The Home Improvements Thread (2)

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I personally don’t think the cost of the awning is worthwhile. It is something nice o have though if you’ve got the cash to blow.
 
So the builder gave me a list of building materials that he will need to build a 8m x3m boundary wall.

Where would be the best place to purchase these items and delivery? Cape Town Northern suburbs.
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spiff said:
So the builder gave me a list of building materials that he will need to build a 8m x3m boundary wall.

Where would be the best place to purchase these items and delivery? Cape Town Northern suburbs.
9e41d8c1d6f80c17f550cf5d2e939e74.jpg
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Buco, build it or Bright. Fuk Builders, nobody will help you there.

Edit to ask, is that wall really going to be 3m high?

The steel you might find at those places otherwise Brackenfell steel.
 
Anyone know of an outdoor inline switch (vertical conduit)?

We have a dark area at the back of the house, I'd like to tap off the power going to an aircon - and put in a light on the outside wall... can't seem to find a outdoor light switch for the job that can be mounted inline - going vertically.
 
chickenbeef said:
Nope. They are still using the glass wool material. It's a side effect of the material:

en.wikipedia.org

Glass wool - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
.

Installing it was rough because cutting it to size caused particles to go everywhere. The first time I wore a short sleeve t-shirt which was a big mistake, my arms were itching for days :laugh:. Had to get a full face mask and overalls to finish up the install.

I'm happy having the peace of mind that I installed it and did a proper job but if I need to do it again I'll pay a company to do it.
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Yea with a normal mask was bad - got glass blown into my eyeballs constantly.

In one place on my arm I have a permanent scar where a thicker strand went into my skin.

That's the only criticism of the company. They advertise with their stupid "new Aerolite won't pop a balloon" video which is completely misleading.

Main reason for DIY installation though was to avoid damage to ceilings which always happens when a contractor goes into the roof. Ideal for me is probably still to pay more for Isotherm and self install.
 
Hey guys does anyone know of some one that can replace an entry door and gate? In the rooderpoort area
 
shaunbrookes said:
Has anyone had a patio roof / awning installed recently? Been getting a few quotes and prices seem crazy (so far I've been looking at the awnings that can open and close). Can anyone recommend a more cost effective solution or company they can recommend?
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I'm just waiting for my awning to be installed, 6m x 5m, but solid awning with some "transparent" sheets to let in light. Look at R22k for that. Effectively its a "carport" type of awning, but I'm having the structure powder coated to a colour of my choosing, and then using coloured solid sheets to provide a different look.
The awnings that open and close are around R1800 per sqm from what I know so I steered well clear of them. I even looked at the multiwall stuff and it was around a similar price so just a bit too rich for my liking.
 
ToxicBunny said:
I'm just waiting for my awning to be installed, 6m x 5m, but solid awning with some "transparent" sheets to let in light. Look at R22k for that. Effectively its a "carport" type of awning, but I'm having the structure powder coated to a colour of my choosing, and then using coloured solid sheets to provide a different look.
The awnings that open and close are around R1800 per sqm from what I know so I steered well clear of them. I even looked at the multiwall stuff and it was around a similar price so just a bit too rich for my liking.
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That's pretty much just what I'm looking for. May I ask which company that is? R22k much more reasonable compared to what I've been quoted so far
 
shaunbrookes said:
That's pretty much just what I'm looking for. May I ask which company that is? R22k much more reasonable compared to what I've been quoted so far
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I'm down in Durban and the company is AwnMaster..... but they definitely wasn't the cheapest quote... they were just the ones I trust to do the job the way I want...

Basically you need to be finding a decent company up there to do a "Car Port" type of awning.
 
How much are quartz counter tops on average?
I was quoted R3.5k per sqm excl transport and installation. Is that reasonable?
 
Eish. I wanted a 2.5m by 1.2m kitchen island and probably half the budget will go to the quartz. Meh
 
Fuma said:
Eish. I wanted a 2.5m by 1.2m kitchen island and probably half the budget will go to the quartz. Meh
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We considered Quartz countertops (as well as granite and some other recycled material whose name I can't recall) but had to 'settle' for Formica countertops. We have a large rectangular kitchen and our countertops run along three of the four kitchen walls which is close to a 15 meter run in total. Our cheapest quote came in at around 60K (including installation) if memory serves which was more than three-quarters of our kitchen budget. The Formica tops cost us 8K (including installation). Now that I've seen how the Formica tops are installed, I'm pretty confident I could do that myself in the future.

I was initially disappointed that Formica was one our only affordable option but honestly it's been great so far. The colour we chose contrasts perfectly with our cupboards. I was also surprised that everyone we've shown the kitchen to has loved it so far. I guess I was expecting a little more snobbery in that regard.

I was worried that the surfaces would damage easily but as long as we keep our cutting and chopping on a cutting board it looks like these will last us a long time. And honestly, I could replace the Formica tops on a yearly basis for the next five years and I still wouldn't reach the cheapest Quartz quote we were given.

I do realize that Quartz or Granite is still the superior option and it's obviously still nicer looking compared to Formica and other cheaper options but it's definitely not as bad of an alternative as I initially thought.
 
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Fuma said:
Eish. I wanted a 2.5m by 1.2m kitchen island and probably half the budget will go to the quartz. Meh
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Hunt around though...

My island at home is 2.7m x 1.5m with waterfall sides and I was hit at just around R30k for that...

I would suggest get in touch with a company called Stone Connection and see what their pricing would be on a quartz countertop. I used this specific quartz material from them : http://www.stoneconnection.co.za/product/colonata-2/
Colonatta-5-200x200.jpg
 
martin said:
We considered Quartz countertops (as well as granite and some other recycled material whose name I can't recall) but had to 'settle' for Formica countertops. We have a large rectangular kitchen and our countertops run along three of the four kitchen walls which is close to a 15 meter run in total. Our cheapest quote came in at around 60K (including installation) if memory serves which was more than three-quarters of our kitchen budget. The Formica tops cost us 8K (including installation). Now that I've seen how the Formica tops are installed pretty confident I could do that myself in the future.

I was initially disappointed that Formica was our only affordable option but honestly it's been great so far. The colour we chose contrasts perfectly with our cupboards. I was also surprised that everyone we've shown the kitchen to has loved it so far. I guess I was expecting a little more snobbery in that regard.

I was worried that the surfaces would damage easily but as long as we keep our cutting and chopping on a cutting board it looks like these will last us a long time. And honestly, I could replace the Formica tops on a yearly basis for the next five years and I still wouldn't reach the cheapest Quartz quote we were given.

I do realize that Quartz or Granite is still the superior option and it's obviously still nicer looking compared to Formica and other cheaper options but it's definitely not as bad of an alternative as I initially thought.
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Formica counter tops are great for their price... no questions about it really. They are just limiting in some ways, but if you have a relatively standard kitchen countertop requirement then they fit perfectly and they have a great range of colour options.
 
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