The Home Improvements Thread (3)

[Steamy Tom]

It will only be used for a few months - max 2 years. Then it will just rot in the sun. A portable one will be so much easier to throw away when the time comes...

Depending on the age of the children maybe longer, but generally agree and you can move it around.

 

[Jean Claude Vaaldamme]

Well a trampoline was the best thing I even bought for the kids, they used it for years.
But putting one in ground? Eish that is a lot of work and cost and then you going to have to remove it in a few years and fill that hole again. Lot of work and cost again.

 

[I.am.Sam]

yeah my trampoline is few years old

paid 1800 for the 3m that time, now its way more

but its still quite good condition except for the springs which look brown

but the net and everything is still good

definitely go this option and not the inground

also if windy tie it down

 

[ny152]

Thanks all for confirming I was nuts for considering this! Haha
Thanks for the input and thoughts

 

[Wrath of Khan MD]

marketplace, they like R1,000

bounce away, the dogs bounce as well

 

[dotdan]

Sorry for the wall of text.

I finally started the holiday home mini kitchen renovation. I gathered enough will in my mind to finally start.

The kitchen is a bit of a clusterfsck atm. But it was built by, what I assume, must be a total idiot. The house has an old farm house vibe to it so the fit and finish are lacking in some places. We bought it in 2010 and I guess the house was about 5 years old by then.

Anyway, we added some stuff over the years like a pool, outdoor shower, an extra boma under the trees so you can choose which boma you want to use. One on either side of the house.

Like I have mentioned before, when I was still planning this whole saga, I have a 900mm freestanding SMEG gas stove/oven that my mother always wanted to have installed in this house. Now she is no longer with us, and I decided I might as well do her a solid. And in the process, learn how to weld half decent, how to pour a concrete countertop, and how to spray paint steel with a compressor and paint gun. Something to keep my mind busy from all the kaak I have going on.

The kitchen layout is ok, but the counters, or lack thereof, are a problem. So I am removing the old wooden cabinet that houses the microwave and oven. Where the mic/oven is atm the mirror fridge will move to that spot. Then, a small concrete/steel corner countertop will be installed in that corner by the door, limiting the door usage to only the top part. Never use the door anyway. Wasted space.

View attachment 1822971

Then the old stove will be removed, and the concrete countertop will be cut/demolished to make way for the new stove/oven. New splashback tiles will come on the walls inside the stove/oven space, and pos extractor fan will be removed. That spot is 1200mm wide, I am planning on leaving part of the current concrete counter intact on either side and fit the SMEG in the middle. That leaves a little counter space on either side of the stove of about 120mm, which is not much. So either I do that and the stove is centered, or I move it all the way to either side and leave a small counter space of about 250mm. But that would irritate the hell out of me with it not being centered.

View attachment 1822970

Next the old wooden counter/cabinet will be removed as well as the current fridge. I am going to put 2 counters in that space. One running in front of the window and the other along that protruding wall. By the window, I will install a small prep bowl with a mixer.

View attachment 1822972

In total, there will be 4 counters built with concrete countertops and steel frames. No cabinets. Will put wood slatted shelves in the frames.

I started off with the steel frames. Bought a couple of lengths of 50x50x3 square tubing. Used a cut list tool on the web to give me a cut list that minimizes the off-cuts. Still managed to get it wrong. Anywway, welded the frames, moer toss welding skills I have. But some of the welds came out pretty decent IMO. No pics of welding or frames yet.

View attachment 1822973

Me and my bra, who takes care of the place are doing all the work.

Till next time.

Just a thought but why not take out the door and fill it up if you never use it? Gives you a lot more space for counter tops etc?

 

[Mosgi]

Asked a while back about converting from a gas to wood fireplace.

It's double sided 980 wide so things get pricey very fast for off the shelf.

Took the plunge, a bit tricky for us to isolate the gasline, but got there. Sealed it up with glass fronts and controlled airflow for closed combustion. Miles better than the gas which was chowed a 48kg cylinder in 2 weeks, while barely being felt...

Would absolutely choose a different installer though, his finishes were pretty rough, which nearly had me abandoning the whole thing and going with an insert I was quoted 25k for, but stuck it out.

Things are getting weird now, as I fear I am turning into a fire enthusiast, constantly looking forward to the next time I get to play with fire... Sampling different woods and sources, excited to see kindling on special.

And then was on Marketplace yesterday and spotted a used closed combustion fireplace and flue for super cheap. 13KW nominal 20kw Max. Was way rougher than I thought once I saw it, but still a good deal. Lots of surface rust , heavy heat warped the grate and top baffle. Needs a bit of restoration but seals well, glass is intact. I've sent out a couple of quote requests but keen to know if anyone might be able to guesstimate, deep clean inside, sand down outside repaint all. Budget of R2k reasonable ?

Unfortunately doesn't have the secondary combustion intake and i'd love to retrofit that.

 

[W@P]

Just a thought but why not take out the door and fill it up if you never use it? Gives you a lot more space for counter tops etc?

That was the plan initially. But that can wait for another time.

 

[W@P]

Sorry for the wall of text.

I finally started the holiday home mini kitchen renovation. I gathered enough will in my mind to finally start.

The kitchen is a bit of a clusterfsck atm. But it was built by, what I assume, must be a total idiot. The house has an old farm house vibe to it so the fit and finish are lacking in some places. We bought it in 2010 and I guess the house was about 5 years old by then.

Anyway, we added some stuff over the years like a pool, outdoor shower, an extra boma under the trees so you can choose which boma you want to use. One on either side of the house.

Like I have mentioned before, when I was still planning this whole saga, I have a 900mm freestanding SMEG gas stove/oven that my mother always wanted to have installed in this house. Now she is no longer with us, and I decided I might as well do her a solid. And in the process, learn how to weld half decent, how to pour a concrete countertop, and how to spray paint steel with a compressor and paint gun. Something to keep my mind busy from all the kaak I have going on.

The kitchen layout is ok, but the counters, or lack thereof, are a problem. So I am removing the old wooden cabinet that houses the microwave and oven. Where the mic/oven is atm the mirror fridge will move to that spot. Then, a small concrete/steel corner countertop will be installed in that corner by the door, limiting the door usage to only the top part. Never use the door anyway. Wasted space.

View attachment 1822971

Then the old stove will be removed, and the concrete countertop will be cut/demolished to make way for the new stove/oven. New splashback tiles will come on the walls inside the stove/oven space, and pos extractor fan will be removed. That spot is 1200mm wide, I am planning on leaving part of the current concrete counter intact on either side and fit the SMEG in the middle. That leaves a little counter space on either side of the stove of about 120mm, which is not much. So either I do that and the stove is centered, or I move it all the way to either side and leave a small counter space of about 250mm. But that would irritate the hell out of me with it not being centered.

View attachment 1822970

Next the old wooden counter/cabinet will be removed as well as the current fridge. I am going to put 2 counters in that space. One running in front of the window and the other along that protruding wall. By the window, I will install a small prep bowl with a mixer.

View attachment 1822972

In total, there will be 4 counters built with concrete countertops and steel frames. No cabinets. Will put wood slatted shelves in the frames.

I started off with the steel frames. Bought a couple of lengths of 50x50x3 square tubing. Used a cut list tool on the web to give me a cut list that minimizes the off-cuts. Still managed to get it wrong. Anywway, welded the frames, moer toss welding skills I have. But some of the welds came out pretty decent IMO. No pics of welding or frames yet.

View attachment 1822973

Me and my bra, who takes care of the place are doing all the work.

Till next time.

Update:

Sjoe, I was afraid I might have bitten off more than I could chew. But it's not so bad.
The dumbass who built this place needs a kick in the nutsack, a few kics.

More or less, every room has a couple of cracked tiles or tiles that have lifted. As if they had no room to expand, and then they move up. I am not keen on redoing all the floors at this stage. Will get to that one day. The current tiles are pretty meh. But anyway. Fsck knows who "designed" the kitchen. Probably someone who ran out of money. Cause fsck knows how you think to yourself, yes job well done. But in the same breath, the whole place has a farmhouse vibe so ja. Probably ok, I guess. When I re-do the floors the kitchen counters can just be moved. I am going to fix the steel frames to the wall with some rawlplugs or whatever just so they are solid and in place. Can always move them again.

I was planning on mounting the gas bottle on the outside wall on the back of the stove/oven. But just decided to put a 9kg in that corner under the existing concrete counters. Yes I know there are lots of fscking regs as to where and how to put the gas bottle, I have a gas guy coming and he will advise accordingly.

My guy has been really busy making tons of dust. Luckily, he taped up the entryway to the rest of the house with a splash sheet. The dust was limited to the kitchen area.

I guess I won't be winning welder of the year. My welds have been ground down a bit, and it looks like a sieve. Not posting pics.
I have a friend coming today to come and lend a hand.

Some pics.









The molds for the counter. Must say it's a bit tricky getting the corners finished off with the brown caulk. Could have used black caulk or white caulk...



My DIY spacers for the mixer fitting and the basin waste. Also added a personal touch with some letters. Might be spaced a bit close to teacher. Will see how it turns out.



The sides and tops has since been prepped and cleaned of all the messy caulking that I did. So just the corners remaining.

Will start mixing the concrete today. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

 

[maumau]

Still think you should knock down those walls on either side of the stove. Assuming they're cosmetic and not functional.

(Yes, I know nag, nag, nag )

 

[MarmiteMonster]

Noooooo

Start with a plunger, if it's draining but slow use some boiling water, then add cold after and plunge, don't plunge the boiling water...

I want to add to this, it should be obvious, but don't plunge after pouring in acid or drain cleaner.

 

[W@P]

Update:

Sjoe, I was afraid I might have bitten off more than I could chew. But it's not so bad.
The dumbass who built this place needs a kick in the nutsack, a few kics.

More or less, every room has a couple of cracked tiles or tiles that have lifted. As if they had no room to expand, and then they move up. I am not keen on redoing all the floors at this stage. Will get to that one day. The current tiles are pretty meh. But anyway. Fsck knows who "designed" the kitchen. Probably someone who ran out of money. Cause fsck knows how you think to yourself, yes job well done. But in the same breath, the whole place has a farmhouse vibe so ja. Probably ok, I guess. When I re-do the floors the kitchen counters can just be moved. I am going to fix the steel frames to the wall with some rawlplugs or whatever just so they are solid and in place. Can always move them again.

I was planning on mounting the gas bottle on the outside wall on the back of the stove/oven. But just decided to put a 9kg in that corner under the existing concrete counters. Yes I know there are lots of fscking regs as to where and how to put the gas bottle, I have a gas guy coming and he will advise accordingly.

My guy has been really busy making tons of dust. Luckily, he taped up the entryway to the rest of the house with a splash sheet. The dust was limited to the kitchen area.

I guess I won't be winning welder of the year. My welds have been ground down a bit, and it looks like a sieve. Not posting pics.
I have a friend coming today to come and lend a hand.

Some pics.

View attachment 1825485

View attachment 1825486

View attachment 1825487

View attachment 1825488

The molds for the counter. Must say it's a bit tricky getting the corners finished off with the brown caulk. Could have used black caulk or white caulk...

View attachment 1825489

My DIY spacers for the mixer fitting and the basin waste. Also added a personal touch with some letters. Might be spaced a bit close to teacher. Will see how it turns out.

View attachment 1825490

The sides and tops has since been prepped and cleaned of all the messy caulking that I did. So just the corners remaining.

Will start mixing the concrete today. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Update:

The tiling is almost done.
Done with the pouring of the concrete and building/welding of the frames for the countertops.
I had a friend assist me with this, as my welding skills are severely limited. Spray-painted the frames.

The concrete came out pretty good, I would say. As I thought, you can never vibrate/hammer the form work/molds enough to get rid of the air bubbles. I have some pinholes on the counter surfaces, but overall, it came out good.

I planned on using beeswax that I got in the area for the release agent, so the concrete doesn't stick to the melamine. What a ballache to work with. You have to melt it, and as soon as it touches the melamine, it sets. Gives you no time to spread evenly. I took a torch flame to the waxed surface just to even it out a bit. Oh, and the bees zoomed in on me out of nowhere when using the stuff.

I did one mold with the wax. And said fsck it. I will just use the Q20 and hope for the best.
The beeswax mold came out pretty good. Like, in really good to seal the surface. But the wax sticks to the counter surface. So I am going to have to melt it off the surface. Bit of a pain.

The molds that I sprayed with Q20 worked amazingly good. They came off with ease.
The tops have been opened and left curing for a week now. My corners that I caulked came out decent enough.

I plan on finishing everything off by the end of this weekend.

Still to do:

• Fine sanding and sealing of the tops.
• Mounting the tops to the frames.
• Mounting the surface-mounted prep bowl and mixer, as well as connecting the plumbing.
• Installing the stove/oven and doing the gas installation & COC.
• Securing each counter frame to the wall.
• Finishing the slatted wooden shelves that come inside the frames.
• Some more lighting.
• And odds & ends.

Still some work that needs to be done, but it feels like it is all starting to come together. Atm, my costs are about R20k, excluding time and fuel.

Some pics:

 

[TedLasso]

If the shower drain was properly installed, it would be a p trap, which is likely what you are feeling as solid..

I'd say start with a drain acid first to clear the blockage, going to be the easiest thing..

Had a toilet that randomly started filling the bowl and not eliminating the waste after some visitors had come. You could hear the water was going through something. Kids must have dropped something in and it was blocking.

Tried wire hanger. Didn't succeed
Tried plunger (for toilet) - helped but problem was still there
Tried drain acid/unblocker - nothing change
Warm water from bucket with gravity assist - nothing changed.

Saw YouTube video saying to pour dishwashing liquid neat into bowl and waiting 20 to 30 minutes and then flushing with warm water. Holy crap it worked! Whatever was stuck , had lost adhesion and flushed down.

Perhaps dishwashing liquid could also help here but I guess it's just hair so drain unblocker should eat through it.

 

[Steamy Tom]

Had a toilet that randomly started filling the bowl and not eliminating the waste after some visitors had come. You could hear the water was going through something. Kids must have dropped something in and it was blocking.

Tried wire hanger. Didn't succeed
Tried plunger (for toilet) - helped but problem was still there
Tried drain acid/unblocker - nothing change
Warm water from bucket with gravity assist - nothing changed.

Saw YouTube video saying to pour dishwashing liquid neat into bowl and waiting 20 to 30 minutes and then flushing with warm water. Holy crap it worked! Whatever was stuck , had lost adhesion and flushed down.

Perhaps dishwashing liquid could also help here but I guess it's just hair so drain unblocker should eat through it.

Did you try catch whatever it was at the municipal drain? I would be worried I just moved/delayed the problem

 

[Wrath of Khan MD]

womens sanitary pads 100%

I lived in my old house for 10 years, never had a drain blocked once, not once. Then left and rented it out to two woman, for that year the toilet drain was blocked 2 or 3 times, had to call a plumber out. Now I can't exactly say to a women, "are you flushing your sanitary pads down the toilet?" but sure as hell that was it, there is no other explanation.

 

[Lupus]

womens sanitary pads 100%

I lived in my old house for 10 years, never had a drain blocked once, not once. Then left and rented it out to two woman, for that year the toilet drain was blocked 2 or 3 times, had to call a plumber out. Now I can't exactly say to a women, "are you flushing your sanitary pads down the toilet?" but sure as hell that was it, there is no other explanation.

They shouldn't be flushing those down the toilet, it even says so on the packet. Tell them this is where it goes. https://share.temu.com/ft6MXS4ERjA
Than you put it in the big bin when it's full.

 

[TedLasso]

Did you try catch whatever it was at the municipal drain? I would be worried I just moved/delayed the problem

Nah, unfortunately not. Also thought the same. Was not expecting it to work as the next stop was a plumber.

But a few weeks later, no adverse effects yet

 

[TedLasso]

womens sanitary pads 100%

I lived in my old house for 10 years, never had a drain blocked once, not once. Then left and rented it out to two woman, for that year the toilet drain was blocked 2 or 3 times, had to call a plumber out. Now I can't exactly say to a women, "are you flushing your sanitary pads down the toilet?" but sure as hell that was it, there is no other explanation.

Definitely not in this case, as we have a bin that they could have used. I also had the issue for two weeks before I resolved it. Thankfully had other toilets to use. I guess if it was that, it would have been a proper block.

I believe a child may have thrown a toy in , there were a few kids around the time .

 

[W@P]

Had a toilet that randomly started filling the bowl and not eliminating the waste after some visitors had come. You could hear the water was going through something. Kids must have dropped something in and it was blocking.

Tried wire hanger. Didn't succeed
Tried plunger (for toilet) - helped but problem was still there
Tried drain acid/unblocker - nothing change
Warm water from bucket with gravity assist - nothing changed.

Saw YouTube video saying to pour dishwashing liquid neat into bowl and waiting 20 to 30 minutes and then flushing with warm water. Holy crap it worked! Whatever was stuck , had lost adhesion and flushed down.

Perhaps dishwashing liquid could also help here but I guess it's just hair so drain unblocker should eat through it.

Must have been one huge mofo log turd that turned sideways like that ship in the Suez canal.

 

[TedLasso]

Must have been one huge mofo log turd that turned sideways like that ship in the Suez canal.

LOL. One of my theories too. But after two weeks would it not has have disintegrated a bit. Who the fsck knows