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Barbelith DIY Thread

16:46 / 18.04.05

It seems to me we have enough cooks, tinkers, seamstresses (seamsters?), and handy-type people to facilitate an exchange of how-tos and advice. I don't know if this will catch on or sink like a lead balloon, but it's worth a try.

I'm having a bit of a problem with my washing machine lately - it seems to be working right, but the clothes are not coming out clean anymore, which is pretty disgusting. My boyfriend & roommate are having the same problem, so I don't think it's my technique. If anyone has a DIY tip I'd love it.

For my part, I'm a housepainter and furniture refinisher extraordinaire, so send any paint/wood/polyurethane questions thisaways.

17:22 / 18.04.05

Could it be that your filter needs a good clean? I'm not sure if it's always located in the same place, but ours is at the base of the machine.

Know anything about rewiring, Ibis? I need help with rewiring a flat.

17:40 / 18.04.05

I'm not sure where the filter is, but I'll look.

I don't know anything about rewiring, but my roommate does - I could relay your questions if you want.

17:46 / 18.04.05

wiring scares the hell out of me, although I've done it before.

ibis -- does your machine take the soap in with the clothes, or does it go into a little compartment off to one side? It may be a brain problem, if it's off to one side (everything has computers in it) or a valve problem.

17:51 / 18.04.05

Soap in with clothes. I doubt it's a brain problem, it's pretty old - it's pre-brains. Everything appears to work, spin cycle, rinse cycle. It's just the clothes come out as filthy as they went in.

18:27 / 18.04.05

I believe that if you don't occasionly run your machine on the hottest temperature possible all the soap residue and skin debris doesn't get washed away so that might be it. Though to be honest if the clothes aren't getting clean at all it is probably something more than that, but it's worth a shot.

18:32 / 18.04.05

Okay, so here's the problem. I wanna buy this flat, but if I do so I'm going to have to swap the kitchen and the bathroom over. Obviously this will mean that I'll have to get a bunch of sockets installed in what once was the bathroom.

How difficult would this be (I imagine very)? And how much would it cost if I paid someone to do it?

19:41 / 18.04.05

Dust. A problem for the houseproud but lazy Barbelite...

1) Leave it. Quentin Crisp said after this first four years it doesn't get any worse.

2) Leave it. Philip Pullman proposed the notion that it will save us, token of our loss of innocence that it is.

3) If you really can't leave it, strap a feather duster to your cat's tail and scatter catnip on all surfaces.

19:54 / 18.04.05

I just dusted tonight. I quite like dusting, though I only do it every now and then when there's a snowy effect on every surface. It's like hanging clothes outside, very satisfying...

I have no DIY tips at all, I'm afraid, other than get someone else to do it. Or better, just get used to it the way it is.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

20:52 / 18.04.05

Boboss- It will be very difficult, indeed, and quite expensive if you hire someone. You'll have to redo the plumbing, as kitchens typically have only one pipe for tap water (unless you have a dishwasher with it's own line, but chances are you'll want to reposition everything, anyway) where the bathroom has two. Also, doing the gas mains for the stove will be a major headache, and is absolutely something that should be done by a professional. You can fuck up your plumbing and get soaked, but fucking with gas can get you dead or hideously disfigured. I would also assume that you need more electric sockets in your kitchen, so rewiring will have to happen. Messing with electricity is easier than most people think, but I'd probably leave that to a professional as well, just because you never know, and it's your ass on the line.

There will also be a lot of cosmetic damage involved in this operation (walls, floors, ceilings) and the guy who does the plumbing/gas line/rewiring will typically be oblivious to the damage he is doing to, say, your sweet-as-fuck hardwood floor, for example, so you may end up hiring someone to clean up the unholy mess the other guy(s) you hired made.

Finding a reputable contractor is extremely important. A LOT of people are out to gouge you for as much as they can, while doing the shoddiest possible job. And you, most likely, won't know that they are cutting corners or using shitty materials until it's too late.

I don't want to make this sound totally hellish, but I and others I know have had contractor nightmares before, and it would suck for you to have a similar experience. Trust no one unless they come highly recommended. If you love this place to death and/or have the time and wad of cash to have this done, leave it to a professional. That sounds like too big a job for anyone who isn't at least a journeyman electrician/plumber/whatever. This WILL cost money. Sorry to post so long and vehemently, but you sound like you're about to embark on the same hellride I did a couple of years ago, and my experience was no fun. Beware.

Tryphena Absent

21:08 / 18.04.05

Dust- buy wipes. They're more fun and easier and you don't have to use gallons of stupid Mr Muscle.

Tryphena Absent

21:09 / 18.04.05

Of course they're killing the earth. Totally unsustainable.

22:05 / 18.04.05

Mr Muscle's not exactly the earth's best mate, either. I've looked at those wipes, but they're too much like baby wipes, it seems all wrong. Do they really work well? Me and my yellow duster, we do fine.

05:30 / 19.04.05

Thanks, Jake, I knew it was alot more than just the wiring but I was wondering about doing that myself, in isolation, to save money. I've never been set on it - I know it's taking on alot - but I wanted to get the opinion of someone who's been there.

Ah, balls, I really don't want to give up on this place as its got a hell of a lot of potential, but I haven't got thousands of pounds stashed away and I certainly don't want to borrow more than a couple of grand.

07:44 / 19.04.05

I suggest you get yourself on a tv show Boboss. Get Kirsty and Phil to recommend you a builder and that way you know they'll do a good job lest they be exposed on tv.

12:54 / 19.04.05

I'm curious, Boboss, why is being able to switch the kitchen and bathroom a sticking point?

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

14:11 / 19.04.05

boboss

I recently bought a house that needs a lot of cosmetic updating. The bathrooms and kitchen are projects I am going to do over the next three years.

I used to do home improvement and repair for a living, so I am handier than most and have a working knowledge of local building codes and permits. The wiring is probably best left to a professional. That being said: you will either have to tear out a good portion of plaster and lath/drywall, or spend a lot of time in the attic/crawl space/basement with a fish tape and a drill. As long as the wiring is all run inside, grounded Romex should be fine. You will want to get a GFI (Ground Fault Indicator) Breaker for the panel. What this does is detect minute voltage drops in the circuit and shuts off in a microsecond, before any real damage can be done to anyone. You should have no more than four outlets on a 20 amp breaker (keep it to three if at all possible). If the box is the old fuse style, it should be upgraded, and that will require the help of a professional and is rather expensive.

Plumbing is rather easy, PVC (if allowed) is quite easy to work with. If PVC is not allowed, then the supply lines should be run with copper. Copper is a bit trickier, since the joints require soldering. However, a little practice will have you soldering like a pro.

I will run gas lines in my own house, but not anywhere else. I just don't need the liability that comes with a leak. I recently put central heat and air conditioning in my house, and I ran the gas line myself. I just went to the local home improvement and repair store and got the steel pipe and joints i needed and ran from an existing point.

16:14 / 19.04.05

Thanks, guys. I can't really see myself taking on the rewiring - sounds like a fucking nightmare, and I just don't trust my inexperienced self.

Ibis, the kitchen and bathroom need to be swapped over in order for us to make the most money when we sell. I'll try to explain.
Basically, the flat has an utterly enormous bedroom (I mean huge) at the front of the house, and a much smaller but reasonably spacious living room at the back. The living room leads onto the kitchen. The problem is that the backroom should be the bedroom and the front room should be the living area - that's the only sensible way to use the space. We're imagining the front room as a lounge, dining room, office. Essentially you'd get three rooms for the price of one. As it is you get a mightily oversized bedroom (the ENTIRE family sleeps in there at the mo' - one doublebed and two singles, and there's still enough room to swing a horse) and an average living room.
Okay, so why can't we just swap the bedroom and living room over? Well, as I've already said the current living room is the only access to the kitchen. If we were to change the bedroom and living room over you'd have to go through the bedroom in ordxer to get to the kitchen - fine for El and I, not so fine when it comes to resale.
The thing is, any sensible buyer's going to spot the problem with the flat straight away and unless we rectify it we're going to have to sell it for a lot less than it's potentially worth. To give you an idea, the flat is going for £145,000, similar flats - with more sensible layouts - are going for between £165,000 and £170,000.

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

19:30 / 19.04.05

To give you an idea, the flat is going for £145,000, similar flats - with more sensible layouts - are going for between £165,000 and £170,000.

Unless you are able to do most of the work yourself, you will eat up most of that difference in the process. It sounds like it is pretty fairly valued then.

20:03 / 19.04.05

Yeah, I think it's very fairly valued.

Annoying!

16:00 / 24.04.05

Right-ho, can anyone give me an idea how much it costs to install gas? I've tried getting a straight answer out of Google but it ain't working.

I reckon around 3-4 grand.

admiral sausage

17:57 / 24.04.05

Boboss

Ive just bought a 3 bed terrace ( a bit of a wreck so doing LOTS of DIY at the moment), and I'm after a combi boiler (get one quick as the regs change soon and you'll have to get a condensing boiler which is more expensive) and 7 radiators, my best quote was £3000 and British Gas (well, a fairly dodgy sounding sub-contractor) quoted me £4000. So your guess was about right.

Apparantly it is cheaper to buy the boiler and rads yourself then get someone to fit them for you (you can get a cheap boiler and 7 rads for about £6-800 from a plumbing or builders merchants) but getting someone to do this is easier said than done.

hope this is of some help.