I have no real practical skills I want to learn

Let's share our knowledge

Practical, general around the house type stuff I'm thinking for this thread. How to fix a dripping tap for instance

Other basic stuff as well

Top thread Irre

At this point, I'd like to offer myself as a bit of help to anyone living in reasonable distance of Exmoor in the UK.
I'm good with most home maintenance, basic mechanics, gardening, tree care etc etc.
Not so as you bastards can exploit me, just so that you can get a hand/advice.

Ask and you may receive
No doubt I will be asking too at some point

I'm a mean painter and decorator (perfectionist)...have always done my own. Would be happy to help anyone, if they don't live too far from London.

pheony wrote:
My biological dad was a professional painter and decorator We lost contact though when I was about 1 or something so he couldn't pass on his skills.

I did my room a couple of years ago. For the first time I felt out of my depth, I didn't have a clue what I was doing

Pheony, when it comes to painting walls, what do you do about the wallpaper paste residue problem? When I did my room there was tonnes of it. I spent a week flat out working day and night washing rinsing washing rinsing, add nauseum. There must be an easier way. Can you just paint over it?

My woodwork still needs a third coat actually I helped my bro paint his room last year as well. we did a fairly decent job

irrepressible wrote:
When you say " wallpaper paste residue" do you mean,,, dried paste that has been on there for years?....If so, use a scrapper to scrape it off. You can paint over it...but you won't have a nice smooth finish.

If new paste.....a damp cloth.

You mean just scrape the bare plaster when dry pheony?

Dry paste that's been on there for years. Once it's wet though, after getting the paper off, it's a nightmare!

irrepressible wrote:
Yes, then sand it with a piece of sandpaper for a smooth finish before painting.

irrepressible wrote:
Let it dry first...it won't take long.

Is it's only small spots, just use sandpaper.

pheony wrote:
Excellent! Thanks pheony

I went OTT with my room. I spent way way too long preparing the walls I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist as well

To fix that tap washer Irre

If its a hot tap you should also have a hot stop tap next to the tank, turn this off too otherwise you will have to waste a full tank of hot water.
With the taps off open the one in question until it tops out and let any water there is after the stop tap drains away.
Now you need to lift the shaft cover to expose the nut underneath, these covers either push.on or screw on mine pushes on.

Take the desired sized spanner and give it a tap ani clockwise to unscrew the tap top being carefull not to let the tap itself turn or you could disturb the pipe connection underneath.
Once you have the top section off you should see the rubber washer, remove the old and replace it with a new one, the washer sometimes pushes over a small pin or screws on.

Then do everything in reverse, turn off the tap and turn the water back on at both hot and cold stop taps.

m.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=7334789804&s=8...c7ed&time=1338807950

m.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=7334781216&s=8...c7ed&time=1338810618

Brilliant! Thanks Apprentice

The pics won't show on my PS3, but I understood your explaination anyway.

Our bathroom is falling apart. The council were supposed to be putting a new one in years ago. We're back on the list though, so it shouldn't be too long a wait.

On the residual paste thingie, I bought a cheap wallpaper steam stripper a few years ago.

It's great for jobs like that. it also saves a wad of time and paint if you run over any surface, (especially ceilings), with it before painting as it lifts out any grease/grime/nicotine which will bleed through and cause you umpteen re-coats.

irrepressible wrote:
Come round mine and I'll teach you to machine sew like a motherfucker, irre. I have been teaching myself this year and I have to confess, I'm getting rather natty at it. I've just about mastered curtains and am moving onto clothes next.

See...you thought I was going to say something rude, didn't y'all?

I repaired/set-up a sewing machine for my daughter last year.
I also mashed my thumb with that fucking stupid, big-assed bolt that holds the needle in place.
Made worse by my first reaction being to stomp on the footpedal. YA BAAAAAASTARD!!!

Sewing..............serious business............srly!

feather wrote:
See feather...always unplug. Always.

I haven't had the pleasure of trying to repair the thing yet, though I did have to take it apart last week to remove some rogue thread.

I wanted to get myself one of those hand-crank jobbies as I keep seeing them in charity shops. Not sure how that'd effect my technique, however. It's an invaluable tool to have at your disposal anyway, and one that many people sadly wouldn't know where to begin with, these days, let alone 'hand' sewing and stitching.

I couldnt be without me sewing machine - that and crochet are the two main crafts that I do for pleasure - I grow a lot of stuff too but would not say I am particularly knowledgeable about gardening i just do as instructed. The other half can patch up almost anything - my skillset is mainly in the homemaking sphere - there are some fantastic blogs out there - particularly of the 'homesteading' american christian mum kind which are full of recipes and how too's if you ignore the 'surrendered wife' stuff they are fantastic for information on looking after livestock, making stuff from scratch and planting etc - not that there is owt wrong with being a 'surrendered wife' if you so choose to be - but on a personal level if my other half quoted scripture at me to show me the error of my ways the last thing I would be is grateful for the 'correcting' - but each to their own an all that

thoreau wrote:
Probably get the business end of your sewing machine in his face, too.

It wasn't so much the unplug thing as "pay attention to what your doing, ya narse" thing.

I'll be honest though and say once I'd got it set up it was hugely enjoyable messing around making a little cushion for the cat carrybox etc.
It is a genuine skill though and takes time to practice even sewing a straight line.

feather wrote:
Haha Ms dub is a seamstress. She similarly stuck her finger in the wrong place of an industrial machine a few years back. Big fat needle straight through the finger and a trip to hospital to have it removed hahahaha. Silly Ms dub, silly Ms dub

Ab Origine wrote:
and risk hurting the machine?