Steel spouting repair

Hi again! This April's post is an all too common maintenance issue in wet countries... Steel spouting is stronger than plastic but can rust out after time or in areas close to the sea because of salt deposited on the roof. Its easier than you think to do the repairs! Even the corners are quite straight forward, here's how to do it ...

As you can see the bottom of this gutter has rusted out a long time ago, this can be damaging to the foundations and create a slippery surface below. To begin the repair you will need a piece of the same sized trough about 400mm longer than the piece you expect to replace. Begin by cutting out the old piece. On the new section of trough, begin by marking out the box end of the trough using a permanent marker.

Be sure to use a square to mark the cut lines to get the box symmetrical and square to the trough or it will look untidy, even of its a watertight seal. Here are the cut lines for a typical box end.

Once you have marked the cuts use a tin snip to cut out the profile.

Tip! Shade in the areas to remove as its easy to get confused and cut  the reverse and end up with a disaster!

This is how the final end panel should look. Make the folds using a pair of flat plumbing pliers and a hammer to flatten out the corners if needed.

Drill the holes for the rivets in the floor and end panel.

Apply a bead of silicone sealant between the two surfaces to be joined.

Do the same with the joint at the side and end panels and rivet together.

Wipe up any excess silicone that squeezes out of the joints.

Your end should look like this!

Install the new section of trough making sure you overlap the old with the new by at least 150 mm, and applying several continuous beads of silicone between the two surfaces and rivet together with two sets of rivets about 100mm apart.

Thats the job done! It should not take more than about 45 to 60 minuteds to complete this simple repair.

Simple roof flashing repair

Old roof, lead flashing and leaks are going to happen...its just a matter of time! But don't despair, you can easily repair! Its quick and relatively cheap to do yourself, so why not DIY? Let me show you how...

Here is everything you will need! I use a sealant which has a fibreglass component incorporated in it.

TIP buy disposable brushes from the $2 shop

Step 1

Remove all old and previous repair materials. Lift up the flashing to reveal the roof metal underneath. 

TIP You may need to put something under the corners to hold it up while working on it. In this case it was a lead flashing so it stayed bent up.

Step 2

Using a wire brush remove any loose rust as far as you can reach. Clean this loose rust up straight away as it can start new rust on the roof or in your gutter.

TIP I used a leaf blower to clean up the roof and gutters after this step.

Step 3

Paint the rust with a rust inhibitor such as Penetrol. using one that dries quickly is better as it allows a better fix if its sealed as soon as possible, and stops a rain shower from possibly interrupting or compromising the process. 

TIP Read the instructions when buying the product not on the roof!

Step 4

Using the same brush, apply narrow band of sealant to the perimeter of the rusted roof iron on the inside of the flashing. Make this a thicker rather than wider bead, as when you press the flashing back into place, it will spread under and out from under the flashing. This is important !

Step 5

Replace the flashing to its original position, and press down to allow the sealant to bulge out from under the edge of your flashing. 

TIP Fix the flashing down using either weights or short stainless steel tech screws to pull the flashing and roof together all around the perimeter of the treated area.

In this case the lead was gently tapped into shape to form closely to the roof profile...

Step 6

Apply a bead of sealant to the roof and top of the flashing while the sealant is still wet underneath to form one complete seal around the entire flashing.

 TIP It pays to seal the entire flashing and not just one area when doing this repair, as there will invariably be another weak area just waiting to leak!

Make sure that you work the sealant into the gaps ad crevices all around the edges so that water cannot form pools especially on the upper edge

This repair should be done on a fine warm day, well after the dew has evaporated and no rain is forecast for the best results. 

SAFETY...

Remember to be safe on a roof... NEVER work on a wet roof, ALWAYS tie onto a safely line, and walk where the roof fixings indicate support from below to avoid denting the roof iron.

Converting a storeroom

This client just bought a home and wanted to turn an old unused store room into a second study. The room has no windows or natural light and has several service pipes on one concrete wall. There was no insulation and being under the house was cold, not condusive to hours of study! It needed lining and something had to be done to hide the pipes on the wall and cover up the ceiling beams. I gave him a few ideas on how to finish it off and we reused an cabinet he had removed from his bedroom which I adapted to fit on the ledge and cover the pipes. Neat!

finished pics to come soon!

Bedroom wardrobe

A regular client of mine asked me to build a wardrobe in the master bedroom of her home. ( not sure why a modern new home didn't have one!)  I have never done one of these before, so it took me about 6 hours to construct, the stud was 2.4m high and the sliding doors were only avaiable in 2.0 m high so I made the top are a storage area behind hardboard sliders. My client had some storage units she wanted to use inside so I didn't build any shelves just a hanging rail.

A new landing

My clients on this job were an retired couple who's old landing was not only rotten but an eyesore! It was downright dangerous, almost falling apart, and had to be replaced completely as soon as possible. I had to remove the old structure first but took the time to measure up its dimensions to give me a plan to replace it as close as possible to the original style.

Next I dug two post holes 800mm deep and concreted in two 100 x 200mmm treated posts and left them for a couple of days to allow the concrete to set well. Since the building was to take place on the posts themselves I wanted them to be firmly set to avoid and separation from the concrete footings and cause 'wobbly legs'...

 Step cuts in the posts are made to give the supporting joist a firm fixture, and the joist is bolted to it.

 Next a faceplate is bolted through  the house floor joist (using packers,  a 20 mm space must be made between the house and the joist to prevent water retention and rot occurring) and bearers are fixed between the two to form the floor support. Then that is all clad with a cover plate to make it look tidy!

In the picture below,  I have nogged up below the floor for a storage area to be added

Now the floor is cut from a single sheet od 20mm treated plywood and fixed to the bearers, and the cladding is placed onto the structure, I have begun to frame up for the walls and roof of the covered cubicle. The storage floor is just visible.

 I have the basic placement for the windows and roof in place, and begin to add the cladding and windowsills to the structure

 Finally the roof sheeting in on.

 I decided to have a go at making the stairs myself to keep the budget within the client's retirement finances! I did some research on the web and found a useful angle calculator on my smart phone app to help calculate the dimensions for the stairs. Once the tread positions were marked I set the skill saw depth and made several cuts within the tread placement area and then using a chisel cleaned out the  rebate ( use a router if you have one, its much faster)

 After cutting all the tread rebates the treads are fitted and nailed in place.

 The handrail is attached and a gate made of leftovers to cover the storage area
Job done! It took me 3 1/2  days working on my own to complete,  and I used rough sawn treated timber which I dressed myself to build it with, which took more time, but vastly reduced the cost.

A new kitchen

This weeks project was a new kitchen installation. My Client wanted a new kitchen installed into a rental unit , and being a busy executive, he said to me , " Just do it!" Having a free reign over design, placement and color was great! The unit is a one bedroom open plan living area, so the kitchen had to suit the  contemporary minimalist style. The space has an unusually high 2,6m stud, and great natural lighting. One wall shares services with a bathroom behind, so I decided to start on this wall with a laundry/pantry area, as the extra stud height gave me a larger area for storage space. Also, the water supply was already there. One issue that came up was the state of the old piping. Black Buteline is now outdated, and prone to pinhole leaks after time, so I took the opportunity to upgrade this to the latest standard. The pic below shows the dry wall lining removed than the new piping and a waste line for the washing machine in place.

I needed to build a recessed services box to house the hot and cold supply taps, and create an access point for the washing machine waste too. Building this into the wall saved space as it allows the cabinets and washing machine to be fitted flush with the wall, and in a shared living area, taps sticking out of the wall are not acceptable! ( Even if they are in a cupboard...)  In the picture below, the taps are not fitted yet and the outlet has not been finished. This is so that we can place the final position of these when the cabinets are installed to give the best position for screwing on the washing machine's pipes, so that they are not awkward to connect...the cabinet will have a small square cut out of the back panel to display the taps and outlet point, and thus hide the grey pipes. 

Now the dry wall lining is replaced and painted, a hole for the stove's extractor fan and sink waste is cut. The power and water supply for the sink is in place. We are ready to install the cabinets.

Because the kitchen space has a services panel bringing the top floor's services in, it creates an awkward detail in the corner to have to work around. I originally wanted to use a kit set kitchen, but the cost of getting a cut down cabinet and  bench top made by the same kit set supplier to cater for this issue was too expensive. It was actually cheaper to shop around and get a local joiner to custom build the kitchen! So don't be lured into thinking that Placemakers, Bunnings or Mitre 10 always have the best deals. In my opinion this kitchen far exceeds the quality of the kit set version. It also came with soft close doors, and the bench top was supplied in one piece, so no ugly join! Because of the extra stud height, the joiner supplied a panel to close the gap between the top of the laundry cabinet and the ceiling. A small detail but something that makes this kitchen look like a much more expensive model. You don't get any of these extras with a kit set! ( and cheaper remember!)

So this is how the cabinets look installed. The result is a naturally lit, spacious, clean and modern look! There is heaps of floor space to accommodate an island or dining table if desired. There are 4 deep drawers and 2 utensil drawers. The fridge is located in the laundry unit beside the washing machine which is behind the closed door. ( see pic below) Note the oven utensil drawer below the oven, another feature seldom found on kit set kitchens. The storage cabinet on the left of the fridge has a pressure opening door, so no handle to damage the wall it opens on to.

My client was very satisfied with the finished result, and has peace of mind that he has also upgraded the plumbing in this unit for very little cost. Since the bathroom shares the same plumbing as the kitchen, he has effectively replumbed the bathroom at no cost! - Job done!