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Beyond Blue Home Improvement Thread

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni
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
1,301 Replies 1,301

A2D2
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member
Hi Geoff, Just wanted to say you are a wonder for doing this. No questions just heaps of praise.Cath

blondguy
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi A2D2........You are spot on with your heartfelt post above about Geoff......Nice1

Paul

hi Elizabeth, I'm back, you can buy mortar mix from a large retailer, it comes in already mixed up bags so all you have to do is add the water, on the ground or in a wheelbarrow, otherwise if you want to you can mix it yourself using 1 part cement, 1 part lime and 6 parts sand.

Nobody going to really notice what the wall looks like when it is finished and painted, only you.

Do you have an angle grinder or electric hand saw if so attach a masonry blade to it and then cut out the mortar to free or loosen the half brick so that you can pull it out.

You hit it out but this may loosen other bricks, doesn't matter you can correct the existing bricks and fill in any gaps.

What you could do is leave the half brick and break another brick so that you have 2 half bricks, no one is going to criticise you for having 2 half bricks because it's going to be painted.

Mix the mortar not too wet but a consistency like a slug, but only make enough for about an hour's use, then trowel it on making a bed of mortar, one trick you can do is to get some wood/plastic the size of the existing mortar bed and place them on the mortar at both ends where the brick will sit, this will make it easier for the brick to sit level.

You will probably need a bed of mortar on the ground first.

If the mortar between the bricks doesn't seem to fill all the holes don't worry, you can then push into the gaps.

Leave the new brickwork for about a month so it can cure. Geoff.

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni
hi Cath, thanks so much for your lovely comment, it's well appreciated and thankyou. Geoff.

hi Elizabeth, how are you going with the brickwork. Geoff.

Elizabeth CP
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member

Sorry Geoff I should have wrote to you earlier. Things have been a bit hectic starting with a tree falling onto our fence & needed dealing with urgently because it was overhanging the footpath so there was a risk of it falling on passers by if the fence collapsed. Then I had to babysit on 2 days for 2 different sets of grandkids. I also ended up feeling unwell pain & lack of sleep left me exhausted. Now my husband has decided its his turn. Go back to the GP tomorrow to find the results of the multiple tests.

I appreciated your advice re the bricks but the more I thought about it the more overwhelmed I felt. I was worried about making a big mess of the job & possibly dropping morter on the floor & having more work. I decided to use chipboard to fill it in. There was a wooden box thing filling the space but it had canite on it so I removed the canite. Then adjusted the packers in the hole so the box was in the correct position & then screwed the chipboard in place so it fitted flush with the bricks & the corrects size for the hole. I then used paintable gap filler the seal it completely & ensure it couldn't move out of place. I've undercoated the bricks & board & done one top coat so it blends in more. It sits behind a seat so it isn't normally seen.

Thanks for your advice. Knowing what I needed to do allowed me to make an informed decision.

hi Elizabeth, that's great, what you could do is draw bricks to fall in line with the other bricks, once the final coat has been applied.

I'm sorry about the tree, but you can leave the branches cut up or not cut up on the nature strip and someone with a fireplace will pick it up for themselves. Geoff.

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni
Hi Everyone, does anyone have a flywire screen that needs replacing?

It could be on the front/back screen door or for a window screen and needs to change it, caused by a cat or a dog or just being old from wear and tear.

How about one wall that has to be painted so that you can get your bond money back, there are tricks to do this. Geoff.

blondguy
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hi Geoff

Another paint question for you if thats okay

Timber window frames - (outside) - The paint is 28 year old Berger exterior high quality

The paint is peeling on the north facing windows and my small hand sander wont get make a dent in the remaining paint....there is some exposed Meranti timber starting to show

What is the best way to sand off the old paint so I can start to repaint before the frames start to rot?

Only when you get the time. Paul

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni
Hi Paul, sorry it's taken me a couple of days to reply back to you, that makes the paint 28 years and 2 days, wow that's a long time and it will contain toxic material such as lead, so you may choose to wear a mask and goggles.

You could use 'paint stripper' but it's too messy

Or a heat gun- makes you burn the timber and again messy, however there is 'silent paint remover' which uses 'infra-strip' and can be hired, either from a paint store or a general hire place.

There are metal scrappers you can buy which may help

Buy some 40 to 60 grade sandpaper, these are very coarse and once you break the paint then you maybe able to scrap it off, then work your way up by using 120, 180 to get it smooth.

Just a reminder that the very coarse sandpaper will bite into your wood so only use on the old paint

To continue. Geoff.