The Home Improvements Thread (3)

[W@P]

Thanks for this. I'm assuming mine is as you mention, straight outlet pipe that connects to waste so the smell is probably coming from there, although, my other shower has no smell problem and has same linear channel. I'm going to try the drain snake pipe cleaner thingy and the caustic soda. If that doesn't help, I'll have to consider breaking and re-installing the channel.

The drain cleaner and snake won't help one bit imo. I have tried everything.

Your shower drain's trap is not working as it should. So it's acting as a breather for your wastewater piping system. That's where all the kak smells come from.

 

[SHL]

CoT *ssholes broke my wheely bin. Any suggestions on a DIY fix?

 

[ghaye]

Just log it with them and get them to replace it.

 

[A3@MBB]

Perhaps a long shot but never know if you don't ask.
Can anyone recommend a builder / tiler that can assist with a on-suite build. The space is very small, like 5m2. Shower and basin only.
Too small a job for a contractor but too big for me to DIY.
This for a house in Paarl.

 

[WAslayer]

Perhaps a long shot but never know if you don't ask.
Can anyone recommend a builder / tiler that can assist with a on-suite build. The space is very small, like 5m2. Shower and basin only.
Too small a job for a contractor but too big for me to DIY.
This for a house in Paarl.

Honestly, this is not worth the pro's time and they either won't bother to quote you at all or they are going to completely over charge because this is not worth their time otherwise..

Hop on over to a builders or your local tile place and you would probably find a tiler there needing work.. Have a chat with them, see if they photos of their past work etc..

 

[WAslayer]

I got uPVC double glazed windows in my house. Been about 10 plus years now, without any significant wear & tear / degradation of the uPVC frames. they are far better at insulation than aluminium / steel / wood etc.

my house consistently shows a +-2 - 5 degree deference in outside / inside temperatures without the need for heating or cooling

honestly, I was expecting a much bigger difference considering how uPVC is hyped up.. if you are seeing that small of a difference, i think it makes for a much easier choice for me to stick with alu windows when i get around to replacing mine..

in my previous house with single pane alu windows, I was maintaining a 5-7 degree difference with no heating/cooling.. it is the same in my current house, even with the 50 year old alu windows that no longer seal worth a dam and the frame pulling away from the cavity, causing gaps..

 

[A3@MBB]

Honestly, this is not worth the pro's time and they either won't bother to quote you at all or they are going to completely over charge because this is not worth their time otherwise..

Hop on over to a builders or your local tile place and you would probably find a tiler there needing work.. Have a chat with them, see if they photos of their past work etc..

Yes, exactly my problem hence looking for a referral from a member.

 

[spiff]

honestly, I was expecting a much bigger difference considering how uPVC is hyped up.. if you are seeing that small of a difference, i think it makes for a much easier choice for me to stick with alu windows when i get around to replacing mine..

in my previous house with single pane alu windows, I was maintaining a 5-7 degree difference with no heating/cooling.. it is the same in my current house, even with the 50 year old alu windows that no longer seal worth a dam and the frame pulling away from the cavity, causing gaps..

it reduces your heating & cooling costs over time, not to mention the sound proofing.

I've had my gas heater on and inside temp up 10 degrees above outside temp.

summer time I can cool my house for less krag

aluminiumm on the other hand, will transfer whatever temp is outside into your house like a bar heater thus costing you more to heat / cool your house.

next time we have 36 degree heat in summer go touch your aluminium frames - that heat is radiated into your house.

uPVC does not do that.

 

[WAslayer]

it reduces your heating & cooling costs over time, not to mention the sound proofing.

I've had my gas heater on and inside temp up 10 degrees above outside temp.

summer time I can cool my house for less krag

aluminiumm on the other hand, will transfer whatever temp is outside into your house like a bar heater thus costing you more to heat / cool your house.

next time we have 36 degree heat in summer go touch your aluminium frames - that heat is radiated into your house.

uPVC does not do that.

That's my point, uPVC is not supposed to do the thermal transfer thing like aluminium does, yet your temp difference with uPVC windows vs mine with alu doesn't tell that same story..

 

[acidrain]

Perhaps a long shot but never know if you don't ask.
Can anyone recommend a builder / tiler that can assist with a on-suite build. The space is very small, like 5m2. Shower and basin only.
Too small a job for a contractor but too big for me to DIY.
This for a house in Paarl.

Send me a DM. I can give you my guys number. Very happy with his work and to me, charges way too little. Paarl may a bit out of his way but worth a try

So far what he has done for me at my house is:
- Constructed a 8x3m building, incl. electrical
- Paving
- Tiling
- Door replacements

Video of the tiling he did in the building he built. https://vimeo.com/1113856843?share=copy

 

[spiff]

That's my point, uPVC is not supposed to do the thermal transfer thing like aluminium does, yet your temp difference with uPVC windows vs mine with alu doesn't tell that same story..

ag sorry man you're right, I'm not thinking straight today - my fathers dying of lung disease and I'm trying to get frail care for him.

Those temp I see are when I'm home in the evenings or ealy mornings. I used to have a sonoff smart temp & humidity sensor in my lounge back then, that recorded all day min/max temps. so yes the temp differences are much higher during the day.

 

[kory]

Has anyone converted a sign stand alone garage into a 1.5 garage? How much did it cost and do we need planning permission? My single garage is wayyy to small to fit my SUV and end up not using the space. Mostly use it for storage and it is annoying as i have to leave my car out when I travel and have an almost empty garage. Well it holds the kids bikes etc.

 

[Steamy Tom]

Has anyone converted a sign stand alone garage into a 1.5 garage? How much did it cost and do we need planning permission? My single garage is wayyy to small to fit my SUV and end up not using the space. Mostly use it for storage and it is annoying as i have to leave my car out when I travel and have an almost empty garage. Well it holds the kids bikes etc.

Depends on a lot of factors, roof type, truss orientation etc.

It's a new foundation, demo, tying in walls, roof extension etc

ita going to be pricey to do it properly. Strange though that an SUV won't fit in a standard garage, normally it's bakkies that have the issue. What car?

Yes though you do need planning.

 

[WAslayer]

We have started the process of replacing our laminate with vinyl.. it's pretty simple to DIY, but if you are an unfit and fat fack, boy does it take a toll on your body..

 

[aleksandar]

We have started the process of replacing our laminate with vinyl.. it's pretty simple to DIY, but if you are an unfit and fat fack, boy does it take a toll on your body..

Same as doing cabling or insulation in the roof.
10 years ago I could do it with ease. Now I send kids to do it.

 

[Steamy Tom]

We have started the process of replacing our laminate with vinyl.. it's pretty simple to DIY, but if you are an unfit and fat fack, boy does it take a toll on your body..

Educate me, why is vinyl better than laminate? I get from a moisture perspective like in a bathroom or kitchen, but why else?

If I am not mistaken it does not like direct sunlight?

 

[WAslayer]

Educate me, why is vinyl better than laminate? I get from a moisture perspective like in a bathroom or kitchen, but why else?

If I am not mistaken it does not like direct sunlight?

We are replacing it because of moisture and how easily the surface scratches.. Every room has moisture damage from people who just don't care about other people's homes, dog that loves taking a dip in the pool, sneaking into the house and napping on the laminate and two young kids who only care about what mess they make and not the consequences of that mess.. despite paying extra for the so called water resistant joints and drying any wet spots within minutes, we still have water damage..

Yes, vinyl doesn't like UV, but our lounge has one window with direct sunlight and we don't open the curtain there at all as it directly faces the road.. the sliding door provides plenty of indirect light though..

Everywhere else where we do have direct sunlight, we will be tinting the windows with ceramic based film to block as much UV as possible.. We also went with a very light white/grey colour, which should make future fading less noticeable for longer..

Laminate is also annoyingly loud..

 

[W@P]

I have some rooms with this BS laminate flooring. And floor-to-ceiling windows. Facing the sun.
These floors are 10 years old. They are fscked.

The trim on the edges and the skirtings are moer toe. Looks like it got water damage and shrunk. Some places, the whole floor has pulled away from the wall, leaving a gap between the floor and skirtings. The sun can really take a toll on some things.

Biggest load of bull these laminate floors. They are noisy, damage easily, etc.
Granted, I suspect that the flooring I have is poorly installed and of poor quality.

 

[W@P]

You know, sometimes, you come across something and just think. How the actual fsck did someone manage to fsck up something so bad?

Some background:

I have a penthouse at the coast. Before this one, we had the unit below us for a couple of years. Bought this one in 2000. So have seen the town explode and expand over all these years. We scattered my sister's ashes on the beach in 2019, and I will be doing the same with my mother's and father's ashes as well.

I have not been at the place since December 2023. I was there Dec 2023, and in July 2024, my father passed away, and I haven't been there since.

In the meantime, come 2025, the complex started with replacing all the roofing with aluminum roofsheeting. Much nicer looking and practical with a lot less maintenance than the thatch roofing that was in place. While each unit pays a monthly levy. You pay according to your unit size. Which means there are about 4 of us in the whole complex that pay nearly double what the rest pay. Nobody had to pay a special levy of any kind, as this was planned for many years ago.

Together with that, our units have physical roofing installed. As we are on the top floors. All the rest of the roofing is communal areas, etc, and the units below us don't have roofs as they are ground, 1st, 2nd, and third floor units. We are always the ones having waterproofing issues, etc, as we are on top.

Anyway, the roofing project is almost done. Just the ceilings that need to be done. Had some "challenges" and fights along the way.
I have posted about this before. Anyway, so I had one piece of the patio that was uncovered and had no roof. I requested from the body corporate that we put a roof over that part while doing the roofing project, at my expense, of course. So we did that, and now my whole patio is under roof. Cost was about R150k.

I will also be enclosing the patio with aluminum stacking doors and windows, etc. So have a fsckton more usable "indoor" space.


Now, I have a family member staying there atm and they sent me these pics. This is on the outside of all the doors and windows leading to the patio from all the rooms. Every motherfscking window and sliding door looks like this. Every window pane is covered in scratches.





I am convinced it was a brain-dead builder who washed the cement/concrete splattering from the building work on the windows with a cement, sand, and concrete-covered cloth of some sort. Some dumb fsck that was left unatended.

Now I am trying to get behind who was at fault here. And who'm I must fight to get it fixed. And at this stage nobody is taking responsibility. Was it the roofing contractors? Or was it the guys I had come in to rhinolite the exterior walls? The exterior walls had a very rough protruding plaster finish and I had them remove that and smooth out the walls.

I suspect it will be quite expensive replacing all these windows. Body corporate has been made aware of the issue. Still waiting on feedback from them and the guy who did the walls basicly said that those scratches look old to him. GTFO you POS.

I sent him more pics and a voicenote of sorts. He sent his supervisor guy to come have a look at the windows while I have poeple at the place. As they just finished with the walls a week ago. The guy basicly said to my aunt who is there that he does not know he will be explaining this to his boss. With his hands in his hair. So basicly guilty AF.

I still owe him money. Will see what the outcome of this will be.

 

[kory]

Depends on a lot of factors, roof type, truss orientation etc.

It's a new foundation, demo, tying in walls, roof extension etc

ita going to be pricey to do it properly. Strange though that an SUV won't fit in a standard garage, normally it's bakkies that have the issue. What car?

Yes though you do need planning.

It is not standard, I was avoiding a lengthy post. It was designed originally as a free standing double garage and the previous owner cut a huge chunk out and converted it into a flatlet. The conversion was quite comprehensive or would have considered undoing it. What is left leaves a very tight fit. It is a flat roof with sheets but I think there is some decking on the roof before the sheet. I am able to park but all the alarms are blowing on the car and I have to shimmy out of there after I do. We can barely fit anything else in the garage and the effort to park means it’s frustrating to do so on the regular so I rather just park outside. The length though is ok but once we have anything there like the kids bikes etc it’s work to close garage door.