Flyfisher
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Ditto. I'd say that's fairly conclusive proof that it works. :lol:
- Thread starter skier-hughes
- Start date
vicky whitworth
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Don't crack your forehead on the low beam into the kitchen of your new cottage, find out six months later you have a detached retina, and then be surprised when after emergency surgery the eye consultant says "Can you think what might have caused it? Did you have a bump on the head recently?" Not one of my greatest moves.
skier-hughes
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I doubt I have any retinas left to repair the number of times I've cracked my head on the bathroom doorway, and it always seems to be when I have a migraine
Flyfisher
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Coincidentally, 'Questions Questions' on BBC R4 this afternoon had a report on the very topic of keeping witches at bay in days of olde.
Listen again (for 7 days) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/questionsquestions.shtml (should you be so inclined).
Listen again (for 7 days) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/questionsquestions.shtml (should you be so inclined).
Nemesis
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Scotsman today:
Penners
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Thank you for that. It's answered a question that's been puzzling me....
Nemesis
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Yes, it's not age related, it's witch-related.
Penners
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I suppose that's as good an excuse as any.
Don't ask plasterers to do the job of floor tilers because they are keen to "have a go" and are running out of things to do on a Friday. Dont leave them on site with basic instructions and go off to get on with other important jobs rather than closely supervising them
If you do you will spend all of your Sunday lifting up the tiles they have laid and knocking out the tile adhesive and self levelling compound with a lump hammer and chisel. Fortunately they didn't prepare the floor by cleaning dust off and sealing with PVA first so the stuff came up fairly easily - the rage helped too!
What was wrong with the job they did? - we hear you cry
3 different porcelain tiles - numbered on the back 1,2,3 so it's easy to create a seemingly random pattern - were laid with 3, 4 and 5 tiles of the same pattern next to each other - in addition to which rather than breaking out and levelling out the floor in the 2 small areas where it gradually became 10-15 mm higher and then dipped down level again, they decided to build up the floor level to meet it using tile adhesive - so £74.00 worth of tile adhesive was used to lay 30 18 inch tiles - thus losing an inch of head height in a room that only has a 7 foot ceiling
We were very mad, calming down a bit now though - just when we thought we might actually be able to move in at the end of this week!
still, ho hum - nearly there
Shelli
If you do you will spend all of your Sunday lifting up the tiles they have laid and knocking out the tile adhesive and self levelling compound with a lump hammer and chisel. Fortunately they didn't prepare the floor by cleaning dust off and sealing with PVA first so the stuff came up fairly easily - the rage helped too!
What was wrong with the job they did? - we hear you cry
3 different porcelain tiles - numbered on the back 1,2,3 so it's easy to create a seemingly random pattern - were laid with 3, 4 and 5 tiles of the same pattern next to each other - in addition to which rather than breaking out and levelling out the floor in the 2 small areas where it gradually became 10-15 mm higher and then dipped down level again, they decided to build up the floor level to meet it using tile adhesive - so £74.00 worth of tile adhesive was used to lay 30 18 inch tiles - thus losing an inch of head height in a room that only has a 7 foot ceiling
We were very mad, calming down a bit now though - just when we thought we might actually be able to move in at the end of this week!
still, ho hum - nearly there
Shelli
When carrying out one of those accident prone plumbing related tasks and the surprisingly large remaining contents of a radiator gurgle out on to the plasterboard ceiling of the room below -
DON'T rush to the bathroom to grab a large towel that even after many washes will never be the same again.....
DO rush to the pet supplies cupboard (better still, plan ahead and do this before unleashing the spanner) grab a bag of cat litter and launch it onto the puddle. Works a treat, ceiling saved, towel saved, everybody happy.
HOWEVER, make sure you clean the litter up as soon as you can because your furry friends will surely find it when they feel the need!
DON'T rush to the bathroom to grab a large towel that even after many washes will never be the same again.....
DO rush to the pet supplies cupboard (better still, plan ahead and do this before unleashing the spanner) grab a bag of cat litter and launch it onto the puddle. Works a treat, ceiling saved, towel saved, everybody happy.
HOWEVER, make sure you clean the litter up as soon as you can because your furry friends will surely find it when they feel the need!
When O/H calls through the house (from the garage which is connected to the very back of the house) - to say to be careful not to come into the garage because he has taken out the steps down into the garage, and you are 4 rooms away: -
Even though you could not hear what your O/H was saying when he was kindly warning you of the peril - DONT GO! If you do, you run the risk of opening the door, stepping down as usual (whilst asking "were you saying something")- only to find that the steps have been removed and you lunge down a huge drop, cracking your ankle upon landing - ouch! :evil:
Even though you could not hear what your O/H was saying when he was kindly warning you of the peril - DONT GO! If you do, you run the risk of opening the door, stepping down as usual (whilst asking "were you saying something")- only to find that the steps have been removed and you lunge down a huge drop, cracking your ankle upon landing - ouch! :evil:
FamilyWiggs
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When carefully making the shuttering for your first set of concrete steps, don't forget to deduct the thickness of your mortar bed and flagstones from the height of your concrete.
Doh!
Doh!
:lol: :lol:FamilyWiggs said:
just cut out half width of the top step and make a step down! - you'll hardly be able to tell!!
Another one
It is best to ensure that your building assistant understands that one of the purposes of a step is to keep water away from the house so that he doesn't bed in the step with it angled slightly downwards towards the door ! :roll:
FamilyWiggs
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shelli said:
Fortunately I have an observant "building assistant" as she pointed out the error 24 hours after the concrete was poured, and thankfully I was still able to chisel out a couple of inches from the tops of the steps.
:roll:
DaveBrigg
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Either this forum or my computer has a time critical disconnection feature. If you spend an hour typing a long and detailed message, with picture references, and then check it through for clarity, copy and paste it somewhere before hitting the send button. Then, when you are asked to log on again and get returned to a blank page, you will not feel like breaking the keyboard with a blunt instrument.
DaveBrigg
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Don't remove cement render on a Sunday afternoon. Current trading laws decree it illegal to retail window lintels after the hour of 4 pm. This may not be an issue which has grabbed your attention recently, but when you manage to dislodge a particularly stubborn piece of cement from above the window with one hand, and find yourself holding several courses of bricks in place with the other, it's not a nice feeling to know that Wickes have just closed their doors.
One advantage of owning an old property is that there is usually an acrow or two and some spare lengths of timber laying around. The previous lintel was easily scooped out, and disposed of in the light breeze.
One advantage of owning an old property is that there is usually an acrow or two and some spare lengths of timber laying around. The previous lintel was easily scooped out, and disposed of in the light breeze.
Penners
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Is the house holding the ladder and tower up, or vice versa?
Flyfisher
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I've got one of those!DaveBrigg said:
Nice bit of emergency 'first aid' though.
DaveBrigg
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I suppose another moral of the story is don't do this sort of job on your own. Fortunately I had a helper who was able to cut a piece of timber to length and fetch the prop. Otherwise, I'd still be up the ladder now, with very sore arms.