Frozen nuts

Posted on 10th Oct 2023 by essiep

Here’s a puncture that should be easy to fix, but …

It’s okay to get punctures every year or so, but here are other problems. The tyre would hold pressure for about ten minutes before dropping 10psi. I called into the supermarket for shopping anyway and shopped before dealing with it. By the time I got out it was obvious a wheel change was necessary.

The problem was getting the locknut off. The locknut key skipped off and refused to release the wheel. Even supporting the spanner on the jack didn’t help. That means the wheel is stuck. A passing bricklayer in a van tried an electric drivers but no luck. It was fast.

Next try, the supermarket had tyre sealant aerosols listed, that would inflate and seal the tyre temporarily (enough to get home). They were out of stock. Finally, I used the pump and blew it up to 30psi to see how far I could get. I got home with 3 stops to reinflate. At least that saved paying for recovery.

When this is fixed, I’ll put the black winter wheels on.

Busy day.

Posted on 27th Apr 2020 by essiep

14°C, bright sun, much cooler 0 cloud.

To finish a busy day decorating, I got the road before it got dark. This was the most satisfying day of lockdown. Morning, I wallpapered another wall and prepared the remaining walls. In the afternoon, I rebuilt a wall in the bedroom. My neighbour donated mortar so I could get the job done. In lockdown, most DIY materials are difficult to get.

I slept soundly.

A mild cheat

Posted on 15th Feb 2019 by essiep

11°C, sunny.

I have to say, I’m happy with the plastering job. I’ve never plastered anything as big as the chimney breast bit this worked. I can smooth my hand over for that satisfying feeling. Okay, so I tweaked it with a little polyfiller but still….

The HDR app is handy here for looking for flaws. Here is one looking abstract.

Oops, I did it again.

Posted on 10th Jan 2019 by essiep

7°C, fog.

Following that experience in the early week, I have yet to return to cycling. I rode a meer 25 miles and felt dreadful by the end. The last few days, I cracked on with the decorating. The hall is half done and you can see where it’s going.

Once more, stripping off wallpaper revealed loose plaster; this time, right next to the front door.

The underlying bricks have a fault, there in a crack in the mortar which now needs attention from outside. I wonder whether this fault it caused by slamming the front door. The door is a tight fit in the frame this winter. Perhaps it does this every winter when it’s damp.

Another item for the to-do list; plane the door down to give clearance.

Later, I’ll ride. The legs are fizzing again.

DIY: Plumbing, a leaking radiator.

Posted on 4th Dec 2018 by essiep

6°C, becoming greyer but still dry.

Much as I hate DIY plumbing, this one job has to be done. The kitchen radiator has left little puddles beneath when I get home. The system pressure would drop enough to shut down the boiler by the end of the the week.

After trying loosening and re-tightening the nuts on the valve for no improvement, I bought a replacement valve. This is a basic thermostatic valve and looked like the right size to fit onto the same nuts and olives.

Here is the old valve without the thermostat. Water leaked from the centre of the black top

Now that the heating system is a closed loop combi-boiler, draining didn’t take long.

The pipe looks scruffy but I can clean it up when I decorate. Perhaps Emery paper then varnish it to keep the copper colour.

Cost of repair? Just over £6.50. Boom!

At the same time, I have put together an emergency pipe repair kit: some pipe, compression joints, PTFE tape and a pipe cutter. Oh and a flexible pipe, that should be enough should the worst happen this winter.

Sleep fail

Posted on 11th Nov 2018 by essiep

Why is this, I wake at 02.30, wide awake so get up for my usual night-time herb tea. Back to bed for more ceiling staring. I don’t get it, I’m not stressed, don’t have any worries and it’s been 12 hours since the last coffee. What’s going on?

Here is the plaster in the kitchen. And here it as was a week ago:

I suspect that the heat may have played a part it that plaster becoming detached. This is where the boiler used to be mounted and those pipes carry very hot water. I’ve not decided how to box in the pipes. Should they have insulation.

Is this a cold causing sleep disruption? the current cold has hung on a while just entering its third week. I’m so frustrated by this.

Papered over (2).

Posted on 17th Oct 2018 by essiep

A day spent house-making. The old cooker is out, the new one in place. Radiators are ready and waiting for the plumber.

Soon to be hidden under wallpaper behind a radiator is this sketch.. Drawing over polyfiller is not as easy as plaster. The texture is too rough which made subtle marks difficult to achieve. Perhaps a hard grade of pencil would suit better.

Continue reading →

Underdrawing.

Posted on 14th Oct 2018 by essiep

19°C rain.

Back home, decorating. Some pressure is on, a new heating system is to be fitted next week I’m taking the opportunity to fit column radiators. The old flat radiators are off, leaving the wall exposed for redecoration. Repapering the hallway was easy, the old paper came off easily in large sheets.

A sketch, now under wallpaper.

Preparing the living room was not so easy. It started off without difficulty, the paper peeled away in large sheets. This soon revealed a problem. The plaster has long cracks that criss-cross. I decided to lever off a loose bit. Then a huge sheet fell away.

There is a gap between the sill and the top course of bricks so I injected polyethylene foam. Later the same day, the base coat of plaster was in.

This photo shows the skim coat. It’s not as flat as I’d like but it will be hidden by the new radiator (and under lining paper).

Mobile phone.

Posted on 18th Aug 2018 by essiep

I’ve come back from my hiking trip in Scotland annoyed with my phone. I have an old 3G Samsung Mini 3III.

There are two main problems:

1/ the screen is unreadable in summer sunshine,

2/ sometimes, the notification sounds and switches on the screen. Sometimes, it does this every 4 seconds, sometimes even when the phone is switched off. Doing that, the battery is used up in just a few hours even when the phone is left on flight mode.

While I was away, the phone used half the monthly data on Google Services. That’s presumably some kind of software update. It did this while on flight mode with synch switched off.

This phone is about 4 years old, so it may be time to replace it. The criteria for choosing a phone has changed since:

brighter screen,
Longer battery life
Bigger screen
Better camera
More RAM
4G.

The solution could be: a Motorola G6.

Double battery life,
3Gb RAM,
32Gb internal storage,
13Mp camera
MiniSD slot,
No bloatware,
I don’t know how bright the screen will be. This is a serious concern; often, I can’t use my phone in bright sunlight.

Next bit, pick a contract. Either get another SIM only contract and buy the phone. The other choice is a monthly contract that dovers the cost of the phone. Initially, I decided on the latter. Once I went through the registration, it was revealed that I’d have to pay more because I’m not a new customer. This is annoying because that penalises me for customer loyalty. At that point, I backed out and left the shop empty handed.

Plumbing, is this the most annoying DIY job?

Posted on 29th May 2018 by essiep

Very warm, sunny and close. 24°C.

Before:

It leaked, left rusty marks and was difficult to remove. I ended up removing the whole sink to get at the rusty bolts.

How much better is this? A clean route, new pipes and tap-set. The job was slowed by not having the best tools. Especially a screwdriver that can reach awkward corners out of sight.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Category Archives: Home