Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the DIY guys the podcast where home renovations, power tools and mild panic go hand in hand. I'm Nick Morris. And I'm Dan Doher. Each week we'll be chatting with some property pros, some DIY diehards, hopefully help you with some tips and tricks along the way.
Speaker: Welcome back to the DIY Guys podcast. As always, I'm joined by my co-host, Mr. Nick Morris. Sweaty co-host. Yeah, very sweaty. DIY, why are we doing this? That's a great early gag. I love it. Got to get him in the dead jokes early doors. But apart from sweating, how things, mate?
Speaker: Very good, thank you. Very good. i actually do like the warm weather, but it's gone too far now, hasn't it? Well, we're typical British people, aren't we? And like, it's going to be cold in like a week's time. We're like, God damn it, why is it cold? Why is it not hot? Yeah, it's just like, I've actually been all right at work, bizarrely. As in, yeah because I've been inside most people that are working outside, i feel so. yeah There's some landscapers opposite my mum's house. Yeah.
Speaker: They're just constantly shifting sand type one. Oh, that's brutal. And I'm just like, oh. They've set it up under a tree, I'm just like, you poor guys. Yeah. But I guess you're just used to it, right? Yeah. You just crack on. I do kind of think of that because I'm quite lucky. I work in an air-conditioned office. Yeah.
Speaker: And it is like you get in there and like, oh, this is amazing. And then like you'll go out to lunch and it like hits you. Yeah. when You get off an airplane on holiday, just goes bang, hits you, the heat. Yeah.
Speaker: You're like, that that just happens. you like, ah maybe my body's not acclimatising to it. Does that mean you don't like working from home now? like there's strange not No, do not. Especially as like the um thing I've been talking about, insulating, is where I currently work. It's horrendous. It's clearly worked because it is so hot in there. I hate all these insulate houses now. It's bullshit. We've gone the wrong way. but it doesn't work in the winter. I There's got to be something that actually works. Yeah, I've no idea if it all works. All I know is I've put in the most expensive insulation as recommended by the architect. It's boiling in the summer and still cold in the winter. So what's going on? But it must be doing something. Yeah, it must it must keep the heat in. Yeah.
Speaker: and so yeah, I'm hope hoping all my hard work and ah all that money has not gone to nothing. So you've done the porch bit now. So the porch is officially done. I obviously picked the hottest weekend to do it. Why? know. Every time. and So I finished that off, insulating underneath the floor and then the top of the porch.
Speaker: and But I used this construction board. i don't know if you've ever worked with it before. No, never. And it's like a, I think they call it a microfiber cement. And I was like, my I just order it online because I looked up a few people recommended it and they said, oh, it's perfect for if you're going to like render, you can just render over the top it because I needed something, didn't want to use Plastball because you can't use that externally. Yeah.
Speaker: So I wanted something I could render over the top of without having to do too much work. I see. So you don't need like a base coat or anything. No, you can just go straight on with the render. um But I didn't realize that it was 45 kilos turned up. so much. The poor Selko guy, he was like, oh, you want a hand? I was like, oh, yes, please. like And I was like,
Speaker: picking it up. I was like, Jesus Christ. Because it looks like just normal plasterboard, but it's like double the weight. God. this Is it still those plasterboard-sized sheets? 2.4 by 1.2. That's basically double a plasterboard.
Speaker: Yes. And they're quite hard to shift about. Oh, yeah. it was horrendous. And I thought... oh it's like the perfect size i just need to cut it down to fit it but where are those awkward angles was like ah i'm not going to mess around with that especially if i'm doing it on my own so i cut it down into like three sections but even cutting it was so hard yeah how did you have a knife or something so it doesn't work with a knife i used i started using a circular saw oh god and then i i blunted the plate no way Well, that's meant to, because it's like concrete. because it Yeah, because it's so like... Jesus, why did I say knife there? It's got no chance, has it? Yeah. What?
Speaker: I blunted that out. I then a handsaw, which I then blunted that out as well. So slowly going through all my tools, blunting them all out. And then in the end, I was just like using a knife and then like a hammer and just chipping away at the with a chisel. Is there anything on YouTube or anything, how to actually cut that stuff?
Speaker: Yeah, so I looked it up and they were oh, like, you would have to get these, like, specific blades. Oh, okay. So I was like, And they were, like, obviously, like, super expensive. And it's like, well, I'm only doing this once. Yeah. like, oh, was just praying my circular saw got through. It got through a couple and then it just died. Oh, man.
Speaker: So, um yeah, cut it into three sections. The first section was all right. put it up by yourself as well? By myself, and yeah. Oh, wait, are the fixes different as well? Yeah, so I bought special screws. Yeah. And then you have to do it closer in together because it's obviously quite heavier.
Speaker: um Shout out again to your brother, Grey Escapes Gun. really? Because he gave me the props. Oh, you've still got those? Yeah, yeah. Could they even support something that heavy, though? Probably not designed to be. So it was fine. I got the first one up.
Speaker: it is so awkward when you're on your own, like trying to get the props up and like, you've got a balance head. you want to shift it like a teeny bit. It's really difficult. And then like typical me, it was like the fur, the middle sheet was quite big, probably like half the size. was like, ah, no, it'd be fine. I kind of like,
Speaker: got it up there and then you know you've got all kind of like wiggle it to in just trying to do that and i was like oh god i've got the strength in me so was like trying to get these like props while like holding it up so funny you're at the front of 100 people have been walking past thinking who is this amazing But, um yeah, got it up in the end and then drew a little hole for your light that you put in for me. Oh, nice. Threaded that through, which was cool.
Speaker: um And then I wanted to get your input. Like, do you think I'm best to put the light up before doing the rendering or should I? Yeah, leave it in there. We'll just render. Or just put like a Wago on it, get rid of it for now. So I've left it Wago'd up. Yeah. I just fall. Yeah. it's so easy to put up a light yeah you just obviously need whatever fixings you use presumably to fix it up you probably just need the same fixings to fix yeah into it presumably well at first i was worried because i was drilling into this board and then it'll go into just insulation yeah but um i use those fisher wool oh yeah apparently they're fine for stuff like that and then obviously this concrete board is solid as anything so I'm not really worried about little light. for yeah Some of those fixings now can take like 25 kilograms. or Actually, even more. I think 45. And my brother puts like massive radiators on the walls with some of them. And they're amazing. It's crazy. like the technology that's come from. I've never used that stuff. That sounds all right. Even if you've got a plasterboard, say that say ah a full sheet 25 kilograms. yeah Half sheet is kilograms. It's absolutely fine.
Speaker: As soon as it goes above your head, even, for example, doing a pendant for me with a light, Yeah. There's no weight to but your arms just start going because you're there for a while. So doing like a heavy thing like that has been brutal. Oh, just my life just flashed before my eyes. I was like up a ladder, like. Yeah, ladder's harder. Probably like a hop-up's easier, I imagine. Like two hop-ups with some boards across or something's probably easier. That's the thing, I had to like,
Speaker: It's a pork show. It's an awkward shape. And then like climbing up a ladder with his thing. Oh, so good. You should have filmed that. Yeah, I should have filmed it. Yeah. And I was like, if I film it and then die. Good content. Yeah, it would be good content. At the funeral. Everyone gets a laugh. I was about to say, like, who is laughing during a funeral?
Speaker: God, yeah, that does sound brutal. Anything in this heat. i'm We're sitting here. I'm literally, I feel like I'm like perspiring. yeah And then we're just sitting here. Well, it's funny because, as you said, we got in here you're like, oh, it's actually quite cool in here. And then spend like two minutes in the space and it just gets boiling.
Speaker: Yeah, I've been in, I haven't been at Grands. There's been stuff going on, which I'll talk about later, but i' I've been on other jobs. And every time I'm in there, like, oh, this is actually right. I'm inside. It's quite, all these houses are older than my house. It's a bit more like your house. It's a bit cooler.
Speaker: But then you just start doing anything. and You just start, dr and once you like, yeah you know, like you reach a point, and you just go, you can't recover. Yeah, yeah. And one morning, I remember I got up and I just forgot to put on deodorant as well. So I was like, oh my God, I'm kicking up here. It's like 11am, kicking out. Didn't have any lunch that day either, so was as like, order delivery. I was like, this is chaos. Absolutely sweaty chao But yeah, so I've been semi-busy, but what have you been might and this what been up to?
Speaker: Yeah, like pretty much doing that, managed to, similar to yourself, get a round of golfing, which is always good fun. Nice. um Me my brothers and my brother-in-law play every year when my brother's over from America. So it was good to get out there and have a round. And yeah, we did it on Monday. So the weather was like 30 odd.
Speaker: fatio And even then, it was hot. Even playing in a buggy, you're like, this is yeah like quite brutal. It's different like playing golf, though, isn't It's about work. That's what find. Because we've played a few hot rounds lately, and you're like, it's going to be brutal. And you're like, actually, you're not like walking through London with concrete and like ah tarmac. Everything's heat, heat, heat. You're like, oh, I'm actually in like acres of land, and there's trees, and there's shade. It's quite nice. I also thought, why don't more golf clubs have swimming pools? Oh, that'd be awesome. Or like a country club. Yeah, yeah. Because afterwards, you're like, oh, if you had a chance to have a little dip in a pool, swim up bar, it'd be amazing. There's that Birchwood one near us, isn't there? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's like a members club. But obviously, I don't think you just go and use Well, you probably could pay. Yeah. But yeah, that's a genius idea. Because that's a really nice golf course. Then you go swimming, going to bar, yeah dinner afterwards. Yeah, exactly. Perfect, that. Yeah, I organised a big um golf event, as you know, with some of our lot and there was like 30 of us, but we finished at like one-ish and then everyone just started drifting off and I was a bit gutted because everyone sort of left by like six and I thought we'd go on into the evening. So I think next year I'm going to book something like a dinner or something afterwards and have something else to do, but I do love a dip in a I'd love that afterwards. Yeah, that'd be amazing. Although we've got little golf away day as well, haven't we? We have. And there is a pool there. There is a pool there. Yeah, can we book that?
Speaker: I'm sure we could book that. Yeah, we'd have to obviously pay for it. That's not a bad shout. Yeah, nice little rest up after this little swim in the pool. It's an absolute bargain deal. Yeah, it's so good. You pay 150 quid for a night in a hotel, golf, breakfast and dinner. And dinner, yeah. And the food's so good. Yeah, it's amazing. Like breakfast and dinner and probably the golf would be more than 155 pounds. And then you get the night in the hotel.
Speaker: i was thinking like a night in a hotel. Yeah. ah You're not doing that for under 100 quid, are you? No, exactly. And they've just refurbished it all, apparently. That should be really nice. Especially for our hotel. Yeah. Unless it's not finished and it's going to be awful. But yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, maybe we'll have to do some DIYing. So I've got a little treat for you. I've got a pop quiz. Are you feeling confident? i am definitely not. Are you going to be sweated as much as better? Well, you know how good I was at school, so you know this is only any more. Well, it's DIY related, you'll be glad to know. Okay.
Speaker: But it's an amalgamation of what I've seen. I saw something on Instagram. I just did a bit more research. i so i was that's quite a cool one. yeah So it's the five like most popular DIY mistakes people make like when they're first starting off sort of thing. like Obviously, broad terms, not like, oh, you put up a shelf wrong or whatever. Yeah, yeah. But just like, what what do you think could be something that just people don't think about or do wrong or you know that sort of thing?
Speaker: Say like not having the right tool. Oh, he's nailed one straight away. He's nailed one. That was, um was that number one as well? it was yeah oh yeah It kind of comes under this, like always choosing the cheapest option.
Speaker: yeah so it's like, not it's just not necessarily that, but it's tools as well. Like tools, obviously cheap tools, but also like materials, not knowing what do. But yeah, that was that came up as number one. It's like, when it comes to tools, there's a huge range. You don't need the most expensive, but going for the absolute cheapest can often backfire. Low quality tools may break. And it's so true, isn't it? Because think said to you before, um I was always DeWalt, but then Screwfix did their own brand of coffee. Was it Erbauer or something? no but something like that.
Speaker: And I was like, they're so much cheaper. And they literally broke within two years every time. Yeah. So and then you get DeWalt and it does last more like, I think, four five years or bit before it starts. And obviously you're a professional as well. If you're a DIYer, then it does last. You should hope it lasts for longer. Those bigger brands like DeWalt and Milwaukee and...
Speaker: people like that you pay for what you get like yeah unfortunately it's annoying because obviously not there are some things i think cheap tools are good for like if you are just doing like i bought a cheap sander for like 20 quid just speed up a bit of sanding or um like a multi-tool again it's not very yeah like multi-tool is such a simple thing if you're just doing like something really quick and easy or it's like a one or two time thing i think that's worth it but think buying something big and expensive sometimes is the best option isn't it i think that's it you've got your staples right you've got your like you've got your drill your impact driver and maybe like chop saw yeah it's worth spending money on all of those things yeah still haven't got chop saw i'm still putting it off i just keep nicking everyone else in Even when Dave was doing my outdoor barbecue, I just nicked his chop saw the whole time. i Did loads of work inside. Did my skirt in.
Speaker: Did this bit around the chimney in there. I did loads of stuff. of what I thought, should really buy one. It's bad. I was bad with my chop saw because I ordered it probably similar to what you were saying. Like, there was a really good deal on. was like, wow, this is amazing. And I bought one that you would use on site.
Speaker: So I then needed to buy a transformer. Oh, joking. So now I've got my chop sort and a massive transformer. Those transformers wear a ton as well. God, I literally haven't used those since so I was on the site, which was must be 2020.
Speaker: twenty 15 or something. I hated shifting. That's the apprentice. Can you move all this stuff around? You're like, oh my God. There were so many heavy things, conduit benders as well. Have ever seen those? no. You know, like conduits for running cables in a car park or something. You get this conduit bend. I even know that's the right term. Someone says I used it. They weigh like an absolute ton and then you bend the conduits a bit. And it was such a skill as well. It so hard. And every time you'd muck up, it'd feel so bad because it's probably like a tenner for like a bit of pipe. Yeah. I'll put a 90 on that and you cock it up. You basically can't unbend it. Oh, really? Once you've bent it to like past 90, you just basically can't save it. Is it similar to the plumber? Yes. Yeah. But then that's like, that's much more advanced since then. Maybe the stuff has come in for that as well. Okay. Some of those plumbing tools are awesome. Yeah, they do. Automatic. Oh, yeah. So clever. So good to
Speaker: So you've nailed one. Okay. So one for one. I'm not expecting you to get five. But would cutting stuff too short, would that count as mismeasuring? Yeah, got another one. That was number four, getting measurements wrong. It says measure twice, cut once, whether you're stealing, flooring, blah, blah, blah. Whenever possible, leave yourself extra room. You can always trim something down. That's actually quite a good tip because when I was doing my skirting, Dave, when I was using his chop saw,
Speaker: I was like, oh I've got, say, 25 centimetres. Dave was like, oh just do like 26 just to make sure because you're cutting it at an angle. You might lose like you lose some stuff and the thickness of the blade. was like, what, really?
Speaker: literally did that and I went up there and I like, what the It's bang on. yeah like It's not bang on, but it's bang on. like And then if you want to just shave a bit off, you just shave a bit off. I think that's another good tip. Yeah. And maybe I'm an idiot for not thinking about that, but the thickness of the blade? Yeah, no. mark it up and then you go, oh, I'm just going to chop down the middle of that. Again, it's just learning, isn't it? I would never think. think the blades are three mil, aren't they? Yeah. if you go on the wrong side, you're losing three mil every time. Yeah. you got to take that into account or make sure it's always like on the right bit of the line or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. That's why even like the pencil marks and stuff are important. if You've got a big, thick pencil line. Yeah. You're like, what am I cutting to here? And stuff like that. so Yeah, you've got sharpen your pencil, right? Yes.
Speaker: I feel bad for putting you under pressure now. I know, yeah, well... You're doing well. I've studied so well that you could go down little bit. So what numbers are they? Four and five? You've done one and four. Oh, one and four. I don't think it's necessarily like older.
Speaker: Yeah, so you've got three more to get. I will give you clues if you need to. What else did DIYers do wrong? Um... So maybe something I'm, I'm quite like this where. And they kind of rush into. Yeah, that's bad how you know me well. You're just straight straight to the criticism of me as Well, it's only because I'm the complete opposite. Yeah. Like you probably get a job done a lot quicker than because I will just,
Speaker: debate and debate and debate and christy gets annoyed because she's like but then that might be the best way as long as you do it eventually that might be better it's probably be a happy medium if you like spend loads of time thinking about it and then still do it wrong and then yeah loads of time whereas emily gave me this design she wanted over the chimney no the um above the extractor fan and i totally didn't pay attention to what she said when i did something put it up and she was like that' totally not what i sent you And I was like, crap. So I had to rip it all off, take all the paint off. That's just because I completely just rushed it and went gung-ho. yeah your way probably is slightly better. We need someone in between. Yeah, exactly. I think it is important like to have a plan.
Speaker: yeah um Even I always think if I've got like five days of work, say on the same job, I'm trying to be two days ahead because I'm like, What will I need? What tools will I need? What materials? And when can i actually do this in a day?
Speaker: I think, yeah, so it basically says spontaneous DIY products can be fun, but skipping the planning stage can lead to serious problems. Before drilling, cutting or removing anything, make sure you understand the space you're working in.
Speaker: Something as simple as hanging a picture can become disaster. if you accidentally hit brick. It's quite dramatic. Pipes are electrical wiring. I mean, i technically, that's right. Yeah, I suppose it's true, isn't it? Wasn't that your dad's greatest trick as well? Yeah, he tried to put um a toilet brush after on a wall. He just drilled into it and then as he pulled the drill out, and just a stream of water came. Oh, it's amazing. It's so funny because your dad. It was our family group's WhatsApp picture. for Oh, amazing. Orange B&Q bucket, just the water just leaking That's when I'm like, oh God, where's my stopcock? Even now, I'm doing this house. My stopcock is like in the back of a coat cupboard, so I'd have to like rush everything out. I think mine's behind my washing machine.
Speaker: Yeah, it's inconvenient. I'd have get that out, yeah. Yeah, you think... of I've seen some with like proper shut-off hours now, much more convenient place, like usually under a kitchen sink. My gran's one literally comes in at the back of the kitchen and it's going to stay there as well. It's such a convenient place and we can just cut a little panner out of the cupboard that's going there. It just makes sense, but where mine is, it's just stupid Oh, actually, do have a main one under the stairs. That'd be quicker. Okay, yeah. just rush to that. Yeah.
Speaker: i I've always just run because I know where mine is and in the street. Oh, yeah. So I just go down and take the lid off and then... They're usually like filled with water at same time. Yeah, yeah. It's always gross, but you're like, take care of that point. That was literally my day one of buying this house. Literally turned water on, there was a leak up in the loft. I had to run back down and turn it on. It literally, from that maybe minute and a half, two minutes, it went from the loft to the first floor to the ground floor. And you're just like, God, is this house already an error? Water is just so Scares the bejesus out there. Yeah, it's so scary. Yeah.
Speaker: I've actually had your plumber, Nick, on two jobs recently at two flats. And it's just like old pipework that's 10 years old, just plastic crap yeah um that's just gone wrong. And one of them was... um You know those in baths, you can get those wastes now that, you know, like you'd turn the waste to shut the hole, but you can also get the ones that are fillers from that. Have you seen it? Oh, yeah, yeah. water can come out of them. Yeah. But the tenant didn't realize that and sort of like overturned it and thinking, oh, just want do the thing. But water was coming out, getting all confused and just snapped it off. And then water would just go around the back without them knowing. wow. Constantly, constantly, constantly, where the little bit of plastic was just pointing behind the bath. And then they stood on the floor tile and water was coming up through the ground. God. And they sent me a photo and I was like, what the hell? And then Nick had a massive panic thinking from the toilet that he was there to fix separately. Okay, yeah. And it wasn't, it was because of that. But water is just, oh my God, awful.
Speaker: Or it was and he's just blank. Yeah. He's just trying to do something and go, it's that. I feel like electrics is, I just much prefer it because I have a work. So obviously there's extreme examples, but generally it just... works So if you do something wrong, it trips at the board. You have to go and figure out. But water, you think, I've done a good job, and then like a month later, it gets little drip.
Speaker: Yeah, drip, drip. I just think electrics nowadays, if something's wrong, the balls are just set up to trip, aren't they? They're so advanced. If you've got an old house, it's not the case. But these newer ones are just anything. Yeah. You know, you can just touch one of them wires and it just goes. Yeah, even when light bulbs blow and stuff, don't they? Yeah. trip stuff now. Yeah. Which is also really annoying because my fuse board's in an awkward place. don't know why did that. It's just like i wanted all like the nice things, like cloakrooms and stuff on display and things like that. not And I was like, why did I but did i put that behind like 20 coats? It's a waste of waste. Okay, you're doing very well with Okay, yeah. So... um
Speaker: This one, you've got two that are quite tricky, to be fair. I was thinking of one, but kind of just, don't know how would i say it, just like no not being prepared enough. I suppose that's similar to what we just said, right?
Speaker: Yeah, maybe. Not quite understanding the job that they're undertaking, so they're trying to do something that's not right. To be fair, you're on fire. Taking on projects beyond your skill level.
Speaker: I think you've sort of smid that bit. It's like confidence is great, but knowing your limits is even better. Successfully putting up a shelf doesn't necessarily mean you're ready to renovate a bathroom or install complex flooring. Some jobs are quite expensive. I guess when we're talking about plumbing and electric, kind of falls down that avenue as well. Yeah, yeah, so true. You've done well there. How you nick that far? Four out of five.
Speaker: But it's so true though, isn't it? Because the great thing about DIY is you do something and it feels amazing. Yeah. And super proud and you're like, oh, I'm going to give that a go. And then that goes well. And, you know, slower you build up these skills is actually better, right? Rather than going, oh, I'm just going to do a bathroom. Oh, 100%. 100%, yeah. And that's what I mean. It probably takes you like 10 years of DIYing to be like, wow, I can do so many little things now. It's added up to be something quite cool. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. And it's also those little skills actually go together. Yeah. That's what I tell you I get annoyed because now when I'm doing like with my tradesman, like my painter painted some rooms for me recently and he just like left all the door handles off because he was like, oh, you can just do that. shop And i was like, oh, I know I can do that. But you took them off. So why am I putting them back on? But he said, but you can do it. was like, damn it. I don't want to i would all have to do it Yeah. It's so true, isn't it? Wow. You've done very well. I mean, the last one is tricky.
Speaker: i Have a little wild guess, but I don't think you'll get it. I feel like I'm mad. Well, what has every guest said about renovating that's been difficult or like has changed in the last five, or ten years maybe? How expensive? Yes. Oh, interesting. Underestimating the real cost, which is it's a bit harsh to call this like a DIY mistake because how do you know? yeah you wouldn't know in your job how much it costs to do your job for like two hours. But just says, many people start a DIY project thinking it'll be cheaper than hiring a professional until the hidden costs appear. Materials, tools, safety equipment, and specialist items can quickly add up.
Speaker: Yeah. Before starting, calculate the full cost and compare it with a price of getting an expert. Tricky, I think. Yeah. A harsh. Yeah. ah like I had a similar thing with some fence panels that kind of blew down. in our garden, we had to get six new fence panels. Yeah. So i kind of costed up what I thought it would take me to do. But what I also wanted to take into account is how long it was going to take me to do it.
Speaker: And you're like, well, I've never put a fence up That's all really hard. And obviously there's neighbors, like you got to take that into account as well. Yeah. So in the end, we have we've got this guy put on like our garden gate. He's really good.
Speaker: He's got a team of guys and they do they normally do like smaller jobs, like fencing bits and pieces like that. And I think it worked out something like Yeah. know people think, oh, that's expensive, but it's like they did it half a day. Yeah, exactly. Whereas it going to take me, if if I didn't book time off work, yeah the stop start of everything, it'd probably take me like three or four weekends. Yeah, yeah, it's mad. And it's just like that cost, like how much do you value your time? Exactly, exactly. Or like, could yeah, could you use your time to do something better, or do something else as well? And I totally agree. It's that fine balance of...
Speaker: Oh, where do you want to spend money and where you don't want to spend money, right? Yeah, yeah, so true. But yeah, just knowing like when to make those choices. But yeah, i think that's actually a good one, but it's really difficult for people. I think when you say, I'm booking a kitchen fitter to fit my kitchen, yeah and you see him do it, you're like, God, I paid him three, four grand.
Speaker: oh, he did it in like seven days or something. you're like, well, he's got probably five tools there that are probably two grand, for example. I know that's hopefully for years and years and years for him, but you have to price that stuff in. Like you were talking about blades. yeah Those blades are like 40 quid and stuff like that for like a chop saw or a table saw, things like that.
Speaker: um so all this stuff has to come into account, let alone for them as well is a bit different. But, you know, their van insurance and their other insurance just like they kill someone or blow something up all that sort of stuff so yeah I think that is hard for a DIY but it's true and not just that their expertise yeah how many DIY jobs do you start and you go oh that went perfect yeah There's always something that you come across and you're like, that wasn't on YouTube. Yeah. Like, that wasn't on that. And you're just like, oh, how am I going to get around that? And then that takes more time. Exactly. You're then thinking about it. You then might do something wrong. Like say, of a kitchen. Yeah. Everything has to be like bang level, doesn't Oh, Exactly.
Speaker: So, yeah you know, you're paying for someone's experience, right? Yeah. As well as how long it takes to do the job. Oh, the kitchen stuff always winds because you put your level one way, you're like, yes, bang, level. and you put it other way, you're like, oh, it's not level.
Speaker: You're like, okay, just that leg up. And then that one goes off. You're like, what? And my brain, like, he's just done it for years. And he's like, well, you just got to back left up a bit. Yeah. And you're like, Oh, really? I thought it would have been right down bit. And it's been that experience when I'd be there for like hour and it's just like, do, do, do, done, done, done.
Speaker: But yeah, definitely. You've done pretty well there to be fair. I'm quite happy with that. I was pretty i was gay I was going to give you bigger clues as well, but I really didn't. I've also seen something else just to go off on a tangent. No, this is not a quiz. This is not a quiz.
Speaker: I'm definitely, definitely. I'm hoping after grand that i sell grand and um have to obviously pay back mum and dad who have like lent money and stuff. And it was supposed be dad's inheritance. and um so But I do want to do like another project. I've got to do this. For once, I'll be praying for wallpaper. Have you ever seen the orange juice thing?
Speaker: No. So this guy, as he put it on the other day and he's had like 150,000 Yeah. so he's stripping wallpaper and he says i've done this so many times trust me this is not a flu um um've tested this room before and he gets warm water like warmed up just water washing up liquid like fairy yeah and a bowl and orange juice it's like fresh orange juice um squeeze it when a tub mixes it up and literally put a sponge in dabbs on the wallpaper yeah leaves it for like thirty seconds And then the wallpaper just strips off the whole thing.
Speaker: What? And I was like, that's just got to be one those lucky houses. And maybe it's just, you know, when you can take off the first layer or whatever. But he showed, he was like, no, it literally is taking off all of it. And then he was I've done this multiple, multiple times. And trust me, it always works. It's like the acidity in the orange juice and then whatever's in the washing up liquid in the warm water just does it. Yeah. And I'm like, now I'm so, I want to try it so bad. Yeah. And now I'm trying to think like, who do I know? that Yeah, could try it.
Speaker: I think Chris's parents are going to redecorate their holes. I might have to go around. If it's that easy, I'd be genuinely quite annoyed because I've wasted so many times with a steamer. I was about say you've done a full house. He didn't even have a scraper. He just picked the corner and he just peeled the whole thing and it came off. and i just It blew my mind. and I went on YouTube so see if anyone's done anything else. and There's loads of other stuff, but I've never seen that one before. so It's like orange juice. It's not like a squeezed orange. no not No, not like orange squash or anything. It's actual fresh orange juice out of a bottle. We've washed it up. liquid And it literally, the whole thing came up. I wish he showed doing it without on the other one just to yeah prove it. But then he reiterated, like, I promise you I've done this every time. But now I'm like you, I'm like, oh, yeah, I want to go strip some wallpaper so badly. Like, there must be some at Gransman. It's all been plastered now. I'm not just going to go to my mum's house. just like, I feel so full it unknowing. It'd be a great prank to just put that on someone's wall and then sit back down and just see it appear like... I'm so sceptical, though. I don't know about you, Lee. In my head, I would do and wouldn't work.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. But obviously, don't know. I just want you're using the wrong kind of orange juice, mate. Yeah, I've got orange squash. You've got bits it, yeah. Yeah, Robinson's, aren't I? That's it. So I was like, how cool is that? And they're out of orange juice, so got apples. So yeah, this week actually given actual tips. I think tips, yeah. there's everything going on. This what people are here for. Yeah, yeah. It's all about golf and you get a bit of tips. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, can't wait to try that now. I need a project so badly. There must be something I can wallpaper somewhere.
Speaker: Looking in here like wallpaper. Don't touch this. This is fragile. Yeah. The whole thing just falls down. It's just built with 90 pounds of timber, which very cheap, so I don't trust it.
Speaker: So, yeah, and then other than that, I've um i've been at Grands a little bit. I was going to say, how's the bungalow going? It's been a bit of a slow... I don't know if it's been slow. Like, the whole thing's plastered now, apart from the utility room. Yeah. um And he's he's basically got permission from Andy, who's doing the back doors, that he can actually plaster it because he's got this trim or whatever. It doesn't matter. Oh, no. um it's been, oh, it's been screeded. That's a big thing. So the extension has been screeded. So we're up to finished floor level now. So that's nice because forever you're just seeing that insulation and it's, and then that means you can step onto the next thing. So I've ordered the, it's already there.
Speaker: The shower, luckily I know the routine now. yeah So the shower tray goes down first of all and the bath goes in straight away. And then what that means is um you can tile next. Yeah. So what the plumber did was it was quite clever actually. he He got um insulation, like the hard stuff, the PIR ah stuff, and yeah put it um around where the shower tray waste was. okay And he put it in like a barrier, so they screeded everywhere apart from where his waste was. So then what that meant was he could take that insulation off and if he needs to access the waste, he's got it.
Speaker: Or if the shower tray waste is in the middle or down the end. He can easily cut it out straight away sort of thing. Oh, wow. It was quite a clever little hack. Yeah, that's so good. So he was... I haven't even been there, but he was there yesterday, and he's fitted the shower tray, the bath. So now I'm ready for tiling, which is awesome. I haven't ordered yet because I didn't want to clutch up the house too much. Yeah, yeah. I've been checking out his website called tile.co.uk. So I think I'm going order... from them copying my bathroom here and then it gets to really exciting stages because my tile is rapid literally day and a half that'll be bathroom and ensuite be done wow he does the walls in one day um two of them and then they come back the next day when that's set do the floor and then wait a bit and they grout the whole thing yeah or they do it all in one day and then grout the next day sort of thing so it'll be maximum three days so then all of sudden you're just like flying that's crazy and then the kitchen's there ready to go but um
Speaker: my computer refused to do it until the floor is a bit more level because it's mental because the kitchen's up here and then it used to be the bathroom and the cloak room a bit hole that all these walls are taken down and it is all like even yeah the guy who's latexing it for me like getting it all level so it's my three days work so like go do a bit go do a bit go do it but buff bits out So was like, fair enough. that Scott?
Speaker: Scott, yeah. I forgot you know everyone. Did you give me all the training? So, yeah, so Lee's done all the plastering and then Scott's come in to level it all. and then So that's happening next week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. And then from Friday, hopefully, Stuart's starting the kitchen. And I think, yeah, I think, again, it's quite simple-ish. I think that'll go in in a week.
Speaker: So all of a sudden, by the end of the July, I'm pretty confident of, like, kitchen and... um Bathroom's been in, hopefully. Nice. Because the plumber's just on it as well. Yeah.
Speaker: That's the thing when you get these like good tradesmen that are just like, they want to get on to the next job. So they're not ba exactly i hit that it' like, I've always said that's how I like to work. Do like a few days, bash it out. If I need to be there five days, I'll just do it and then go take my money and go away. Yeah. And that's what these the plumbers are like. It's great. I love how they work. awesome Even as soon as that shower tray was there, was screedy. was like, cool, we're coming in. Do you know, screeding raises a millimeter a day randomly for eight days.
Speaker: Really? Yeah. I know. He was like, oh, you just need to leave it for a because it does rise ever so slightly. was like, a millimetre is obviously nothing. But a millimetre a day over eight days is nearly 10 It's 8 mil, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: Good maths, though. Massive. Great maths as well. So, yeah, i'm looking forward to getting to that next week. But I think I need to go. I might go tomorrow or Friday because... um like the bathroom is windowless the ensuite is windowless and there's no lights for anyone so i might go and do all my lights and do the fan i've been putting off the fans because i need to get in the loft yeah it's boiling and i need to like crawl in there i was gonna say i thought your loft was big it is quite vaulted but i still think i'll still be like hunched down and but it's more the the heat and the insulation i'm just like if i do go i think i'll get there at seven and just go straight up and yeah that's good it's probably gonna take me an hour
Speaker: um So I've got to go from the en suite fan and the bathroom fan. are Obviously two separate fans, but they're going to share a ducting. So one ducting goes to the other and there's like a wire thing. Then they go I'm going to take them out soffits at the back. It's quite a long run.
Speaker: um You need to need to make sure it just like drops ever so slightly. Because even though it's just steam, it does obviously settle as water. um In my mum's loft, the person before didn't do it very well, and it was slightly raised. And every now and then, my mum was like, oh, the extractor stopped extracting. My whole world of thing's filled up. and it's just because so much water pulled, it wasn't going out. oh It just got blocked. So I had to literally pull the hose and pull the water out. Wow, I didn't know. that So yeah, so I think I'm going to go and do all my lights. um Even, it's like a small bungalow and you're like, oh, how many lights do I need? I think I was counted 17 or something. So 17 down lights just to get things moving. You're like, oh, right, okay, that'll be a couple of hours. And then the fans and then the days just gone. Yeah, so true, isn't it? The other thing is, and I know we've discussed this before, I don't know on the podcast, but if you're having like proper lights. Yeah. How much do they cost? Like each one's like,
Speaker: Easily 50 quid minimum. Oh, yeah. Mad. Yeah, yeah. That's why we've still got some missing. We've been in here nearly two years. Yeah. We still haven't bought some. Because you like look online and they're just so expensive. And i can fit them for free as well. And I'm still just like, just going want to spend like 200 pounds on a poxy light. oh it's just so expensive. Yeah. I've got really good downwriters, though, that are really reasonable from Toolstation.
Speaker: They're like six pounds. They're really easy to fit. You don't need a screwdriver to push them in. oh my It's like amazing. They give you loads of room to like terminate it neatly. How like people like it.
Speaker: um like People who test houses, they want to see like the cores um of the wire. It's really easy to fit, really nice. The springs are really good. They don't collapse because I've had some in the past where Straight away, pushing up the springs go. Yeah. And it's just fusing. Or it has that little annoying gap. Yeah, exactly. These are just, they're really light. So the springs are quite good and they just pop straight up.
Speaker: Yeah. so i know And they're less than six quid. Yeah. So i know exactly what to order going to go and go do it, but it's just actually doing it. i got but and you don't want to be an idiot like me when i was like oh nick one of my down lights is gone where'd you get them from so can buy a new one you're like you just need a new bulb although now you're right because these ones are it's bit mad really but the ones that i've been putting in the last like four or five years are just whole units oh are they when they blow they're supposedly last 10 years yeah and although one in my utility's gone there's been two years so you're like hmm
Speaker: Do they? But you just have to change the whole thing, which does sound risky because you could just damage the ceiling pulling it out and stuff. Yeah, true. But they are, like you say, so easy to yeah remove and like install new one.
Speaker: Yeah, it's very different from in changing a bulb, though, for people that don't like DIY. Yeah. You have to literally pull the wires out and put it in. Yeah, true. I don't think many people would like that. So, yeah, what else has happened? I think...
Speaker: I think that's it. It's not been bundled. It's definitely been a few days. Oh, we've known that. The porch. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. um Toby and Dave. Oh, my God, Toby. We keep mentioning him. Poor Toby. Poor Toby. He's been out the front.
Speaker: um I was inside, like a bit like today, sweating, sweating. oh what was I doing inside I was doing something not too difficult oh I was I was plasterboard in so I was insulating and plasterboard in but it was all like they've set at it out all for like the nice sheet size it wasn't too much hard work yeah um not much of the ceiling in work so I was okay and i was just dripping and he was out in the front with the sun on him and it was that was the 37 day oh god and he was doing like the bricks of so the foundations they've dug the hole filled it concrete and then they've done a few more brick courses and then they're going to
Speaker: ready to build up basically soon um and i was like you must be he was just like shut off for a bit because i'm sweating and then i'm burning shut on i'm like shut on now i'm doing something where i've got a cut a brick don't want to get dust all over shut back on i was like oh mate i feel bad for you so much that's the thing is so hot So you're like, want to take my shot off. But then everything sticks to you. Horrible.
Speaker: And yeah, he must be the brownest man Europe. He played golf last Friday. He was looking quite town. yeah, bet he looking very well for himself. So yeah, I don't know what their actual thing with this is now, but they need to liaise with the window guy about size and stuff. We're sort of copying the neighbours opposite. But that's quite... Now...
Speaker: I've done it. I've been quite fortunate as I've, since I've said, oh, we haven't got much money. We're running out it. I've had quite a bit of work. Nice. And it's fallen quite nicely. Yeah. um So now, ah fortunately enough, can afford it. I'm like, I'm so glad we did it when I was debating not doing it. and Yeah. Because when it came out, the old porch, I was like, oh, the house actually looks all right. So we couldn't didn't necessarily have to do it. yeah But now I'm like, oh, as we're selling it, I think it's going to be a big feature. And like I said before, there's no storage, well, not a lot of storage in the house. So somewhere for the coat, somewhere for shoes, somewhere for umbrellas straight away. you like So now I'm really pleased. I can't wait to see it like pop up. Yeah, that's amazing. I think that's it from what I can think of. But I haven't been there loads. But... um
Speaker: I need to put loads more. I'm going to do a YouTube video this week because it's changed quite a bit. And then I'm going to do loads more coming now because it's getting to exciting bit where kitchens go up and barfades go in and stuff. It's going good. you're going to do like a walk round or something? Yeah. Yeah. What really want to do, and I just don't have the skills for it, is when I've, when we,
Speaker: I say when we bought it, when Grant passed away and we started renovating it, I did like a walk around. I want to do the exact same walk around at the exact same time and just going to each room. But I'm just not s skilled enough to do this stuff. I need someone to help me. Yeah, I don't know if it's a skill or if it's like,
Speaker: you'd have to remember exactly how you did it, right? Yeah, I guess you could speed up certain bits, couldn't you, and slow down certain bits. But I'd just love to do that. It's exactly side by side. Because ah you can it with pictures, obviously, but i think it'd quite cool actually physically walking. And then you could just go into the new bit at the end that's all completely new, hundred the old garage. But I'm going to try and do something like that and put it on YouTube.
Speaker: Oh, that'd be awesome. yeah, i need to get the YouTube going again because I've had so much client work that isn't really like YouTube-able. Yeah, yeah, like adding sockets and doing bits and bobs. um I've worked, um I don't think she'll mind me saying, but I worked on a house where they had a really bad electrician.
Speaker: Oh, no. And I had to go and like... That wasn't you. Yeah, it was me. I found the manure. And I had to go and just like problem solve everything. Like it was just really basic stuff. Even the owner was like,
Speaker: Well, we used to have like a switch here for this light and a switch here for this light, and then we just put a wall in between that he's saying, like that switch can't do this one now. And he's like, no, that must be wrong, because there's ah there's a cable there already. It's going up there already. Just little things like that. and um He basically sounds like he does loads of commercial stuff.
Speaker: Yeah. ah But doesn't know like the intricacies of like the house house bashing sort of stuff is easier. if you don't do all the time, I guess you don't know. It's true, yeah. And she just had no power to light to her daughter's bedroom.
Speaker: So he's like, I'm done. And then he left and never saw him again. And there was just no power there. And it was a flat roof extension with no access. So I was like, oh, okay, I'll just bring like, I can't see what he's done, but I'll bring a feed over from the old part the house, new part house, go up in the loft. It's like literally impossible. It's like there's no access from the old part loft to the new part of the flat roof.
Speaker: And I was just panicking. And so i just had to go around and try and work it out. But luckily she was like, oh, he was faffing about under, there's a bit of like bloody tongue and groove floor that Dave and Toby, so they got me the job actually. Yeah. and they Just put down. So, you know, tongue and groove, like that stuff that like breaks apart, a really awful, like chipboard stuff. Yeah. They just installed it, screwed it all down. And she was like, oh, wasn't here for a lot of time. So I to take this, luckily only one sheet. It took me so long to get it up and it ripped it to shreds. And a multi-tool.
Speaker: ah But she was right. I lifted it up and found his old cables and he didn't connect anything up. So literally there was no power to it whatsoever. But I was like, well, there must have been at some point. yeah and I went downstairs and found another old cable. I had send power from downstairs upstairs this wire and then figure out which wire went up to the kids. like and I said to her, that wasn't included in the original quote, it was only when I got there, i was like, why have you got no power in the thing? She was like, oh, right, we're not actually living here yet.
Speaker: So I had to add on. was like, I feel so guilty. I never like add because I think my quotes are quite good. But she was like, no you deserve like an extra, like a few hundred quid for literally solving this problem. That is insane. I know. I was worried at one stage as well because I couldn't solve it.
Speaker: I was like, well, I don't know where this cable goes. Well, i didn't know those cables were in the floor. was only when she said, oh, he was down stressing about something in that floor for a bit, that she helped me. And I was like, okay, that must go somewhere ah downstairs somewhere. So I was just investigating every switch and everything. that he just didn't know anything, like even like two-way lighting, like yeah two switches doing the same light. He just had the all the right cables, but just didn't know how to do it. you know yeah Stuff like that. She was like, it used to work, and now doesn't work. And I was oh, God.
Speaker: So yeah, I've been on loads of random jobs, basically. That has been one of them, but that's finished this week, so I can go to Grand's again. Nice. That must be a cool part of your job, though, like finding like problems, sorting them out. Yeah, I haven't got the really good equipment. So if there's like um a proper fault, like say if a mouse or something chewed through a bit of insulation something, and I haven't got like the mega it's called mega test equipment yeah or like proper stuff where you can do like insulation resistance tests and stuff. but Yeah, that was just like you trying to think of logic of how this house must be wired and stuff like that that. That is actually really satisfying, but I don't get that sort of work much. But I follow loads of geeky Instagram stuff where they do that all the time. I love it. It's so good. I always follow the... There's a guy who does like leak detection. Oh, I guy follow him? Yeah, he's so With the ducks. Yeah, with the ducks. Yeah. And he's just like...
Speaker: At first, you're like, oh, no one's going to watch this. And then you start watching it. Now just get obsessed. You're like, where is this leaf? Where is it? It annoys me sometimes he doesn't say. He'll just be like, oh, the duck's cracking over there. And you're like, but you've obviously worked out this something over there. But you haven't said why. no. I don't if he doesn't want give away all of his secrets or something. Yeah, yeah. But I find it fascinating when he's like, well, start on the road, then start in the house. Turn off the one in the house. Yeah. If it's still going, between the house and the road. But no, it's not. And he was like, oh my God, that's mental. I love stuff like that. It's so good. I'd love to be able to just work out. When he does like swimming pools and stuff, it just blows my mind because there's stuff everywhere. Yeah. He uses like listening devices as well. he's super clever. His kit must cost him a fortune. Yeah. I'd love to know what he charged. It must be a lot. Yeah, must be. What does he say? I can't remember how litres he says, but sometimes it's like 20 litres minute or something pouring out.
Speaker: I was talking of that. When I came down for breakfast on this week, sometime week, my tap in the toilet was on. No. like, it must be Lydia. And I actually think it was me or Emily. And I think it could have been me. I remember going to the loo down there before going to bed. I remember obviously washing my hands and hitting it off. I just think I didn't hit it off properly. So I think it was just like nine hours. Yeah. Waterfronts are great. That's why there's a hosepipe there. Yeah. Basically my fault.
Speaker: So yeah, hopefully next week I've got a bit more to update. I think next time we talk, I'll have kitchen going in and maybe tile as well. But I think we're still on for September. Yeah, I was going to say, September's still real. I can't see what could possibly go wrong. I've literally lined up everyone, I think. Touchwood. Touchwood, yeah. I can't see who's going let me down. I'm trying to get my painter in. than if I'm going to do a bit yet either.
Speaker: yeah i'm just Yeah, at the moment, it's looking good. It's like early July, isn't it? two whole months to do it, think, is possible. Yeah, definitely. it's looking good. oh Amazing, mate. Yeah. Can't wait. Exciting, mate, that it's coming to a close and then we'll have nothing to talk about. Well, it's a terrible market, so I hope it actually sells good. I still think there's a place for like really, at all times, I think, really like well finished, perfect to move into houses. Yeah. That's what i hope.
Speaker: yeah i think that's premium if you move into somewhere it's like bang that's lovely don't yeah do any diy to go for it oh definitely and especially as like it's in a nice quiet road yeah and then the school's a good run there yeah exactly so i don't see why not hopefully fingers crossed yeah finger hopefully things pick up Yeah.
Speaker: Nice. Well, thanks a lot, mate. It's all right. It's great episode this week. Sweating. Yeah. Bet you go and have a shower or whatever. Hopefully people are listening and not watching on YouTube on this Absolutely. Yeah, if you're watching, we haven't been in a swimming pool. We're just absolutely sweating. Oh, love a swimming pool. Get the paddling pool out.
Speaker: How insane would that look for your neighbours? It's two middle-aged men running out ju all our neighbours have got those like big ones now you know the one our mate's got it's actually so delicate you see them maintaining it yeah I'm actually i so jealous now but talking of water it must take about nine hours to fill up yeah exactly how they do it yeah and our mate's got a little heater for it oh has it I didn't know that oh it's amazing solar powered heater that he drops oh that's genius absolute genius so good well anyway enough talking about swimming pools yeah Thank you for listening, everyone. As always, please drop us an email, any questions. If you just want to brag about you've got all five questions right, please, please, then let us know and we'll give you a little shout out. As always, the email address is hello at DIYGuysPodcast.com or you can hit us up on Instagram, DIYUnscoreGuysUnscorePodcast.
Speaker: And thank you so much for listening. Lovely. See you next week. See you next week.
