The Home Improvements Thread (2)

[Steamy Tom]

I so wish I could catch him in the act, but that being said I'm not a confrontational bloke...but enough is enough.

I should check our by-laws and see if I can not report him for putting out his rubbish the night before. AFAIK, this isn't allowed as it encourages bag scratchers to dig around and make a mess.

afaik there is no by-law for this, just common sense

 

[xrapidx]

Where can I find machine screws in Cape Town, for the life of me I can't find M3x45mm - been trying since yesterday.

 

[xrapidx]

I so wish I could catch him in the act, but that being said I'm not a confrontational bloke...but enough is enough.

I should check our by-laws and see if I can not report him for putting out his rubbish the night before. AFAIK, this isn't allowed as it encourages bag scratchers to dig around and make a mess.

I know in Cape Town you're not allowed to - although mine frequently stays out overnight because the city doesn't collect on the day.

 

[ElixirCoder]

Where can I find machine screws in Cape Town, for the life of me I can't find M3x45mm - been trying since yesterday.

Maybe try Bolt-It in diepriver

 

[PhireSide]

Video file if anyone wanted to see. Unfortunately all the camera managed to grab was him walking away and looking back when the siren went off.

Just rename the extension to .mp4.

There is a loud siren sound at the 2s mark for those of you with headphones on.

 

[Smokey mcpot]

Where can I find machine screws in Cape Town, for the life of me I can't find M3x45mm - been trying since yesterday.

Try calling bolt and nut centre. They're in paarden eiland so not too far off route for you (yes I know it's still quite a drive haha)

 

[TheBadMadMan]

Video file if anyone wanted to see. Unfortunately all the camera managed to grab was him walking away and looking back when the siren went off.

Just rename the extension to .mp4.

There is a loud siren sound at the 2s mark for those of you with headphones on.

WTF is wrong with people...haha.

 

[ABCpt]

Day 3 of building. I was prepared for the noise, but the dust everywhere is worse than I expected. Hopefully, the breaking down part will be done today. Any tips for getting rid of the fine dust on laminate floor?

 

[ElixirCoder]

Day 3 of building. I was prepared for the noise, but the dust everywhere is worse than I expected. Hopefully, the breaking down part will be done today. Any tips for getting rid of the fine dust on laminate floor?

Vacuum cleaner then Damp mop is really the only way

 

[PhireSide]

Vacuum cleaner then Damp mop is really the only way

This is the way.

Building dust gets EVERYWHERE. If you can, throw old linen sheets or drop sheets over your TV, computers, etc. to keep the most of the dust away from the sensitive things.

 

[SiR_BP]

Hi guys,

Haven't posted in this thread, just follow for the tips

We planning to renovate our separate entrance. We have a lounge and kitchen separated by a wall (attached pic for reference), would like to breakthrough the wall and make it open plan.

Would like to know if this wall is just separating the two rooms and not load barring?

TIA

 

[ToxicBunny]

Hi guys,

Haven't posted in this thread, just follow for the tips

We planning to renovate our separate entrance. We have a lounge and kitchen separated by a wall (attached pic for reference), would like to breakthrough the wall and make it open plan.

Would like to know if this wall is just separating the two rooms and not load barring?

TIA

Only way you will know for sure is to get a structural engineer really.

 

[flytek]

Hi guys,

Haven't posted in this thread, just follow for the tips

We planning to renovate our separate entrance. We have a lounge and kitchen separated by a wall (attached pic for reference), would like to breakthrough the wall and make it open plan.

Would like to know if this wall is just separating the two rooms and not load barring?

TIA

If your house is single story with a normal pitched roof you can open the trap door and look inside the roof cavity.
If any of the roof structural timber is resting on the wall concerned then you need to figure out if removing the wall will collapse the roof. It is likely that the roof supports will generally be at the edges of the trusses and not nearer the middle.
If it is a multistory building without a concrete frame it is more likely a support wall but also not very likely. Is it around 130mm thick or closer to 230mm? The thicker it is the more likely it is supporting something.
If the structure is a concrete frame multistory then it becomes very unlikely to be a supporting wall no matter its thickness as the concrete frame will have been designed to hold up even if all the brickwork is removed.

 

[SiR_BP]

It's a single story with a flat room, wall is 130mm thick.

This building is about 40 years old, my mom mentioned that all the rooms were completely closed off and a long time ago that door opening was put it.

I asked her if she has the plans on hand.

 

[ElixirCoder]

Hi guys,

Haven't posted in this thread, just follow for the tips

We planning to renovate our separate entrance. We have a lounge and kitchen separated by a wall (attached pic for reference), would like to breakthrough the wall and make it open plan.

Would like to know if this wall is just separating the two rooms and not load barring?

TIA

Best to get an engineer out. Technically because you will be changing the house plan by deleting a wall you’d need to have plans approved for it anyway

 

[flytek]

Make a little scetch and upload? Basic outer walls, dimentions and fall of the roof direction? Is it a single slope flat roof with only one basic rectangle going from the front wall to the back? If the roof falls in parallel to the wall you want to remove you are probably safe as the main support timbers probably run from the highest point to the lowest and therefor cannot really be standing on the wall you want to remove.

 

[xrapidx]

Day 3 of building. I was prepared for the noise, but the dust everywhere is worse than I expected. Hopefully, the breaking down part will be done today. Any tips for getting rid of the fine dust on laminate floor?

I buy thin wood sheets (can't recall the term) and mount them to the door frame/entrance with ducttape all round to seal off the room, or section of the house, they're working in.

 

[Steamy Tom]

I buy thin wood sheets (can't recall the term) and mount them to the door frame/entrance with ducttape all round to seal off the room, or section of the house, they're working in.

hardboard probably the cheapest thing for the job

 

[ABCpt]

I buy thin wood sheets (can't recall the term) and mount them to the door frame/entrance with ducttape all round to seal off the room, or section of the house, they're working in.

New door into the passage and open plan from there. So, no spot to close off. Most of the mess was made outside.

 

[SiR_BP]

Make a little scetch and upload? Basic outer walls, dimentions and fall of the roof direction? Is it a single slope flat roof with only one basic rectangle going from the front wall to the back? If the roof falls in parallel to the wall you want to remove you are probably safe as the main support timbers probably run from the highest point to the lowest and therefor cannot really be standing on the wall you want to remove.

My mom actually had the OG plans on hand. Hope this helps. Xs is the wall we would like to remove