D.I.Y and Trades

Are there any forum rules that would prohibit having a thread on here in which people can pose D.I.Y questions and tips?
Again same question but in relation to posting about reliable trades people and recommendations?

I can’t seem to find an existing thread and I think it would be useful but as there doesn’t seem to be one I thought it may be off the table?

Cheers

I can't see any reason why questions and tips should not be posted. However, to me, recommendations are more of a guarantee of workmanship, quality etc. When I had my business I never made any recommendations mainly because the onus is back on you for making the recommendation, for anything that goes wrong.

I suppose recommendations are a personal choice but I always edged on caution as I didn't want to get sued!

There have been one or two threads in the past regarding D.I.Y. and asking for tradesmen, but they don't appear very often.

I'd be happy to help with any questions regarding construction.

Quoted from ginnywings

There have been one or two threads in the past regarding D.I.Y. and asking for tradesmen, but they don't appear very often.

I'd be happy to help with any questions regarding construction.

Nice one Ginny-much appreciated thank you!

Quoted from ginnywings

There have been one or two threads in the past regarding D.I.Y. and asking for tradesmen, but they don't appear very often.

I'd be happy to help with any questions regarding construction.

Now then mate have you ever used dry rods as a relatively cheap first port of call to remedy rising damp?
If so how did you get on? Any thoughts?

Quoted from Sandford1981

Now then mate have you ever used dry rods as a relatively cheap first port of call to remedy rising damp?
If so how did you get on? Any thoughts?

Afraid not, no.

Done a few injection damp courses years back, which is relatively easy to do and you can hire the gear.

However, you first need to make sure you actually have rising damp as there are other reasons why a wall can be damp. Bridged damp course, poor ventilation, blocked air bricks etc. Beware unscrupulous builders who will charge you a fortune to 'fix' a problem that may not even exist and may not be cured with a damp course.

You need to bear in mind that damp proof remedies don't always work and that the work involved is very messy and disruptive because of the need to remove all the render and plaster up to a metre up the wall.

An effective and cheaper solution can be tanking, where you remove the render, paint the walls with a liquid membrane and re-render and plaster, with a waterproofing agent added to the render.

Then there is the traditional method of physically removing a course of bricks and fitting a DPC before replacing said bricks. This is done in small sections for obvious reasons.

I had quite a bad wall in my own house and I tackled it by covering it over with panelling made from water resistant MDF and painted. The damp is still there but you can't see it and it was done in 2 days.

Quoted from ginnywings

Afraid not, no.

Done a few injection damp courses years back, which is relatively easy to do and you can hire the gear.

However, you first need to make sure you actually have rising damp as there are other reasons why a wall can be damp. Bridged damp course, poor ventilation, blocked air bricks etc. Beware unscrupulous builders who will charge you a fortune to 'fix' a problem that may not even exist and may not be cured with a damp course.

You need to bear in mind that damp proof remedies don't always work and that the work involved is very messy and disruptive because of the need to remove all the render and plaster up to a metre up the wall.

An effective and cheaper solution can be tanking, where you remove the render, paint the walls with a liquid membrane and re-render and plaster, with a waterproofing agent added to the render.

Then there is the traditional method of physically removing a course of bricks and fitting a DPC before replacing said bricks. This is done in small sections for obvious reasons.

I had quite a bad wall in my own house and I tackled it by covering it over with panelling made from water resistant MDF and painted. The damp is still there but you can't see it and it was done in 2 days.

Thank you for your reply.
I’m as certain as I can be it’s rising damp but obviously I could well be wrong.
I have used the rods this morning and I hope they work but if not I shall refer to your options and go from there. I appreciate it. Cheers.

As I could access the wall outside the rods were relatively speaking, an easy win without having to take kitchen units to bits. Very straight forward to be fair. Fingers crossed now to see if they’re effective.

It sounds like an outside wall which begs the question of how you got to the inner skin of brickwork, unless it is single skin, which would maybe explain the problem. Could be penetrating damp getting through the brickwork?

Damp behind kitchen units is quite common, especially if the units are fitted to an external exposed wall.

I’m a mould and damp specialist (not a tradesman) carrying out independent and impartial inspections for several agents across the area. If you have any questions, let me know! As Ginny says, there are many less than scrupulous contractors plying their trade in this area so please be careful.

Quoted from ginnywings

It sounds like an outside wall which begs the question of how you got to the inner skin of brickwork, unless it is single skin, which would maybe explain the problem. Could be penetrating damp getting through the brickwork?

Damp behind kitchen units is quite common, especially if the units are fitted to an external exposed wall.

I have a long narrow kitchen as I look into it with French doors leading into the garden. The units are fitted uninterrupted until about 10 inches from the far external wall which is where the problem is.
Typically this space is used for infil, towel rail or custom  wine storage or was when I designed kitchens.
For whatever reason it was left blank here and So it obstructs from gaining access to the offending wall from the inside.
I used a depth gauge to ensure I drilled to the necessary depth after measuring the thickness of the wall. It’s all in and I’ve filled in and re-pointed so it’s just a matter of waiting now.

Old Codger do you have any experience of these rods then?

Quoted from Sandford1981

I have a long narrow kitchen as I look into it with French doors leading into the garden. The units are fitted uninterrupted until about 10 inches from the far external wall which is where the problem is.
Typically this space is used for infil, towel rail or custom  wine storage or was when I designed kitchens.
For whatever reason it was left blank here and So it obstructs from gaining access to the offending wall from the inside.
I used a depth gauge to ensure I drilled to the necessary depth after measuring the thickness of the wall. It’s all in and I’ve filled in and re-pointed so it’s just a matter of waiting now.

Old Codger do you have any experience of these rods then?

The rods will dry the wall as long as it’s rising damp above the level of the rods. If you still have moisture in a few weeks time, you might have a problem with moisture coming from somewhere else. Keep an eye on it.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

The rods will dry the wall as long as it’s rising damp above the level of the rods. If you still have moisture in a few weeks time, you might have a problem with moisture coming from somewhere else. Keep an eye on it.

Ok I will do. Thank you!

Does anybody know what the going ‘day rate’ is for a builder?
I recently had a plasterer round to quote for a job and he said he was £200 per day for Labour. I assume a builder will be more than that but that’s a best guess!

Cheers

Depends what you mean by builder. It's not a trade as such, but most builders will have a primary trade and be able to do other jobs to a competent level, if they are any good of course. I'm primarily a joiner, but I can do other trades.

Most building trades charge £200 a day now and some as much as £250.

Saying that, a lot will just give you a price for labour and materials and you won't know what they are making per day.

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

Quoted from ginnywings

Depends what you mean by builder. It's not a trade as such, but most builders will have a primary trade and be able to do other jobs to a competent level, if they are any good of course. I'm primarily a joiner, but I can do other trades.

Most building trades charge £200 a day now and some as much as £250.

Saying that, a lot will just give you a price for labour and materials and you won't know what they are making per day.

We’ve had a quote to put in a suspended floor in our front room. 4 sleeper walls of one brick in a bed of mortar, DPM, wooden plate, joists and then chipboard. The bill is itemised and the materials come in at £680 and the Labour has been priced at £1400. I have already taken up all the old bricks, plates,rotten joists, rotten floorboards and skirting. I have unblocked the air bricks and got rid of 4”inches of dust and debris across the entire room. It’s literally come in and start the job.
We thought that the Labour was  excessive and I was trying to gauge it was all.

Quoted from chaos33

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

You know a junior doctor that’s a brickie on the side?

Quoted from Sandford1981

We’ve had a quote to put in a suspended floor in our front room. 4 sleeper walls of one brick in a bed of mortar, DPM, wooden plate, joists and then chipboard. The bill is itemised and the materials come in at £680 and the Labour has been priced at £1400. I have already taken up all the old bricks, plates,rotten joists, rotten floorboards and skirting. I have unblocked the air bricks and got rid of 4”inches of dust and debris across the entire room. It’s literally come in and start the job.
We thought that the Labour was  excessive and I was trying to gauge it was all.

That's a job I've done countless times, although the sleeper walls were still in situ and just required a dpm and wooden wallplate bedding on.

I once moved into a house, only to find a big hole in the floor which had been hidden by a rug and a piano on viewing. I started to investigate and 4 hours later, I had no floors or joists in either the front room or living room. Bit of a nightmare to say the least.

I have to say that the labour does sound a tad high to me, as does the materials cost, but I'm a bit out of touch with prices nowadays being semi retired and only taking on small jobs nowadays.

When you say the sleeper walls have one brick; do you mean one brick in height, which is unusual, or one brick single skin wall a few bricks high?

Quoted from Sandford1981

You know a junior doctor that’s a brickie on the side?

Don't give the government any ideas! They'll be getting the doctors and nurses to build those 40 new hospitals we keep hearing about when they are off shift as a wonderful new 'efficiency'.

Quoted from chaos33

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

Yep, It's all wrong.

Quoted from ginnywings

That's a job I've done countless times, although the sleeper walls were still in situ and just required a dpm and wooden wallplate bedding on.

I once moved into a house, only to find a big hole in the floor which had been hidden by a rug and a piano on viewing. I started to investigate and 4 hours later, I had no floors or joists in either the front room or living room. Bit of a nightmare to say the least.

I have to say that the labour does sound a tad high to me, as does the materials cost, but I'm a bit out of touch with prices nowadays being semi retired and only taking on small jobs nowadays.

When you say the sleeper walls have one brick; do you mean one brick in height, which is unusual, or one brick single skin wall a few bricks high?

4 sets spread evenly across the width of the room consisting of one brick in height and 18 in length.

Quoted from Sandford1981

4 sets spread evenly across the width of the room consisting of one brick in height and 18 in length.

Righto!

18 bricks is 4 mts, so I presume it's a room roughly 4mts x 3mts.

Not a lot of brickwork and not a big room, so it does seem at the top end price wise to me.

Quoted from chaos33

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

Tbf you can make decent money from trades , I did a few bits to help a painter and decorator and then  brickie out a good few years ago was good crack and a decent handful of actual cash at the end in your hand .

It's suprising the amount of people you talk to now ,who went down the academic route who  wish they had learnt a trade instead (or maybe that's just the people I talk to ) .

Quoted from Mappers

Tbf you can make decent money from trades , I did a few bits to help a painter and decorator and then  brickie out a good few years ago was good crack and a decent handful of actual cash at the end in your hand .

It's suprising the amount of people you talk to now ,who went down the academic route who  wish they had learnt a trade instead (or maybe that's just the people I talk to ) .

Radio 4 the other day - AI won’t be a threat to the skilled trades - too much thinking on your feet so would be way too costly to build the algorithms to operate the robots. Professions are much more at risk from AI.

Multi-skill mechanical and electrical operatives for retrofitting renewable technologies in millions of homes - heat pumps, solar, batteries, heat batteries, infra red heat, storage heaters - solutions will be multifaceted dependent on the property’s design and the skills will be like gold dust. They are already in massive under supply, and the third level institutions are just not gearing up fast enough to deliver the skilled people.

The gas engineers in their late 40s and 50s won’t retrain to install heat pumps without a big financial incentive - they’ll just do the residual work left for gas boilers then retire.

Quoted from ginnywings

Righto!

18 bricks is 4 mts, so I presume it's a room roughly 4mts x 3mts.

Not a lot of brickwork and not a big room, so it does seem at the top end price wise to me.

Yep bang on, you presume correctly! Glad it’s not just me. Thank you for your help.

Quoted from ginnywings

Righto!

18 bricks is 4 mts, so I presume it's a room roughly 4mts x 3mts.

Not a lot of brickwork and not a big room, so it does seem at the top end price wise to me.

Just had another quote for the same job and the Labour is  £750 which to me is much more like it and what I would say is fair.

Quoted from Sandford1981

Just had another quote for the same job and the Labour is  £750 which to me is much more like it and what I would say is fair.

Nice one.

I'll waive my 10% consultation fee this time.

Quoted from ginnywings

Nice one.

I'll waive my 10% consultation fee this time.

😂 cheers I appreciate it!

Quoted from chaos33

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

Personally i would pay the £200 - £250 and get the builder to do the work rather than a junior doctor 😄

Quoted from ginnywings

Afraid not, no.

Done a few injection damp courses years back, which is relatively easy to do and you can hire the gear.

However, you first need to make sure you actually have rising damp as there are other reasons why a wall can be damp. Bridged damp course, poor ventilation, blocked air bricks etc. Beware unscrupulous builders who will charge you a fortune to 'fix' a problem that may not even exist and may not be cured with a damp course.

You need to bear in mind that damp proof remedies don't always work and that the work involved is very messy and disruptive because of the need to remove all the render and plaster up to a metre up the wall.

An effective and cheaper solution can be tanking, where you remove the render, paint the walls with a liquid membrane and re-render and plaster, with a waterproofing agent added to the render.

Then there is the traditional method of physically removing a course of bricks and fitting a DPC before replacing said bricks. This is done in small sections for obvious reasons.

I had quite a bad wall in my own house and I tackled it by covering it over with panelling made from water resistant MDF and painted. The damp is still there but you can't see it and it was done in 2 days.

Personally I would only go down the physical route in our local area. Injections, creams, etc just don't last/work. Same for osmosis. Whether that's the sea level , salt water , water table whatever...they just don't last.  
Got piles of useless "guarantees"  in our work files for properties with injections that were done 10 - 20 yrs ago but are riddled again.

Quoted from Sandford1981

Just had another quote for the same job and the Labour is  £750 which to me is much more like it and what I would say is fair.

You could always have a go at doing it yourself; it's not that difficult a job. You managed your damp proofing yourself.

Quoted from ginnywings

You could always have a go at doing it yourself; it's not that difficult a job. You managed your damp proofing yourself.

True and I perhaps would have but I have a glass back (loss of curvature, degeneration of and bulging discs) and it popped taking everything up. I just want to get it done asap.

Quoted from Sandford1981

True and I perhaps would have but I have a glass back (loss of curvature, degeneration of and bulging discs) and it popped taking everything up. I just want to get it done asap.

Feel your pain. I've had back trouble on and off for years due to the nature of the job and bending over laying bricks low down is no fun.

Think I would be tempted to do it with joist hangers and forget the bricks were it my house.  

Quoted from chaos33

Junior doctor £14 p/h x 8  = £122 per day. Just saying.

8 x £14 = £112. Just saying.

I’ve got a patchwork of uneven floorboards in one room where I need to lay some laminate, must be a 15mm variance between some boards. Anyone know the best way to get an even level that isn’t “sand everything down to the lowest point”? Underlay boards?

Do you have some newer boards down that are thinner than the surrounding original boards, or is it a case of some boards being higher on one side than the other, like they have twisted or come loose?

Have you had some heavy handed plumber/sparky massacre the boards to facilitate wiring and pipework under the floor?

Any loose or raised boards could do with screwing down, especially on raised edges. Try standing on the board near the raised edge and screwing down into the joist below, making sure you don't skewer any services.

Underlay boards are always best on floorboards; the green fibre type ones that come in squares. You can put extra bits in the low spots, but try and get the floor as flat as you can before you lay the laminate. If the sub floor is really bad, you may have to take more drastic action, from overlaying the floor with ply to removing the sub floor altogether.

Things that will help is to fit the laminate at 90 degrees to the floorboards, so it traverses the high and low spots and doesn't run in parallel with the joins in the floorboards, which can cause the floor to unclick when you walk on it.

The other thing is to use a thicker, rather than thinner laminate, which will also help to keep it solid over the uneven floor. Don't be getting 6mm or 7mm stuff. At least 8mm thick and preferably thicker. 12mm would be my choice.

Quoted from ginnywings

Feel your pain. I've had back trouble on and off for years due to the nature of the job and bending over laying bricks low down is no fun.

Think I would be tempted to do it with joist hangers and forget the bricks were it my house.  

I’ve been helping a mate of mine renovate a house for the past year before he moves in and a lot of it has been labour intensive. Ive been able to manage it over that period. First job of my own and it goes, which I think they call Sod’s Law!

Quoted from ginnywings

Do you have some newer boards down that are thinner than the surrounding original boards, or is it a case of some boards being higher on one side than the other, like they have twisted or come loose?

Have you had some heavy handed plumber/sparky massacre the boards to facilitate wiring and pipework under the floor?

Any loose or raised boards could do with screwing down, especially on raised edges. Try standing on the board near the raised edge and screwing down into the joist below, making sure you don't skewer any services.

Underlay boards are always best on floorboards; the green fibre type ones that come in squares. You can put extra bits in the low spots, but try and get the floor as flat as you can before you lay the laminate. If the sub floor is really bad, you may have to take more drastic action, from overlaying the floor with ply to removing the sub floor altogether.

Things that will help is to fit the laminate at 90 degrees to the floorboards, so it traverses the high and low spots and doesn't run in parallel with the joins in the floorboards, which can cause the floor to unclick when you walk on it.

The other thing is to use a thicker, rather than thinner laminate, which will also help to keep it solid over the uneven floor. Don't be getting 6mm or 7mm stuff. At least 8mm thick and preferably thicker. 12mm would be my choice.

Cheers brother. Previous owner had a fireplace removed/bricked up, so the boards where the old hearth used to be are set lower than the rest of the room. Plus there are some other odd secrions where it looks like pipes have been put in, probably for the central heating, and boarded over at another different level.

Just time consuming, pain in the ārse for a paper shuffler like me.