Beyond Blue Home Improvement Thread

[geoff]

Hi everyone. I'm Geoff and have been a dedicated Volunteer on the forums for 13 years. I am proud to have stopped some of the stigmas that are associated with mental health as well as doing my best to help others too

Before my health went south I was a builder in all aspects of home construction and renovation. If you don't have a handyman around I hope I can offer you some tips that may be of help. I have had many years of experience in home renovation and will do my best to help you out if you are stuck and need some advice

I hope my experience may be of help to the people on Beyond Blue and make their life a little bit better. Even if you need help with the most basic painting job or putting up a shelf I can help there too with some tips

I will do my best to get back to anyone that has a question when I can as this is social yet important thread

Geoff

[Music_Freak]

Hi Geoff,

There's no water marks or anything, just some chips and dents a few millimetres deep at the most, so nothing major

[geoff]

Hi MF, thanks and sorry can I ask you whether you want to do something about the chips and dents.

What colour or type is the wood because if you want to fix the holes and/or dents will depend on how you fix the dining table, sounds exciting.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Music_Freak]

Sorry, I thought I mentioned that I wanted to fix them. One in particular is right on the extendable line/edge. The others are at the edges, but would seem to just sand away. The one at the extendable line is the deepest

I'm not sure what type of timber it is, but it's very pale like pine. Although my dad did say that it doesn't seem soft like pine.

[Guest_1584]

Hi to geoff and all.

Thanks mate but sorry to say things are pretty rough right now. And l just don't have the time or money to do anything either at the moment but hopefully l'll be back shooting questions at you when l can get back onto things later on.

ps , sounds like you've built yourself a couple of nice boxes there mf , nice goin

rx

[Guest_9610]

Hello Geoff and thank you for this thread. So thoughtful of you to be able to help others on the BB forum. 🙂

Had read your very first post on this thread to see what it was about. l was wondering if you know anything about a garage roller door? My garage roller door is operated by electric power only but when's there's a power failure of any kind I'm unable to access to it any way. I'm in need of a locksmith so it can be opened both manually & electric.

Would you please give me some advice of what type of locksmith is needed to do this type of work.

With Thanks & Regards

Amiella

[geoff]

Hi MF, if the colour of the wood is a golden colour then it might be pine because you paint any pine timber with estapol, it goes on clear but over time it will turn a golden colour, that may help.

If the dents are on the edge, then you could fill them but it's most likely to fall away and all your hard work will be wasted, so I would try and sand the edge all along it, trying to integrate it, but only gently.

If the dent was in the middle then there are wood fillers you can buy, but they probably won't be the exact same as the rest of the wood, sometimes what I would do is keep a handful of shavings, then mix this with some adqhere glue (wood glue it's not spelt like that but similar) then mix the shavings up with this glue, then put it in the dent or hole, let it dry and then sand it down, even with the other surface, it may dry a bit darker, but I'd always say it was wood knot.

If the dent on the edge is really deep then just try and smooth as much as you can.

Hope that helps.

Geoff.

[geoff]

Hi RX, I understand the position you are in and feel very sorry for you, and only wish I could help you in regards to this, but please when you want to keep those questions coming.

Take care.

Geoff.

[geoff]

Hello Amiella, and a warm welcome to this thread.

I'm sorry that this has happened, don't we rely so much on electricity, but to open your garage door is it from the inside or outside?

From the inside there should be a cord hanging down with a handle, then just pull it down, this disengages the door, then you can slide it up manually.

From the outside, all you need to do is thread a coat hanger or piece of wire through the
top of the door and pull on the top of the latch, where the emergency cable is.

So can you please tell me whether you're trying to open it from the inside or outside.

Best wishes.

Geoff.

[Music_Freak]

Thanks Geoff.

I'll try that shavings/dust and aquadere idea, if I need to. So clever! The chip is a few millimetres deep and maybe a centimetre long.

So, would I be OK buying a “detail sander” from Bunnings for this (and other random jobs) or would something else be better for a table and chairs?

Am I correct in thinking that you just buy different coarse sandpapers for them? I will ask you about what to buy when I'm closer to doing it, I'm sure 🙂

[geoff]

Hi MF, a detail sander sounds like a great idea for many other tasks, just be careful you don't put too much pressure or concentrate on the one small area because if this happens you will form a big dent in the wood, so sand around the general area.

I would test the sandpaper course, too rough it will leave rather deep scratches, but using that is OK if you then work the grade down to eventually a fine course.

The aquadhere and shavings are also a terrific idea if you are going to paint whatever you have and paint in a solid enamel colour.

Please keep asking me.

Best wishes.

Geoff.