DIY for knuckleheads

[King Coconut]

I've just had to unscrew 4 screws by hand and I think I've sprained my wrist. I have no idea how our grandparents survived without lithium ion batteries.

[wordsfromlee]

Bought a house. It had a massive fuck off pond in the back garden. First thing I did was rip the fucker out before the dog jumped in it and put a lawn in instead.

Bish, bash, bosh.

Before

After

Next on the list is to dismantle and rip out all the aviaries that surround the decking behind that trellis. It must take up a good third of the entire garden. The previous owner was a strange man who liked birds too much (and not in a Richard Richard way). At least he built a bar with a TV in.

[waters44]

My wife asked me to take two really old hanging baskets off the wall outside. Thirty second job.

It took me two hours, £24 in Wickes and about 7 different tools. And that’s only one! I’ve left the other one

How would I go about getting this screw out? The head of the screw is just breaking when I use a flat head screwdriver where it’s so old and rusted. There was just enough gap on the other one to saw the screw head off but I can’t move this at all

[King Coconut]

You could drill the screw head out. Use a drill bit that's 1-2mm smaller than the screw head. That should release the basket and leave you enough of the screw sticking out to grab with pliers or something.

[TibBo]

Do you need to get the screw out?

If the head of the screw is falling apart that easily, just smash the head of it off so you can remove the bracket, and use some pliers to remove what’s left of the screw, break it off level with the brick, or you could try one of those screw remover reverse drill bit things?

For jobs like this a little dremel style multi-tool is a godsend, you could chop the head off that screw in about 30 seconds with a cutting disc, then cut the remaining screw off level with the brick to stop the wasps etc getting in the holes.

[wordsfromlee]

52 minutes ago, TibBo said:

For jobs like this a little dremel style multi-tool is a godsend, you could chop the head off that screw in about 30 seconds with a cutting disc, then cut the remaining screw off level with the brick to stop the wasps etc getting in the holes.

You could also try to use the dremel to cut a new, deeper slot for the screwdriver.

[waters44]

Thanks for all the tips there! Much appreciated. I’ll get back to it in six months or so…

But yes, looks like a multi tool is next up on the shopping list! 

[waters44]

Starting to decorate the hall, stairs and landing. What do you think about the previous owners attempt at cutting in around the light switch?

Spoiler

 

[Rossman]

It's beggars belief how bad, some people are with decorating. For light switches & plug sockets, I unscrew them now to get behind them. Otherwise the finish isn't as good, with brush strokes.

After our ensuite flooded the other week. I managed to fit and hang a new radiator. And replace the lock shield & TRV. I gave myself two hours to do it. It took all day, and had a nervous breakdown around lunch time, because we had another mini flood. But small wins and all that.

[hallicks]

The previous occupiers of our house left a bunch of DIY shit in the loft, namely

- unused kitchen countertops
- unused laminate flooring & presumably underlay 
- unused bathroom tiles

We’re in the process of clearing out the loft, and now having finally been through about 50+ boxes of our own shite that we’ve been carting round with us for 15 years, we’re now down to this stuff.

Is there any value in keeping this stuff? If we redo the kitchen, it won’t be with the stuff they used. Is it worth keeping any laminate or underlay in case it needs redoing?(Is that even a thing)? Are there people who can find a use for this stuff, rather than just carting the whole to the tip? 

[NeverYield]

Someone would definitely have use for them unused kitchen counter tops, worth whacking on FB Marketplace (if you have it), if not Gumtree, or if you're not bothered about a sale leaving them out the front, someone will pick them up. 

You can definitely keep the laminate laying about if its not causing too much of a storage issue, because you can 100% use it should it need redoing. 

There is definitely people who would make use of it, from odd jobs type people and handymen to tradesmen, but it might take a while for it to sell is the only thing, so if you're more concerned with getting it gone just skip it. 

 

[TibBo]

Put the bathroom tiles under the bath?  They won't be in the way there, and if you ever break one you wont have to buy a new pack/try to find where they are from so they match etc.

Is the loft fully boarded?  If not they may have left the countertop up there to move between the joists?

How long have you had the house?  The laminate might be there to catch any drips if the roof leaks...