DIY Disasters!

[Mike E]

1 hour ago, Riversider28 said:

Thanks for posting that Mike, it’s cheered me up no end. 

When I first listened to it last night, I was in my car driving home from work and I had to pull into the services, as I was crying from laughing so much

[Upside Down]

17 hours ago, Mike E said:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNAM6At1/?k=1

Possibly the funniest story in a while, transcript below but the radio reading above brings it to life. This is a bricklayer's accident report, which was printed in the newsletter of the Australian equivalent of the Workers' Compensation board. This is a true story. Had this guy died, he'd have received a Darwin Award for sure....

 

Dear Sir:

I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block 3 of the accident report form. I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had some bricks left over which, when weighed later were found to be slightly in excess of 250kgs.

Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which was attached to the side of the building on the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the bricks.

You will note in Block 11 of the accident report form that I weigh 70kgs.

Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel, which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explained the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collar bone, as listed in section 3 of the accident report form.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.

Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of beginning to experience a great deal of pain.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, that barrel weighed approximately 20kgs. I refer you again to my weight.

As you can imagine, I began a rapid descent, down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and several lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope and I lay there watching the empty barrel begin its journey back down onto me. This explains the two broken legs.

I hope this answers your inquiry.

They walk among us. 

[RoverDom]

On 05/07/2022 at 16:39, Mike E said:

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNAM6At1/?k=1

Possibly the funniest story in a while, transcript below but the radio reading above brings it to life. This is a bricklayer's accident report, which was printed in the newsletter of the Australian equivalent of the Workers' Compensation board. This is a true story. Had this guy died, he'd have received a Darwin Award for sure....

 

Dear Sir:

I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block 3 of the accident report form. I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had some bricks left over which, when weighed later were found to be slightly in excess of 250kgs.

Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which was attached to the side of the building on the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the bricks.

You will note in Block 11 of the accident report form that I weigh 70kgs.

Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel, which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explained the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collar bone, as listed in section 3 of the accident report form.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.

Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of beginning to experience a great deal of pain.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, that barrel weighed approximately 20kgs. I refer you again to my weight.

As you can imagine, I began a rapid descent, down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and several lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope and I lay there watching the empty barrel begin its journey back down onto me. This explains the two broken legs.

I hope this answers your inquiry.

I've got 3 maybe 4 Darwin award books in my spare room and this has made me want to go back and read them 

[Mike E]

Just now, RoverDom said:

I've got 3 maybe 4 Darwin award books in my spare room and this has made me want to go back and read them 

I love things like this. One of my favourite books is called 'heroic failures'.

[RoverDom]

Not a disaster, more of an annoyance. I've been to 3 DIY shops and can't find a pack of 5mm hinge screws. 4mm and 6mm but not 5mm. To those far better at DIY than me, I'm not  trying to find something stupid like tartan paint am I? 

Edited August 7, 2022 by RoverDom

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

9 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

Not a disaster, more of an annoyance. I've been to 3 DIY shops and can't find a pack of 5mm hinge screws. 4mm and 6mm but not 5mm. To those far better at DIY than me, I'm not  trying to find something stupid like tartan paint am I? 

What do you mean by “ hinge screws “ ? 

[RoverDom]

4 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

What do you mean by “ hinge screws “ ? 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinc-plated-hinge-screws-m6-x-10-5mm-100-pack/67259?tc=CB8&ds_kid=92700048793290424&ds_rl=1249413&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxb2XBhDBARIsAOjDZ36SkqNZXT8w2CYccMWr2IpY_1WB4VifjOYakdI7JXqdvYMUcS2_BisaAkjcEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Them but M5. Short and stubby for a kitchen cabinet I'm putting up. It's got predrilled 5mm holes for the hinges. I seem to have a million different screws of various lengths and thickness but all my 5mm ones are longer than the 20mm side of the cabinet.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

16 hours ago, RoverDom said:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinc-plated-hinge-screws-m6-x-10-5mm-100-pack/67259?tc=CB8&ds_kid=92700048793290424&ds_rl=1249413&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxb2XBhDBARIsAOjDZ36SkqNZXT8w2CYccMWr2IpY_1WB4VifjOYakdI7JXqdvYMUcS2_BisaAkjcEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Them but M5. Short and stubby for a kitchen cabinet I'm putting up. It's got predrilled 5mm holes for the hinges. I seem to have a million different screws of various lengths and thickness but all my 5mm ones are longer than the 20mm side of the cabinet.

I see, I know what you mean now.  If you’ve got an angle grinder and some pliers you could just grind a bit off the length of the ones that are too long. They can’t be over long by much. That’s if it’s just one cabinet. If it’s a whole kitchen’s worth of hinges that’s another story.

I’ve kept all of those types of hinges that I’ve swapped out/replaced in the past and I bet I’ve got some of those screws. Trouble is I’m on holiday in Spain for the next two weeks and the bag of old hinges is in the UK.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[RoverDom]

52 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I see, I know what you mean now.  If you’ve got an angle grinder and some pliers you could just grind a bit off the length of the ones that are too long. They can’t be over long by much. That’s if it’s just one cabinet. If it’s a whole kitchen’s worth of hinges that’s another story.

I’ve kept all of those types of hinges that I’ve swapped out/replaced in the past and I bet I’ve got some of those screws. Trouble is I’m on holiday in Spain for the next two weeks and the bag of old hinges is in the UK.

Annoyingly I dismantled an old wardrobe about 6months ago and I'm fairly sure those hinges used the screws I needed. Alas I only have a small shed and no garage so I need to be conservative with the things I hoard. I envy my dad's huge garage where, much to mums annoyance, he hasn't chucked anything out of for years but he always has the exact screw, nut, bolt, wire, plug, piece of wood etc that you need. A trait passed down from my grandad - he died last November and my dad is still clearing out his garage.

Not to fear though, as always amazon has what I need on next day delivery. I would have raided my dad's stockpile of stuff but they're away this week and I, perhaps unwisely, decided to start ripping the kitchen apart when my wife could go into labour at any point. I'm on strict instructions to get it finished ASAP. 

[Mike E]

Question, folks. We've just bought a tumble dryer. It's the type with options to use a water reserve and empty it after every use, or standard drainage pipe.

I anticipate it will be before Christmas that my wife forgets to empty the reserve and floods the utility room, so I want to use the standard drainage.

It will be next to my washing machine, and the set-up behind will look as in the image below.

The washing machine drainage goes into a PVC pipe into the waste, but I can't fit both it AND the tumble dryer pipe (that I'm holding) in.

Do I:

1. Get a bigger bit of PVC pipe and shove both flexi-pipes in

OR

2. Connect the flexi-pipes with a junction somehow?

[iacok]

Get a new wife !!! 😉

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

We’ve got an integrated condenser tumble dryer. I just don’t let my wife go anywhere near it. Just like she’s not allowed near a paint brush either.

[Upside Down]

14 hours ago, Mike E said:

Question, folks. We've just bought a tumble dryer. It's the type with options to use a water reserve and empty it after every use, or standard drainage pipe.

I anticipate it will be before Christmas that my wife forgets to empty the reserve and floods the utility room, so I want to use the standard drainage.

It will be next to my washing machine, and the set-up behind will look as in the image below.

The washing machine drainage goes into a PVC pipe into the waste, but I can't fit both it AND the tumble dryer pipe (that I'm holding) in.

Do I:

1. Get a bigger bit of PVC pipe and shove both flexi-pipes in

OR

2. Connect the flexi-pipes with a junction somehow?

Get a y junction for the pvc pipe.

[RoverDom]

More advice needed for the guy who drives spreadsheets for a living. 

 

Got a radiator in my house that isn't working (and as far as I know has never worked in the three years since I've been in). 

1. I've bled it

2. As far as I can tell the valves on both sides are open 

3. There's decent pressure on the boiler - the room is on the third floor so I thought pressure might be an issue but the other two on that floor are fine. 

Is there any thing else I should be trying before I have to get a man in to look at it *shudder*

[Gav]

29 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

More advice needed for the guy who drives spreadsheets for a living. 

 

Got a radiator in my house that isn't working (and as far as I know has never worked in the three years since I've been in). 

1. I've bled it

2. As far as I can tell the valves on both sides are open 

3. There's decent pressure on the boiler - the room is on the third floor so I thought pressure might be an issue but the other two on that floor are fine. 

Is there any thing else I should be trying before I have to get a man in to look at it *shudder*

Have you bled all you rads Dom? I find with mine, it’s not always the one that’s cold that is the issue.

[RoverDom]

4 minutes ago, Gav said:

Have you bled all you rads Dom? I find with mine, it’s not always the one that’s cold that is the issue.

I think so but will have another check round - no doubt I missed one

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Are they thermostatic valves or just the plain ones ? Thermostatic valves can jam easily. When you bled the rad did you turn the system off whilst you did it ? I presume cold water was coming out of the bleed valve. Did the radiator not warm up from the bottom at all ? 
 

When you are bleeding the radiator resist the temptation to remove the bleed screw completely. I made that mistake once about 10 seconds before the scalding hot water decided to put in an appearance.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[RoverDom]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Are they thermostatic valves or just the plain ones ? Thermostatic valves can jam easily. When you bled the rad did you turn the system off whilst you did it ? I presume cold water was coming out of the bleed valve. Did the radiator not warm up from the bottom at all ? 
 

When you are bleeding the radiator resist the temptation to remove the bleed screw completely. I made that mistake once about 10 seconds before the scalding hot water decided to put in an appearance.

Thermostatic valve. I don't think it's jammed, the pin (sorry guessing at the lingo) isn't stuck down and seems identical to the radiators that work. 

The heating was off when I bled it and I just got cold water out. 

The whole radiator is stone cold from the very bottom. 

[den]

If you’re sure both valves are open could it be sludge in the rad?  Could try taking it off and using a hose to clear it.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

16 hours ago, RoverDom said:

Thermostatic valve. I don't think it's jammed, the pin (sorry guessing at the lingo) isn't stuck down and seems identical to the radiators that work. 

The heating was off when I bled it and I just got cold water out. 

The whole radiator is stone cold from the very bottom. 

When you got the cold water out did the rad not warm up at all ?  

For what  thermostatic valves cost these days,  before I started removing the rad, I change the valve. There are tutorials on YouTube showing you how to do a “ racing change “. 15 minute job if it all goes to plan. 

[Mike E]

Here's one for you. Remember the pipes I showed you earlier on this page?

I successfully attached the 'Y' junction. Worked like a dream... until the cold snap to -10C just before Christmas.

See, I had added the Y junction but didn't account for this adding length to the pipe (I needed to cut it down a touch, but didn't).

So, the right-angle of the drainage pipe at the bottom became a slightly acute angle, with some standing water in it.

Which froze.

Utility room flooded on Dec 23rd.

Spent Christmas Eve sorting it out, and in-laws agreed to host Christmas Dinner instead of us.

Sorted now, it's just a funny story, but I swear Mrs E could've done her best Dirty Den impression on Christmas Day...

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

On 28/01/2023 at 02:30, Mike E said:

Here's one for you. Remember the pipes I showed you earlier on this page?

I successfully attached the 'Y' junction. Worked like a dream... until the cold snap to -10C just before Christmas.

See, I had added the Y junction but didn't account for this adding length to the pipe (I needed to cut it down a touch, but didn't).

So, the right-angle of the drainage pipe at the bottom became a slightly acute angle, with some standing water in it.

Which froze.

Utility room flooded on Dec 23rd.

Spent Christmas Eve sorting it out, and in-laws agreed to host Christmas Dinner instead of us.

Sorted now, it's just a funny story, but I swear Mrs E could've done her best Dirty Den impression on Christmas Day...

Oh dear, that’s an easy “ mistake “ to make.

[RoverDom]

Clean shirt desk jockey reporting in again. Hoping @Tyrone Shoelaces is still online 😂

Had a broken front door handle, ordered a new one after measuring over and over again but its some how not fitting right. As you can see from the picture below it's bent out in the middle. 

Old and new handles have identical dimensions, all the holes line up perfectly. I used the old screws and spindle rather than the new ones which were a touch longer so confused what isn't working. Am I right in thinking the spindle is pushing it out I'm the middle? If so is it as simple as cutting it down a few mm? 

Functionally it feels sturdy and is working fine (for now) but looks naff, inside and out. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

27 minutes ago, RoverDom said:

Clean shirt desk jockey reporting in again. Hoping @Tyrone Shoelaces is still online 😂

Had a broken front door handle, ordered a new one after measuring over and over again but its some how not fitting right. As you can see from the picture below it's bent out in the middle. 

Old and new handles have identical dimensions, all the holes line up perfectly. I used the old screws and spindle rather than the new ones which were a touch longer so confused what isn't working. Am I right in thinking the spindle is pushing it out I'm the middle? If so is it as simple as cutting it down a few mm? 

Functionally it feels sturdy and is working fine (for now) but looks naff, inside and out. 

Sounds like the square bar is slightly too long. Remove it and saw about 6mm off the end. I had a similar issue last year. 

[RoverDom]

2 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Sounds like the square bar is slightly too long. Remove it and saw about 6mm off the end. I had a similar issue last year. 

Magic thank you! New handles was more of a minefield than I thought in terms of measurements