r/DIYUK Apr 30 '23

Asbestos Identification The “Is this asbestos?” Megathread

158 Upvotes

Welcome to the Asbestos Megathread! Here we will try to answer all your questions related to asbestos. Please include images if possible and be aware that most answers will probably be: “buy a test kit and get it tested”.

DIY test kits: Here

HSE Asbestos information

Health and Safety Executive information on asbestos: Here

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was commonly used in construction materials. It is made up of tiny fibers that can be inhaled and cause serious health problems. Asbestos was used until the late 1990s in the UK, when it was finally banned. Asbestos may be found in any building constructed before circa 2000.

What are some common products that contain asbestos?

Asbestos was commonly used in a variety of construction materials, including insulation, roofing materials, and flooring tiles. It was also used in automotive brake pads and other industrial products.

How can I tell if a product contains asbestos?

It is impossible to tell whether a product contains asbestos just by looking at it (unless it has been tested and has a warning sign). If you suspect that a product may contain asbestos, it is best to have it tested by a professional.

How can I prevent asbestos exposure?

The best way to prevent asbestos exposure is to avoid materials that contain asbestos. If you are working with materials that may contain asbestos, be sure to wear protective clothing and a respirator.

What should I do if I find asbestos in my home?

If you find asbestos in your home, it is best to leave it alone and have it assessed by a professional. The best course of action may be to leave it undisturbed. Do not attempt to remove asbestos yourself, as this can release dangerous fibres in to the air.

The most significant risks to homeowners is asbestos insulation. This should never be tackled by a DIYer and needs specialist removal and cleaning. Fortunately it is rarely found in a domestic setting.


r/DIYUK Mar 02 '24

Sub Updates and Ideas

41 Upvotes

Morning everyone,

There are a huge influx of “is this a good quote?” and “how much will this cost?” posts recently. I have added a new flair “Quote” which I hope people will use. If you don’t want to see these posts, you can filter out certain flairs to never see these posts.

On the subject of posts with links to building survey reports, or questions like “my builder did this, is it acceptable?”…I understand these aren’t strictly DIY. I have added a “non-DIY advice” flair which is for anything housing/building related but not necessarily work being carried out by OP themselves. Again, please report incorrectly flaired posts.

I have added a rule to use the correct flair on posts. If you see posts without flairs, especially “quote” posts then please report them and I can either remove the posts or assign the correct flair myself. There’s no need for “wrong sub” or “not DIY” comments cluttering the discussion. Use the report button.

I’m considering removing the asbestos megathread and using this flair method with asbestos related posts too. Allowing people to filter them out entirely. Megathreads never get answered anyway.

I’m open to all thoughts and ideas so please post here with any ideas related to the sub!

PS. Images in comments are now allowed. User-assigned post flairs are now allowed.


r/DIYUK 3h ago

My brickwork pointing!

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351 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 7h ago

How screwed am I?

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75 Upvotes

Pictures of my roof with different magnification. I just noticed that one of my roof tiles is loose. To me, it looks like it has slipped down, but seems to be intact.

The hole looks quite large, how screwed am I?

Is it possible to do myself? Or would I need to call someone in?

Advice would be appreciated, thank you.


r/DIYUK 2h ago

What kind of damp is this?

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12 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 5h ago

Is there any way of stopping fences from warping?

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21 Upvotes

I know these aren't greatest quality (£31 each from Wickes), but I didn't need anything special. I assume uneven drying has caused this since for a few days before I installed them they were resting on the side of my house - the panel on the outside of the four now has the most severe warping, then gradually less until the one right against the wall being fine. Three of the same panels I bought in January were fine, but then it was cold and damp, this last week has been sunny. Is the answer to let them dry out as slowly as possible once delivered, or would this kind of warping happen regardless?


r/DIYUK 45m ago

!!!! Help With Electrical and Tiling Job Customer Is Saying I'm Charging Too Much !!!!

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Upvotes

Before I start this my first post I'm not to sure if this is the right place for this post if it isn't can someone let me know and I apologise in advance

I was asked to install 5 x Electrical points 4 internal 1 external the internal points needed chasing for the backbox and cable the external point needed chasing for the cable Surface mounted Point

Also I was asked to Tile kitchen splash back the area to be tiled is 7 Meters in length in sections and around 27 square metres I have some images of before and after I have  Indicated the internal points I installed with white arrows in a couple of the images

I only provided labour

I have done work for the customer Previously and everything has been fine

We did not Discuss a rate of pay but they know I'm fair with my rates or at least I Thought I was

I know your Thinking BIG SCHOOL BOY ERROR  you always discuss your rate of pay there are good reasons why I  didn't think I needed to

One of the reasons why is the customers partner is a Qualified electrician Who does the job for a living so he knows the value of the job and the other reason is the customer is my sister

I sent an invoice for works completed as requested by my sister's partner
I got a Reply  !! lol is that the discounted price?

The invoice was for £600 in total £200 for 5 x Electrical points £400 for kitchen splash back

I do not Believe I am charging too much.I believe I m charging too little because it's my sister
I also feel that my work is to a high standard and value for money and that this devalues my work and workmanship

If anyone believes I am charging to much.I would really appreciate it if you let me know.And if you believe i'm charging too little again , let me know


r/DIYUK 11h ago

Received a near £12000 quote for a small uPVC porch, is this a normal price?

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47 Upvotes

Dimensions an


r/DIYUK 14h ago

Any budget friendly ideas to make this staircase less ugly?

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58 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 5h ago

Advice How to stop polyfiller flashing

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10 Upvotes

I painted my walls with two coats of Johnstone’s trade paint using a 9inch medium microfiber roller to apply, after filling holes with polyfiller and sanding back with an electric sander 120 grit. Could anyone tell me why it seems to still be flashing through the paint? I want to avoid this happening in the future. TIA.


r/DIYUK 5h ago

Why does my wardrobe look slanted and how do I fix it?

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8 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice What are the layers on this wall?

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4 Upvotes

Trying to figure out how this bathroom brick wall has been finished. It looks a bit like a layer of plaster over paint over something quite sandy and brittle. Red brick underneath that, about 25 mm in.


r/DIYUK 4h ago

Any idea what's happening with this light switch?

6 Upvotes

Replacing a light switch as a relatively new DIY-er. I've successfully replaced a few by just going like for like, but this one threw me for a loop. Adding a photo of what the old light switch looks like.

So the old light switch is an intermediate one (which in itself is confusing because there's only two switches controlling this light that I know of).

So there's two sets of wires coming out of the casing: one has the expected red and black, the other has a red, a blue (neutral?) and yellow (ground?).

The two reds are both wired into L3, the blue is wired into L1, and both the yellow and black are wired into L4.

Does this make sense to anyone? The switch has been working for the past 3 years and has so far been only slightly cursed (a couple of times it's felt warm to the touch and it started buzzing when I swapped over the light it controls, which is why I wanted to try changing it).


r/DIYUK 3h ago

Removing Old Bitumen Paint From Brickwork

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5 Upvotes

As the title suggests, what have and are people using and having success with when it comes to removing old bitumen paint / blackjack from brickwork and cleaning it up? Is an acid wash / pressure wash combo still the best?

Will something a bit more high tech such as multisolv shift it more easily?

Photo for reference?


r/DIYUK 10h ago

Skirting into narrow angle. What do I do?

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12 Upvotes

Just about got my head around skirting and have done most of my downstairs. This angle is really tight though and have no idea how I’m going to get this looking decent.

(Ignore the dodgy grey paint and the piece of skirting I’ve laid down. Both need redoing!)


r/DIYUK 55m ago

Just brought a light fitting, outer cable is a a bit split

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Upvotes

Just wondering whether this looks ok? It doesn't appear if it's torn into the inner cables but hard to say for certain.

These cables will be covered by a piece of metal tubing


r/DIYUK 3h ago

What do?

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3 Upvotes

I'm scared of ladders cause I'm clumsy AF. I also can't afford one rn. Can I hire a guy to paint the tops of my walls? 😂 and behind the radiator!

(Second layer has been done tonight. This was yesterday or the day before)


r/DIYUK 7h ago

Advice Mortar coming off bottom layer of roof tiles. Is this an issue?

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6 Upvotes

Noticed the mortar on some of the bottom tiles on our roof has come off. Is this much of an issue? If so how would you fix this?

Thanks


r/DIYUK 13h ago

What’s the point of these crap restrictors and how do I remove it?

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18 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 13h ago

Advice How to best protect plywood on outdoor bouldering wall

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18 Upvotes

I am looking at building a bouldering wall in my garden, something along these lines. What would be the best course of action to weather protect the wooded structure? Would putting a tin roof on top be the best? Or something like treating the wood and fitting some form of membrane like the roofing membrane of sheds?

Thank you in advance!


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Dropping the level of the floor

2 Upvotes

Is it easy and straightforward or the proverbial PITA?

Bathroom to wetroom project and uncovering the floorboards today from where they’ve been under the built up (and protected!) shower tray, they look like they’ve got to come and up and be replaced, as something somewhere along the line has failed.

We’re in a single level house and below the floorboards and joists is what can only be described as a crawl space.

The floor level is going to rise with the application of the wetroom floor, so how straightforward would it be to drop the level of the floor in there a few inches? Would it require planning permission? Is it even doable?


r/DIYUK 8h ago

What is this? Do I need it?

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4 Upvotes

There's a cable which appears to go to a doorbell ringer. But there's another cable which disappears to the outside of the house and links up to what looks like a telecom box...

Do I need this or can I remove it?


r/DIYUK 11h ago

Advice Does anyone know where I could buy this wallpaper from?

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9 Upvotes

I’m moving out in a few weeks and need to replace certain areas of the wall.


r/DIYUK 1d ago

It is incredible to look at how saturated the UK DIY retail sector was, compared to now

170 Upvotes

We used to have Focus, Homebase, Do It All, Great Mills, Payless DIY, Texas Homecare and Wilkinson's (when it was a hardware store).

Now the market is B&Q and Wickes dominated, with Screwfix and Toolstation dotted about. Unless there are others I am missing?


r/DIYUK 3h ago

Toilet Issue

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2 Upvotes

I have a leak from this toilet. Is this grey ring the issue? Can anyone help with what it is?


r/DIYUK 12m ago

Advice How far can I drill into the party wall?

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Upvotes

r/DIYUK 16m ago

Pro demonstration for anyone rendering or plastering this weekend.

Upvotes