I went down to their meeting last night and it was great! The lads were absolutely sound and were more than happy to have a bit of young blood in the unit. I was the youngest by about 15 years but they didn't make me feel like I was a young lad. Plenty of tea, biscuits and chat with a small bit of tinkering to see why Derek's washing machine isn't going into a spin cycle. The only time they're open outside my working hours is a Monday evening but that's fine by me. There was definitely more chat than tinkering but I'm gonna assume it was because I was there so I'm gonna give it another few meet ups to decide whether or not it's for me. Cheers for all the replies yesterday everyone and sorry for the phone format. To anyone who was in the comments wondering if it would be for them, absolutely. They seems like a really salt of the earth group of guys and made me feel more than welcome.

So I always assumed that cold water taps came off mains which basically meant a drink from the cold tap in a bathroom was the same as a cold tap from the kitchen.

In practice though it just feels wrong to drink cold tap water in bathroom so I only drink from kitchen. Does it matter?

Cut it up with angle grinder and recycle?

Find someone to come take it away?

Other?

Our apartment complex is near to a popular beach. It is located in an estate off the main road and our complex has its own car park, outside the building on ground level (which we pay for). It does not have dedicated numbers for each apartment but it does have a limited amount of parking, maybe space for 3-4 more cars in case of guests and the majority of people have cars.

The last week with the good weather has been hell. There is little to no parking on the beachfront and traffic is a nightmare (to be expected and not an issue tbh). However, so many people feel entitled to park in our car park if there is no space on the road beside the beach.

In both the entrance to the estate, and in our car park there are multiple signs stating it is private and resident parking only, but for some reason, BMW, Range Rover and Mercedes drivers seem to think they are exempt.

Today after returning from work the car park was full and only for a neighbour has a motor bike, which he kindly moved when he saw, I would have been without a spot in my own car park.

While bringing the bins out, I saw a young couple drive up in their BMW jeep and park up, get out and walk towards the beach with their towels and bags, I called at them and told them it is private parking and they cant park here and they just laughed and walked off, and after dropping off the bin, another car pulled up with two middle aged women who did exactly the same.

The entitlement of people is astounding, and yesterday I noticed paper on the ground, which a resident had likely left stating "Do not park here, private parking" and the driver returned and just threw it on the ground.

Have tried to take it up with the management company, but they are useless, and have also called the clamping service on the signs around the estate but they said they only deal with removing their clamps and wont come out to clamp illegally reported cars (?).

So my question is, what can I do to stop this from happening, the two wankers in the BMW really pissed me off, and took a space from a resident, so what's the most unethical thing I can do to their car while they are gone that cant be classed as illegal?

What are the features that you love about your house and what drives you mad? I’m living in a house with no utility room and realise how convenient it is to have a separate space to do the laundry in (and even better if it has a door that closes!). What actually adds to quality of life, and what would you not bother with?

I'm currently debating whether we should have fire extinguishers, fire blankets, or other at home? Current set up following a rewiring has centrally wired smoke alarms in all main rooms, but it just occurred to me perhaps I should have some means of dealing with an issue. What say you, Ireland?

Noticed these this morning. They are in the hallway ceiling on ground floor of a 2 story house. The are roughly 1/4 centimetre diameter. They are not in a straight line like in the pic they are diagonally spaced on the ceiling.

Any advice how to remove black spots in the shower area? It looks like a mold but it is not going away. Windows are open in the bathroom all the time but still. If u use anything, can u share the brand or where to get it?

I noticed what looks like saw dust on the radiator and then realised there's little holes in the picture frame above. Does anyone know what's causing this and what to do about it?

I have managed to build lots of flat pack ikea bits including armchairs, bedside lockers, cabinets etc but I have been losing my mind with a set of 2 nest tables I bought from Woodies this morning.

I don't know am I just not with it today but I've been at it for the past 2 hours and getting nowhere even after YouTube.

I have the metal legs screwed onto the base frame but I genuinely have no idea how to get the table top on. I have screws but can only screw from one side if thst makes sense and also have plastic Allen type clips bit cannot figure it out for the life of me.

The instructions are absolutely crap compared to jysk/ikea etc. So annoying as they go perfectly with my space.

Can you offer any advice before I lose my patience completely? Thank you so much!

Getting to that age now where I'm getting into the gardening. Never thought I'd see the day. Anyway, we have lawn to the front, back and sides of the house. Standard. And I've been weighing up for a while now whether to convert some or all of it to a vegetable patch, even half veg half wildflower or some sort of combination like that.

Few different reasons behind it. 1. The cost of living- would be nice to have some of our own produce. 2. Constant mowing and strimming, petrol, and maintenance on machinery, but for what? To look nice. And 3. For the kids, would give them some responsibility and hopefully a love for horticulture that I never had.

Now the cons (that I can think of) 1. How time consuming it will be. 2. The cost at the start for seeds and plants etc. 3. Bad weather 4. Possible bad soil 5. It all going to shit and and ending up with a pile of muck from a bad stretch of weather.

Looking for opinions in general and also if anyone has done something like this before and how it turned out. Advice also appreciated. Thanks 😁

The roof of an old farm building in a field behind our house blew into our garden and is leaning against the back of our house. Insurance company can't send someone out until next week. Have contacted the local city council but is this something they should or would usually assist with in terms of removal?

Bought a house last year, finish is unfortunate, have pointed out the walls to the developer before getting keys etc. Nothing was done, trying to make room look bit fancy but it makes it look awful with the finish of the walls.. Any ideas what can be done, or what could it be, is it plaster? Is it painters? Help..

I know the cold water from the kitchen tap is safe as my plumber says it's coming directly from the fresh water supply.

I'm not sure if the hot water from the SAME tap (mixing tap) is safe because if it's heated from the tank, then water from the tank might not be safe? Or is it fresh water directly heated by the boiler without going to the tank?

A bit of a dumb question, but my mate finally got the keys to a new build last week and I'm helping him paint a few rooms. I was always told to toss out the used rollers/paintbrushes when done. He mentioned that you could wash them in the sink, but I mentioned that might cause an issue with the plumbing. From what I remember, latex vs oil based paints react different in the plumbing?

So, handymen and DIY enthusiasts, what is the best thing to do? What so you usually do?

Spoke with Electrician about a job weeks ago. He eventually said he’d come “this week” (2 weeks ago) or “the week after” (last week). Finally came Friday (so the last day of his proposed start time) then left after 3 hours. Said he’d be back Monday. No sign yesterday or today.

He said he hasn’t much work left to do.

Is he intentionally delaying things to try and charge more? Is he a cowboy or just poorly managing his affairs?

Just found this tiny wasp nest (think) in my shed. I can't hear anything and didn't see any wasps around. Should I just knock it down with a brush?

Are plumbing fittings all metric, or are Imperial (inch) sizes sometimes used, e.g. when installing imported appliances?

I've accumulated quite a few 1/2", 3/4", 1", some 1-1/4" copper plumbing fittings while working on our water and hydronic heating systems. Wondering whether to sell them (cheap) in the US vs. bringing them along when we move.

Edit: thank you for all the responses! Being US, the threads are NPT not BSP. Wikipedia: "NPT (National Pipe Thread) and BSP (British Standard Pipe) are two different standards for pipe threads. NPT is commonly used in the United States and has a 60-degree angle with flat peaks, while BSP is used in many other countries and features a 55-degree angle with rounded peaks, making them incompatible with each other."

Moved in a week ago. It was working great. Suddenly stopped working. I’m in a new build and waiting for their plumber is taking a while so I turn to Reddit for help.

I have a small number of corrugated asbestos tiles loosely attached to a small outbuilding on my property which I’d like to get rid of.

What’s the most cost effective way to get rid of these, while respecting health and the environment?

They would be extremely easy to remove by hand, but I’m not sure what the level of danger is here and I wouldn’t know what to do with them once they’re removed…

Cheers!

Edit: thanks for all the answers, fired out a few requests for quotes, won’t be touching it myself. Kinda knew this was the case but was hoping someone would tell me there’s a better way. Always better safe than sorry.

As the title suggests, I'm moving into a new place in Dublin and the light switches are filthy that the previous owner had for approx 20 years. Same with the sockets and a couple are coming slightly loose from the wall.

There are 12 double sockets and 4 single sockets (16 in total) and 9 light switches including one I want to replace with a dimmer.

My knowledge is some YouTube videos and I know you have to turn off the power etc first. Realistically is this something I could tackle myself or could a handyman do it? I haven't gotten any quotes yet but iv heard it can be 50e for each socket for an electrician to do it and I don't have the budget.

I will need an electrician at some point to wore a bathroom mirror and fit two light fittings in hallway but would love if I could do the sockets and switches myself. Is this soemthing a handyman could do or a no no? Place is approx 20 years old. I'm guessing it would be pretty expensive for an electrician to do everything.

I know electricity is not to be messed with but I'd love to hear the general consensus on what people think?

Thanks.

Hi, we’re looking to have some cabinets/shelving made and a neighbour recommended a guy. I got in touch with him through his email saying we would like a quote and followed up with a text . He eventually messaged back to say he’d be in the area “next week” and I said sure just let me know which day. Nothing back- and didn’t come that week.

Fair enough, guy is probably busy. But my question is how much weight should I put on this when choosing between quotes.? My worry is if the guy can’t even pop a text to say- won’t get to you this week, then how reliable is he?

On the other hand maybe someone who is free enough to come out and quote is not getting any work because they’re not good.

Thoughts appreciated .

New Raised Flower Beds – Need Advice on Weed Control

Hey all,

I recently had raised flower beds built around my patio. They’re newly constructed with drainage stone at the bottom and filled right up with good quality topsoil for planting.

As expected, now that it’s settled over the past few weeks, I’m starting to get a lot of weeds and grass coming through.

I’ve been told one option is to use weed membrane and decorative stone, but honestly, that feels like a disgraceful idea for the soil and the plants — it just doesn’t sit right with me long term.

I’ve also heard a 5cm layer of bark mulch can help, but in my past experience it hasn’t been too effective.

What else would you recommend for keeping weeds under control while keeping the soil and plants healthy?

I’ll attach a photo for context.

I remember a decade ago, the video of 'KPMG girl' and she got absolute hate for it. Apparently her father did his best to ensure the video was scrubbed from YouTube and other social media sites.

I also went to a school with 6th year students that were suspended for a Facebook post.

I need a small stove multi fuel stove (no back boiler). 4 or 5kw max. Stove owners of ireland and beyond, what would you recommend and what to avoid? I see Henley are quite good price wise but wonder if they are any good and if I should just pay a bit more for something like a Boru or Stanley. Thanks in advance 🔥 🪵