Basic DIY questions?

[existentialist]

Squared circle with a chisel mainly very successful.

View attachment 422547


However....

Installed a roller catch on my pantry door, it closed nicely however will not open. Any smart ideas before I take the multtiool to the latch?

What's happening is that the catch is going too "deep" into the receiver. You may be able to do something by rebating back the "front" (ie the bit to the outside of the pantry) so that the receiver is tipped towards it a bit more. Or use a couple of splinters of wood to pack the back of it to achieve the same thing. Or, if you're lucky, you've got an adjustable one - try pushing it in a bit and then attempting to screw it further in.

I'm assuming you have GOT a receiver? It's not just dropping into a slot in the door frame?

 

[teuchter]

What's happening is that the catch is going too "deep" into the receiver. You may be able to do something by rebating back the "front" (ie the bit to the outside of the pantry) so that the receiver is tipped towards it a bit more. Or use a couple of splinters of wood to pack the back of it to achieve the same thing. Or, if you're lucky, you've got an adjustable one - try pushing it in a bit and then attempting to screw it further in.

I'm assuming you have GOT a receiver? It's not just dropping into a slot in the door frame?

It's too late - the door is closed and the thing is in the thing.

 

[Callie]

I'd recommend doing a bit of practice to get your cutting-in skills good enough that you don't need masking tape in many scenarios. As well as saving faff, it often results in a sharper edge anyway. On older buildings there's seldom an exact straight line to follow anyway.

This is a lovely idea if I had all the time I'm the world and the patience of a saint AND didn't have the "kapow look at that" jitters cutting in perfection is something to aim for... one day

The tape didn't turn out too bad tbh just a few bits to tidy (mainly due to LAZY taping)

 

[kalmatthew]

I'm assuming you have GOT a receiver? It's not just dropping into a slot in the door frame?

I do indeed have a keeper, but in a moment without thought to check the latch was positioned correctly I closed it with the old keeper for a traditional latch in place so it's currently just in the door frame and depending on how things go possibly being cut out

 

[teuchter]

Sometimes it's possible to take the pins out of the door hinges which might let you lift the whole door leaf out.

 

[existentialist]

It's too late - the door is closed and the thing is in the thing.

That's solvable. I'm thinking longer term here...

I once used a feeler gauge to extract a roller latch. It took a lot of wobbling back and forth, and the feeler gauge was unusable afterwards, but we got the door open. Other bits of suitably stiff yet flexible metal may exist.

 

[StoneRoad]

Done that, but not with a feeler gauge - I used the metal mixing / spreader tools that I use with bodyfiller.
An alternative would be a palette knife [or two] or thin flat bladed screwdriver

one to get the latch to retract and the other to keep it back there. Very fiddly !

 

[StoneRoad]

Ref "Bump Caps" ...

I use those at work [admittedly that's usually railway based but first got it when working under a couple of horse-drawn vans] but have found mine very useful at home and in the garden. The former as I have metal girders / angle iron holding up the roof and as protection against trees when pruning branches.

 

[existentialist]

Done that, but not with a feeler gauge - I used the metal mixing / spreader tools that I use with bodyfiller.
An alternative would be a palette knife [or two] or thin flat bladed screwdriver

one to get the latch to retract and the other to keep it back there. Very fiddly !

Makes you feel like a safecracker, though

 

[kalmatthew]

Done that, but not with a feeler gauge - I used the metal mixing / spreader tools that I use with bodyfiller.
An alternative would be a palette knife [or two] or thin flat bladed screwdriver

one to get the latch to retract and the other to keep it back there. Very fiddly !

The thin flat bladed screwdriver and palet knife is the current thought as I have them all. Also I should probably cross post to the stupid things you've don't today thread

 

[kalmatthew]

The thin flat bladed screwdriver and palet knife is the current thought as I have them all. Also I should probably cross post to the stupid things you've don't today thread

Well I tried a number of suggestions including sacrificing a tape measure to get the bendy metal and in the end considering the cost of the latch went for "if in doubt, cut it out". Was dead quick and easy and whish I'd done it sooner to save the paintwork thr scratches! Now to decide if I order another one and am more careful of if I want to go down a different route all together.

 

[teuchter]

They are glass-glass hinges for a shower screen and of course, it would appear to be impossible to find replacement ones with exactly the right hole spacing. So the proper fix is to take out the entire thing, and replace it with a new one, and reseal everything, just because of one tiny bit of broken metal.

Alternatively, some kind of bodge job involving gluing stainless steel hinges onto the hole-plates of the old hinges. This of course will end up taking longer than replacing the whole screen and very likely end up in failure necessitating taking the whole thing out anyway.

Naturally, I shall embark on the latter course of action. I may post my regrets here when the time comes.

Behold: the Frankenhinge.

Really looking forward to installing these and finding out what crucial thing I have overlooked, rendering my hours of gluing, drilling and filing entirely useless.

 

[existentialist]

Behold: the Frankenhinge.

Really looking forward to installing these and finding out what crucial thing I have overlooked, rendering my hours of gluing, drilling and filing entirely useless.

View attachment 422702View attachment 422703

That's what I like to see - a positive, optimistic, can-do attitude to things.

 

[Crispy]

May as well start drinking beforehand.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, many of lifes problems!

 

[WouldBe]

Alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, many of lifes problems!

Not much use as paint.

 

[teuchter]

Alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, many of lifes problems!

I'd like to clarify that it was neither the cause nor solution to the broken shower hinge.

 

[kalmatthew]

Well I tried a number of suggestions including sacrificing a tape measure to get the bendy metal and in the end considering the cost of the latch went for "if in doubt, cut it out". Was dead quick and easy and whish I'd done it sooner to save the paintwork thr scratches! Now to decide if I order another one and am more careful of if I want to go down a different route all together.

View attachment 422590

The replacement catch arrived today and having fitted the correct keep even before it entered the house, adjusted it to almost be flush with the latch plate and then slowly extending it until it caught, I now have a pantry door that both closes and opens!

 

[teuchter]

Controversial, putting a lever handle on a door with a roller catch.

 

[WouldBe]

Controversial, putting a lever handle on a door with a roller catch.

Not if it matches the other door handles in the house.

 

[kalmatthew]

Controversial, putting a lever handle on a door with a roller catch.

I did consider other options but couldn't be bothered with the work it would of taken to fill the hole left by the previous owner making the same decision. I also didn't want a proper latch on the pantry it gets opened and closed too much to quickly.

In theory it was meant to have dummy spindle to lock the handles in place. In reality the plate of the dummy was to thick but a reasonable approximation was made by installing both handles upside down!

In a few years when I redo the kitchen I might replace the door with handles that match the cupboards.

Not if it matches the other door handles in the house.

And this, it also looks much better than the worn brass from the 80s it's replaced!

 

[teuchter]

Not if it matches the other door handles in the house.

Still controversial.

 

[existentialist]

Still controversial.

Controversy isn't always bad.

 

[teuchter]

Controversy isn't always bad.

It's the urban75 thought police that need to be told this, not me.

 

[existentialist]

It's the urban75 thought police that need to be told this, not me.

Thoughts and, er, prayers.

 

[Artaxerxes]

I have a ton of little bits like this from last residents, is it just polyfilla I need to fill it up

 

[Boudicca]

I have a ton of little bits like this from last residents, is it just polyfilla I need to fill it up View attachment 424483

Yes, that's what Polyfilla was invented for! You can get small tubs of ready mixed for an easy life and own brand stuff is a lot cheaper.

I'd probably be trying to recreate the wallpaper texture by dabbing my finger in it...

 

[Artaxerxes]

Yes, that's what Polyfilla was invented for! You can get small tubs of ready mixed for an easy life and own brand stuff is a lot cheaper.

I'd probably be trying to recreate the wallpaper texture by dabbing my finger in it...

Its literally just paint rather than wallpaper, we're going to repaint these walls at some point. The wife insists it'll cost a fortune but I think it'll mostly just be a pain in the arse.

 

[spitfire]

Textured paint can contain asbestos depending on how old it is.

It's usually ceilings though and hopefully someone who is more experienced in P&D will be able to recognise the method used here but worth bearing in mind if removal is the plan.

danski what do you reckon?

Artex and Textured Coatings - Possible Asbestos Risks

Artex ceiling or wall coatings (or other textured coatings) can possibly contain asbestos materials, posing a very serious health risk - we explain.

leakdetection.co.uk

 

[danski]

Textured paint can contain asbestos depending on how old it is.

It's usually ceilings though and hopefully someone who is more experienced in P&D will be able to recognise the method used here but worth bearing in mind if removal is the plan.

danski what do you reckon?

Artex and Textured Coatings - Possible Asbestos Risks

Artex ceiling or wall coatings (or other textured coatings) can possibly contain asbestos materials, posing a very serious health risk - we explain.

leakdetection.co.uk

Dunno. I’m a spark!

But, I think it looks like the texture from a deep pile roller.

I am looking on my phone and am not a decorator.