Monday 14 April 2008

DIY Update

Thank you to all for your kind comments on the last post. I’m not really complaining at the workmen. The unit had to be bodged to get the sink to fit, it’s just that if I’d done it, I may have done it differently and I would probably looked at the instructions and hopefully noticed that the shelf had to go in. I didn’t think they were going to have to fit in the corner unit so hadn’t finished it, it was just to give them the size or so I thought and it had been quite a while so couldn’t remember what still had to be done – just one of those things.

And the update, - the screw is still there. I had another go at it this morning and was only succeeding to round the head. I spent a little while on the net looking at removing stuck screws and found that the articles usually related to removing them from metal. I do have one of those screw extractor sets but the information I read said that they are quiet brittle and if they snap then I will have even more problem. Since there isn’t a straight-line access to the screw, I’ll give them a miss.

I decided to finish what I could of the other units; I’m still missing one end unit and a leg from another unit. I suppose I’ll have to go back to Villeneuve to chase those again although whether it will make any difference is open to debate but it will confirm if the order went through this time or not as last time. Cid decided to help, in fact he took over from Snowy who was for a while holding down the other side.

I’ve mulled over what to do about the screw and have decided not to attack the screw itself. I would be in danger of drilling and shattering the sink if I try so I’m going to drill through the unit next to the screw and release the grip that way. It’s in an area that won’t be seen and I can re-screw the units together either side of the current place.

That won’t be until tomorrow though, as today my nose has been streaming. The local TV the other week had run a piece about the large amount of tree pollen at the moment. Not something that worried me, as I don’t get hay fever but…. This is a picture of the top of my water but just after a downpour had washed the roof clean.

And to finish off a picture of the sunset the other day. It wasn’t quite this red really, the camera has rather enhanced that but it was red enough for me to notice the pink light that was pouring into the house and get me to go outside and look at it.


7 comments:

Martin Yemm said...

Well done Deborah, you are amazing. Sue is a very willing and able assistant, I would'nt have been able to do the kitchen without her. I've found that its often better to do the jobs yourself (even though it takes longer) After we got charged an arm and a leg by a plumber to remove a radiator, we decided to do the rest of the kitchen plumbing ourselves. It all went fine, I used compression joints at each join which were fine, plus metal braded flexible pipes to connect the taps at the back of the sink. These were cheap and worked great. Drain pipes that you sealed with solvent glue at junctions also worked perfectly. You must make sure everything fits right before using the glue, it sets in minutes.

dND said...

Hi Martin,

Lovely to hear from you. I thought about doing some of the plumbing myself but there are no compression joints here, just solder and I needed the cooker back boiler plumbed in too. I will probably have a go at any other stuff though although having said that, the central heating really should be completely re-done as its not been put in logically. That was my though and also stated by the plumber without prompting. For another year!

I will have cleared space for Sue, I promise, and am looking forward to her visit.

Martin Yemm said...

Anything you want old Sue to bring with her from screwfix next month?

Martin Yemm said...

Are the spiders paying rent?

dND said...

I'll have a think and let you know, thanks so much for offering.

On the whole I beginning to find out where to get things here

dND said...

Spiders?

Actually I don't have many spiders in the house, I think it's a combination of having cellar spiders that eat the big brown house spiders, the house centipedes which eat all spiders and which I think are cute, and Cid who really likes a spider snack if he can find one.

Debra in France said...

You are doing brilliantly! Well done. The sunset is gorgeous.