The Home Improvements Thread (2)

[alqassam]

i need to do this now also... everything, roof, fascias, downpipes, frames and walls. the walls in some places even need a bit of attention, i am in two minds about doing it with my landscaping professional or getting someone.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, affordable painter in Johannesburg (Sandton area).

Thanks

Look on Instagram for Duarte painters

 

[xrapidx]

I need to run a conduit for electrical cabling on the outside of wall - its in the babies playroom - so I need to make it as neat as possible, does anyone have any suggestions? (also secure so toddler doesn't pull it off)

Not a fan of the clamp over the conduit.

 

[APoc184]

Haven't done any little projects since the first thread.

Anybody know where I can get clear casting resin? Like the ones used to cast an ornament in.

Has to be crystal clear finish when set, sanded and polished as I want to set a wooden piece inside. First as a test run and then a much much bigger piece for a coffee table.

Tried a few paint shops. No luck so far.

Thanks

 

[alqassam]

I need to run a conduit for electrical cabling on the outside of wall - its in the babies playroom - so I need to make it as neat as possible, does anyone have any suggestions? (also secure so toddler doesn't pull it off)

Not a fan of the clamp over the conduit.

Can you use the cornice instead? Of if you have laminate flooring use the gap between wall and floor.

 

[ToxicBunny]

I need to run a conduit for electrical cabling on the outside of wall - its in the babies playroom - so I need to make it as neat as possible, does anyone have any suggestions? (also secure so toddler doesn't pull it off)

Not a fan of the clamp over the conduit.

You could use the half round/quarter round conduit maybe? Then there are no visible clamps over...

 

[xrapidx]

Can you use the cornice instead? Of if you have laminate flooring use the gap between wall and floor.

You could use the half round/quarter round conduit maybe? Then there are no visible clamps over...

Picture might show it better... Need to get the power from in the pit to on the wall roughly where the plugs are.

 

[8-BALL]

Haven't done any little projects since the first thread.

Anybody know where I can get clear casting resin? Like the ones used to cast an ornament in.

Has to be crystal clear finish when set, sanded and polished as I want to set a wooden piece inside. First as a test run and then a much much bigger piece for a coffee table.

Tried a few paint shops. No luck so far.

Thanks

Try amt composites https://www.amtcomposites.co.za

I was able to get quick cast resin and alginate from them. Great guys to chat to. They have a ton of other resins and polymers too.

Pretty sure if they don't have what you are looking for thry could point you in the right direction.

 

[Steamy Tom]

Picture might show it better... Need to get the power from in the pit to on the wall roughly where the plugs are.

do you maybe have an extra tile? imo it would be so much better to take it back to the wall under the ground there

 

[xrapidx]

do you maybe have an extra tile? imo it would be so much better to take it back to the wall under the ground there

No extra tiles. The room will be completely redone in about four years.... Turning it into a bedroom.

 

[spikegv]

No extra tiles. The room will be completely redone in about four years.... Turning it into a bedroom.

What about drilling a 10 mm hole from the top and the side? And then pushing the cable through that and into a conduit

 

[APoc184]

Try amt composites https://www.amtcomposites.co.za

I was able to get quick cast resin and alginate from them. Great guys to chat to. They have a ton of other resins and polymers too.

Pretty sure if they don't have what you are looking for thry could point you in the right direction.

Thank you so much.

Quick browse of their site and I am pretty sure they will have what I am looking for.

Will contact them on Monday. Still have minor tweaks to do to my samples before I do the actual casting anyway.

 

[WAslayer]

Picture might show it better... Need to get the power from in the pit to on the wall roughly where the plugs are.

A few guys have suggested taking the cable back to the wall from its current position..

Then you can use this trunking which uses double sided tape to stick the wall.. since it's quarter sphere, it's not so simple to grab on to and pull off the wall..

 

[Steamy Tom]

No extra tiles. The room will be completely redone in about four years.... Turning it into a bedroom.

Damn, imo I would still just grind out a 3cm slot in the tile and take it back, will be tricky though to try do as little damage as possible.

 

[WAslayer]

Anybody here replaced a wooden and door frame with aluminium..? I am looking to replace my balcony door, as it faces the weather and the wood just doesn't hold up to all the weather..

I have gotten a quote to have it done for 8k.. then I look at builders who sell the door and frame for 3k and I wonder if I can't save that 5k and do it myself with some proper planning, research and learning..

Tips, advice from anyone who has done this before..?

 

[xrapidx]

Damn, imo I would still just grind out a 3cm slot in the tile and take it back, will be tricky though to try do as little damage as possible.

What might actually work is investigating where that conduit goes...if its under the paving on the other side of the wall, I can do it at the back of the wall, out of site.

 

[Nineteeneightysix]

Anybody here replaced a wooden and door frame with aluminium..? I am looking to replace my balcony door, as it faces the weather and the wood just doesn't hold up to all the weather..

I have gotten a quote to have it done for 8k.. then I look at builders who sell the door and frame for 3k and I wonder if I can't save that 5k and do it myself with some proper planning, research and learning..

Tips, advice from anyone who has done this before..?

I replaced wooden window frame with aluminium. The most difficult part is getting the wooden frame out. Check out Swartland Windows and Doors on YouTube. They uploaded installation videos which helped me with the windows

 

[TedLasso]

Has anybody installed Artificial grass and can share experiences, cost and possible vendors in the Joburg/Sandton area.

I have loads of bare patches in my garden, due to tree shade, etc and thinking it's maybe better to put this in so that I don't have to worry about gardener's etc in the future too.

As it would also be around my pool area, wondering about suitability/Sustainability of such. Also wondering how well it drains especially with the rains and storms we have.

Thx

 

[SAguy]

Has anybody installed Artificial grass and can share experiences, cost and possible vendors in the Joburg/Sandton area.

I have loads of bare patches in my garden, due to tree shade, etc and thinking it's maybe better to put this in so that I don't have to worry about gardener's etc in the future too.

As it would also be around my pool area, wondering about suitability/Sustainability of such. Also wondering how well it drains especially with the rains and storms we have.

Thx

I'm in CPT and used easigrass - they may have installers elsewhere, but it's franchised I think - so quality of installation may differ.

My experience:
We've done two areas, our front yard about 70m2 and a smaller area of 30m2.
We have a large dog who made keeping grass hard, she didn't dig but she runs and plays like mad - not giving grass a chance to grow. Plus CPT = Water restrictions.

Our experience was very good, and we're very happy with the work done. Some installers install on a concrete slab and others on a prepared sand/soil substrate. Do not go with a concrete slab unless you really really must in my opinion.

Someone I know had theirs done a concrete and the issues are:

• No drainage, so the grass just becomes a giant puddle of water.
• Smells if you have a dog, nowhere for urine to go
• If you decide to remove it at a later stage - lots of effort.
• The guys aren't concrete slab experts, so you're going to have a bad slab laid down which is going to break up over time.

We used easigrass for both our grass sections, done at different times - but the team of guys were different. Luckily the better team did our front yard. Only difference is that the joins aren't visible at all in the front, and at the back you can see them a bit.

If you have a dog you'll need to spray down the grass with a cleaner of some sort (we use a dettol solution in a weed sprayer) - and then hose it down once a week. There are better dog urine deodorizers but it can be pricey to use all the time.

What we love about it is:

• Much less maintenance (not NO maintenance though). You still need to pick up leaves and so on.
• Much less dirt being walking into the house
• Always looks good

Yes, there is nothing better than real grass - but time and effort...

Some other tips:

• Limit the joins as far as reasonably possible, even if it means an extra buck or two. Within reason.
• They lay a concrete barrier (about 30cm) around the edges to glue the grass down. Make sure they do this properly and make sure they don't make it too big. You won't have drainage on these edges. So if they throw all the leftover cement in one spot you're going to have no drainage there, I suspect this is what they did on one spot in my yard.
• If you have very bad drainage right now, put in extra effort to remove more topsoil and put better draining topsoil in. Ours is pretty good though, no worse than normal grass except for one or two small spots

In general (and nothing to do with grass) what always helps though is being nice to the guys doing the work. Spending an extra R300 on some boerie rolls and drinks for the team is a small price to pay for some extra consideration and care on the job. Just my opinion though.

 

[ElixirCoder]

In general (and nothing to do with grass) what always helps though is being nice to the guys doing the work. Spending an extra R300 on some boerie rolls and drinks for the team is a small price to pay for some extra consideration and care on the job. Just my opinion though.

This!

I've always found contractors go that extra mile for you when you're nice to them. Get the guys some takeaways and few bottles of coke or something and they will reciprocate in kind. It's absolutely worth every penny.

 

[SAguy]

This!

I've always found contractors go that extra mile for you when you're nice to them. Get the guys some takeaways and few bottles of coke or something and they will reciprocate in kind. It's absolutely worth every penny.

For sure. It's easy to say that you're already paying R50k for the job, but these guys aren't seeing that money.

Going off topic here:
I had a gardner who wouldn't eat all day. I'd make/buy him something nice and he'd ask me to wrap it up for him to eat later. I then found out from a neighbour that he takes the food him to his family instead, while he goes hungry most of the day. What may be a little to most of us is a lot to some.