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

[geoff]

hi Randomx, I used to love hopping on the ride-on mower at home and I also used it when I was doing handyman/builder, but it does flatten the long grass, so slashing it is much easier, plus you never know what's hidden amongst the grass, one time there were car body parts,that annoyed me because it was a brand new ride-on, I never used it for work again.
If I had to paint a house/flat I would go to my paint shop and see if there were any 'miscoloured' paints similar to what I wanted to use because they were quarter the price and could be re-tinted.
Life warranty will only last if the preparation has been done properly, but usually happens is that people want to refresh or repaint the house again and if it's been sold then the new owners certainly change the colour.
Paul you can paint your tiles/bath and there are companies/businesses that can do this for you professionally, I don't know at what cost but you can get a quote.
I always disliked tiling but still had to do it.
If you paint your walls yellow you will probably need to give the walls more than two coats, it's a difficult colour to use because the coverage isn't as good as another colour. Geoff,

[Guest_1584]

gday mathy , paul a geoff .

Wonder then mathy if like decades ago brittish was really brittish back then . Shame if so everything gets bought out in the end doesn't it.

Funny Paul , how's the tile situation looking , wouldn't you believe l was thinking about doing something like that with my bath room too. They're still stuck like glue and onto concrete so they'd probably l guess stay put for yrs yet. So l was thinking if maybe l just smothed over the grooves with something, grout or whatever and then put lino over top.

Wanted to paint my bath too . Not sure how long that lasts doing it that way but it's an old cast iron bath and l swear there's a big difference in the way the water feels , just beautiful. So l was thinking so much easier leaving it in and keep a great bath , maybe try a re enamel instead.

Yeah love me old ride on Geoff. Funny yeah it is a bit creepy in long grass though isn;t it. No telling what might pop out and jump on your lap hey, eeekk.

But anyway l got her going , ran a whole 20mins and stalled, wouldn't start up again , bugger. wound up having to push her up out of a ditch , and up onto the road then back down around the corner and back into the old garage again for more head scratching. She's great until l have to push her.

[geoff]

hi Randomx and Paul, there is a specific paint brand so google this 'https://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-paint-over-ceramic-tile-in-a-bathroom/' and 'painting over tiles in the bathroom' because there's a brand name of his specific paint'.
Personally I wouldn't suggest putting lino over wall/floor tiles only because water can get up where it ends.
You can silicone these areas but with most mildew builds up and makes it look untidy, there is one that is mildew free, and if this is what you're keen on, then regrout the tiles leveling it to make it flush with tiles.
Water is the main culprit, but painting them there shouldn't be any problem.
You could put a 'floating floor' down on the floor, again water is the problem.
If you've got an old cast iron bath with those curved legs I would enamel it, otherwise you'll need about 10 guys to lift. Geoff.

[Guest_128]

Hi Geoff,

just dropping by to say sorry I haven't responded to your helpful thread.

There is a delay to our property as hubby doesn't want to put money into it as we are in the green zone of RAFF contamination.

Dory

[blondguy]

Hi Geoff.... RX Mathy and everyone

Thanks Geoff for your help with the bathroom ceramic tiles...Im sorry that I didnt mention that I was asking about the wall tiles....not the floor tiles. If your advice is the same, no worries. I should have mentioned wall tiles first..not floor....excuse me Geoff

Paul

[Doolhof]

Hi Geoff and All,

We have some very dated wooden furniture, bought in the 80s and 90s. (Some of you might not have been born then! That is a weird thought I had just now!) Anyway, it is probably chip board stuff or pine, don't know really. Some of it looks like it has veneer on it.

I'm wanting to paint these white, any ideas on what kind of paint to use? I was thinking spray cans would be cool, but don't really think that is the right option! Ha. Ha.

We also have wooden window surrounds and ledges that need some attention. Can I just stain those or would I need to sand them back a bit first?

My knowledge of correct names for stuff is a bit like my computer language skills...

Cheers from Dools

[geoff]

hi Paul, no worries, however if the tiles have a shiny glossy finish they will need to be rubbed down so the paint has something to adhere to.
hi Mrs. Dools, have a look under the table and you will see if it's chipboard, probably is with a veneer particle board glued on top of it giving the appearance of being pine or another wood, it can't be heavily sanded otherwise you will hve chipboard showing.
Even pine drawers have some real pine but the rest is veneer.
Enamel is stronger to use and you can use the spray can as a finish coat but it may need to have an undercoat put on first, using a roller and brush.
With the spray cans you can put two coats on the furniture but it has to be done within 2 hours otherwise you have to wait 7 days.
With your ledges they will need to be cleaned and depends on how good/bad they are because you can stain them, but if there is another prominent colour flaking off then they will need a sand, it's hard to say without seeing them.
If the wood has lost all it's natural colour there is a paint which will rejuvenate the original colour, maybe you can let me know what condition they are in. Geoff.

[white knight]

Hi all

Thanks Mathy for your inside info

My house was new 9 years ago. Weathertex boards. I purchased solar guard paint and it only coveted two coats half the house. I then bought the second batch using haymes. Haymes hasnt lasted as long. Same colour, same preparation.

Just saying. I think its over rated.

Had my time again I'd go vinyl or steel boards

Tony WK

[Guest_1584]

Ha, well there ya go eh Tony, glad l've never paid Haynes prices then.

And my house had that aluminum cladding , at first l was cursing it has that on it but hey , maybe not then eh.

l'm gonna leave it on though regardless but what l wanna do to get rid of the fake look is reoaint the eves and put some arcs around the windows and things like that to try and get it more weather board looking. So far with what l've done has made a huge difference to it's look so l'll keep going with plabs and see how she shapes up.

[Guest_128]

I love painting,

just saying,

Dory