Are these jobs D.I.Y-able?

starlite_2

Hi,

We have a couple of things that desperately need doing, but we just cannot afford to pay someone.

The biggie is our toilet. The cistern suddenly started overflowing and was gushing out of the overflow pipe onto the roof (also shoddy in places..spot the common theme..lol) which caused water damage to our downstairs, and our neighbours (we are paying £130 for their redecoration! eek)

I'm not sure what the issue is, but think that either replacing the valve or the ballcock should do the trick, is this an easy job to do or could we end up with an even bigger repair job on our hands if we try?

Secondly, we have a really horrible spotlight in one room (possible dangerous too as the wires are very tatty in places and bulbs seem to blow within a few days of vbeing fitted) which we would like to change to a standard bayonet fitting,

and thirdly we would like to replace our kitchen sink, which we painted with ceramic paint a while ago, which has now bubbled up and stained.

Can we attempt any of these or should we just bear with it and save for a while to get a professional in?

Many thanks.

culpepper

The cistern thing sounds like the same problem we had,the ball !!!! arm was sticking and we went to a plumbers merchant with the old parts and he sold us the new parts.You do have to turn the water supply off to the loo but i think that was the hardest bit

The sink would need you to reach the underneath of the taps to undo the nuts holding them and we found that job quite awkward although OH did manage it with a lot of swearing

You really need to know what you are doing with electricity though. My OH was lucky that his dad had taught him about wiring .Unless you have someone in the know who can do it, it might be better to get someone in. Dont touch any electrical wiring whilst the mains are turned on!

pavlovs_dog

you will find that if you are prepared to spend the time researching how to do the tasks (online, or get a good DIY book from the library) and allow yourself plenty of time to do the task, they should all be quite do-able.

i will however reiterate culpepper's advice, that if you are not familiar with wiring, then you are best to get a professional in :beer:

starlite_2

yes that makes sense..I have a friend whos a qualified electrician so will probably get hoim to do the light next time he comes to stay with us.

As for the toilet, at the moment we have strung up the ballcock way above the water level as thats the only way it stops gushing water, and have to let it drop and refil everytime we flush the loo. Does this sound like a broken valve or just a dodgy ballcock?

starlite_2

Thanks btw..I cn't see the quote or thanks button at the moment so can't use it!

Mr_Proctalgia

From what you wrote I think you need to learn a little about things first, all the jobs are eminently DIYable - If you know what you are doing!
I would suggest keeping an eye open for something like the Readers Digest DIY book. The cistern sounds like a simple washer change or maybe some crud is stuck in the washer - very easy to do if you know what you are doing. Don't mess with the leccy unless you are sure and confident about what needs to be done, and TBH, the sink will be easy if you do it in steps and know how to turn off the water and drain down etc, have some tools and realise what the end result will (should) be.

Good luck and happy experimenting, it sounds like you cannot make it any worse!
We all started off somewhere and you have to pick it up as you go along, none of it is rocket science.


HTH

starlite_2

Thanks again!

I have plenty of time to read up on these things as I am on maternity leave (well.I say plenty..lol)
Perhaps a trip to the library this afternoon is in order

Murtle

You might be able to claim the cistern overflow on your house insurance, especially if it affected your neighbours.

We had someone put the sink into our worksurface, then OH fitted the pipes etc to it. Although he fought with it for a bit he got there in the end. It's worth noting that there are two (or more) pipe sizings used in plumbing in the UK. Our nearest plumbing supplier didn't do our sizes so we had to go to another one!

I wouldn't touch any electricity, but we are lucky to have a neighbour who is a qualified electrician.

Good luck

x

Just read the updates on here, it might be worth asking your local plumbing place, ours had a really helpful guy who talked me through the details, I then forgot it all before getting home.....:o

starlite_2

I have been to the library (ours is two minutes walk away situated in a park..we're so lucky!)

everything seemed very professional, apart from 'D.I.Y for Dummies' so I yoinked that and will read through, it seems to have lots of handy advice on all sorts so i may well buy a copy after returning it.

I've also posted on freecycle cafe asking for a skills exchange, i.e a plumber fits our sink/ fixes the loo and I in exchange offer tailoring, poirtraiture, photography, gardening etc...worth a shot!

starlite_2

Oh, and we did enquire about the insurance, but we ould have to pay an excess of £100 in the first place, and it may affect our no claims, so it's not worth it! Plus the neighbours are using our local friendly handyman who we know will do a good job.