The Home Improvements Thread (2)

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Steamy Tom said:
yeah definately keep a box at least, some guys put it in the roof across some sturdy planks spanning 2 rafters. that way it is out the way and will always stay with the house
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Yeah - it’s even called attic stock
 
PhireSide said:
Without derailing from @AchmatK's stunning revamp, could I maybe get a quick check to see if my logic makes sense?

I would like to install 2x 2500l water tanks to catch rainwater for use inside the house.

My thinking was to install it along with a changeover valve so that I can alternate between municipal supply and harvested rainwater along with the requisite filters to ensure it's safe enough for brushing teeth and cooking (it wouldn't hurt to run the municipal water through filters either I guess).

Is my logic sound, or are there other barriers/challenges I'd need to consider? My main issue would be that the tanks would have to be on one side of the house and the municipal inlet is on the opposite end so I would need a fair bit of plumbing to get the water to the correct side. And of course, a booster pump to ensure adequate water pressure for the geyser/washing machine/taps.
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You don't need your rain water to T into your pipes at the same place as where your municipal water does. Once your municipal water valve has been shut you can happily T into any cold water pipe anywhere.
Have a look at the Dab 82 or 102 pumps - good bang for your buck and they sell for between R2200 and R2600 depending where you buy from.
Good luck!
 
prOd said:
Anyone have a Hans Grohe kitchen tap or have any experience with them?

We have one that looks like this model: https://www.hansgrohe.co.za/article...min-pull-out-spray-2jet-31815223#installation

The spout seems 'lose'. When you swivel it, it doesn't stay where it should and it swivels back to the middle, wondering if I can tighten it myself or should I just get a plumber in? There's a little grey button at the back which seems like it can be pulled off and from the installation instructions it seems there might be a screw behind it that needs tightening, but thought I'd ask here first. Relevant photo:


View attachment 1278412
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15 year warranty, they will come out and fix.
 
Tinuva said:
@WAslayer is spot on.

The laminate expand and contract as the moisture in the air changes.
Had same issue when we moved in, floor started lifting up at one of the points we walked the most.

You will have to rip off the side skirts and hope you can figure out which end they finished the install. I lifted it up on the wrong end /sigh
Anyways, then when you can see where the strips are pushing against the wall, you need to uninstall back to that point (aka remove the strips) and then then cut off small pieces to shorten the strips. You want about at least 0.5cm gap between the wall and where the laminate strips end.

When done, put everything back and use the side skirts to hide the gaps.

Annoying as hell depending on how much of the floor you need to uninstall.
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TBH I think laminate flooring is fully kak, I will never do it to my own home, and if I ever buy a home with it in, it will probably be the first thing that I rip out (and I will factor it into the offer). At one stage it was fashionable, but has predictably gone the same route as linoleum in the late 70s / early 80s.
 
RonSwanson said:
TBH I think laminate flooring is fully kak, I will never do it to my own home, and if I ever buy a home with it in, it will probably be the first thing that I rip out (and I will factor it into the offer). At one stage it was fashionable, but has predictably gone the same route as linoleum in the late 70s / early 80s.
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Absolutely agree, except mine a bit down on the list of ever growing **** to fix.
 
RonSwanson said:
TBH I think laminate flooring is fully kak, I will never do it to my own home, and if I ever buy a home with it in, it will probably be the first thing that I rip out (and I will factor it into the offer). At one stage it was fashionable, but has predictably gone the same route as linoleum in the late 70s / early 80s.
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After putting it in our new areas we built on, I also hate it. We did vinyl plank though, not laminate but it's the same thing.

Everyone went through a phase of ripping out parcade flooring and slowly you see more houses that have done really good renovations on old parcade flooring. Plus you can actually repair it.

One bad scratch on laminate/vinyl plank and you're pretty much screwed. It's terrible for longevity.

Wish I could afford real wood floors though
 
howardb said:
Hi all, any ideas how to get these 14mm bolts out from the burglar bars? The guys who fitted them seem to have used those bolts with the heads that break off once fitted.
Have to use the same holes again to refit them, so can't just grind them off... there's 12 bolts per set of bars.

We are changing the window frame fittings and have to remove the bars first; can't be fitted from the inside apparently.

Tried a normal spanner to try edge them out slightly so I could use my power sockets to remove them the rest of the way, but they won't budge at all with a spanner.

Edit : forgot the picture...
b89e060f8be4b677a6e87abcb90d42d3.jpg
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The problem is: Where do you go when there's a fire?
I had some gwalas in each room to solve that problem...
 
Steamy Tom said:
urg, the simplest is probably gonna be to cut the square bar off from the lug and use the lug as a bolt head to turn the whole thing out then reweld new lugs on, a mission I know but less hassle than trying to get every bolt out.

That or just drill the bolt heads out and then weld the bars back on to the pin left in the wall after and make it the next guys problem xD

alternatively drill the bolt heads out, weld nuts to what remains and turn them out with that.
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That's if they can turn, if they were put in with chemical anchors then it's a whole heap of fun.
 
w@nted said:
Any tips on removing the leftover suction cups/roots of an ivy from plastered walls? I have removed the ivy, but these buggers are almost cemented to the wall.
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This. The smaller versions work as well.
 
RonSwanson said:
The cheaper the labour, the more the unforeseen things.
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Definitely. This past December was the first time I've done any major home reno, and one thing I'm glad I didn't skimp on was a good tiler.

I'd just like to stress though that expensive doesn't necessarily mean good. Our's came in mid-range in terms of price, but had a better portfolio than some more expensive ones.

The most important thing is to view their portfolio of past work, spot any defects, and ask questions as to why it was done that way. Goes without saying that a tiler who can't present a portfolio should be skipped...
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Definitely. This past December was the first time I've done any major home reno, and one thing I'm glad I didn't skimp on was a good tiler.

I'd just like to stress though that expensive doesn't necessarily mean good. Our's came in mid-range in terms of price, but had a better portfolio than some more expensive ones.

The most important thing is to view their portfolio of past work, spot any defects, and ask questions as to why it was done that way. Goes without saying that a tiler who can't present a portfolio should be skipped...
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Portfolios need to be validated too, there are many that have photos stolen from the interwebs which they pass off as their own work. When you call, talk about the purple tiles in the bathroom, when they baulk and say that it was green, you know that the photo of blue tiles is fake.
 
I did a massive reno last year March to Nov

1st builder passed away 3 weeks in with food poisoning at a party.

My tiler( very good) brought a contractor, work was great... very reasonable.

I think its depends on what's expensive vs cheap to everyone.

It also helped that my father was a contractor as well.
 
Quick question for anyone who might know here - Shower pans: is there a regulation in place (SANS etc) for how these need to be built, sealed and installed? Specifically around waterproofing membranes etc?

I've been looking through the regulations here: http://itc-sa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SANS10400.pdf
and can't seem to find anything.
A contractor just told me now that how a shower pan on the second floor is sealed is regulated. I'm imagining something like this: https://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Figure6-42.jpg
 
The Darkness said:
Quick question for anyone who might know here - Shower pans: is there a regulation in place (SANS etc) for how these need to be built, sealed and installed? Specifically around waterproofing membranes etc?

I've been looking through the regulations here: http://itc-sa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SANS10400.pdf
and can't seem to find anything.
A contractor just told me now that how a shower pan on the second floor is sealed is regulated. I'm imagining something like this: https://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Figure6-42.jpg
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You may want to contact IOPSA: https://www.iopsa.org/


they may have some pointers the same way that they have with hot water installs

 
RonSwanson said:
You may want to contact IOPSA: https://www.iopsa.org/


they may have some pointers the same way that they have with hot water installs

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Thanks for this. Some good leads here. Much appreciated.
It's difficult to find the actual regulations as per the BRSA documents, but surely 'best practice' would be that a shower gets a membrane sealant before casting the shower base pan, and tiling etc?
 
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