Hi all just thought this could be a thread for some good tips for doing DIY around the house, things you have learned that have sped certain jobs up.
I started painting my trellis fence last weekend and it was taking way too long so went looking for something to speed the job up, found an electric paint sprayer for $60 and did the rest of the fence today in less than a 1/4 of the time I spent doing a tiny bit last weekend.Finish is great too!
zak410,
Feb 9, 8:14pm
I was told long ago to hit the pointy end of nails with the hammer before nailing it to the timber to avoid splitting. I still do and seems to work.
Anyone also doing that!
stevo2,
Feb 9, 8:52pm
Yep, thats an oldie but a goodie
sooby,
Feb 10, 5:18am
When painting doors, partially drive two long screws into the the top and bottom edges, so you can hang the door between two saw horses. This means you can paint one side, flip it over and paint the other side without waiting for the first side to finish drying, saving time and clean up.(This tips from better homes & gardens, well worth watching on choice tv).
Put a tarp down if you are getting a load of firewood delivered onto grass, means when you finish you can lift tarp up and collect all the small pieces that would otherwise embed into lawn & damage law mower.
Placing a plastic bag over a paint tray when using a roller means when you are done you can simply throw the bag away and start again with another colour without having to clean up or wait for first paint to dry.Also means if you need to stop halfway thru painting (or apply another coat hours later ) you can wrap the roller in the bag tie it with cord and resume later, much less clean up!
neldav,
Feb 10, 6:00am
Cheap washing powder sprinkled on moss, slimey areas , spray lightly with water , is as good as Wet and Forget.
knowsley,
Feb 10, 6:32am
I've never been a fan of painting doors when horizontal, but I do a similar thing with the the screws: two in the bottom of the door, then use two small offcuts of timber partially screwed into the top, and paint them vertically - the offcuts hold the top away from the wall. Paint one side, spin and paint the other. If you are painting a house lot of doors it takes up a lot less room and means you can paint them all at once.
big121,
Feb 10, 8:12am
after giving your roller a rinse put it in your washing machine (by itself!) and turn on to wash cycle, no deterget required! roller comes out like new.Only do with water based paint though. really works a treat
ntalke,
Feb 10, 9:04am
Never put linseed oil on your deck(grows black mould)
Never water blast deck(destroys the surface)
spiritofgonzo,
Feb 10, 9:15am
fantastic!. Great thread.
amasser,
Feb 10, 9:33am
Don't councils advise against putting paint into waste water system!
zak410,
Feb 10, 10:13am
Try 2 nails at one end of the door and one in the middle at the other end. makes flipping the door a breeze for a one man job.
twink19,
Feb 10, 10:48am
found that some times the heads were on the wrong end, used them on the other side of house
rainrain1,
Feb 10, 11:30am
or just leave it soaking overnight in a bucket of water, paint all goes to the bottom of the bucket and if you care fully lift your roller out without disturbing the water and give it a rinse whoops.i said that a bit funny
debsy2,
Feb 10, 1:48pm
Cool thread.
trade4us2,
Feb 10, 3:18pm
I had a lot of trellis to paint, so I made a trough big enough for one piece and sloshed paint on with a hearth brush. Saves paint - a sprayer does waste a lot of paint on trellis.
zak410,
Feb 10, 4:05pm
head at the wrong end is no good, LOL, pull it out.
hutchk,
Feb 10, 5:19pm
If I'll be using a roller again the following day (or even weeks later) I wrap it in a plastic bag and chuck it in the freezer - no cleaning required. Pull it out an hour or so before you start painting again and Bob's yer aunty.
Doesn't work for oil based (obviously).
the-archer,
Feb 10, 5:39pm
To paint around awkward things like door handles,put tinfoil over it to avoid paint getting on it,havnt tried it but it sounds like a good idea
bluecat1529,
Feb 10, 6:15pm
Or Resene Wintergrade acrylic. Blasted stuff is so good it still dries hard even in the freezer
brucie261,
Feb 11, 3:57pm
Bumping any more tips!
zak410,
Feb 11, 4:08pm
Ok.If you want to make 'comfortable' stairs, easy to negotiate, make them so, 2x the hight of the step, + the width of the tread equals about 640mm (the tread's nose is added to these calculations)
anyone use similar or other formulas for stairs !
stevo2,
Feb 11, 5:19pm
Was taught that 2x rise + going = 600mm in my apprenticeship but I find that a tread of 350mm and a rise of 150mm makes an awesome step if you have the room for it.
reggienz,
Feb 11, 8:14pm
Don't forget, you need a left hand hammer for that.
tut30,
Feb 12, 9:02pm
Oh dear that is happening to my new outdoor table. Any hints what to do to remove mould caused by the linseed oil I was told to use by man at Bunnings!
zak410,
Mar 8, 1:59am
When using an electric saw, skill-saw or table saw, set the blade's depth only slightly deeper than the thickness of the timber you're cutting. This gives a cleaner cut and help the blade to cool down.
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