DIY fatigue

[Penners]

Crayons are good. Colour-coding makes the whole thing look so much more important!

 

[plasticpigeon]

I have semi cured my DIY fatigue by realiseing that I am not going to stay in my house forever, so will need to sell it sometime, so i am beginning to compromise, as I am certain the next owners will not appreciate my painstaking approach. Not very helpful if you are in your house for the long haul though!

 

[Zebra]

Well I took a nice break today. Giraffe and I went to visit Lavenham. I've not been before. It was really marvellous.

 

[Penners]

Well done - hope you enjoyed your visit to God's Own Country (Suffolk, of course).

Presumably it was Giraffe who took this photo:

 

[Keith Bowman]

So glad you came to see some of WEST Suffolk [Penners is out east somewhere!] but didn't you get just a teeny bit damp? Perhaps Giraffe held the brolly up high enough to keep you dry!?

 

[LadyArowana]

A nice bit of rain probably a pleasant change from the parched grasslands and it will make delicious new shoots grow on all the plants. Zebras and Giraffes like that.

 

[Penners]

Penners is out east somewhere!

SOMEWHERE?! Near Bungay is where - the cultural centre of... of... of... the Waveney Valley!

 

[LadyArowana]

Penners is out east somewhere!

SOMEWHERE?! Near Bungay is where - the cultural centre of... of... of... the Waveney Valley!

Any relation to Bunga Bunga?

 

[Penners]

Regrettably, no. We do have a local resident called Ruby, but she doesn't steal many hearts (although I wouldn't put it past her to smuggle a few cans of Pedigree Chum out of the local supermarket).

 

[Zebra]

Yes Penners, Giraffe did take that photo. He's clever like that, being able to operate a camera and all that.
You can't see me. I'm camouflaged against that striped building.
And yes, we did get wet, but we didn't mind.

Well, I found my stripes again, and some new oomph. It seems that I'd been stuck partly because the next task to be done was just too big for me to do, so I kept putting it off. But I've found a way round it - so that instead of the task being done in one big go, meaning lots of effort, a big chunk of time, and hiring of tools and possibly labour, I've thought of a weird method by which the task can be done in tiny bits, an hour at a time if necessary, so that it's possible to do a bit in the evening after work, even if it takes ages. So I'm on the move again!

 

[Keithj]

SOMEWHERE?! Near Bungay is where - the cultural centre of... of... of... the Waveney Valley!

Bungay? Isn't that near Norfolk?

Until Suffolk attracted us away from Essex, the "bolthole" in Kirby Cane (between Bungay and Beccles, but in Norfolk) kept me sane. Now that we live in Suffolk, sanity isn't critical and we've let out the cottage to a delightful gardener who takes excellent care of it. Lower right of Suffolk now, not too near the corners.

 

[LadyArowana]

Well, I found my stripes again, and some new oomph. It seems that I'd been stuck partly because the next task to be done was just too big for me to do, so I kept putting it off. But I've found a way round it - so that instead of the task being done in one big go, meaning lots of effort, a big chunk of time, and hiring of tools and possibly labour, I've thought of a weird method by which the task can be done in tiny bits, an hour at a time if necessary, so that it's possible to do a bit in the evening after work, even if it takes ages. So I'm on the move again!

That's excellent news. Am I the only one that's intrigued by what the task could be and what method you have decided to go for? Probably just me, I am rather nosy.

 

[Penners]

Am I the only one that's intrigued by what the task could be and what method you have decided to go for? Probably just me, I am rather nosy.

Yes, almost as nosey as me. I, too, would like to know all about Zebra's next project.

 

[Flyfisher]

I suspect Milady is curious because whatever it is, it's clearly an 'elephant task'.

 

[billybuntus]

one last thing, if you feel "in the mood" to do some work, and have the time, change into your "old clothes". I find if i dont change into old working clothes i end up just looking around, moving stuff etc without really getting stuck in. if you have the old clothes on you get into the work better i find!

Strangely I find I'm more motivated when I change to fresh work clothes. Although I do live in my work clothes from when I get it on a night to the point I jump into the bath (not in my work clothes I may add).

Although it must be said that I think nothing of going two weeks covered in sawdust and most recently stone dust. A change is as good as a rest in this case.

 

[Zebra]

So changing one's clothes more often than every two weeks is your suggestion then, billyb? That's a bit much, don't you think?

The task is screeding the bathroom floor. I had a builder come in and lay dpm and insulated concrete, several weeks ago, but I need to bring it up a bit to make it level with the rest of the house, allowing for some tiles (except where the bath/shower will go, where the level will stay low so that tall animals can use the shower..). I had the mad idea to lay bricks - just standard LBCs - in a cement mortar bed on the concrete, point inbetween them, and then pour a bit of self-levelling compound over the lot. Doesn't need to be breathable as it's in the modern bit of the house, and even if I only lay three bricks in an evening it'll be progress!

 

[Penners]

I don't see why that's mad, Zebra. If the bricks achieve the correct floor level for you, it sounds like a perfectly sensible plan to me*.

Are you sure that you'll leave enough headroom for Giraffe to have the occasional shower there? There's nothing worse than a stinky giraffe, you know.



* Sensible to me is not necessarily a recommendation.

 

[Feltwell]

Maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick, but.....

Are you talking about using self levelling compound to bring the floor level up by the thickness of the bricks? If so that's an awful lot of compound - expensive and, if memory serves me right, you're not supposed to use it too thickly.*

*Edit - Google all-knowing as ever, Wickes do a "Deep Base" self-levelling compound that will go up to 50mm thick. At £18 for 20kg though it's not cheap.

Alternatively, you could either go with your brick idea or just cut timbers to make flat level guide rails, pour screed mix or concrete in between (I prefer concrete), tamp using the timbers as guides, float off to make it nice and level, let it dry overnight, prise the timbers out whilst the concrete is still "green" and weak and then fill the gap left with concrete or just mortar.

 

[Zebra]

No no no Feltwell, your idea of pouring concrete is what I'm trying to get away from because it requires a mixer, and lots of time. Penners has got the right idea.
Let me take that stick from you Feltwell, here, take this end. The self-levelling compound will be about 5mm thick, on top of the bricks. The bricks are instead of 70mm of screed, which would bring the bathroom up level with the living room.

 

[Feltwell]

Ahhh - it all becomes clear................... and makes a lot more sense!

My only note of caution is that in my limited experience of self-levelling compound, it's not that self-levelling and it's entirely possible to end up with an uneven floor unless you're quick and accurate with a trowel. Or maybe I just didn't mix it thinly enough!