The Home Improvements Thread (2)

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xrapidx said:
I've picked up some wood to use as steps - 38mm (thick) x 228m (wide) x 2400mm (length) - what is the chances of it warping in the sun? Wood is wet - so need it to dry
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How wet is the wood and how rough is it..?

Drying in direct sunlight is not recommended, as air drying too fast will cause warping.. somewhere in the shade, off the ground, supported along the length at evenly spaced intervals should be good and if it is somewhere some wind blows through, that's a plus.. you can weigh the lengths down as well but, keep a piece of wood between the length and the weight you use..
 
100% as waslayer says... Keep it out of the sun and weigh it down..
 
WAslayer said:
How wet is the wood and how rough is it..?

Drying in direct sunlight is not recommended, as air drying too fast will cause warping.. somewhere in the shade, off the ground, supported along the length at evenly spaced intervals should be good and if it is somewhere some wind blows through, that's a plus.. you can weigh the lengths down as well but, keep a piece of wood between the length and the weight you use..
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Quite wet if i go by weight, why off the ground? Can always leave it in thr garage on the floor with a fan on.
 
xrapidx said:
Quite wet if i go by weight, why off the ground? Can always leave it in thr garage on the floor with a fan on.
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Off the ground allows air to flow around all sides of the wood and dry faster.. some water will also drain to the bottom, so if it's directly on the floor, the bottom is not going to dry..
 
Hi. We planning to revamp our bathrooms and do wooden flooring throughout the house.potential to do built in cupboards for the rooms as well. Please can someone recommend a reliable and fairly priced contractor? Based in midrand. Thanks
 
chickenbeef said:
Recently replaced all my windows and now I need to install burglar bars. Got the following quote from Magnador for horizontal bars covering the entire window frame (not just the openings). Does it seem reasonable?

View attachment 700583
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I paid R3500 a couple of years back for a window probably about 800 x 1.5, spanish bars. Including powder coating and installation. Probably could have been cheaper if I'd gone direct to a metal worker though.
 
Thanks! Glad I checked here first. Magnador was recommended to me by 2 people I know so thought they'd be reasonable. Was a bit sceptical when they sent me the quote as it's more than half the price of what the windows themselves costed...

Asked for a discount and they can only do 10% which isn't much.

Previous house had Spanish bars and I hated it. Don't like the look and it restricts the window openings (which is great for security but doesn't look aesthetically pleasing IMO). They also make it a pain to clean the windows.

Will check around for more quotes.
 
so i need to pain the rough and everything else, when i prep for the roof, at the ridge there seems to be some spots where the mortor is missing over the years, should i fill this back in, or just flash harry the whole ridge and then paint? if i fill it in what is recommended?
 
Steamy Tom said:
so i need to pain the rough and everything else, when i prep for the roof, at the ridge there seems to be some spots where the mortor is missing over the years, should i fill this back in, or just flash harry the whole ridge and then paint? if i fill it in what is recommended?
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I also am in the process of doing this, and can say, based on research, 2-3 options are available.

1. The entire ridge needs to be redone. What they do is remove the cement and then put fresh stuff in reusing the existing ridge tiles if they are still good. Normally should be. Apparently according to guys that came to give me quotes , the mortar is good for 10-12 years.

2. Is to waterproof the ridge with that cloth and waterproof paint like with but that will last about 2-3 years. Option 2 is cheaper but you do it more often.

3. Had the guys from bitumproof come to give a quote and they can also put bitumen over the ridge. Also guaranteed for 10 years. Waiting to see what their quote is. may do this.
 
Honestly, I would do the job properly... remove the ridge tiles as best you can and remorter the lot of them, then waterproof the ridge as an extra layer of security.
 
Making slow progress, I have two weeks left to finish the room.

Any ideas on securing it to the sides? Was thinking of either using angle iron - or blocks of wood.


I plan on supporting the steps underneath with bricks every 50odd cm... And then boarding up the front.
417263431b95dfeed32ea86aad19b1ba.jpg
 
xrapidx said:
Making slow progress, I have two weeks left to finish the room.

Any ideas on securing it to the sides? Was thinking of either using angle iron - or blocks of wood.


I plan on supporting the steps underneath with bricks every 50odd cm... And then boarding up the front.
417263431b95dfeed32ea86aad19b1ba.jpg
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Since you are supporting it with bricks, just use some L brackets you can pick up at the hardware store to secure to the sides.. the L bracket will give you more room to work with in terms of attaching it to the sides and the steps..
 
The other day I was at ACDC and saw that they had PIR sensors on special for R180 each, and bought and installed one to control the light in my garage. The issue with our garage is that the light switch is near the front of the garage and the interleading door is towards the back, so navigating the dark garage to find the switch was not kind on the shins whenever there was washing to be done.

I installed it a few weekends ago and have not looked back. They are manufactured to fit into a recess that a downlight will normally go, but I just fashioned up a bracket to attach it to the truss:

ES-P14.jpg


So much better just walking in and having the light turn on by itself and off again after two minutes of the room being vacant. I also replaced the old fluorescent fitting with a modern LED one that is much brighter at half the electricity consumption. A win win situation! Definitely a good investment and one I would recommend to anyone in a similar situation.
 
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