Those 'simple' DIY jobs..

[Welly]

I noted, with interest, upon my holiday to spain, that the quality of the tiling there was superb . I was sat creaming out a cumberland one morning and marveled at the supreme quality of it all where the floor tiling seamlessly blended with the wall tiling and pondered whether I would be able to achieve anything similar. I called for Mrs Welly to come in and inspect the standard of fit and finish from a Womans' view point but she declined.

[mjb]

I've meant to ask you, how's the car going now you've been running it for a few weeks?

Clutch is fine - no slipping - but although the judder I initially reported has died down a lot it's still got a nasty shake when holding the car on the clutch. I suspect I should have shelled out for a new lower mount. At least I've got an upcoming opportunity to do it - o/s CV boot is split and the MOT's due next month

Also seems I've done something bad as it's leaking fluid. Either through the sump gasket (I did have the engine supported by the sump for about a week ) or it's PAS fluid from the gunked-up pipe joint I spotted. PAS is still non-existent under idle revs...

Actually now you've reminded me, the stealers still owe me some bits they had to back-order, including a new lower air intake hose (under the wheelarch jobbie)

Apart from that it's all quite good. Think I've figured out what's wrong with my stereo too - the 4xRCA to ISO connector I'm using passes all 8 wires from the RCA connector down to the loom, whereas the JBL takes 4 channels and just one ground... I'm going to see if joining the -ve lines with a couple of bent paperclips does the job so I can re-wire it

Oh yeah, I need to fork out £87 for a new set of front brakepads before the MOT too, clean up the callipers and get a new pair of rear tyres thanks to the excessive camber when I bought it. Then I've got to get a new pair of rear backplates (£30 used) and a new pair of hubs and go through handbrake shoe hell all over again

The car's just about in my good books though, especially after its flawless (apart from the really really annoying backplate droning) performance going to Hamburg and back

[steve_earwig]

On the subject of tiling, a friend told me that the tiling was fairly easy but it is the grouting that is an arse....thinking he was mad I commenced tiling my bathroom and then agreed with said grouting being an arse, even with my ubber grout applicator and grout sponge.

Tiling should be easy if you've got a nice, flat surface to tile on. Let me know when you find one The tool for grouting here is a strip of rubber in a wooden handle. No thanks, I like to get a fair bit of grout in there especially on outside stuff, not just a trace that falls out a month later. I was using my old credit cards but I got a spreader with that sump heater - it's about 6"x4", fairly soft, perfect. I use those cheap washing up sponges with the green scratchy pads one side, using about 1 a meter to clear up after.

He also saw my diamond bladed water-bath table top tile cutter machine and burst out laughing saying it was a waste of time and money and I should use the traditional 'score back and forth' type thing and nibblers ....

I've got a really cheap one (sans table) but with a decent diamond blade. SOme of the tiles I've used are really hard and quite expensive, the scoring machine just isn't accurate enough. My last bit of tiling was the room all my cat stuff is in, it's the one the water got into the parquet in so it had to go. I used the cheapest floor tiles I could get my hands on (about 3 quid a meter) and, while I was tiling I found out why they're so cheap - I did a 15 cm sokol (think skirting) around the edge after I did the floor so it wouldn't damage the walls when I was washing the floor. While I was doing this I had 4 tiles crack on corners where I'd missed with the glue, won't be doing that again.

Definately a task *well* worth pre-planning and working out the cuts etc. beforehand for a neat and uniform job.

That shower room, those expensive, hard, Italian tiles... with something like 16 holes I had to make I got one of those drill attachemnts with the adjustable arms but it just destroyed the tiles, so I had to use attachments for making holes in walls for sockets etc. drill on slow, loads of water... Took bluddy ages!

[steve_earwig]

Then I've got to get a new pair of rear backplates (£30 used)

Where from?? All the breakers over there I "spoke" to wanted to sell me the complete suspension arm (imagine the postage...)

[Welly]

They really are cheap aren't they (on the floor) - they even de-coloured from beige to blue

All this talk and pictures of you guy's DIY's is (beginning) to revive my interest in tiling the bathroom floor(s) here, I say 'beginning'.....

I'll probably start on this place about 3 months before selling it to 'freshen it up'

[steve_earwig]

Different lighting I guess.

I'll probably start on this place about 3 months before selling it to 'freshen it up'

Always helps. And the next owners will rip it all out (usually happens with kitchens). My dad still visits the lady he used to live next door to in Sussex, he keeps bemoaning how the new owner is ripping everything out that he did, I keep telling him the way it was helped sell it and it's up to the new owner what he does with it, even if it involves driving a bulldozer through it

[Captain Jack]

I've meant to ask you, how's the car going now you've been running it for a few weeks?

<clutch stuff>

So, where's the howto?

[mjb]

So, where's the howto?

Urgh