Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Kev B]

Fish bits at my childhood chippie.

[RED-DOG]

Mrs Red decided that she wanted to replace this frankly not very nice piece of MDF that serves as a splashback in our little bathroom.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

I started to remove the fittings from the splashback. It was a simple enough job, a fixing plate screwed on to the board which in turn supported the fittings which were held in place by means of a concealed grub-screw.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

All the grub-screws came out easily... Except one. (isn't it always the way?) The last screw had a damaged head and the screwdriver couldn't grip it.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

By their very nature, and like their namesake, grub-screws live down holes with their heads below the surface, there is no way to get a hold of them so I had to drill it out.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Once I had the fittings off it would be easy to remove the board right?

Wrong!

It was fastened from the back by hundreds of barbed staples, I had to cut the bloody thing into tiny squares and then screw a bracket on to each square so that I could prise it off.


I cut all the squares with a Stanley knife, I tried an angle grinder but the friction almost burned the whole place down. It set the smoke alarm off and everything.

5 hours later, the board is off.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Too late in the day to go shopping for a replacement splashback, as per my original plan, I used my remaining dregs of energy to fashion a new grub-screw to replace the one I drilled out.

First I found an ordinary screw that fit the hole, then I sawed the head of and added a slot.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Ta daaa!

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Is it just me or does this crap happen to everyone?

[RED-DOG]

The job is only half-done too. Plenty of time for more fun.

[Supernova]

Is it just me or does this crap happen to everyone?

Not just you,I thought it was just me that had this kinda crap!

[RED-DOG]

Is it just me or does this crap happen to everyone?

Not just you,I thought it was just me that had this kinda crap!

Lol. Nothing is straightforward is it?

To be honest though, although I like to have a moan it doesn't bother me in the least.

First world problems and all that.

[Pokerpops]

Is it just me or does this crap happen to everyone?

Not just you,I thought it was just me that had this kinda crap!

Lol. Nothing is straightforward is it?

To be honest though, although I like to have a moan it doesn't bother me in the least.

First world problems and all that.

It’s not just you, but that job would have been abandoned or adapted once it got to the point of having to chop the old board into pieces so it could be removed.
If I managed to get past the point of drilling out a grub screw.

The Iveco refused to start a week or two back. It’s a longish story because it starts with the indicators not working. I had left the keys in the ignition after I had found the indicator unit and replaced it. (£220 for a new one, £24 for a used one from my local friendly breaker) when I tried to start it, nothing happened. I exhausted my knowledge of truck electrics/mechanics pretty quickly. I charged the batteries but that didn’t help. Turning the key just resulted in very quiet clicks from the relay. Had I damaged something whilst swapping the indicator unit? Had the batteries being run down damaged the ECU? They had only dropped to 12.0v so that felt unlikely.

Nope, by coincidence the signal wire to the starter motor had failed. A new one was run alongside the loom and cable-tied neatly in place and all is currently good.
Till the next bit breaks.


PS - I didn’t work all that out on my own. I called out a mechanic who identified the fault and fixed it. But I watched and talked to him and although I am not kitted out to do a lot of what he did, I did learn stuff that will no doubt be useful next time there’s an issue.

[RED-DOG]

Is it just me or does this crap happen to everyone?

Not just you,I thought it was just me that had this kinda crap!

Lol. Nothing is straightforward is it?

To be honest though, although I like to have a moan it doesn't bother me in the least.

First world problems and all that.

It’s not just you, but that job would have been abandoned or adapted once it got to the point of having to chop the old board into pieces so it could be removed.
If I managed to get past the point of drilling out a grub screw.

The Iveco refused to start a week or two back. It’s a longish story because it starts with the indicators not working. I had left the keys in the ignition after I had found the indicator unit and replaced it. (£220 for a new one, £24 for a used one from my local friendly breaker) when I tried to start it, nothing happened. I exhausted my knowledge of truck electrics/mechanics pretty quickly. I charged the batteries but that didn’t help. Turning the key just resulted in very quiet clicks from the relay. Had I damaged something whilst swapping the indicator unit? Had the batteries being run down damaged the ECU? They had only dropped to 12.0v so that felt unlikely.

Nope, by coincidence the signal wire to the starter motor had failed. A new one was run alongside the loom and cable-tied neatly in place and all is currently good.
Till the next bit breaks.


PS - I didn’t work all that out on my own. I called out a mechanic who identified the fault and fixed it. But I watched and talked to him and although I am not kitted out to do a lot of what he did, I did learn stuff that will no doubt be useful next time there’s an issue.

Not easy for laymen like you or me to identify a fault like that David. Be in no doubt though, you will benefit from watching and asking questions rather than going indoors and leaving him to it.

[RED-DOG]

https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1169522839181041666


My goodness, isn't she adorable?



https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1169522839181041666