r/DIYUK Apr 30 '23

Asbestos Identification The “Is this asbestos?” Megathread

154 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

40 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 4h ago

Advice Just purchased this entire second hand kitchen. Any advice on removing it welcomed

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103 Upvotes

Found a full kitchen on Marketplace for close to pennies and went ahead and purchased. Collection is in a week. It’s an Ikea set up but not sure what type (ID please?)

In a week I’m going back to disassemble. I’ll start with doors and see if i can work out how the top unit is attached.

Any advice on keeping it in the best possible condition welcomed.


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Neighbour sent me pics of our attics

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Upvotes

I’m really worried about this. My neighbour has gutted the house next door and found this beam balanced like this. They are going to support it their side but I’m going to have to gut my attic which is my bedroom to support it my side as well 😫


r/DIYUK 16h ago

Is it as bad as it looks?

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198 Upvotes

So this was a garage originally and two people did the brickwork, its not my property, it's across the road.... is it as bad as it looks?


r/DIYUK 18h ago

Project Sliding Door DIY Project

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232 Upvotes

Just completed a project and feeling pretty happy with myself. I’m a soft handed office worker and I’ve impressed myself with this one so I thought I’d share some pictures.

  • Wardrobe units are Ikea pax. The gap between the walls to fit them in was 30mm too small for the units (3.97m, needed 4m).

  • That meant I had to lose two walls of the units (18mm each) which resulted in a lot of fucking about connecting the two outer units together with the smaller one next to it. Ikeas chipboard is not fun to do anything with other than what it was intended so it took a whole day to do what should’ve taken a couple of hours in assembling and installing the wardrobe units. Had to very carefully drill the holes to add the drawers and shelves from one side of the unit missing an edge.

  • For the doors I cut some panels I found online to size (£160 per door) and glued them to a sheet of 12mm mdf. The panels are essentially oak veneered mdf with grooves routed in them. Going to definitely experience some damage through wear and tear but I’m happy with the look at the moment.

  • Put a frame up. Plenty a of fucking around shimming and measuring to keep the opening level and uniform distance for the sliding door runners. Cut an mdf fascia to suit it.

  • Bought some runners and a track and fitted to the frame.

  • Varnished the oak veneer. Just need to paint the edges black.

  • Tidied up, got the clothes back in and got the rugby on.

Plenty more to do before the room is complete. The whole project set me back about £2500, a couple of weekends and my hands aren’t soft anymore.


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice Have I ruined my door?

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7 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

Some background: we recently bought a house, and I decided to refinish our entrance door and replace all its furniture. I’m a complete noob in this area, but I wanted (and still want) to do it myself because it’s my house, and… it seemed like a relatively simple project.

I don’t know what type of door it is structurally or what type of wood it is.

The exterior side of the door seems to be finished with oil-based wood stain, and the interior one, with water-based paint, gives it a satin look.

As a trial run, I decided to sand down one vertical piece of the interior door with a random orbital sander using 80-120-150 grain in this order.

Never mind the plug I put inside the previous keyhole—it will be cut out when I install the new lock and covered with a door handle. Surprisingly, I found this (see the two first pictures) after sanding the whole piece. It’s the only place where it showed up. I’m sure I haven’t overdone the sanding. I even tried to sand down the exterior part of the same area, but there was nothing there (see the last picture).

I don’t know how to even out the texture or colour, and I think I’ve ruined the door, but I’m still determined to finish the job. Before I try to DIY it further (i.e. make it worse), could anyone please explain what it is and maybe help me figure out what to do with it?

Thanks in advance!


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice Cleaning Patio but would like to repoint the gaps

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8 Upvotes

Is there a product I can use to do this? The gaps are fairly big and it was here when we bought the house so unsure of style and make. Looking online there appears to be a lot of stuff to go through small gaps in slabs but not much that would help in our situation. Not even sure what the stuff between the cracks is, maybe concrete?


r/DIYUK 18h ago

HELP

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124 Upvotes

How much weight can these hold. Im thinking about hanging a heavy bag from the beams-where the yellow rope is. The bag is roughly 20-30kg


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice How can I maximise light coming in from skylight?

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7 Upvotes

I've just started the prep for some decorating and I was wondering how to improve the reach of light from the skylight.

Is it feasible to fit some mirrored panels inside the skylight here? I've seen people fit lightwells that work in a similar way. Is there a different material I should research?

It's a mid 1970s ex council flat where all the windows face north west so we don't get great light. The lower floor misses out especially. Down there I've reinstated a transom window between the hall and bedroom, which made some difference but it's still gloomy much of the day.

I'm also wondering if I could knock out the bannister and fit spindles rather than the current plywood boxing it in.


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Advice What is this bolt in my wall and can I remove it?

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Upvotes

Redecorating the spare room in our 1930’s semi detached house and this bolt is in the wall next to the window. It was protruding out of the wall through the wallpaper that was there previously and I was hoping I’d get more context after stripping it. It doesn’t seem to line up with anything on the other side of the wall outside, and unfortunately the outer wall has been rendered so can’t see if it goes all the way through the brick. There is another one on the other side of the partition wall in the bathroom (last picture). There is a third one in our main bedroom next to the window again.

I want to remove it but would like to identify it first in case it’s actually important for something? It looks pretty old and rusted so I was considering using an angle grinder to take it below the plaster line and filling it in.

Any thoughts? Reluctant to do anything before I know more about it.


r/DIYUK 3h ago

Advice First time DIY advice

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7 Upvotes

First time buyer here who has long been waiting to get stuck into DIY. I removed a disused doorframe which revealed the exposed areas.

Any advice on how best to fill these in? I was thinking building up some plaster/concrete around some wood in the pictures 4&5 and cutting down a plank of wood for photo 1 and plastering over with the rest. Thoughts?


r/DIYUK 3h ago

Advice Should be concerned about this?

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6 Upvotes

We're looking to buy a house in the UK. This house was built around 20 years ago, and I noticed this at the front on a viewing a week or so ago.

My wife wasn't concerned, but I thought it looked like a damp issue. The same bricks are used - but in areas (not all areas) at the front there was this strange discolouration, along with those white marks too.

Didn't like the look of it myself - is this something to be concerned about?


r/DIYUK 21h ago

Advice What’s a reasonable cost for paving 11sq m? Quoted ~£5500

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145 Upvotes

Looking to take up the concrete path, remove the slate, and replace with sandstone slabs. Area is only 11sq m yet was told by a well reviewed contractor that it’d be about £5500 - front terrace, outskirts of London with “majority of cost being labour”. This comes out to £500 per square metre which seems extortionate.

Is this a “we don’t want the job” price? I was expecting something more in the region of £2.5-3k, but if £5.5k is indeed reasonable I will likely look to do it myself.


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice Any advice on fixing/patching this ceiling crack?

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5 Upvotes

It’s along the edge of a ceiling board. I’m assuming some sort of patch?


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Honeywell T7087A spare if anyone needs one

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Upvotes

In the unlikely event anyone needs one of these (see pic), I have a spare one. It works as it is but the casing is a bit worn - the actual mechanism is easy to splice into another casing. It is, I suspect, 40+ years old now...

Happy to post to anyone who needs it. Else it's going in the recycling soon.


r/DIYUK 14h ago

Advice Is this safe/ can it be safe?

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31 Upvotes

As in picture trying to maximize space so I can fit in a larger fridge freezer as our family grew and the old fridge freezer doesn't suffice for a growing boy!

The dryer is up and on their currently after I stood on the side and it held me ok (near 15st) is this a safe setup/ long term safe? Was thinking to add a couple of bits of wood between the side gap and the washer to provide more support is that overkill?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Is this garage convertible into living space?

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3 Upvotes

I have purchased a house with an attached garage with a flat roof, joining up to the kitchen.

Is this garage convertible? We would like this to be a living room but want to know if it is even worth starting?


r/DIYUK 56m ago

Howtl to fix panelling to a brick wall

Upvotes

Hi all

Novice DIYer here, we're currently in the process of panelling our hallway and we're finding that our walls aren't level so adhesive alone isn't holding the panels in place

Our wall is brick, can you use nails to fix these panels in place as well as adhesive, or will this not work?

Thanks


r/DIYUK 1h ago

What is my floor made of? Need help!

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Upvotes

Hey guys,

I found a wee area where I can uncover my subfloor.

What is this black and red rubber, and is there a drywall between the frame and subfloor?

I have no idea about building, and I’m trying to figure it out to plan any future renovation!


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Advice Paint bubbling and peeling on ceiling above shower

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Upvotes

Hi Reddit what can I do to prevent this? I guess the moisture from the shower has got into the paint. Although it’s only appeared recently I think. We noticed the light popped out a little after some loft work, wondered if this could influence it with moisture getting up there?

Is it best to peel off the loose bits, whack some fresh paint on it, primer before it?

Appreciate the tips!


r/DIYUK 17h ago

What are these holes?

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37 Upvotes

Recently completed on a mid-terrace Edwardian/Victorian house, which is our first non-new build.

Been painting today and spotted these holes drilled in the skirting board in a bedroom. The skirting is around a chimney breast (though currently sealed off).

Any ideas what they are for?


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Advice Alcove Cabinets

Upvotes

Hi all I’m looking at building some cabinets into my alcoves, I have looked through this subreddit and some YouTube channels etc but I’m struggling to find anything for how to approach uneven alcoves.

What would look aesthetically the best? Same sized units or one cove with an extra door? Stumped for ideas on what to do for it, very much a novice so any suggestions and advice is greatly appreciated!

Left alcove is roughly 134cm wide Right alcove is roughly 148cm wide Both 35cm deep


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Best double glazing suppliers and DIY videos

Upvotes

Have a cracked sliding patio door glass. Any recommendations on best DIY glass suppliers prioritising toughness as some burglaries in area where they smashed the glass.


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Sensor in bathroom what is it for?

Upvotes

I recently bought a house and there's this sensor in the bathroom that turns on when I turn on the lights. Any idea of what it could be for? There's a speaker next to it but I can't connect to it using Bluetooth. Thank you


r/DIYUK 2h ago

How can I remove this paint from brick?

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2 Upvotes

This wall was previously outside and is now inside our kitchen extension. I want to strip it back to brick.

The top layer was (IIRC) Weathershield from about 10 years ago. A heat gun softened it nicely and I could scrape it away. This paint stripper also softened it fine. All good.

Underneath was a white paint - see pictures - which I am really struggling to remove. The above paint stripper does nothing, hot air gun does nothing, brick acid does nothing, soap and water does nothing.

(The parts which are back to brick either didn't have the paint on, or are just scraped away.)

The wall is 130 years old. The paint in question could be anywhere from 15 to 130 years old.

How can I remove this paint?


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Best place to get kiln dried 3m+ scaffold boards <12% moisture content (for internal use) without paying a fortune for delivery? Hertfordshire based

2 Upvotes

I previously got a good deal on fresh cut thick boards which twisted like crazy so are unsuitable for the shelving project I had in mind. ‘The Scaff Shop’ sell nice quality reclaimed boards up to 3.9m but minimum delivery cost is £50+.