New Grump of the Day

[paulc]

So I now have a random section of ceiling and a bit of wall that is noticeably darker. And it turns out my wife doesn't like the colour after all.

You could always offer her an alternative colour scheme....

 

[88v8]

Oooh that's nice. But the grey of the fireplace stonework perhaps doesn't really go? And as for that bit of conduit, whoever did that should be shot.

Ivor

 

[MatthewC]

Thanks for that photo, Paul :shock: . Now I think I have to go and lie down for a bit in a darkened room...

 

[Penners]

as for that bit of conduit, whoever did that should be shot.

Just the conduit?!

I reckon there are multiple justifications for capital punishment in that room. :x

 

[Hobden]

as for that bit of conduit, whoever did that should be shot.

Just the conduit?!

I reckon there are multiple justifications for capital punishment in that room. :x

Perhaps the room was a punishment cell ...

 

[kreyszig]

my grump: forgetting that things are never as simple as you'd think. Started my nice simple re-slating of the old scullery, bingo! there's no rafter on the end, it's been replaced by a reinforced *cast* concrete lump acting as a lintel and rafter in one, encasing the ends of all of the battens.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Another quality job. I'm annoyed that there is what looks like an asbestos cement board covering an upstairs fireplace in my place. It looks reasonably intact so I think we are safe, but I shall take the fireplace off the wall to remove it before getting the council to take it away. This after trying to polish an old GPO junction box which didn't seem to get a good finish whatever I did. I realised that below the shiny outer surface which had worn away, the inners are probably bakelite and asbestos. Luckily I did all the sanding in a bucket of water so as not to clog the paper which was more luck than judgement. One has to be super careful taking things apart. I know a plasterer who says he and his mates working for a big company spent days grinding asbestos cement lagging off heating pipes in a large municipal building before a new foreman came on the job and shut it down. An old chap I met who worked in construction said it was possible to buy bags of the stuff from builders yards, and they sometimes used to chuck some in a mortar to stiffen it up. They said they used to chuck it at each other for a laugh sometimes. Scary! He's still alive though!

 

[wobs]

We had a stove fitter booked to install two stoves, slate surrounds, tiles etc....... Came recommended by a chap down the road.
Two weeks to go, and he texts to say he can't do it! Reading his text, it sounds like its illness related, and he says it will be 10-12 weeks before he can do it.

Thing is though, we have the stoves ordered from online, so we can't exactly go to a stove shop now, without some awkward conversations.

It seems we're doomed never to get this job done, as its not the first person to let us down on this job.

 

[paulc]

All is not lost. I bought my stove online and had it delivered several weeks before getting someone in to do the fitting. Found several HETAS installers that were willing to do just the fitting and sign off on the work.

Have a ring round and I'm sure you can find someone locally who will do an install only.

 

[DJH]

Hope you get sorted wobs.

My Grump is this...




a lead downpipe assaulted by some scaffold!! :roll: It can be repaired quite easily but I doubt if I'll use it now.

Doug

 

[Feltwell]

Another quality job. I'm annoyed that there is what looks like an asbestos cement board covering an upstairs fireplace in my place. It looks reasonably intact so I think we are safe, but I shall take the fireplace off the wall to remove it before getting the council to take it away. This after trying to polish an old GPO junction box which didn't seem to get a good finish whatever I did. I realised that below the shiny outer surface which had worn away, the inners are probably bakelite and asbestos. Luckily I did all the sanding in a bucket of water so as not to clog the paper which was more luck than judgement. One has to be super careful taking things apart. I know a plasterer who says he and his mates working for a big company spent days grinding asbestos cement lagging off heating pipes in a large municipal building before a new foreman came on the job and shut it down. An old chap I met who worked in construction said it was possible to buy bags of the stuff from builders yards, and they sometimes used to chuck some in a mortar to stiffen it up. They said they used to chuck it at each other for a laugh sometimes. Scary! He's still alive though!

A bit late replying PP, but asbestos cement board is pretty safe stuff so long as you're sensible removing it. Council may well not take it away but most will allow you to take it to a special skip at the tip if you double bag it first. Guidance on HSE website if you want to check - I used this when I demolished an old asbestos-cement sheet clad garage here.

 

[88v8]

I'm inclined to think that the hoohah about asbestos has got rather silly when it carries over into solid products such as board.
The fibres are bound in a matrix, and If it's not cut or filed or drilled, it won't harm anyone, other than the 'specialists' who would happily charge an exorbitant amount to take it away.

Ivor

 

[Penners]

I'm inclined to think that the hoohah about asbestos has got rather silly when it carries over into solid products such as board.
The fibres are bound in a matrix, and If it's not cut or filed or drilled, it won't harm anyone, other than the 'specialists' who would happily charge an exorbitant amount to take it away.

Ivor

Yes, Ivor... "IF"! Unfortunately the kind of knowledge of such things available on this forum is not universal. So there's an ever-present risk of some DIY idiot deciding to break up his old asbestos cement sheeting with a sledgehammer... or whatever.

Mesothelioma is a horrible condition.

 

[MatthewC]

My latest grump at the church opposite is that the wireless fire alarm system has not been working well for ages, with the sensors in the tower often having no connection to the system. I have just found the reason: when the ringers painted their room in the tower (about two years ago), they managed to paint over a large part of the little aerials from the relay box! That wouldn't help, would it?

A related grump is that said relay box is not included on the list of installed components from 2009 (before I came). As a result I didn't even realise it was there, and so the stand-by lead acid batteries with a 4 year life were still there after more than 7 years. Why can't contractors be more accurate in their documentation?

Matthew

 

[88v8]

In a related grump, I wish I could communicate with the large colony of Daddy Long-legs spiders who share our accommodation, and ask them not to climb over the alarm sensors. Unfortunately we don't seem to be on the same wavelength.
I don't like to spray them - after all, cobwebs are an important part of the period house interior.

Ivor

 

[88v8]

....asbestos .....

So I gather. But I used Philplug and so did my father, compared to which, asbestos sheet palls into insignificance
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SeEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA284&lpg=PA284&dq=philplug+screw&source=bl&ots=qtlb_5iCYj&sig=hP9oUhp9dsru1o9VeKIfhGV6Wcw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi844WmosnTAhXEJ8AKHTiTB2kQ6AEIOjAF#v=onepage&q=philplug%20screw&f=false

and I still have some and may use it one day, except that if I use it all I won't have it any more then if I need some I won't have it. It's hard deciding to use the last of something irreplaceable. As my garage shelves testify.

Ivor

PS there were some wonderful gadgets back then. Gas turbine, anyone?

 

[Me!]

I was told recently that most of the dirt you see here on Stirling Moss and on other racing drivers of that period was asbestos dust from the brakes!

 

[Penners]

there were some wonderful gadgets back then. Gas turbine, anyone?

Those Popular Mechanics pages are some of the most fascinating that I've seen for a long time, Ivor! They include an ad for a De Walt radial arm saw - I still have one (a rather later model), and after my battery drill it's the most-used tool in my workshop.

 

[a twig]

So, finally getting rid of our old woodburner with back boiler and replacing it with a new one.

Already have the existing 6" liner installed, so just wanted a like for like replacement Villager B, only this time without back boiler. That would make it a nice simple job, unhook one, hook up t'other - done...

Guess what, all the current Villager stoves of similar size now have 5" flue exits. Which means I will need an adaptor, which then means I will need to modify my existing liner set up to make it fit... Gaaaah... Nothing is ever simple... :evil: :evil:

 

[Penners]

Nothing is ever simple... :evil: :evil:

Well, those adaptor manufacturers have to put bread on the table, you know!