The Home Improvements Thread (2)

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Our kitchen contractor started mid-March and when he left on 25th, he had gutted the kitchen, skimmed and painted the walls and tiled the floor

He started again on 1st September and has attended 6 days since then. The cupboard carcasses are in, but no doors. I went to collect 2/3 of the doors from the board factory.

Two weeks back he announced he has no money and cannot finish the job. This after 10 messages left

Still to be done are the doors, shelves, granite top, install plumbing, so looking for someone to finish the job. Have contacted 5 kitchen guys. All said they would come. 2 turned up, made enthusiastic noises and nothing more

Cape Town s/suburbs, if you know anyone
 
chrisc said:
Our kitchen contractor started mid-March and when he left on 25th, he had gutted the kitchen, skimmed and painted the walls and tiled the floor

He started again on 1st September and has attended 6 days since then. The cupboard carcasses are in, but no doors. I went to collect 2/3 of the doors from the board factory.

Two weeks back he announced he has no money and cannot finish the job. This after 10 messages left

Still to be done are the doors, shelves, granite top, install plumbing, so looking for someone to finish the job. Have contacted 5 kitchen guys. All said they would come. 2 turned up, made enthusiastic noises and nothing more

Cape Town s/suburbs, if you know anyone
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if it were me, i would do what i could myself, then get in a specific granite guy, a plumber etc
 
Yes, I fitted all the doors I could, but the one walk-in cupboard needs some shelves to brace it as the door is made of MDF and 2.2m x 1.6m. There are 5 hinge mounting points but before it is attached to the panel, these need making firm. Its an awkward shape which is why I wanted a cupboard guy to look at it
I also did all the electrics
The plumbing bit is straightforward, there is a kit with the sink, but it needs a hole for the tap. The water and waste pipes are still there
 
Someone recommended a sealer/ hardener for painted enamel shelves... Could you recommend again? Can't find the post.
 
Hi guys,

Anyone know the price of a bricklayer and his boy per day?
 
SAguy said:
I'll ask my builder later today when he makes a turn here.

Also I don't think we call the labourers a "boy" anymore. I grew up with that term too. ;)

Afrikaans has a nice word "handlanger", not even sure what that is in English
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They refer to themselves as that. :D

So I used to pay these guy R700 each per day as a bonus, just to help them out.
But then they started stretching the work out.

And now I have a 35m wall to build, 2.1m high; and they are telling me that it is going to take at least a month to complete.
 
CamiKaze said:
They refer to themselves as that. :D

So I used to pay these guy R700 each per day as a bonus, just to help them out.
But then they started stretching the work out.

And now I have a 35m wall to build, 2.1m high; and they are telling me that it is going to take at least a month to complete.
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Does that include foundation as well?
Where you based?
 
SAguy said:
I'll ask my builder later today when he makes a turn here.

Also I don't think we call the labourers a "boy" anymore. I grew up with that term too. ;)

Afrikaans has a nice word "handlanger", not even sure what that is in English
Click to expand...
Executive assistant :)
 
xrapidx said:
It looks like I'm going to be renovating again - I think I've asked this before way back... but here goes again.

1.) I'm going to brick up this glass door - and put in a normal internal door on the right side - any ideas of cost for the building (bricking up, plastering - I'm an expert painter by now) ? Any tips? I might find the "help" myself - I've had no luck getting companies in at exorbitant rates.
View attachment 943088

2.) In the same picture above - I need to fill the pit - under the fake grass is concrete - do I break that out, and then fill with rubble and partial damp course - the final plan is to vinyl the flooring.

3.) What are the chances of successfully salvaging the tiles along the border? I'd like to use them on the one side of the new wall, so it doesn't just look like a wall was built on top of the tiles.

Also - is it possible to cut tiles in place? (again - along the new wall to make space for the border tiles)
View attachment 943092

4.) Any quick tips on blacking out the glass door? I want to see the affect the bricking up will have on the light in the lounge.
Click to expand...
i will pickup the sliding door if it is going
 
xrapidx said:
It will be - but I'll probably swapping the glass with another sliding doors glass (badly scratched) assuming they're the same size.
Click to expand...
Great, let me know when ready, depending where are you based
 
Smokey888 said:
Great, let me know when ready, depending where are you based
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Blouberg... I put the door in - its not concreted in, just held in place with screws - and a sealer around the edges, it should remove pretty clean.
 
I need to sort out the trench I dug in the garden.

We had some serious damp issues on the inside walls - I'm not sure if it was from the geyser bursting and flooding the room when we bought the house, or water from outside (irrigation) - when we bought - the garden was paved, I removed the paving, and put in grass.

My initial plan (starting tomorrow) was to paint the bottom of the wall with waterproofing - and then fill with stones along the wall to create a small path - allowing easier draining of water away from the wall.
IMG_20201105_102957.jpg

I then noticed these "unplastered" bricks - what are the possibilities that water is getting in through them? (the floor on the inside is about 20cm higher than the grass on the outside - you can see the paint line along the wall for an indication of the grass level).

You can also see drainage holes drilled into the wall - not sure if damp was an issue before:
IMG_20201105_103005.jpg
 
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