The Home Improvements Thread (2)

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Got about halfway up yesterday, thought I'd rather let the glue dry on that section before going further
1606733349625.png

I'm going to go up one more row, then have a strip of LED lights in an aluminum extrusion going across, then continue up to the ceiling.

So far so good, just getting little brad nails into the edges to hold the board in place is a mission, and I'm going through tons of glue - probably use 3 tubes in the silicone gun so far. Just want to be sure it stays put.
 
Looks good dude... and rather "over engineer" something... and glue is not that expensive really in comparison to the whole thing coming crashing down if you don't use enough of it.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Looks good dude... and rather "over engineer" something... and glue is not that expensive really in comparison to the whole thing coming crashing down if you don't use enough of it.
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Yeah, a couple of extra hundred bucks is much cheaper than having a wall destroy mirrors, basins and toilets.
I just need to make sure any fixtures are drilled in right through into the brick wall - that will also help keep it up.
 
maumau said:
BIL could make a fortune as a handy man.

Three roofing companies "fixed a leak" on our roof and it still leaked. BIL climbed up there wearing his slippery moccasins ( what a panic for me watching him as he slithered around) and sealed it properly.

Took him about 30 minutes.
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Similar story to us with two new sections of roof we added when renovating our house, one over a kitchen extension and one over a new double garage. Both leaked like sieves at one or another stage, our builders who admittedly aren't roofing specialists came back a few times but I managed to get the best results with **** all experience and basic waterproofing supplies from Builders Express.
 
maumau said:
How do they get away with it? Never a guarantee or a refund. If you complain they block you like the most recent electrician did with me.
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They always guarantee their work - but getting them to honour it is another story.

The one guy did half the stuff on his quote - and it was constant arguments to get him to finish, fortunately, I had held back a good portion of the money. Once he finished, it lasted about a year before the leaks started. We still have issues with the torch on work he did (when it gets hot - it looks like our walls are raining bitumen)

Next company fixed rust, waterproofed, and painted, fortunately in April - so rain came - and the red paint (roof colour) started running down the braai walls. The waterproofing lasted till the next year, and the leaks started, excuses - blaming weather, product, etc. (same company painted the house - we were in France at the time - I found out why they were in such a rush for payment while we were away - they just did one coat of paint, with barely any prep)

I now go up myself once a year with Duram's Rainkote and Fibretech and apply each where he needed - one weekend a year, no more leaks.
 
xrapidx said:
They always guarantee their work - but getting them to honour it is another story.

The one guy did half the stuff on his quote - and it was constant arguments to get him to finish, fortunately, I had held back a good portion of the money. Once he finished, it lasted about a year before the leaks started. We still have issues with the torch on work he did (when it gets hot - it looks like our walls are raining bitumen)

Next company fixed rust, waterproofed, and painted, fortunately in April - so rain came - and the red paint (roof colour) started running down the braai walls. The waterproofing lasted till the next year, and the leaks started, excuses - blaming weather, product, etc. (same company painted the house - we were in France at the time - I found out why they were in such a rush for payment while we were away - they just did one coat of paint, with barely any prep)

I now go up myself once a year with Duram's Rainkote and Fibretech and apply each where he needed - one weekend a year, no more leaks.
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This is the way.
 
Hi all.
My late mom's house has been standing for 3 years with the geyser switched off (electricity is connected, but everything except for the lights/pool was switched off at the DB board). Should it be fine to just switch it back on after all this time and just use it as normal, or should I drain it first via opening all the taps clearing the crud, then switch it on.

Just worried that there's a lot of buildup of deposits/crud oin the geyser itself - the taps run brown for a while, then they clear after some time. Don't want to have it burst or burn out... it's located in the roof, so a pita to access at the best of times.

I know very little on plumbing/geysers, so just need some guidance before switching it all back on.
 
howardb said:
Hi all.
My late mom's house has been standing for 3 years with the geyser switched off (electricity is connected, but everything except for the lights/pool was switched off at the DB board). Should it be fine to just switch it back on after all this time and just use it as normal, or should I drain it first via opening all the taps clearing the crud, then switch it on.

Just worried that there's a lot of buildup of deposits/crud oin the geyser itself - the taps run brown for a while, then they clear after some time. Don't want to have it burst or burn out... it's located in the roof, so a pita to access at the best of times.

I know very little on plumbing/geysers, so just need some guidance before switching it all back on.
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Drain first and have it checked. The element or insides may have rusted. Modern geysers have a sacrificial anode, but that needs to be replaced every x years (not sure). So rather get a plumber to come check it out.

Also, who knows what may have been growing inside it all this time.
 
MrJacques said:
Drain first and have it checked. The element or insides may have rusted. Modern geysers have a sacrificial anode, but that needs to be replaced every x years (not sure). So rather get a plumber to come check it out.

Also, who knows what may have been growing inside it all this time.
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Many thanks!
Will do that just to be safe ;)
 
WAslayer said:
I am currently looking as well.. the two quotes info have for a double car port is day and night..

One came in at 23k for maintenance free alu-zinc and solid sheets..

The other was 80k for the same thing but, included building plans and submission thereof.. though this is minimal really..

Some recommendations from the other members who had good experiences would be great..
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Also also :(

Ignoring a small attached piece, I have 6m long x 8.5 wide carport - only 2 supports on the front two corners.

Issue is 6 huge laminated beams already costing R27k which need to be replaced... rotting at the front.

Any tips to avoid what seems like a R50k rebuild?

If I had the time to be creative as a complete non-builder, I'd add a steel beam support 1m from the front and do what should be an aesthetic replacement of the affected wood. Bad idea?
 
New gutters installed today in Cape Town, full aluminium by A1 gutters. Half the price of everyone else and service was excellent.
 
How easy is it to replace a light in the swimming which is filled? Can I do myself or do I need professionals? Hasn't been connected since I replaced the pool DB a few years ago but was working then

Installed a new 220v->12V led transformer today (which i thought would be good for the Led light that is in the pool) but it's not lighting up. The transformer is showing 12v output but unsure if it's getting to the light so first test I need to do is take out light and hope the cable is not broken . My hunch is that sparky who replaced pool DB may have turned on the dB switch for pool light (I told them not to connect to breaker switch to pool light) hence sending 220v to it. I saw today that it was connected and I had never turned the switch on myself.


Also : why are pool lights so damn expensive? Any one with experience on the sun command pool lights that can change colour? They seem to be acceptable in price
 
Pool lights are easy to change..

Depending on the light, It should just pull out with a bit of motivation. (The entire plastic thing). Then there's a waterproofing cup at the back with the wiring inside.

I had the Sun Command one, packed up in warranty and no one was interested.

I replaced with a sealed LED pool light, its been running fine for about six years. (doesn't have the cup at the back)
 
xrapidx said:
Pool lights are easy to change..

Depending on the light, It should just pull out with a bit of motivation. (The entire plastic thing). Then there's a waterproofing cup at the back with the wiring inside.

I had the Sun Command one, packed up in warranty and no one was interested.

I replaced with a sealed LED pool light, its been running fine for about six years. (doesn't have the cup at the back)
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Cool, will give it a go tomorrow. I have a nightmare that I will f it up and cause a leak in the pool, but I can be gentle haha
 
InternetLuddite said:
Cool, will give it a go tomorrow. I have a nightmare that I will f it up and cause a leak in the pool, but I can be gentle haha
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I gave up for now. Saw two slots on edge and tried to use small screwdriver to loosen from wall (no screws that I can see) . Then a bit of the housing snapped but hoping the light is still working ... Read on.

I only realised yesterday, when searching again for pool lights , that i may have also inadvertently blown the light myself. I was cleaning up the pool DB to put in another Sonoff to control the pool light .I had replaced the old usual 12V transformer with a new 12V LED driver as it is much smaller and gave me the space to have everything in pool DB.

What i forgot to think about is that modern led lights transformers
12VDC but pool lights are 12VAC.

I assumed since the currently installed light is LED, the new transformer would work. This is what I thought was going to be a good replacement,
http://www.futurelight.co.za/products/led-power-supply-12vdc-100w?variant=17180330098746

So another question, is there a very small 220v/12v AC transformer similar to above, which I can source. Unsure why pool light transformers are so big but the 12vDC ones can be so small
 
I had a geyser replaced under insurance and they had to make the trap door bigger in order to remove the old geyser. The ended up needing to replace one sheet of ceiling board about 3m long.

Painters arrived today and I was expecting them to only paint the new ceiling board. Turns out insurance is paying to paint the entire ceiling of the room as well as all the walls. Very impressed with momentum insurance and their service provider. They will also be closing any holes in the walls and ceiling.

Entire room is ending up getting a makeover for free. The room is a converted garage.
 
signates said:
I had a geyser replaced under insurance and they had to make the trap door bigger in order to remove the old geyser. The ended up needing to replace one sheet of ceiling board about 3m long.

Painters arrived today and I was expecting them to only paint the new ceiling board. Turns out insurance is paying to paint the entire ceiling of the room as well as all the walls. Very impressed with momentum insurance and their service provider. They will also be closing any holes in the walls and ceiling.

Entire room is ending up getting a makeover for free. The room is a converted garage.
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You're lucky. When I was with Indwe they made a complete balls up - leaving areas unpainted, cupboards damaged, alarm damaged, and pipes still leaking.

Went to the ombudsman who ruled in their favour, even after I provided them with the requested 3rd party report on the poor workmanship. Think the person dealing with it was either too dim or too lazy to show any real interest.
 
Normally they replace the entire ceiling and paint walls if water damaged anything. Momentum, Alexander Forbes and Santam never have any issues when I quote for all the above mentioned things with insurance claims.
 
Has anyone ever built a water meter into a boundary wall?
I am looking for ideas on how to tackle this.
 
Schrodinger's law of drilling holes... at all times you have both drilled into a copper water pipe and not drilled into one until you actually drill.

I found this out now when drilling into a wall with a 40mm core bit, scratched the copper pipe. Really hoping it's not going to leak. No water in that area yet, so will find out soon enough.
 
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