DIY thread...

[Green Gecko]

Move with your whole body not just your wrists, lean into the tool a bit and just keep an eye on it.

Yes there are downcut blades specifically for laminate etc, that's the technical phrase!

[andretmzt]

That floor looks fantastic Errkal!

On laminate flooring, depending on the room and budget, engineered wood is worth looking at. My Dad and I fitted my living room with some from Wickes that was click fit and it went together beautifully. No need for a jigsaw either, a normal saw was sufficient to cut the pieces to size.

[Green Gecko]

To be honest a jigsaw just isn't necessary, any hand saw will do and you will get a better, straighter cut. I like Bahco saws, Irwin you can probably find at DIY stores too.

Jigsaws are more for cutting panels down or awkward shapes or any situation where hand cutting would take ages and it's owing to that that your cuts end up being crap.

That said the thicker the flooring is the longer it's going to take to cut by hand, so, it's swings and roundabouts.

[That's not a growth]

Damn, this is a good level of information, thanks all. I need to start putting all my planning and research into one place.

I've been looking into work benches, as I figured if I'm going to be sawing then it would make sense. Would something like this fit the bill?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0716B88KY/ ... EMVR8T0M0Q

[Errkal]

Damn, this is a good level of information, thanks all. I need to start putting all my planning and research into one place.

I've been looking into work benches, as I figured if I'm going to be sawing then it would make sense. Would something like this fit the bill?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0716B88KY/ ... EMVR8T0M0Q

I have this one, is basic and does the trick

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0001GRVW ... UTF8&psc=1

[That's not a growth]

Ah, good to hear, I'll give it a look, half price is very appealing.

[andretmzt]

I've got one of these which has been good for working with larger pieces of wood. Only downsides are that there are no holes for bench dogs and that the rails for the quick release clamps haven't been installed properly and I need to use a mallet on the clamps to get them in position.

[Mommy]

One thing to remember when doing flooring is to give yourself a 10mm gap all the way around the edge. It may look OTT but you'd be surprised how much expansion there is during the year.
Cuts shouldn't be an issue as long as you take your time. I'd be using a bench saw with a fine blade. Your cuts will always be covered by trim anyway.

[Green Gecko]

Would they be covered where panels butt up against each other in the middle of the floor though? You don't need to worry about the room's edges for sure. Which is a good point, because you should try to retain the factory edges as much as possible. Only make the cuts you need to make i.e. use as many factory cut panels as possible in the middle of the floor and only put the trimmed ones in e.g. the top and and right sides of the room, then you won't need to worry about cutting quality but only with that strategy! Don't make it up as you go along!

The expansion is a good point although applies more to proper hardwood flooring or engineered boards, MDF/particle/laminates are pretty dimensionally stable as they're packed with glue.

Boards will expand around radiators etc, slightly annoyed with myself with the heat coming on now I left a nice pine jointed board up against the radiator and it's cupped a lot, not an issue if I'm screwing it down onto something but kind of strawberry floated it for shelves etc (I have a good wood hoard, as I make my own workshop solutions amongst the sign work I do for my business).

For a bench, the B&D WorkMate design has been around for years and works, but you probably want some one handed clamps as well, Irwin are basically the best outside of the premium options (and the design doesn't constantly change so you can add more over time and they are roughly the same). That Worx bench that includes clamping rails and trigger clamps is interesting but you can pay less.

Mac Allister which is a B&Q Brand sold under the same parent company at Screwfix I try to avoid, but modern plastics aren't terrible. For something you're probably using once in a blue moon, it folding up like that is useful.

Frustratingly a solid as strawberry float metal and folding bench my mum had for ages (for which turned out to be a fairly decent brand back then), got thrown out, I told her it only needed derusting and some Rustoleum or whatever on it.

I've built a monstrous woodbench now that would move even if I ploughed into it with my full strength, but I have these Stanley horses, the grooves you can just put 2x4 in and then screw some plywood or MDF or whatever on top, instant workbench.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-fold ... pack/82233

You're better off with a folding/clamping bench though, I got these for sawing up big panels with a circular saw.

... I just realised I know all of this despite never having floored a room in my life, I like deconstructing how things are done by just looking at them.

[No:1 Final Fantasy Fan]

Got an electrician to come and replace two extractor fans for the bathroom and kitchen, he had to do a bit of rewiring on the box on the wall. I was charged £300 for the day and he was working 11-3:30.

Just wondering if anyone know if this was a reasonably priced?

Additionally I got him to replace a plug socket that was a bit broken, a bathroom light switch, and fit a bathroom ceiling light. He didn't charge extra for this as he managed to do it on the same day.

[Tomous]

Are you in London? Sounds high but probably about right in London.

[No:1 Final Fantasy Fan]

Are you in London? Sounds high but probably about right in London.

Thanks for your feedback, Yes in London. I was expecting like £200 tbh. But at the end of the day I'm just glad the job has been completed and to a good standard too. Just can't help wondering if I overpaid a lot or not but nm i guess.

[Tomous]

£200 is about what I'd have expected outside London

[Green Gecko]

That's reasonable. If they came over and did it in a reasonable timeframe and did extra things you wanted fit in if they could. You have to remember these people aren't salaried and have to charge for their time coming to you and sorting it all out with you, as they can be other places and there's a degree of downtime they still have overheads to pay for as well.

If you work in sales you get paid for that time securing sales even if you sell nothing. That's not true for independents or non salaried workers. Every job takes work and even if successful they don't necessarily make any money doing it.

They also have to pay for their own parts, fuel, mot, insurance, van, pension, national insurance, accounting, administration (PA or unpaid time) to be in a position to show up, and they're entitled to be paid for that time as well.

If they get sick from coronavirus they have no support or sick pay for that.

... They definitely came before you got the Rona right? If a self employed or contractor person comes to your property and you're carrying a potentially deadly illness it not only puts them out of work with no pay and mounting debts (because the costs don't just stop when you stop working), it can potentially kill them without them even knowing.

Speaking as a businessperson. Trust me without knowing their specific circumstances it's highly likely they are charging more reasonably than you think, but I understand querying it.

[Dowbocop]

Did you get at least three quotes for the work?

[No:1 Final Fantasy Fan]

Overall I had two quotes. But the first quote was only to replace one fan and i got quoted £250 including materials but the person didnt come over just based it on photos I posted.
Whereas this guy came over to assess the electricals before quoting.

Yes, it was on Thursday and I didn't feel ill or test positive until Friday. I told him anyway and he's been testing as a pre-caution. Thanks for the detailed response. Just good to know I didn't drastically overpay and he did such a great job and was good to work with I'd hire again in the future if I ever needed an electrician.

[Dowbocop]

Considering you managed to wangle a load of little jobs for free I wouldn't complain! I think I paid £100-odd in Liverpool for a new bathroom fan on its own, was a couple of years ago so can't remember. He also fixed a wonky plug socket for free as it happens!

[No:1 Final Fantasy Fan]

Considering you managed to wangle a load of little jobs for free I wouldn't complain! I think I paid £100-odd in Liverpool for a new bathroom fan on its own, was a couple of years ago so can't remember. He also fixed a wonky plug socket for free as it happens!

True yeah I didn't give him extra jobs on the day.
Was the £100 odd Labour only?

[Mommy]

Got an electrician to come and replace two extractor fans for the bathroom and kitchen, he had to do a bit of rewiring on the box on the wall. I was charged £300 for the day and he was working 11-3:30.

Just wondering if anyone know if this was a reasonably priced?

Additionally I got him to replace a plug socket that was a bit broken, a bathroom light switch, and fit a bathroom ceiling light. He didn't charge extra for this as he managed to do it on the same day.

Good money if you can get it.

Can you show me the fans?
Socket is a fiver, pullswitch is £3, sealed LED fitting maybe £25. I'd change all 3 in an hour.

He's possibly moved the bathroom lighting circuit onto the RCD side of the fuse box.
Show us a picture of that too.

Did he give you a minor works cert?

[Green Gecko]

There's always a lower quote. Always. But it's not all about that.

Found out the three halogen down lights in my shower had the cables running over the top of them. Hot enough they had set fire at some point and burnt out. This is in the basement so if there was a fuel source would have burnt UP through the floor (hard wood) and could have killed us while we slept. The gas cupboard is in the same room where it's tanked. Thankfully there's a white Kevlar fire blanket or something above them in the ceiling cavity in the event that they did catch fire. This is scorched.

The fittings are clearly labelled with two safety symbols that wiring going over the fitting is a fire hazard as heat rises , even the labels themselves resemble crisp packets in a fire.

I'll replace them with LEDs (tried some mr11 replacements and they flickered like crazy, probably because of the dodgy wiring) but for the sketchy wire harness / parallel circuit splicing, I'll have to try and figure out the wiring for that because they used molex connectors and they were burnt to a cinder and disintegrated. So I have no idea what's what. The cable sheaths are just black, no blue/brown. Whoever installled the plaster in the shower ceiling clearly did not leave enough length In the cable for the wiring to run parallel to the fittings instead of over them, or someone changed the Halogen bulbs and pulled the downlights so far out the ceiling they took the wiring with it, then stuffed it all back in.

I've kept the charred parts to show my landlord.

Whoever thought small halogen lights in ceilings was a good idea is strawberry floating crazy. They create an insane amount of heat and burn out all the time, as well as generally being really hard to change.

So yeah maybe that guy did or didn't charge an appropriate amount of money but the lower you go that's how it works.

If you want to spend as little money may as well learn to do it yourself. I'm sure it's dodgy as strawberry float but my grandad wired three houses. We never died there, cancer got him though. I'm somewhat curious what that looks like