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Home Improvments / DIY


Arwen
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We have bought our first house, hooray! Now time for diy...

I know this is a bike forum, but loads of you are really knowledgeable about these things, so I thought I would ask.


Our whole house is lit by GU5.3 spot lights. There is a mix of old halogen bulbs and LED bulbs throughout the house. Some don't work and others flicker and buzz. I'm going on the hunt to find the transforms for the lights in the house at the weekend, however I think I would like to change them all for GU10 fittings, as there is a much bigger selection of LED bulbs in that fitment.

Has anyone ever done this conversion? Because it is electrics I am inclined to pay a real electrician to do the work for me, especially as it is around 50 light fittings. I'm really not sure what is involved or how much I should expect to pay. Any ideas?


Another job that needs done is resealing various bits in the kitchen and bathrooms. Am I best scraping/picking the old sealant off, or do those sealant remover solutions actually work better?

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The flicker and buzz is most likely caused by having LED bulbs on halogen transformers. The transformers have a minimum wattage (as well as maximum) and LED's won't draw enough to meet the minimum so they will flicker, buzz, not turn on or get delayed turn on etc.

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Best off mechanical removal of old sealant, scraper then cloth or greennkitchen sponge, when re sealing and this works on any kind of sealant except coloured abs sludge, apply an even need along the edge you want to re seal, don't worry if your a bit wobbly the main thing is contact with both surfaces.


Get a tin of pledge, it's the best I have found, spray over the entire area, now the silicone will not stick to anything with pledge on it, simply go along with your finger to take off excess, you can read apply pledge if req if you didn't quite take enough off, leave it over night and wipe with a cloth the next day

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For the silicone, make sure you get all traces of the old stuff off. Once I've peeled back the majority, sometimes using the softener, I take a stanley blade over the surfaces to get rid of any little bits leftover. New silicone won't stick to old silicone and it just ends up peeling away eventually. Also, make sure your hands and the surfaces are thoroughly cleaned before you apply the new silicone; most of the time you get mould growth on silicone it's down to organic contamination ie. filthy fingers being used to smooth off the silicone at the end of the job or poor preparation.

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When re applying the silicone use very soapy water on It then use the end of the tube to scrape off excess back into the inside of the tube, another quick spray with water run your finger along and it will be neat and a lot faster 👌🏻

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Thanks for all the sealant tips! Yea [mention]xMachina[/mention] , I figured the transformers are the "problem" with the led bulbs. I have no idea where they are in this house though :lol: Could be fun, or a nightmare to track them down.

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I hate the transformers, I had to order new ones to fit LEDs into my under cabinet lights. New ones looked identical in every single way except for the 240v and 12v being the opposite sides - guess what I did? :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Dont touch the electictics as you will get in trouble unless your part P registered and in the EICEIC ITY BBC AND SKY which cost a bomb to stick with . Get a sparky in and he will check and certificate the rest of the house for 10 years unless you get another sparky in ..


You cant go round doing your own electric work any more

You do and someone gets a shock you will be prosacu prossatut prosstaa headbutted .LOL . Sorry seen that on a sign yes ago .. you will be prosecuted and possibly sued not worth it .

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No there is not it is fully protected by part P . .any electrical work must be done by a fully qualified registered electrician. If you think changing a light bulb or plug is something you can Google to get around it .then wow..

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Interesting, it would never have crossed my mind that I would need a building warrant for a lot of electrical work in the house...

It's my own fear of electricity that would make me get someone else to do it :lol:

Screenshot_20190714-100628.thumb.png.3bb16a58202d74e2a067a18794b2685f.png

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Guest Richzx6r

No there is not it is fully protected by part P . .any electrical work must be done by a fully qualified registered electrician. If you think changing a light bulb or plug is something you can Google to get around it .then wow..

 

Surely you don't need a qualified electrician to have to change a light bulb or socket, they are simple

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No there is not it is fully protected by part P . .any electrical work must be done by a fully qualified registered electrician. If you think changing a light bulb or plug is something you can Google to get around it .then wow..

 

Surely you don't need a qualified electrician to have to change a light bulb or socket, they are simple

 

Read the link I provided.... All the correct info is in there :wink:

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That's what I'm scared of happing if I do it [mention]Six30[/mention] :lol: I don't trust my ability when it comes to electricity.


Yesterday we removed this:

IMG_20190620_181452.thumb.jpg.e063b4972da898b4283ddccc7e970d1e.jpg

So this afternoons job for me is to remove all the tile adhesive from the wall and smooth it down, ready for painting!

IMG_20190714_104338.thumb.jpg.6bf5baf3929f08f7fbe831d17a645c99.jpg

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That's what I'm scared of happing if I do it. I don't trust my ability when it comes to electricity.

 

You'll want to avoid starting a fire of course, but as far as electrocution goes I've done it loads of times and it's not that bad. It can actually be quite invigorating.

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That's what I'm scared of happing if I do it. I don't trust my ability when it comes to electricity.

 

You'll want to avoid starting a fire of course, but as far as electrocution goes I've done it loads of times and it's not that bad. It can actually be quite invigorating.

 


That's the thing with electricity you don't know how it's going to go till you try it, I have also had more than my fair share of jolts, but some people get 1 and that's it numbers up.


Unless you started out at end early age electrocuting yourself I wouldn't start now, would be bad if you discovered your one of the 1 shot folk.

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That's what I'm scared of happing if I do it. I don't trust my ability when it comes to electricity.

 

You'll want to avoid starting a fire of course, but as far as electrocution goes I've done it loads of times and it's not that bad. It can actually be quite invigorating.

 


That's the thing with electricity you don't know how it's going to go till you try it, I have also had more than my fair share of jolts, but some people get 1 and that's it numbers up.


Unless you started out at end early age electrocuting yourself I wouldn't start now, would be bad if you discovered your one of the 1 shot folk.

 

I once managed to fry myself off the same dodgy light fitting twice in less than five seconds a few years ago. That takes a special kind of stupidity. :D

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That's what I'm scared of happing if I do it. I don't trust my ability when it comes to electricity.

 

You'll want to avoid starting a fire of course, but as far as electrocution goes I've done it loads of times and it's not that bad. It can actually be quite invigorating.

 


She’s a lady mark ,she’s got no testicles to clamp crocodile clips to wired to the mains

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She’s a lady mark ,she’s got no testicles to clamp crocodile clips to wired to the mains

 

Piercings could be the way to go then, although I hesitate to ask the OP: I asked a friend on Facebook a few years ago and ended up with all sorts of images you don't want to be looking at while having your tea.


:shock:

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She’s a lady mark ,she’s got no testicles to clamp crocodile clips to wired to the mains

 

Piercings could be the way to go then, although I hesitate to ask the OP: I asked a friend on Facebook a few years ago and ended up with all sorts of images you don't want to be looking at while having your tea.


:shock:

 


Yeh piercings could work :thumb:

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I'm taking no risk of electrocuting myself. Piercings of not :roll: Got a couple of electricians coming round to quote for the work tomorrow. Hopefully it's not as extortionate as I fear !

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