FastFreddy2 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 As I've mentioned, late last year (so middle of the worst temperatures in living memory) I moved house. Sadly into a gaff that looked habitable, but for the most part isn't. Been a real nightmare, at one stage just staying warm was a struggle, despite a fairly good central heating system ..... I've been learning about electrics [and what Part P now prevents us doing ourselves], plus brushing up on my plumbing skills. I'm fearless around water! The reason for the thread, is I'm discovering how useful power tools are. Sure I have an electric drill ... but that's it. No planer, circular saw, no heat gun. Proper 'do it the hard way' me..... Had to lift some tongue and groove floor boards to get at wiring and pipework. Borrowed a mates circular saw and took instruction. Thankfully, being a newbie with it, I decided to adjust the depth of cut to 20mm to see how accurate it was .... Good thing too. Although poor form for it to be so close, I had 2 off 3/4" inch copper pipes stationed right underneath my first cut. 24mm would have had me slice right into them with circa 400 gallons of stored (hot and cold) water trying to drown the 1st and ground floor. I've done some research, and found >> << [has sound so may not be office proof] Looked expensive so found a 'clone' by Worx with 3 year warranty from Argos. £79-99. It's like Christmas at the Freddy house tonight. I can't wait to get up tomorrow morning to try my new gizmo. It's official, I must be proper old to be looking forward to using power tools! Roll on retirement. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 DIYer yes, keen definitely not. But being a full red blooded male, I understand the excitement a new power tool brings. Even a new set of hand tools can be pulse raising when you're mechanically minded too. Hope you get the house sorted and that the new tool does what you need it to in double quick time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heelman500 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Golden rule (I learned the hard way by drilling into a power cable - luckily I had RCD on my fuse box or I wouldn't be here now) , get your self a pipe detector and ALWAYS use it before drilling, sawing or any other thing that you might be tempted to try!! They are less than a tenner from any DIY store and well worth the hassle that they save! As for Part P I am under the belief that you can do pretty much anything with your electrics, and you can get an electrician to "Sign Off" your work. The only time you need a certificate is when you come to sell your house! That said it's almost impossible to tell what alterations have been made to wiring at a later date (A tad unethical I know but hey ho...) Anyway good luck with the renovations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Detector? That's not a MAN's tool! Good judgement ...... And a plastic handle on the drill. Actually I have one. Didn't work well from day one. Been meaning to get a new one ..... Perhaps I should. New tool = the dogs doo-dahs. Precisely cut out 3 sections of tongue and groove, with almost laser accuracy and with a cut no thicker than a butter knife. Once again found pipework (what I was looking for this time) but absolutely no chance of cutting into anything. Unlike a 1500w circular saw, I could feel the blade getting through the wood, so knew when to pull the blade back. I've got so much to do here, I'll get £80's worth of use out of it within weeks. Comes highly recommended chaps. Can't wait to use it again. [And I can't stand DIY. ] ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Went to use the cable/pipe detector today, only to find it'd been trashed during the house move. Got another from B+Q for £15 in deference to the Homebase version at nearly £25. It's not very good quality, and I think I may have done the classic, "buy cheap, buy twice". Anyone got any advice? ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Finally found something that >> looks the part << and I'm not sure I can be bothered to return the B+Q item now..... Had a bit of a spend up since ..... Circular saw in keeping with my skill level [none] another Worx item ..... >> Mini circular saw << If I don't cut my hands or fingers off, this might be next >> Full size circular saw << And in a moment of desperation I bought a sander >> B+Q branded sander << [i would agree with reviewer BTW.] So just about tooled up for all the jobs I have to do. All I need now, is the energy and skills to do them. One item I needed, that's almost literally been worth its weight in gold since buying ........ >> 3mm screwdriver << best £4 I've spent in a while. You try changing every light fitting and wall socket in a four bed house without one. ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted April 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 The unusually warm/dry weather has kept me away from these pages, doing things in the new garden in keeping with my 'scorched earth' policy. Namely, removing 6 leylandii, and a rather badly trimmed Birch tree, together with their long root systems. Many, many hours of hard graft were saved by purchasing one of >> these. << Due to a leaking pot of oil inside the box, I got the saw for £40.50 which was about £10 less than I was prepared to pay for a hire tool. It made mincemeat sawdust, of trees with 12" trunks with little effort from me. I'd already disassembled the 25ft wide by 12ft long pergola that must have used a good tonne of wood in construction ....... All the wood was reduced to manageable sizes using one of >> these. << Fortunately, I've finally gotten rid of the all the wood attached to the house [pergola] and small forest [7 trees] that had been crowding the lawn. Reading this, you'd think I had half an acre or at least a couple of hectares for a garden? No, it's a postage stamp sized garden, but has had 30 years of careless management. Bit like the inside of the gaff actually. About all I need to do now to conclude the removal, is make about 4 trips to the tip with several large buckets per trip, to evacuate the remainder of the pergola concrete piles. These were 12" square by 24" deep concrete socks for the 3"x3" supports. Fortunately there were only two of the deep ones, and a shallower one just 12" deep, but all three had further support from a 5 brick high wrap around on all 3 main uprights. Removing these piles took a little over a day of continuous hammering with one of >> these << which I hired for about £50. The breaking up bit was straight forward, but hoofing out the rubble from a continually deepening hole wasn't much fun. Rather frustratingly, having created these deep holes, I then had to fill them in again (with top soil). All this work has impressed the heck out of the neighbours, and Mrs Freddy ...... But has left me in need of a break! I'm not built for hard work, with my little bod I'm really built for speed ..... Once the rubble has gone, and I've finished digging over the soil I've removed roots from, it'll back into the house for crack filling and rubbing down duties. Good job I've got a sense of humour. .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 For disposing of your unneeded stuff, have you tried freecycle? Usually someone wants the leftovers of wood and rubble etc. for their own project and will collect it, saving you the time and petrol of the dump run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted April 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 For disposing of your unneeded stuff, have you tried freecycle? Usually someone wants the leftovers of wood and rubble etc. for their own project and will collect it, saving you the time and petrol of the dump run. I didn't even know Freecycle existed! Had a quick look today, and no-one is looking for hardcore/rubble that I could see. There was someone looking for a 'man with van' to remove some though. It's a great idea, and I'll definitely use it in the future. To be honest, I wasn't entirely happy with the tree/pergola removal to a tip to start with. I would have been very happy for it all to have been used elsewhere, but even short term storage wasn't an option. This work was done now because it's dry and although warm and sunny, it's not too hot to work outside. (Yet.) The cut trees and wood, took up just about all the free space in the garden, and meant we couldn't move or enjoy the space we had reclaimed. Even now, with 3 trips undertaken for rubble removal (of about 7 in total), we still have trouble getting onto the patio outside what will be the kitchen. And Mrs Freddy isn't the least clumsy person you could meet...... More than once I've offered her the chance of acquiring a white stick to help her get about! If there's something to fall or trip over, I can count on her to find it. Lastly, you were up a bit early? ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 The trick to getting rid of your unwanted stuff on freecycle is to put it on as an offer, often people don't realise they need it until it is offered on there As for being on here a bit early, I am an early riser every day and for some reason earlier on days I don't have to be up. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted April 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 As for being on here a bit early, I am an early riser every day and for some reason earlier on days I don't have to be up. Go figure. Mrs Freddy has the same [irritating for me] problem. I'm more of a night owl, verging on vampire ..... She, like you, rises with the birds. Herself was up at 4.30am yesterday [Thursday] and not much later today. The one single benefit to me, is that I seldom get to make her a cup of tea in bed. [hehehe] Conversely, I get coffee brought up to me just about e-v-e-r-y day. ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted November 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 So far I've only had expensive help from a "mate" who didn't carry out work to the standard I think I should expect...... Consequently, since I'm not a builder, La Maison De Freddy hasn't progressed much. I'm slow and frighteningly meticulous, plus easily distracted. Had a general builder in today, with a view to help. About my age, and seems to have a mild sense of humour [vast improvement on being humourless?] There's a budget for help, but finding quality help isn't as easy as you might think .... Less (re)building time = more heeling time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 (edited) To be honest, I wasn't entirely happy with the tree/pergola removal to a tip to start with. I would have been very happy for it all to have been used elsewhere, but even short term storage wasn't an option. Can't believe I haven't updated this for nearly a year and a half. Where did the time go? What brought it to mind, was a very good friend telling me had had recently installed the ever more popular wood burner. I mentioned the tonnes of wood removed, he was understandably gutted at the loss of the heat source. We have become used to the empty/flat garden. It's had no attention since it was finally cleared some 18 months ago. Mrs Freddy spent several afternoons on at least two occasions last year, clearing weeds to keep the area looking respectable. I had not done anything, giving priority to our main bedroom over everything else. The main bedroom. You would not think one room could cause such anguish. Neither could you think me, or anyone else could spend/waste so much time on one project .... the history: I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. I don't care if something I put together gets used/ruined, but at one point, it needs to be perfect. Because of this, we (she) agreed we'd get help in for some of the work. My (now ex) 'mate' offered to do the job at 'mates rates'. I said the job was there. If he was good/economic, there was several thousands of pounds of work to do. [At least 6 rooms with a budget of £500-£800 per room if required.] Speed and quality were the main criteria. If I didn't ask him back, he could rightly assume I wasn't happy with his work. Weeeeell, I think the longest he spent here on any one day was 5 hours. He once complained he couldn't get access early enough, and turned up at 10.30am the next visit ..... He spent a lot of time on the phone .... His wife liked to talk. At £430 plus materials into the room refurb, I retired him. Looking back, I doubt I got the equivalent of 2 days full-time work from a 'proper' good builder. I now know a fella who would have reboarded the whole room for £300 plus materials (about £60) and had it done inside 3 days. My 'mate' spent more than a month playing with the room, with perhaps an average of 10/12 hours per the four weeks. Budget (or main part of it) for such a simple room gone, I had to finish it off myself. [Hindsight suggests more money with a proper builder would still have been better/faster. But finding one?] Over the ensuring year, I repaired the walls twice. Both times I'd put 2 coats of paint on the walls, only to have the 3rd coat lift the previous 2. I was at my wits end, and eventually contacted Dulux (the paint people). Upshot of that 2½ hour conversation, was they could only suggest stripping the walls back to bare plaster, and starting over. Given how many hours I'd spent in that room, I was reluctant, but did it on the worst wall. This time round, not only did I flatten the wall after levelling, I sealed it with a good quality acrylic primer. The 3rd colour coat didn't lift! There were still 3 walls and parts of a ceiling to re-do, but I got it done. At the moment, I have 3 colour coats everywhere, and the primer seems to be keeping the emulsion bonded to the walls. No-one I've asked had the reason for the bubbling paint, but I think I worked it out. There are two well known brands of dry-wall finishing. One by Lafarge, one by British Gypsum, it seems the Lafarge product can be put back into solution when it gets wet. I have it in mind the 2nd or 3rd coat of emulsion was livening up the Lafarge product, and allowing the base coat of emulsion to lose contact, producing the bubbling. The primer acted as a sealer, preventing this happening. A lesson hard learned, and one few others have had to discover. Time moves on. Later in the year (2012) I had to change the radiator in the room, as the original was in poor shape and not very efficient. It took 3 attempts to buy a radiator, before I got one that wasn't dented or scratched. UK buyers: source from Screwfix, not B&Q. Screwfix have them packed correctly. B&Q do not. New rad meant pipework was in the wrong position, so I had to modify that. It's when I found (having removed the floorboards) that the supply pipe was 3mm ABOVE the lower level of the floorboards. How is that possible? The join in the boards was raised to accommodate the pipe. They was also wear marks on both pipe and boards through years of movement. How there was never a leak, I don't know. I had to cut ¼" out of the supply pipe in the room underneath, to leave a gap below the bedroom floorboards. The pipes were connected eventually, but didn't/doesn't look pretty under the boards. I avoided complete replacement of the pipework, but needed to ensure pipes were not rubbing against either each other, or any woodwork. The double glazing had been done by a "reputable" firm, and I can only be thankful they weren't fitted by an even worse company. No sealing around the replacement frame other than some hollow plastic cladding that was super-glued into place. Unfortunately, the gluing had not been done to a good standard, and a long length of cladding had dropped. My 'mate' had tried to effect a repair, but like most of his work, it was not up to par. The solution was to remove it all, fill in gaps, repair the broken sill, and reclad the window frame. In hindsight (again) I should have torn out the old bent/split wooden sill, and replaced it with a straight plastic piece. Far cheaper, and weeks faster. I repaired the cracks in the wood, only to find the bent sill had parted from the brickwork underneath. [i had filled the gap underneath the sill when repairing the walls. After repairing the sill, I found the gap had returned. THEN I found the sill was actually floating on the brickwork, it was no longer fixed securely.] I had to drill through the repaired sill, to put a whole new set of fixings in, to make sure the sill stayed in place. then re-repair the upper surface of the sill. There was a ½" air gap all around the outside of the window frame where the glaziers had left the plasterwork unfinished. This was repaired too. At this stage, if it hadn't been for the mess the super-glue had made of the window frame, adding cladding would not have been necessary. The "cloaking profile" (aka cladding) had a curve on it, and mitre-ing the corners was a bit of a challenge, so I did the smaller window first. Using the right fixing adhesive was interesting. I needed something that really stuck (good initial suction), was removable, and allowed a small amount of movement as I positioned it. I had bought 6 different adhesives from a supplier, ranging from £2 to £7. The most expensive guaranteeing to stick anything to anything. As it turned out, the £3 product was ideal. Moving on to the next window, I had doubts I had enough adhesive, so went back to get a second tube. Only then finding out it was no longer stocked, and in fact the tube I had was a year out of date when it was sold to me! Looking through the list of adhesives actually available, I 'guessed' at a similar product for £3-49. It worked and I did the second frame. Filling the gaps around the the window frame, then covering the join with dense expanded uPVC can only help with the sound-proofing and thermal resistance of the joint. Looks nice too! Last part of fixing up the room, was the installation of the 'made-to-measure' blinds, bought 2 years ago. Unpacking them, I discovered they needed to be mounted from above, not from the side as I had expressly indicated to Mrs Freddy some time ago. Mounting from above meant either sticking a batten to my newly repaired/painted window opening, (never going to happen), or drilling 14 holes into a concrete and/or steel lintel. The drilling was the only answer, because it was waaaaaay more difficult. I spent an hour to 90 minutes reading on internet Forums just haw much trouble this problem causes people. Good quality drills (possible) and an SDS drill (impossible) were the solution. About 8 drills (Makita, Bosch, DeWalt) and £30 later, an elbow injury caused by the drill hammer action of my under-powered corded drill, the holes were complete. It took no time at all to fit the blinds, once the holes were made. At the time of writing [Feb 2013] the only remaining building/decorating jobs are one or two spots of paintwork disturbed when installing the radiator. Bed went in yesterday. 27 months after buying the house. Carpets being done when the bathroom and hall are done, as we don't want plaster or tile adhesive getting in the carpet. Furniture to be moved into the room from the smaller bedroom we've been using, when the carpet is down. What next?? Edited February 8, 2013 by FastFreddy2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Nice to hear I'm not the only one to have DIY disasters Freddy, lucky your house isn't a rush job ;-) I hate DIY, but costs ensure that I end up doing a lot of it. My most recent major project was to replace our rather shabby looking shower cubicle. A trip to B&Q found a nice cubicle which should fit, but they only had a returned one, all but guaranteeing parts would be missing so we asked them to order a new one in for us. A delivery date was arranged and time off work arranged, when the day arrived, the cubicle arrived and dont ya just know it was the one we could have collected in store with the previously opened packaging. That was sent back and another one brought out to us. The old shower surround came out easily one evening, and the next day I opened up the new box to fit the replacement. Checked the instructions, which were for a completely different unit. A phone call was made and a PDF sent to my email of the right instructions, it looked easy but many of the "just place part c on part d and line up the pre-drilled holes and insert screw E" steps ended in swearing as the holes in "D" didn't line up with the ones in "C". It did go together, but ended up 25 mm or so smaller than the old one, no problem with the base, but the tiles had been cut inside the old unit, and the new one would either have to mount on them or we had to cut down the edges. Mounting over the tiles seemed good, but meant drilling lots of holes through the tiles to mount the cubicle. Masking tape and great caution won the day and the cubicle went up without cracking a single tile. Siliconed and set, Mrs Shyguy was happy with the completed project. Now she has much more planned for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 It did go together, but ended up 25 mm or so smaller than the old one, no problem with the base, but the tiles had been cut inside the old unit, and the new one would either have to mount on them or we had to cut down the edges. Mounting over the tiles seemed good, but meant drilling lots of holes through the tiles to mount the cubicle. Masking tape and great caution won the day and the cubicle went up without cracking a single tile. Siliconed and set, Mrs Shyguy was happy with the completed project. Now she has much more planned for me. Sounds about right. Mrs Freddy can't believe every door I've ever measured, is a completely different size to any other door I've ever measured. She can't believe how many different types of plumbing junctions/fittings/pipe sizes exist. I can't believe there seems to be a pre and post (circa) 1985 floorboard size, and the 'pre' version can't be bought in general DIY stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) The investment in tooling continues..... Had to drill another batch of 5mm holes in concrete last week. Wasn't a nice experience .. .. My usual kit comprises 18v lithium cordless hammer drills and a corded 550w hammer drill. While either of these provide enough 'twist and thud' for mortar and brick drilling, neither is really up to pounding concrete in any meaningful way. For this (it seems) you need more energy ..... and possibly a better class of drill bit. Today, I took delivery of a Makita rotary hammer drill. This will provide at least double the thudding energy of the corded hammer drill, and maybe three times that of the cordless. The main job it's been acquired for, is to put holes in the concrete lintels we Brits use across the top of windows to support the gap in the brickwork left for the window frame. These are notoriously difficult to drill, when wanting to mount curtain rails or blinds above the window. Often, wooden rails are glued to the plasterwork above the window, but ours were removed long ago by the previous owner. [saving me a job.] Modern systems don't rely on these antiquated ideas, but need to be bolted directly into brickwork. We have large concrete lintels that have proved to be as resistant to drilling as any available. [A Google search reveals how common this problem is.] Around a month ago I managed to get 14 holes in two lintels for some blinds. It cost a sore/painful elbow (for about 2 weeks), and the wrong side of £20 in drills. The 4 holes I did last week (managed to re-use another 2 already drilled) cost less in drills (£5) because I used the best drills available, plus I was more careful not to overheat them. Easy done when patience is wearing thin ..... Upshot of the internet research .... Use SDS drill bits, and heavier/more powerful Rotary hammer drill. Then let the tool do the work. Will be a week or two before I put up another (curtain) rail, but I'm positively looking forward to using my new tool. My toolkit looks more and more like a professional builders week on week, Edited February 19, 2013 by FastFreddy2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Been there and done that with drilling the lintels, destroying drill bits etc. It seems every major wall in our house is made of that same concrete as even putting up a shelf on any wall takes the same effort as drilling a lintel. The new drill should be fun to use though Freddy, always worth investing in the right tools when possible. Our latest diy disaster involved replacing light switches and sockets for the new decor. The first few were fine, swapped over in a couple of minutes as they should be. Then the trouble started, one of the socket boxes had been cut out by a previous bodger for some unknown reason and they'd left one of the threaded lugs dangling one end. We'd always thought the socket box was loose in the wall before and this would be our opportunity to secure it, but this was worse as the box had been nailed in place, screwed glued and something else holding it. As the wall had just been painted couldn't risk ripping the box out. Instead the end of the screw lug had to be secured instead until next time we decorate when we can sort this box first. Luckily it's a socket which is rarely used except for a plug in air freshener so it won't be pulled around too much. The last was a light switch which needed replacing. Someone had put up a thick piece of decorative wood where the switch was screwed on. Only when we got it out did we find that they'd used wood screws and that the actual box was too deep and obscured by the wood to get proper screws in. Moving the switch to meet the box would leave a hole on one side. The wood also had to be opened up a little for our new switch to fit the hole, which then left no material to screw to. That took a lot of head scratching to find a solution. I butchered another box and screwed bits of it in place to mount the socket. It's all earthed properly so no dangerous wiring practises because of it so it ended OK I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Then the trouble started, one of the socket boxes had been cut out by a previous bodger for some unknown reason and they'd left one of the threaded lugs dangling one end. We'd always thought the socket box was loose in the wall before and this would be our opportunity to secure it, but this was worse as the box had been nailed in place, screwed glued and something else holding it. As the wall had just been painted couldn't risk ripping the box out. Instead the end of the screw lug had to be secured instead until next time we decorate when we can sort this box first. Luckily it's a socket which is rarely used except for a plug in air freshener so it won't be pulled around too much. Sounds like the first person I paid to help me fix up the main bedroom, may have done some work over your way too? My 'mate', at my request opened up a single socket to a double. Not a spur, so no worries from the safety viewpoint. I offered him a drill template [square box with lots of tubes in you pass a drill down to turn the intended hole space into Gorgonzola. Once drilled, you just knock the holes together to remove the brickwork.] He did it with a rotary cutter. More noise, more dust, but quick. What I didn't notice, was when he fitted it to the brickwork he (i) broke all the bricks behind (so no grip for fixings). (ii) Mullered the new box with what could have been blunt snips making an elongated hole to pass the power cables through. (iii) Tore off one of the faceplate retaining lugs - as you have. (iv) No earth connection to the metal box, a legal requirement. I knew none of this until I tried to tighten up the loose faceplate. And I paid him to carry out that work too! With nothing to secure the replacement box to, first job was to dig out ALL the broken brickwork and re-mortar the recess flush for the new box. Correctly cut the new box for the power wires to pass through, without sharp edges (that might otherwise cut hand/cut cable). Fix the box square, and "make good" around the recess. Light switches? I think there are 6 "pairs" of switches here, beside all the single ones. When we arrived, there wasn't a single pair wired up the right side. Meaning, in a bedroom with two lights, (say top or left and bottom or right of the room) had the switches reversed. Turn on the right switch, left light would come on. Turn on left light switch, of course right light would come on..... This house is circa 35 years old, you'd think someone during that time, would have swapped them over? I've replaced 3 sets of these 'paired' switches and they now work the logical way you'd expect. I must get around to doing the ones by the front door though. The light switch closest the door doesn't do the porch light, it does the hall light. The one further in, does the porch light. You wouldn't think so much could be so wrong ...... I've said it many times to people who ask me why the refurb is taking so long. Firstly, I'm not (yet) a builder. And secondly, I could sit someone in a room with pen, paper, and give them 4 hours to write a list of things they could perceive to be wrong with a 'used' house. I think it highly likely the things I already know to be (had been) wrong, would be a longer list. This project has been a real eye-opener. Unfortunately .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Upshot of the internet research .... Use SDS drill bits, and heavier/more powerful Rotary hammer drill. Then let the tool do the work. Will be a week or two before I put up another (curtain) rail, but I'm positively looking forward to using my new tool. My toolkit looks more and more like a professional builders week on week, A wise/smart man, might have considered ordering some drill bits at the same time the drilling tool was ordered? I had naively thought all my local DIY type stores would carry these drills? Well, to a degree they do, but not the slightly more specialised drills for successfully drilling concrete. Plenty of poor feedback scores for the ones that are supposedly suitable .... But the more expensive [£5 per drill rather than £3 per drill] types are generally available mail order, or 30 mile each way journey to a Trade Counter. £4 carriage waaaay cheaper, so ordered by post. Hopefully the drill bits will be here for the weekend. Mentioned my new 'supa-dupa toy' to a girlfriend. She immediately volunteered me the job of hanging some new pictures at her home. Is it a bit naughty to practice with my newly acquired kit on someone else's walls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyguy Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 It's not naughty to try any new tools out at someone else's place first. Indeed I believe there may be a little known law which makes it illegal not to have tested the new equipment elsewhere before you use it in your own home. I mainly practised DIY at friends houses before I even got my own place, the phrase "of course I know how to..." was often uttered before I tried doing some house repair or other at someone else's risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Indeed I believe there may be a little known law which makes it illegal not to have tested the new equipment elsewhere before you use it in your own home. Class! ..... Edited February 20, 2013 by FastFreddy2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Tried the Makita HR2610 and a Bosch 6mm S4L drill bit on some masonry today. [Masonry = brick and mortar.] Well, if ever there was a "hot knife through butter" moment, I saw some this afternoon. 3 accurately round holes done in double quick time. 1 clock and 2 pictures hung in less than 15 minutes. Measuring where the holes were going took considerably longer than making the holes, fitting the plugs and then winding in the screws. So impressed was the wall owner, I've been asked to do another 7. That'll teach me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 Was expecting to have another go with the 'super-drill' today, but I did something foolish last night. We bought some DIY flat pack wardrobes 2 years ago, and at least one of them has been waiting to be assembled in the main bedroom. They are both quite substantial, and were delivered in three packages (for each wardrobe). Each package is clearly marked "2 man lift". The smallest package weighs a little over 35kgs. Last night, I tried to get the middle sized one up 14 steps to an upstairs landing. I managed it, but it wasn't easy. While rotating the largest package (that wanted to fall over without the support of the smallest package) I got a sharp twinge in my back. While moving the smaller package, I got an even sharper/more painful kick in my lower back. Realising I might be in trouble, I disassembled the smaller package and took it upstairs, piece by piece. My back was too uncomfortable to do any more. This morning, any movement at all is very very painful. Any movement. Painkillers seem to be doing very little. I get relief if I stand, and that's about it. Sitting is okay, but moving from that position can make me cry out. Not very manly? I've experienced this problem before, doing the same stupid thing .... but this is the first time I've been almost immobilised. Hopefully, in a week or two I'll be running up and down stairs like I was only yesterday morning, taking my general fitness for granted. I can't wait. I feel like I'm about 115 years old at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 My back was well enough to attempt more hole drilling this evening. Only got another 4 holes done, as picture frame assembly and picture installation was also required. Plus, 2 of the pictures were deemed (by me) to be unsuitable for their planned position, and the last picture still hasn't been found. So 3 holes postponed pending confirmation of revised positions, and locating picture No.7. On the mechanical side ...... Two of the holes were in one side of double skin wall(s). To those outside the UK, most houses built from at least 1955 to maybe 1970 and sometimes later, had two "skins" (layers) of 4" wide brick with a (roughly) 1 to 2 inch air gap between. This was to improve the internal temperature on warm or cold days. [More recently the inner skin is either thermal resistant block, or thermal cladding inside a wooden frame, all covered by 'drywall'.] Due to the energy available from this rotary hammer drill, I drilled completely through two of these inner brick skins. Usually doing this involves time and effort even with a fully charged 18v cordless hammer drill. Took me less than 4 seconds per hole with the SDS drill. Fortunately, the holes were round. [My experience with the 18v cordless and cheap masonry drill bits, typically produces oval or triangular holes.] The holes I made this evening, plugged with the correct size bit of plastic [ie rawlplug] and using a suitable sized screw, had the plug open up and the screw bit in without any rotational movement of the plug at all. Historically, I'd sometimes had to glue the rawlplug in to stop it rotating, or used a better (designed/more expensive) plastic plug. I really am enjoying this tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFreddy2 Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Finally got to drill some holes in concrete with the new kit........ Was like drilling into wood ........ 6 full depth holes in about 10 minutes. Was a revelation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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