FastFreddy2

The boots in question, are now at £200 'or offers'. If I knew for sure they fitted .....

I would appreciate a direct quote to reference the "suggestion". The second part of the paragraph would bear some further explanation, as it makes no sense at all to me? Given how much effort I put into (attempting) to make my prose as unambiguous as possible, sometimes repeating (labouring) the original message, I am disappointed there remains some doubt here. The regime - in entirety: (Cracked Hessian/plaster has already been removed from the plasterboard join in the bathroom, when this procedure begins.) 1: Nails passing into the noggin through the plasterboard (PB) joins are pulled out, downward. The residual nails holding the noggin in place between the ceiling joists (rafter tie), are cut flush to allow clean removal of the noggin. This leaves a section of two butted plasterboards floating 'in air'. 2. With the width between the joists measured, a piece of 9mm ply is cut to size, with 3"/75mm of landing given to either side of the join to be bridged. The ply is trial fitted, as the joists are not square/perpendicular to the PB. If the ply needs any adjustment, that is done before the next step is completed. 3. The 3"/75mm outer edges of the ply patch are marked on both the bathroom side and the loft side of the butted PB. The marks in the room below are used as guides for drilling, the marks on the PB in the loft are used to ensure correct placement of the patch when the join is hidden, and for location of glue. 4. 3mm holes are drilled through the PB from below, pitched around 4-5 inches. Four rows of holes are made. On each side of the join, there is a row of holes that will be covered (eventually) by tape and skim, and a second row closer to the edge of the ply that will likely only be covered by skim. The outer holes (to the join) are countersunk. 5. In the loft, the backs of the newly made set of holes are cleaned up, so paper 'burrs' are removed, and the marked area is cleaned of dust. 6. Still in the loft, the area between the previous marked limits of the patch are moistened with wood glue. The ply patch is applied, and weight sufficient to maintain its position is laid onto the ply patch. (The ply has some curve to it.) 7. Inside the room below, 3mm x 20mm c/s screws are driven through the PB into the ply patch, pulling it down to the plasterboard surface to effect a good bond with the PB. The 'patch' ensures there is accurate alignment of the PB butt. The glue is allowed some time to set. 8. Once the ply patch is firm enough to tolerate some working, any residual plaster is removed from between the two butted edges of the PB. A slightly flexible adhesive caulking is used to mostly fill the gap, and to prevent any differential in the position of either piece of PB. The adhesive is given two days to cure. 9. A self-adhesive mesh tape is applied to bridge the open join in the room. A skim of Easi-Fill is applied, that is pushed into any residual gap between the butted PB's and just about covers the mesh tape. This is allowed to dry completely. 10. A further skim of Easi-Fill is applied to the rebate left from removing the original Hessian ribbon and plaster that joined the two butted edges of PB, and had cracked over the years. This is allowed to dry. 11. Any protrusions or ridges are sanded out, before a third skim of Easi-Fill is applied, that is feathered out some 6 inches or so either side of the original join being repaired. When this is dry, the (hopefully) final coat is flatted and painted. As I am so familiar with the process, my experience/imagination may have joined some dots I may not have written up the process to include. If there is a visible gap I have missed, please mention it while there is still time for an edit. The theory is good, in practice .... I buy everything with cash, if I make a personal shop purchase. With the internet, I use C/C or increasingly P/P (because I don't need to type in my address two or more times). The MAC sander was cash. Having worked in retail, I would not accept C/C slip or Bank Statement as POP, but only proof of spending. It's an unwinnable cause I could debate with (probably) poorly paid shop managers, who don't make decisions, they only follow the store manual. I've been told twice by their returns section, "no receipt-no refund", even on 'own brand'. It was £36 wasted, and dumping the thing allowed me to move on. I would be happy to agree, that MAC products usually provide good value for money, and IIRC come with a 3 year warranty. What's not to like? While working with a plumber/tiler recently, I had the chance to compare his multi-tool with mine. His, a MAC, came with a fast blade change head, and a blade illuminator. Mine has neither, and changing the blade on mine is a PITA. His was also cheaper. I have read some unsavoury things about MAC routers, but then I've read unsavoury things about every router costing less than £100 or wasn't made by Makita.... Sadly for me, I don't have what most would describe as a 'forgiving nature'. I doubt I will buy MAC again, even if it costs me money to avoid it. (Cut-my-nose-to-spoil-my-face attitude.) A character flaw (one of many) that I am unlikely to 'unlearn' at my age.

I too am missing something obviously.... Methinks you are (perhaps) confusing the direction of the screw being driven, with the object (ply) about which I (consistently) say is being screwed down(ward) onto the top of the plasterboard. So ..... Screwed down from the bathroom then .... Some of my phobia relates to my first cordless hammer drill. A Black and Decker 18v jobbie with two Ni-Cad batteries. A good tool, but always had flat batteries when I needed to use it, although I used it very infrequently back then. Now, I will ONLY buy lithium powered cordless anything. "Skilsaws" aka circular saws, scare the bejesus out of me. The one time I used a full size one, under direction from a maintenance chappie, I nearly cut through two 22mm water pipes, each with circa 50 gallon tanks upstream and no way of shutting down the mains supply to them. (Although I didn't know about the seized mains stopcock at the time.) That was a lucky escape that still haunts me. Subsequent to that, I bought a MAC (B+Q trade name) sander. Simply the worst £36 I've every spent on tools. Speaking as someone with receipts that go back as far as 40 years, I don't know how I lost the receipt for this piece of junk. I usually tape them to the retail packaging, which is often kept in the loft or the garage. Anyway, the (expletive deleted) dust box would not stay on that sander, not that it worked very well for the 10 seconds it stayed on before it fell off. If I could have found the receipt, it would have been returned. B+Q would not accept it back without a receipt, although they knew it was theirs. The receipt 'proved' I was the original purchaser of course...... The sander, and the box it came in, went to the tip. I was pleased to see the back of it, though the money lost didn't sit well.

If read 'as written', the subject was the ply, which I assure you was screwed down to the plasterboard. Given my age, that might not be the compliment I could take it for. As long as I don't see cracks again, I'll be pleased about any amount of work that went into the repair. The real grief is getting the 'donkey's-hind-leg' of a ceiling something close to flat. Yesterday I reported one edge of the plasterboard was prone. Nope, it was the plaster skim. So not only cracked, but the ceiling was quite uneven to start with. Did I ever envisage I'd need more than 200 screws? Nope. At 2 for 1p they are good enough value for me. The auto-feed screwdriver would be another matter though. I don't usually work fast enough to need one, but with a glue set time of around 10 minutes, and a hand size slightly disproportionate for my body size, something like an auto-screwdriver would have been very useful. I am something of a technophobe when it comes to DIY 'gadgets'. I've only just started using my cordless drills for putting screws into wood. I probably won't live long enough to get up-to-speed on auto-feed drivers. As much as I might benefit from them.

Subtle .....

My repair regime has 9mm ply glued to the loft side of the plasterboard, and screwed down from the bathroom. The plasterboard 'patch' (used in several other places in the house) is then screwed to the ply board that covers the old hole. I have done this, where using tape to prevent further cracks wasn't convenient. In the bathroom, I've also glued the straight joins of boards, then used tape along them too. Any one of these three repair methods ought to be sufficient in themselves. I will not be doing this job a second time. Mrs Freddy is convinced the ceiling will survive an earthquake, which was -of course- part of the design remit. Having seen the ceiling in 2 or 3 other homes of the same style in our street, we will have the only one that is crack-free, and that includes one that happens to be the home of a plasterer. I have a picture of the ceiling with the repair regime completed save for tape and skim finish. It rather looks like someone with an air rifle has used the plasterboard for target practice. I used a LOT of screws. Elsewhere in the house where this regime was used, my dry-lining mate mate was shocked when he saw it. Not because he thought the repair didn't function, but he couldn't believe how someone with a reputation for being "careful with their money" had managed to use so many screws. Charming.... 99p for a box of 200 is the answer. I'll have a closer look at the fan mentioned, with a view to purchase.

I think the seller must read these pages ..... The listing has been reduced to £225, and still includes the 'Make an offer' option.

Added to 'watchlist' thank you. As stated, the "old" hole is 6 inch in diameter though the old airflow route was made with 4"/110mm soil pipe for the most part. It's being completely replaced, as is the ridge tile vent, sometime this spring. The (current) indirect cold water supply arrives care of a large 50gal tank sat directly above the bathroom. 40 years of the empty/fill cycle has mosaicked the plasterboard ceiling, as the boards were originally left with large gaps and poor filling. This weeks job is to completely remove the cracks, and is for the most part, well on the way to being done. I have already filled in one 6in hole where the previous owner used a halogen lamp fitting to warm up the room. [She had some very peculiar ideas on lighting.] I had thought to fill the old extractor hole too, but my repair regime involves the use of 9mm ply as backing, and I'm unsure whether the extractor flange would cope with ½" plasterboard and 9mm of ply? If it will, I'd gladly fill the thing in as it's quite a mess. It has sunk a little too, but I have a way to remove that problem .... Well, I have if this mornings job works out okay. (Removing a 4-5mm protrusion from one board edge.) I'm thinking a larger fan removes the same air volume, with less speed? Meaning a larger fan has the potential for being quieter? Things have moved on in 40 years obviously, as I know from my computer experience and the use of "silent" fans.... So maybe a modern 4 inch fan will remove enough air quietly where a 6 inch fan was needed before?

I think you have that right, at least as far as the mindset of the seller goes. Not sure many people spending £250 are going to expect such a huge discount through. That said, I had some fairly ridiculous offers made when selling a bike on the auction site. ('Chancers' appear everywhere.) As we all know, buying 'blind' without the opportunity to return goods that don't fit, is a bit of a gamble at the best of times. These boots have such an obscure past, I doubt many with a size 8 foot will have experience of the brand. The market potential, is minute. And at £250, the seller now faces competition from abroad, even with import taxes. (Well, before the £pound got shaky over our referendum on leaving the EU there was some competition. And from a retailer who did returns.) Since I don't need them, this could be just an exercise in patience.

Something came up today, in the online newspaper that might be relevant here .... It's not a music video as such, but a parody used to show how easy it is to use a modern defibrillator. In German, but of interest I hope. >> Clicky << Unless you are using Adblock they will probably be advert to start with. It's how the Daily Mail online gets it's revenue.

At least one 'function' has been booked. A visit to London for a repeat concert by Ludovico Einaudi. A very reasonable £70 a ticket, with the potential for free parking if I have my wits about me. The date is late July, which means daylight until around 10.30pm. So, daylight on arrival and when leaving ... On the night, I'm likely going to have a good 800 yard -each way- walk amongst people taking in the sights, of a very popular tourist area. Maybe not wearing red patent courts then? I'll have to find a Plan B, where I can be less discreet.

At the moment there is no extractor, as the old worn out unit was dumped some time ago. Our bathroom door doesn't stay closed for long (door handle was removed/dumped some years ago too) so we rely on low use/adequate natural ventilation for moisture control. It works but ... I've had a brief look as new extractors ... some suitable for bathrooms, some not. Some having a closed status when not in use, some others being completely open to the outside world. Some with variable delay (off) after light (switched live) is removed. I've even been advised (3rd hand) of a system that runs 24/7? My preference is to run a humidity sensitive system that both starts (above) and stops (below) a low-ish humidity level that has already been set. The potential handicap of this, if not started by a light-pull initially, is the extractor running continuously when/if we next get a summer. The fan 'head', won't be placed too far from the power source, which will be the main room light, but adding an isolator will likely create a level of buggerment I might choose to avoid. In principle, I am replacing (on a like-for-like basis) a system installed 40+ years ago. Isolating one circuit would be do-able, but isolating two would not be attractive. If I remember, the one switch I've seen in use, was placed at the top of a door frame. A hole had been drilled through the top of the frame for a cable to pass through, behind the switch, and a very pretty job it was. Maybe I need to source an extractor first? It has to be ceiling mounted, and around 6 inches for the fan diameter. (Well that's the size of the hole in the ceiling at present.) Advice?

Firstly, be very jealous of your small feet! Hello and welcome.

I had a PM conversation with an Ebay seller, over some boots that were/are attractive, but waaaay past my usual purchasing limit. They didn't sell, twice. One might reasonably expect a reduction, eventually, if they don't sell. Not this seller. First of all added 25% to the asking price, still no sale, then added a 'make an offer' option but on the higher price? In a 'dead' market, who would think increasing the asking price will make the items on sale, more attractive?

Knowing there might be an issue, I will be doing some 'flushing' maintenance from time to time. Historically the real problem was less the settling of debris below the waste over-flow inlet, and more the fact the overflow outlet of the sink was almost completely blocked with plumbers mait, as was one of the original waste inlet holes. This is a timely reminder to me, about an isolation switch for a bathroom extractor.... Our current arrangement excludes one, and as I'm doing a fair amount of work in the bathroom at the moment, I ought to make provision for the upgrade to include one of these.

Looks like I may have kept the inner dimension a little too tight when I had the washer made. Fortunately the parent material being aluminium, meant filing out around a half a mill' wasn't a long or hard job. My favourite goo, Plumbers Gold was used extensively to ensure a good water-tight seal against the mating faces of the washer and sink. The thread on the waste was wrapped with PTFE tape (a whole reel) for the washer to butt against, and help seal the thread inside the washer. More PG was added for good measure.... Although the bend on the trap is in poor shape, it looks to be capable of working for another 3-4 months, so that wasn't replaced. More PTFE tape has helped keep the worn/damaged seals working. Bottom line, there are no leaks, and we have the sink back. Within days the sink proved useful, in fact I've used the sink for cleaning tools almost every day since, so I'm glad I spent the £16 repairing the waste.

Well, neither person bid on the shoes, and it's not like they went for a lot more money than the starting bid. One did contact me after to apologise for not bidding, saying they weren't sure if such a high heel was suitable, so hadn't bid for that reason. The shoes went for the sort of money I was expecting, so it makes no real difference to me. I just need to sell off about another 30-40 pairs of boots ....

One of my listings has unusually, gotten requests for additional photo's of them being worn. I'm wondering if they are interested buyers, or picture collectors of (women) wearing high heels? Either way, I sent them -via PM's- the images they requested. Time will tell which group the enquirers belonged to. Mrs Freddy wasn't sure my skinny ankles and high 'instep' did the shoes any favours, so I've not published the images to anyone else. So, no chance of being a foot or shoe model then?

Cally Jane Beech (of "Love Island" fame), out in her River Island heels again .... Still working those calves ....

Was at Westfield on Monday, from around 3pm until around 7pm, wearing my fairly pointed M+S ankle boots. Got spotted by more people than I would prefer, plus I got a chuckle out of 2 (of a group of 4) 'ethnic' women sitting around a table I walked past. There was no mistaking their amusement. With that in mind, I went to Lakeside with my higher (5") but more discreet shoe-boots, as shown in my avatar. More difficult to walk in (they are high), I don't recall seeing anyone notice my heels. If they did, their awareness was more subtle than the foreigners I walked past yesterday. Xenophobic? Do I have a reason not to be? Walked around Lakeside for the better part of 4 hours, which was enough, given how much time I've spent in a heel recently. I seem to have gone from one extreme (not wearing a heel for weeks) to getting them on several consecutive days. I might had been there for 5 hours, but for the traffic queue leaving the M25 at Junction 30/31. Road "Improvements" causing a 1 hour delay during the last 2 miles of the motorway journey. To put that into perspective, the journey time would have been 20 minutes shorter if we had walked the last 2 miles.... While there, I managed to find 3 lots of (girls) trousers, which were all found in the 'leftover' rails from the Winter sales. All 3 will be returned, now that I've tried them on. (Their fit on me being 'typical' as to why they are leftovers.) For example: H+M stretch skinny trouser. "Size 14" fitted like a 10, and was 3 inches too long in the leg. So they'd need someone with a 28" waist around 5' 10" to 5' 11" tall, for them to fit. The same trousers sized 12 and 10, would likely best fit children. The size 12 PU trousers from M+S, were a tad tight on the waist (unusually), but were around 3 inches shy on leg length. That means they were short, even for a "12 Short", yet they were marked Medium in length. The 12 Medium jeans had a similar problem, though not quite as bad, unless I wore them sitting around my hips, then they were a good length. Did better at Primarni though. Got some black suede ankle boots at a 'gift' price. Good fit too. Not sure I'll wear them out, but I could use them once, throw them away and still feel like I got good value for money. (Well, almost. ) As usual, Primarni come up a bit generous on sizing. These are a claimed UK7 and a good fit on my feet.

For one reason and another, I have been out in heels everyday for the last 4 days. Out again today, at Lakeside. Will be there from 1.30pm until around 6pm. Primarni shoe section will be my main interest.

It's what they are being worn for ..... I have told the story several times, so forgive me for repeating it again .... My first pair of LSB heels (of three bought during that period from the shop known as Covergirl), were bought as a surprise pressie for me by my then girlfriend. When I asked why she bought them, she said "because of what I was like when I had them on." As I recall I was still in my twenties at the time, and needed no help finding the enthusiasm for intimacy with her ... But the effect of putting on those shoes was almost instant, with came with no side effects (other than tiredness) at all. She thought it money/time well spent. So did I.

I had something similar in black from New Look. I had waited some considerable time to locate them, and got 'lucky' in finding a pair, something that is quite unusual for me. These: They came up a bit odd in size, in that I couldn't stop my foot slipping forward, so my toe made contact with the end of the shoe. Consequently, they were sold on. I don't know if you have spotted them, but there is another style of Nine West wedges in size 8, offered on the auction site: Listing #151957936563. Were they slightly cheaper, I would buy them.

I have twice worked in homes where there were no two doors the same size in the respective properties. I would respectfully suggest, there is only 'standard' to the sheds. Builders buy for the contract, and if the architect specifies 6 different door sizes to 'fit' his design, the builders will be ordering just what they need direct from the manufacturer. (Hence the 'lesson' mentioned earlier.) My dry-lining mate who works on building sites, tells me 50p is important, as did the Buyer for a large building company I did my DMS with. Government statistics IIRC suggest 4,000 tradesmen die each year due to asbestos related diseases. These would be people naively drilling/cutting/altering asbestos products in the course of their trade. I have been lax in getting all my Artex tested, but it's on the job list. I have ten samples to collect, and the only thing holding that up is me making the time to find the 20 bags I need to isolate samples. When we replaced the old boiler in that property last week, the cold water storage tank became obsolete. It is made out of asbestos cement, the same material you mentioned used for roofing. There was/is no liner. That water fed the bathroom sink, so for 55+ plus years, people of all ages have been washing themselves and brushing their teeth, in water previously stored in an asbestos tank. As I know the family that lived in the house from day one, I can confirm no-one has suffered illness from the water leaving that tank. I suspect exposure to asbestos, is a bit like smoking in that it kills some, and ignores others. Given the age of the house, I have my doubts it's original intended use included the fitment of modern plastics. The large sizing suggests a commercial connection, but I'm unaware of what that could be. I haven't seen sight of a plumber for some time, though I'm trying to line one up for more work in the 'new boiler' house. I may ask about the correct connector then. Coincidently, the supplier of the waste I bought, is also the same company this particular plumber works for. At the trade counter when making the purchase, I did ask about washers and connectors, which drew a blank. While mine might not be the most elegant solution, it will work. I now have the large washer, and I'm pleased with it. If I get lucky (which would be unusual) I won't have to replace the U bend or any of the downstream pipework as I'm effectively replacing like-for-like parts.

A 'standard size' discussion would be long and fairly fruitless I expect. I'm not big on doors, but I've yet to measure a door frame (or rather the gap for a door) and find a door available for sale in one of the sheds, that was sized for a direct fit. I learned a useful - if frustrating lesson about builders many years ago, regarding this and window sizes. While the sheds like to sell a standard size, builders have window frames, doors, door frames, made for the contract. I mean large contract builders when I use that term, who might be putting up anything from 5 to 500 homes on a site. You are on the money about changes in Building Regs. While not many people know, white asbestos wasn't outlawed as a filler in residential homes (or elsewhere) until 24th November 1999. While ArtexTM stopped using it a long while before, it didn't stop everyone else. Current advice is; "if you can leave it alone, do so. If not, get it tested before you attempt to remove it". Similar changes with walls, especially non solid (wood) or semi solid (low density) ones, that now have to meet a sound test with only pass/go results being possible. Plumbing, electric and gas, all now having higher standards of build than the 'bad' old days of the booming 80's. In fact any house built pre-2000 likely has a a lurking danger of one sort or another. I don't suppose a house was built anywhere during the 1960's that didn't have asbestos in it. Yet the dangers of it had been know since 1930/31. Never had an awkward spot, though plenty of painful ones. Never found it necessary to remove any metal from one either, strange that you do? I've priced up a diamond riffler set, and if I can get a diamond set of regular needle files from the same supplier, I might order both. Auction site and China, of course. I got good service with a good price from a previous similar purchase: diamond sintered hole cutters for use with porcelain. Worked impressively well on my duff Armitage Shanks cistern. As reported, I have bought the waste. I ordered up the washer, made to my size a week later. It arrived in just 2 days. I was sure I had a small piece of copper plate, and some ali plate kicking around, but neither could be found. Nor could I find any suitable plastic .... Time is money, so I saved myself an hour of further searching by ordering a 3mm washer expecting it to take up to 2 weeks to arrive. It's been sent to a commercial address and is waiting my collection tomorrow. Ordering off the auction site saved me some money too. The washer cost just over £7 delivered. Given how simple/reliable it will make the seal, I see it as money well invested. I think the time/energy needed to line up the sink overflow with the two new slots I will need to put in the waste, will use all my residual enthusiasm for getting the sink back in working order. Conversely, I could just assemble the waste as is, and hope the water flow route proves immaterial for the 4/5 months of use the sink might have.