by DIYDafty on Sept 10, 2020 22:12:44 GMT
So overall its going ok but I can't lie about a small plumbing issue.
Basically, just before plastering that wall I noticed the rad valve with a drain off was pointing towards the wall so getting in the way of the plastering. Feeling a bit more confident than usual (god knows why) I snatched at the valve to turn and the compression coupling below (strange I know wish I took a pic beforehand) started weeping. Nipping up didn't help. So I drained down so that I could remove the compression coupling and temporarily put a stop on the pipe.
Anyway it was so low down it was below the drain off there was still quite a flow of water. So after I pulled off the old coupler, I ended up having my finger over the pipe whilst wrapping ptfe around the olive! My first ever attempt at sort of working live. Did the trick and didn't need to tight too hard to stop the weep.
Plastering looks very ropey in the pic but most of it is below skirting level and the trowel mark is really not that bad in reality. Of course a pro plasterer would make a better job but the finish I need is "good enough" - I don't need 5 star hotel quality.
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Post by tomplum on Sept 11, 2020 18:41:16 GMT
I'd say that is good enough dafty, your plastering is better than mine for sure,  |
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Post by woodbine66 on Sept 11, 2020 19:41:05 GMT
Blimey, Dafty! You don't do things by half.
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Post by battle1066 on Sept 11, 2020 21:48:43 GMT
DD you do to much research to turn out a bad job and your skill set shows great dexterity - well done mate.
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Post by crowsfoot on Sept 12, 2020 7:27:37 GMT
Well done DD, it all looks professionally done and not DIYed at all!
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Post by cylinderfella on Sept 13, 2020 18:47:08 GMT
"Of course a pro plasterer would make a better job"
Most of them wouldn't DD!! They leave more scrapes and scratches than that. You'll always see the flaws more than anyone else on your own work. Skirting level skim coat always looks like that to me.
Great job!!
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Post by DIYDafty on Sept 25, 2020 21:07:56 GMT
Time for an update.
Doesn't look like much has changed but I've been working 6-8 hours most days. Amazing to think some of these kitchen companies can do the lot inside a week. God knows how all the trades coordinate.
Anyway, from memory I've:
- Removed all floor and wall tiles. 30 odd bags outside waiting to be hidden into the wheelie bin. Despite paying them thousands every year the council charges for every bag of tiles taken to the dump.
- Removed all the old kitchen units and taken them to the tip. It really is like going through customs. "Any building waste to declare sir? What've you got in that bag sir?". Hate the place now.
- Had to do some unexpected 1st fix sparky work because I found connector blocks (not even wrapped in tape) buried in the plaster plus a metal flush mounted backbox had been surface mounted and not even earthed. Plus the cooker fan was spurred off the oven - no switch or fcu. So had a bit of chasing and new backboxes to create. Filled in with sand/cement. I've never used bonding plaster and no doubt its better stuff but it costs £10 and the tip want another £3.50 for any left over so used what I had.
- All plastering finished. Hadn't before tackled walls so rough (after the old tiles came off) so found it hard but used very thick mix to start with and with help from the speedskim, got it flat.
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Post by DIYDafty on Sept 25, 2020 21:25:29 GMT
Had some plumbing fun along the way these past 2 weeks. Fully self-inflicted fun. As I was cutting up the worktop, a section fell on to the pipework ! Those pipes had about a 100 old compression valves and connectors. No prizes for guessing which ones leaked? Yep, they all did  Well pretty well. The top pipe was the hot and that bore the brunt of it. I thought to myself that's maybe not too bad as I don't need the HW until the kitchen is done and I'm not planning on fixing the new pipes until I start fitting the kitchen so I can see exactly where everything is going. The cold would be a problem obviously as it feeds the rest of the house but it seemed ok. Then a couple of days ago I noticed some damp below a compression coupler on the cold - it was weeping slightly. I should have fkin ignored it as would be redoing that anyway. Stupid me thought, "ahh...should be a simple job to slot in some new pipe there....". Took me 3 hours and the reason for that was due to something I'd seen before but forgotten about. Namely, not all compression nuts are the same! I was using my new 15mm nuts on these old fittings but the nuts are not deep enough for it to bite into the olive!!! I'd forgotten so wasted ages and getting pissed off each time I'd add more ptfe or whatever and the fker kept leaking. Once I realised what was going on, I stole a nut from some other old pipe I'd chopped out and panic over. |
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Post by DIYDafty on Sept 25, 2020 21:29:48 GMT
And here's my plastering done.
Funnily enough, my thanks on plastering go to Mr Puller (who probably would have got bored long before reading this haha). He mentioned about a year ago or more abvout the speed skims making plastering easier. It made me try it and I've never looked back. That's not to say I'm blowing my own trumpet - hats off to professional plasterers. The good ones are so fast and so neat its incredible. I'd get bored very quickly having to do it every day. With plumbing (and dare I say sparks) there is always something new.
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Post by tomplum on Sept 26, 2020 10:23:37 GMT
looking good Dafty sorry , I mean gassafe,  |
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Post by endfeed on Sept 26, 2020 17:54:34 GMT
I pay good money for that work!! Well done DD👍👍👍
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Post by cylinderfella on Sept 26, 2020 21:08:02 GMT
Great stuff DD (GS)
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Post by battle1066 on Sept 26, 2020 21:08:11 GMT
For me I like your style and you've given yourself a good project and shown you've got bottle. Well done.
All the work you've done is character building - every plaster I've meet has been a character so I think you definitely need a new title.
Now since I can't master that plastering I would say doing the same job without getting other trades in you've done a better job than I could - I'm impressed considering your a software/ firmware engineer who would normally want to solve every problem with a bit machine code!
PS. Those spots in the ceiling fire retardant ones?
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Post by DIYDafty on Sept 26, 2020 22:42:45 GMT
Cheers Battle and others for your kind comments. Thanks a lot ! The downlights are these: www.electrical2go.co.uk/enlite-efd-pro-adjustable-professional-fire-rated-downlight.htmlSo fire rated and can be covered in insulation plus most important have decent loop through push fit connectors. I got the recommendation for these from the electricians forum. I once made a big mistake buying the cheapest cans I could find. Only a quid 50 less than these but without the loop through it meant I had to use a junction box for every lamp! Thankfully there was only 3 in that room. Edit: Just noticed the pic makes the lights look like they are not flush like normal downlights. They are - its just the camera playing tricks somehow. |
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