Getting Handy in 2013 - Man Skills

[millidonk]

checked fuses?

Mate, I wouldn't know where to look or what I was looking for to do that. I'm an absolute beginner with this stuff. Think sorting this out is gonna be a steep learning curve. Been looking on youtube and it seems the 'window regulator' goes quite often in fords. Looks like a fair bit of a job taking the door apart and all sorts. Arrrghhhh.

[outragous76]

Not 'getting handy' as such, but we've got a leak upstairs that has got worse of late. There's a brick wall around the outskirts of the roof and one corner is mossy, so it looks as though the water is coming through the brickwork rather than the roof itself.

The plan is for the builder to clear out the moss and put a protective layer over the top of the bricks (I can't recall what), but he can't do the job until February.

I'm not sure if you can see the leak in the photo, but given the recent bad weather and the spread of the leak, is this something I need to get sorted before then as obviously I don't want it to turn in to an even more expensive job.

Only just seen this snoops, pics of outside, I'm concerned about suggested repair. Is it acropol?

[millidonk]

checked fuses?

Mate, I wouldn't know where to look or what I was looking for to do that. I'm an absolute beginner with this stuff. Think sorting this out is gonna be a steep learning curve. Been looking on youtube and it seems the 'window regulator' goes quite often in fords. Looks like a fair bit of a job taking the door apart and all sorts. Arrrghhhh.

Found a thread http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?2719-Ford-Focus-Window-problem/page2&s=d2787996ea69d84e11b4d7862ae81171 where a few people had the same problem as me. Solution "Hit it with a hammer" apparently it works. Plan to take the door panel off at the weekend and give it a good whack. #excited.

[Mohican]

checked fuses?

Mate, I wouldn't know where to look or what I was looking for to do that. I'm an absolute beginner with this stuff. Think sorting this out is gonna be a steep learning curve. Been looking on youtube and it seems the 'window regulator' goes quite often in fords. Looks like a fair bit of a job taking the door apart and all sorts. Arrrghhhh.

Found a thread http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?2719-Ford-Focus-Window-problem/page2&s=d2787996ea69d84e11b4d7862ae81171 where a few people had the same problem as me. Solution "Hit it with a hammer" apparently it works. Plan to take the door panel off at the weekend and give it a good whack. #excited.

I found that thread as well, was about to suggest it. It seems that the fuse would knock at all the windows so I don't think it's that. 'Percussion adjustment' is the techinal name for lumping it hard wiv a hammer. Would suggest you get/borrow a mallet like this-

or protect the casing as you could do serious damage if you lump it with a normal hammer.
BTW, your owners manual should give you a list of the fuses and where the fuse boxes are located.

[millidonk]

I actually have a rubber mallet. Sweet. A couple of people said they managed to fix it by hitting the door with their fist in the bottom left corner while operating the switch.. am going to try this first thing in the morning. If not it will be door stripping and Mallet time at the wknd. Cheers for the help mohican. Will give an update as and when.

Doing this might actually lead to me fixing another thing wrong with my car. The controls on the steering wheel don't actually operate the radio/cd player as they should. I always have to lean other and change stations/track/volume. hmmm.

Great thread Barry. Normally I would have just gone straight to the garage and paid through the nose, it feels good to try and fix something yourself.

[Mohican]

Problems these are always worth investigating yourself, especially with the internet providing a lot answers for small problems. I've always done oil changes/minor services/exhaust changes myself.
Even did the valve shims on my motorbike with help from my mechanic mate. Internet enabled me to print of a step by step guide from a geezer who'd done it himself,so i just followed that. Probably saved myself £200 just on that job alone.

[Doobs]

We have a fence made up of wooden panels in our back garden. 

I am guessing they are 6 ft by 6ft and between them they have concrete dividing poles with slats in the side like this.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/slotted-concrete-fence-post-24m/invt/540063/?source=123_74&tmcampid=104&tmad=c&tmplaceref=PPC_ggl_0006635&gclid=CKC1-6WCy7QCFQzKtAod2RcAXA

We only moved in last christmas, and in February when it was windy a panel blew out and a couple of fence posts were tipped about a foot from the vertical.  I have no idea how many times this has happened in the past, but my neighbour did mention the previous homw owner normally "fixed" the fence.

When I looked at the bottom they had a small ball of concrete maybe a foot deep at the bottom that was intended to keep the fence upright.  When I looked up fixing fences on the internet, it suggested that the concrete should be at least 2 foot down in to the ground.

I figured if we put them back vertical and made a bigger hole and poured more concrete/postmix in they would have a better chance of staying up. The missus didn't rate my fence fixing skills (probably correctly) and so we got some fencers to come in while I was out. 

They billed us for a couple of new fence posts, some concrete/postmix and labour.  I didn't see what they did, and wasn't entirely convinced that the fence posts were different from the previous ones, but they had certainly churned up the garden around the fence posts. 

This winter we have had some pretty serious rain in the last few weeks, and the clay soil at the bottom of the fence turned pretty muddy and sloppy.

I am guessing we had a bit of wind while I was away for christmas, and the same panel and at least one of the "replacement" fence posts has done the same as last year.  The panel has blown out and we have one post at a 10 degree angle to the vertical (it has probably been gently tipping more and more throughout the year, as before christmas we did notice it didn't look as straight as it once did).  Looking at the bottom of the fence post, the "replacement" doesn't appear to have much concrete around it.

I have also read that the ground can get weakened around the fence posts, so you get a better/stronger fence if you use different holes.

The fence is definitely our responsibility.  The panel that has come out looks a bit worse for wear, but the others don't look that bad/in need of replacement.

What is the best way forward?

1.  Getting some fencers back to do a similar repair to last year.  If so, what should I be insisting on?
2.  The previous plan A, which was bunging something in the hole to strengthen around the base (either more concrete/postmix, ballast or something else)
3.  Building a new fence with different holes.

Finally, should I wait until the ground has firmed up a bit, or do it while the ground is sloppy mud?

I am fairly loathe to do 3, as I guess it is going to be expensive and is likely to be disruptive to all the plants I have just put in.  I am also pretty sure that I don't want to go outside in winter and try to break up the existing concrete balls at the bottom of the fence posts.  If that was the best thing to do, I'd rather just get a fencing firm in (though almost certainly a different one!)

Hope that is not too TLDR, though fear it may be.  Sorry.

Cheers

[EvilPie]

Bunging some extra postmix in should sort it but you need to do it properly really.

You need to dig a decent sized hole and shutter it off using plywood or similar to make the hole a square shape rather than just a random blob.

The squared edges will offer much more resistance than a rounded off lump.

No problem using the same hole again. If you make it slightly bigger than the old one it's a completely new hole anyway.

[Doobs]

Bunging some extra postmix in should sort it but you need to do it properly really.

You need to dig a decent sized hole and shutter it off using plywood or similar to make the hole a square shape rather than just a random blob.

The squared edges will offer much more resistance than a rounded off lump.

No problem using the same hole again. If you make it slightly bigger than the old one it's a completely new hole anyway.

Shuttering off is just making the hole square? 

May give this ago this afternoon.

Cheers.

[kinboshi]

You can always get longer posts as well and dig a deeper hole.

[outragous76]

use different fence panels

[outragous76]

Sorry for the short response - let me expand

If you are using solid fence posts - they act like sails, and if you have a prevailing wind, that is often strong, this strikes me that this is going to be an ongoing problem.

If you really dislike your neighbour and insist on solid fence posts, then although beefing up the foundations is a good idea, if you are going to go that far as to exposing then again, id be more inclined to design them to stop the "rotation" effect which is causing the problem  in the first place rather than just "load up with concrete"

Hope this helps

[Doobs]

Sorry for the short response - let me expand

If you are using solid fence posts - they act like sails, and if you have a prevailing wind, that is often strong, this strikes me that this is going to be an ongoing problem.

If you really dislike your neighbour and insist on solid fence posts, then although beefing up the foundations is a good idea, if you are going to go that far as to exposing then again, id be more inclined to design them to stop the "rotation" effect which is causing the problem  in the first place rather than just "load up with concrete"

Hope this helps

I have nothing against my neighbour and was just planning on fixing a fence we already have.  I think you have made a useful point that had got me thinking.

I don't understand why I would redesign fence panels, but maybe there are millions to be made from such an idea. 

We have two children, one currently noisy and irritating, one in the process of learning to be noisy and irritating.  I have also planted raspberries against the fence and other plants that would like nothing more than to move to the sunnier side of the fence.  We are also planing on getting a trampoline.

She is a pensioner. 

So I think most of the irritations are likely to be on our side.

 I will have a think, look at the options, and speak to my wife and neighbour. 

[snoopy1239]

Not 'getting handy' as such, but we've got a leak upstairs that has got worse of late. There's a brick wall around the outskirts of the roof and one corner is mossy, so it looks as though the water is coming through the brickwork rather than the roof itself.

The plan is for the builder to clear out the moss and put a protective layer over the top of the bricks (I can't recall what), but he can't do the job until February.

I'm not sure if you can see the leak in the photo, but given the recent bad weather and the spread of the leak, is this something I need to get sorted before then as obviously I don't want it to turn in to an even more expensive job.

Only just seen this snoops, pics of outside, I'm concerned about suggested repair. Is it acropol?

I don't have a pic of the outside as it's tough for me to get up on the roof safely. I'm just repeating the diagnosis a roofer gave. I've managed to persuade the builder to pop round on Saturday though to take a look and perhaps put in a temporary measure until it can be fixed properly. He's also going to redo the lead pointing.

No idea what acropol is, but it doesn't sound familiar. I think the plan is to put some kind of protective coping stones down once the moss has been cleared and hope that stops any more water seeping in to our walls. If not, then I've got a bit of a problem on my hands. In the short-term, I'm trusting him to at least minimise the damage until he can return in February as the recent rainfall is a little worrying when you've got these massive damp patches on your bedroom wall.

[outragous76]

Snoops  -PM sent