Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

[Chilli.s]

Yes, very good repair

 

[equationgirl]

Excellent job!

 

[20Bees]

I’ve often had trouble with the toilets here. One plumbing firm sent someone out when I couldn’t get back from work, years ago, and I’d left my then teenage son a cheque to pay them the “around £150” they’d quoted by phone to replace the whole flushing unit it was actually £170-ish.

Ten years later it failed again, a different plumber pulled the unit out and fitted a new bit of plastic film across the bottom, £10.

Now the water inlet under the cistern leaks and the ball valve doesn’t shut it off, so it has to be turned off at the tap on the riser, and I keep a jug under it to stop it soaking the floor.

I often wished my son would become a plumber / electrician / mechanic or SOMEONE who could fix stuff, his father has lots of talents but fixing stuff isn’t one of them. Should’ve probably hung on to my first boyfriend, who is blessed with an engineer’s brain and can do all that!

 

[Fez909]

We turned the heating on for the first time last night as it's getting cold. I noticed the pressure was low, so let some water in until it got to 1.5 bar, standard. Then immedtaly noticed a leak from the Magnaclean unit. Not gushing, but a drip every second or two. I put a small bowl under it and it was half full in about 20 minutes. Not good.

Did some research online and apparently it's common for the seals to leak on Magnaclean units, so much so that the manufacturer will send you a new seal if yours leaks.

Asked GF when she had the boiler serviced last?
Never.
How long have you had it?
Five years or more.
Wow, OK. We need a plumber to come and sort the leak and do a service.

I looked into whether you could run the heating without the Magnaclean and you can use the isolation valves, but then the heating won't work. We weren't using it anyway yet, so I just turned it off. Then I got curious as to how much gunk is inside this thing when it's been so long since a service. Watched a few more Youtube videos and, maybe stupidly, decided I can do this myself. At midnight, after a couple of beers

I isolated it, then drained it, and unscrewed it (which was tricky as I didn't have the correct key/spanner), and it's really awkward to get to.

Took the filter out to get a look and holy shit, it was so full of crap.

Here's what it looked like:



And here's what it looked like after cleaning:



I had a good look at the seal, and it looked fine, but then, I'm no plumber so I don't know if I would know if it was dodgy. I gave it a good clean around the seal anyway, and put it back together. And, it worked! No more leak, and the pressure's staying high, and the heating came on

Will still get a plumber in for a service (what do they do?) but it's good to know that's it's not an emergency anymore!

 

[danski]

We turned the heating on for the first time last night as it's getting cold. I noticed the pressure was low, so let some water in until it got to 1.5 bar, standard. Then immedtaly noticed a leak from the Magnaclean unit. Not gushing, but a drip every second or two. I put a small bowl under it and it was half full in about 20 minutes. Not good.

Did some research online and apparently it's common for the seals to leak on Magnaclean units, so much so that the manufacturer will send you a new seal if yours leaks.

Asked GF when she had the boiler serviced last?
Never.
How long have you had it?
Five years or more.
Wow, OK. We need a plumber to come and sort the leak and do a service.

I looked into whether you could run the heating without the Magnaclean and you can use the isolation valves, but then the heating won't work. We weren't using it anyway yet, so I just turned it off. Then I got curious as to how much gunk is inside this thing when it's been so long since a service. Watched a few more Youtube videos and, maybe stupidly, decided I can do this myself. At midnight, after a couple of beers

I isolated it, then drained it, and unscrewed it (which was tricky as I didn't have the correct key/spanner), and it's really awkward to get to.

Took the filter out to get a look and holy shit, it was so full of crap.

Here's what it looked like:

View attachment 395967

And here's what it looked like after cleaning:

View attachment 395968

I had a good look at the seal, and it looked fine, but then, I'm no plumber so I don't know if I would know if it was dodgy. I gave it a good clean around the seal anyway, and put it back together. And, it worked! No more leak, and the pressure's staying high, and the heating came on

Will still get a plumber in for a service (what do they do?) but it's good to know that's it's not an emergency anymore!

They’ll check it’s burning correctly (right balance of flue gases) among other things, which is pretty important, especially if you don’t have a carbon monoxide alarm

 

[teuchter]

I guess at least that sort of shows that the magnaclean thing does actually do something.

 

[Callie]

Fez909 I guess that's why it's Dutch courage? I often find myself only finally tackkung jobs or doing investigative DIY after a drink

My only concern with that would be ....what if those lumpy blobs were meant to be there?!

My boiler also needs servicing. I shall not mention how long it's been

 

[Fez909]

Fez909 I guess that's why it's Dutch courage? I often find myself only finally tackkung jobs or doing investigative DIY after a drink

My only concern with that would be ....what if those lumpy blobs were meant to be there?!

My boiler also needs servicing. I shall not mention how long it's been

The lumps defo shouldn't be there!

I don't think I've ever had a boiler serviced except when I was renting. Even then, I can only remember one landlord who arranged for one...I think it might be the law, now?

You shold defo get one now you've acknowledged it - it's guaranteed to break this winter if you don't and you'll kick yourself

 

[Elpenor]

Fez909 I guess that's why it's Dutch courage? I often find myself only finally tackkung jobs or doing investigative DIY after a drink

My only concern with that would be ....what if those lumpy blobs were meant to be there?!

My boiler also needs servicing. I shall not mention how long it's been

Ditto on needing servicing, haven’t had it done since I moved in summer 2022, don’t know any reliable trades down here. Ought to ask my neighbour I suppose

 

[teuchter]

I am also a bit embarrassed how long it's been since I got my boiler serviced.

 

[equationgirl]

Yeah mine needs doing too. I'm just feeling overwhelmed with jobhunting.

 

[WouldBe]

Mine just needs the flue sweeping as it wasn't done last year. But when it was done, for the first time in 4 years, the sweep got hardly any soot out of it.

 

[RubyToogood]

I actually didn't know boilers needed servicing so my old one was never serviced! I will get the new one done though.

 

[Cloo]

Roofers have started work as there's a break in the rain. Of course things have escalated and we've now been quoted for a load of repainting, replastering and repointing while we're at it but sod it, I have the savings to cover it and every summer in the garden I look at the crumbly, shonky back of our house and think 'Christ, we've got to do something about that'

 

[shakespearegirl]

If there’s an issue with the boiler and you need to claim on insurance if you’ve not had it serviced you may not be covered. Also when you are selling if your services aren’t up to date this can cause issues. We missed one service and the buyers tried to knock the cost of the nearly new boiler off the purchase price - told them to piss off obviously…

if you are renting legally landlord has to have an annual gas safety check done

 

[teuchter]

If there’s an issue with the boiler and you need to claim on insurance if you’ve not had it serviced you may not be covered. Also when you are selling if your services aren’t up to date this can cause issues. We missed one service and the buyers tried to knock the cost of the nearly new boiler off the purchase price - told them to piss off obviously…

if you are renting legally landlord has to have an annual gas safety check done

Of course another approach is to consider the cost of ten years of service charge and compare it with the cost of a new boiler.

 

[WouldBe]

Of course another approach is to consider the cost of ten years of service charge and compare it with the cost of a new boiler.

£650 for servicing versus £3000 for a new boiler.

 

[Epona]

£650 for servicing versus £3000 for a new boiler.

I think it's a bit more than £65 for an annual boiler check in London!

 

[teuchter]

Yes, don't think you'd get a boiler service for £65 in London. Replacing a combi boiler in the same location doesn't need to cost 3k.

In any case, the calculation you need to do has to be about the risks of not getting it serviced. Does it mean that there's a 50% chance it'll fail 5 years earlier than it otherwise would? Does it mean that failure is more likely to be a catastrophic one requiring total replacement, rather than just something that requires some adjustment or cleaning or a simple spare part replacement? How likely is it that decisions about eventual replacement are going to be driven by the thing failing rather than improved efficiency or changed economics of fuel alternatives or whatever?

On one side of the equation is 10 to 20 years of annual service charges ... on the other is some kind of probability based judgement, some % of the total replacement cost and not about whether that replacement will be necessary but when.

The strongest argument for doing the services is probably the safety one.

 

[Sapphireblue]

we had a new boiler when we bought new build and didn't have it serviced as didn't really think about it as previously landlords would have been responsible. 7yrs later it died and cost over a grand to fix, i think it was more like 1.5k. always service your boiler, esp modern ones which are usually combi and condensing, they need regular cleaning or a very expensive and crucial part goes as we discovered.

 

[Fez909]

Of course another approach is to consider the cost of ten years of service charge and compare it with the cost of a new boiler.

I had a similar thought when I got a cat.

Insurance of £x/month * 15 years average life span

vs

Paying the vet bill if/when your cat gets sick.

I decided the insurance wasn't worth it and went without. Then my cat got ill in the first 6 months we had him. £1500 to pay out, which I didn't have, so it went on a credit card. Then 3 months later he was sick again, with the same thing. Another £1500 on the credit card.

Then he died a few months later, leaving me with a few grand on the credit card. Then I lost my job.

Paying for a dead cat + interest for years later wasn't the best. I also didn't realise you had to pay to get your cat put down, but that also makes sense if you think about it. I just hadn't thought about it before. And a disposal fee after he'd died. These last two weren't a lot, but when added to the £3k in previous fees, and the lack of cat at the end of it all, it was like a kick in the teeth.

I have another cat now and she's fully insured

 

[shakespearegirl]

Mrshakes had never had insurance of any kind, when we got cats it took 3 months to persuade him to get pet insurance. About a week after the initial no claims allowed period one of the cats got kidney disease. He lived for about 18 months and £10k worth of vet bills

 

[Cloo]

Looks like we'll probably go whole hog and have the roofer's build/repair guys fix and repaint front of house as well. This is why I'm kind of glad we couldn't afford a loft extension now as honestly we need the money for this kind of thing instead. I am a bit tired of our house letting the terrace down a bit especially since the houses either side of us have had repaint/repoint in the last few years.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Spent the half term repairing the door of a French window with my aunt.

The bottom had rotted away and the glass was slipping.

Luckily my aunt taught furniture craft so with a little help from me was able to plan a repair.

We took off the bottom part and completely rebuild it.

I have managed to get used to using the router somewhat. The kick when you turn it on is always disconcerting.

After using it for a while it makes using the domino cutter feel like nothing.

Work in progress
One side

Otherside

 

[oryx]

Looks like we'll probably go whole hog and have the roofer's build/repair guys fix and repaint front of house as well. This is why I'm kind of glad we couldn't afford a loft extension now as honestly we need the money for this kind of thing instead. I am a bit tired of our house letting the terrace down a bit especially since the houses either side of us have had repaint/repoint in the last few years.

That's what we did back in 2019 - it makes sense if you've got scaffolding up.

The painter was so good and reasonably priced (albeit deeply eccentric ) that we got him to do the hall, stairs, landings and a bedroom afterwards.

 

[Looby]

The dining room remains unfinished. I think it’s been 3 months now.

So of course I’ve moved on and ordered the wallpaper for my office. It’s just for the chimney breast and the rest will be painted.
Both the paper and the wall colour have divided opinion but I remain absolutely committed to it and even if it’s a horror show I won’t admit it.

 

[WouldBe]

So of course I’ve moved on and ordered the wallpaper for my office.

Could have got some cheap chintz curtains from a charity shop.

 

[Looby]

Could have got some cheap chintz curtains from a charity shop.

It does have that vibe, I’ll admit.
This is designer wallpaper and was featured on some BBC interior design show. It’s beautiful.

 

[Epona]

Absolutely the opposite of my personal taste tbf - but you go for it, something bold on a chimney breast is usually a good move.
I worry a bit that the paint might end up looking very cold beige once it's on the walls, which is OK if that's what you're going for - but I'd definitely recommend getting a tester pot and trying it out on different parts of the wall which catch different types of light/shade before committing yourself in case you end up wanting something a bit more rosy/warm toned

 

[Looby]

It’s quite pinky/coral so I’m not worried about it being too light. It’s pretty similar to the colour of one of the flowers which is a relief as I chose the paper after I’d bought the paint.

I love that I won’t need a background on work calls and I can just horrify people with my paper.