The Home Improvements Thread (3)

Neuk_ said:
Nice :cool: We did ours recently but with a 5kL tank, VSD pump, filters, UV light, etc. I'd love to do a borehole but neighbours have had varying success from 500l/day yield to absolutely sweet **** all.
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Damn, that's a nice system.

Our borehole only does about 70L per hour, not enough to run the entire 60 unit complex, but the idea is to use my system as a demo for others in the complex and if we can maybe get enough people to do the same it'll be about R100K to lay piping to all the units so those with buffer tanks should be able to run off the borehole. I mean, 70Liters running continuously should be good enough to cover quite a few of us.
 
RaptorSA said:
Damn, that's a nice system.

Our borehole only does about 70L per hour, not enough to run the entire 60 unit complex, but the idea is to use my system as a demo for others in the complex and if we can maybe get enough people to do the same it'll be about R100K to lay piping to all the units so those with buffer tanks should be able to run off the borehole. I mean, 70Liters running continuously should be good enough to cover quite a few of us.
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Thanks, the biggest expense was the pump, only a 0.75kw VSD but it handles keeping our pressure at 3.8 bar perfectly and uses minimal electricity. I also have it integrated in to HA so I can see water use, electricity use, etc. I went for the 5kL tank as there are four of us in the house with a full time nanny as well and a domestic twice a week.

You could do something like Pecanwood does, the entire estate is fed by borehole, for everything except garden irrigation which is water from the Hartebeespoort dam. Each home owner still pays for water to maintain/upgrade everything but it is far less than what they would for municipal water.
 
Neuk_ said:
Thanks, the biggest expense was the pump, only a 0.75kw VSD but it handles keeping our pressure at 3.8 bar perfectly and uses minimal electricity. I also have it integrated in to HA so I can see water use, electricity use, etc. I went for the 5kL tank as there are four of us in the house with a full time nanny as well and a domestic twice a week.
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Damn that's cool.
I have no idea how to do that yet, need to do the research.
I have pretty much everything else in HA running, so would be awesome to add the pump.

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And yes, absolutely, if we can get the piping laid down to all the units and a meter installed for each, it would be a no-brainer to charge for some of the water usage and use that to pay off the cost of laying the piping and adding central filtering in future.

It feels awesome to be able to build up to something that gives the comrades in power a middle finger.
Final step is to upgrade my solar system from 5kWh system to 10-15kWh storage and add some more panels, then I'm done playing redneck prepper, well, on the outside at least.
 
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RaptorSA said:
Damn that's cool.
I have no idea how to do that yet, need to do the research.
I have pretty much everything else in HA running, so would be awesome to add the pump.

View attachment 1852536

And yes, absolutely, if we can get the piping laid down to all the units and a meter installed for each, it would be a no-brainer to charge for some of the water usage and use that to pay off the cost of laying the piping and adding central filtering in future.

It feels awesome to be able to build up to something that gives the comrades in power a middle finger.
Final step is to upgrade my solar system from 5kWh system to 10-15kWh storage and add some more panels, then I'm done playing redneck prepper, well, on the outside at least.
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Yep, one of the reasons I was keen on the pump, as it was 'smart' and someone had built an integration for HA. I just had to add an old DSL router as an AP down our driveway as we live on panhandle...

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Good luck with the central water system, would be great to get it in place and everybody contributing.
 
RaptorSA said:
Obviously, nothing groundbreaking here, but it feels good to be part of the club and about the only one in the complex who won't be moaning on Whatsapp when the next municipal water shutdown hits. Those unplanned days when you wake up and have to go without a shower for 2 days kills productivity and motivation.

750L should be enough for just me for almost a week, but left space for adding another tank in case it's ever needed.
The 0.9kW VSD Pump with brushless motor is not cheap, but it's pretty cool tech, looking forward to pushing it from 3bar to 5bar and see if it can finally run my upstairs shower heads a bit better.
Also added an unused tank inlet for potential future hookup to our borehole, if that happens I'll do the filters later.

It's also right next to a gutter that can potentially harvest water from 1/2 of the roof, the flat roof where my kitchen is and the entire carport roof where the solar panels live, will decide if it's worth it in future.
Busy painting a wood trellis to cover that hole in the wall and will wait for the concrete base to dry properly then seal and paint it too.

I don't think I'm going to try and hide it, I like the look of it and being able to see what's going on with no effort, will get some brasso and shine up the copper piping at some point, rather lean into the look so to speak.

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This is insane:
So luckily instead of doing the wiring myself for the pump on this system I decided to get an electrician in just to make sure there aren't any unforeseen things I need to know or cater for.

Long story short: It turns out that even though I used "pros" to do my solar panel and inverter installation 3 years ago, got the CoC etc. Paid top dollar of course.
The solar installer never hooked up my earth from the inverter correctly, well, or at all, so I've been living in a place for 3 years without a single outlet being earthed. That is mind blowingly dangerous!

So yeah, I'd say to anyone who also have a solar installation, if you're not 100% sure, get a tester and check.
Apart from shrugging off the occasional shock when, say, you work on a PC chassis bartefoot, there won't be many indicators of this up until the time you're dead.

WTF.
 
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W@P said:
No not in JHB. Small town.

Heres some sh1tty pics. Garage doors will also be treated.
Honestly I feel ashamed to post these pics. Tenants feel fokkol for your place.

View attachment 1798549

View attachment 1798550

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Just got notified that the place has been registered at the deeds office yesterday.

I sold it, the day I handed over the title deed and signed at the attorneys, the agent let me know the couple buying the place had a domestic dispute. They are getting divorced.
They don't want to buy the place anymore. But they already signed. I told the attorneys to proceed with the sale.

Not my baby. One less headache.
 
W@P said:
Just got notified that the place has been registered at the deeds office yesterday.

I sold it, the day I handed over the title deed and signed at the attorneys, the agent let me know the couple buying the place had a domestic dispute. They are getting divorced.
They don't want to buy the place anymore. But they already signed. I told the attorneys to proceed with the sale.

Not my baby. One less headache.
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Is this the place in your lawn photos?
 
anyone installed these wled lights yet?

like these ASAHOM



I'm planing on installing led lighting in my backyard. they will be strung from a center point on my house roof (5m height) fanned out to the boundary fence 9m away, then my GF wants her "greece" look-a-like fairy lights put up aswell.:rolleyes:

any advice on outdoor led / wled lights? local avaliable products / smart controllers etc.
 
TedLasso said:
What are you doing in that space?
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Adding a second bedroom with ensuite, moving the existing bedroom and making it a guest bed with a separate bathroom for visitors. Also making the living room larger.

Everything is being redone on the inside, just the shell staying the same.
 
RaptorSA said:
View attachment 1853001

This is insane:
So luckily instead of doing the wiring myself for the pump on this system I decided to get an electrician in just to make sure there aren't any unforeseen things I need to know or cater for.

Long story short: It turns out that even though I used "pros" to do my solar panel and inverter installation 3 years ago, got the CoC etc. Paid top dollar of course.
The solar installer never hooked up my earth from the inverter correctly, well, or at all, so I've been living in a place for 3 years without a single outlet being earthed. That is mind blowingly dangerous!

So yeah, I'd say to anyone who also have a solar installation, if you're not 100% sure, get a tester and check.
Apart from shrugging off the occasional shock when, say, you work on a PC chassis bartefoot, there won't be many indicators of this up until the time you're dead.

WTF.
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An earth break tester costs nothing. I test every plug I change and even picked up this very issue you had with our solar installer (which set off a whole chain of fun-times;). Just buy a tester and use it, every place you're in, test.
 
The Darkness said:
An earth break tester costs nothing. I test every plug I change and even picked up this very issue you had with our solar installer (which set off a whole chain of fun-times;). Just buy a tester and use it, every place you're in, test.
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I miss the gentle tickling feeling in my legs and hands when working on an open PC chassis with no shoes on.
 
Has anyone added a second level to their home and has a rough cost for the full build, with # beds etc.

Reason I ask is there is a house in my area that used this company: https://loftscapetown.co.za/ to add a second level. Watching the build they did everything with the roof still on and once the second level roof was up and walls, started demo of the old roof. A much preferred way of doing things for those that still want to live in the home.

I do think it comes at a premium but not sure how much a premium. Speaking with them, a 2 bed, 1 bath loft is around 500k.
 
I'm in the process of replacing my aging double doors leading out from workshop into backyard - any idea how I can fix this saging door frame?

I was going to drill and use a wall plug of some sorts, but there are 2 concrete lintels side by side with the center of the frame is smack bang in the middle of the 2 lintels. I realy don't want to drill into a lintel if I can avoid it.

any type of chemical anchor / epoxy / glue that would hold?

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spiff said:
I'm in the process of replacing my aging double doors leading out from workshop into backyard - any idea how I can fix this saging door frame?

I was going to drill and use a wall plug of some sorts, but there are 2 concrete lintels side by side with the center of the frame is smack bang in the middle of the 2 lintels. I realy don't want to drill into a lintel if I can avoid it.

any type of chemical anchor / epoxy / glue that would hold?

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Go rent a rotary hammer drill if you don't have one, because you are drilling into a lintel I am afraid..

The door frame didn't more than likely didn't sag, it bowed because of natural movement and/or absorbing moisture and then drying out etc.. If it did bow, no glue is going to hold it..

Your best bet for a long lasting fix is a screw based fixing..
 
WAslayer said:
Go rent a rotary hammer drill if you don't have one, because you are drilling into a lintel I am afraid..

The door frame didn't more than likely didn't sag, it bowed because of natural movement and/or absorbing moisture and then drying out etc.. If it did bow, no glue is going to hold it..

Your best bet for a long lasting fix is a screw based fixing..
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ok thanks - guess drilling it is then
 
Drilling porcelain tiles is @#$@#$!
I misplaced my Alpen bit so went for 4mm and 6mm Bosch expert multi construction bits (both cheaper than one Alpen bit).
Did not want to fiddle with diamond ones since I had bad experience aligning it last time.
First drill tiles with 4mm and it was a #$# to drill 8 holes then 6mm went easier (had to cool bits in water every 20 seconds).
Tried to use Dewalt in hammer mode to drill deeper 6mm for plugs but ended up first doing 5mm sds and then 6mm normal masonry with it.
This is guest bathroom so it is quite small and not nice to move around.
Anyway tray for shampoo and rail for towels on opposite wall installed.
It would be nice that I got that cordless Bosch SDS on special instead of corded Makita.
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