23-01-2017, 05:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 23-01-2017, 05:16 PM by ppppenguin.)
Started the job at the weekend. Got to finish building the toilet cubicle and finally fit the pan and macerator. I've got the plumbing and drainage done so hooking up the macerator will be easy.
I've discovered that a 2kg SDS drill is capable of doing a 4" hole (for the vent fan) in a 9" brick wall with a diamond core drill. Just need to be patient. This was my first time with a big core drill - I bought a cheap set from Screwfix as it wasn't much more than hiring the kit and I've got them for future jobs.
Drilling the metal soil stack was a hassle. I got a strap-on boss for plastic soil pipe and a cheap (£6) 57mm Erbauer holesaw. I reckoned on wrecking the holesaw and I was right. Not sure a Bosch one at £12 would have done any better. As i later discovered. the stack wasn't cast iron, it was malleable iron. Hence I should have lubricated the cut rather than working dry as is common for cast iron. I struggled to get through and ended up busting out the last bit. That saved any problems of the slug dropping down the stack. It also told me that the metal was malleable, as it had to be bent back and forth several times to break it out. It was touch and go whether the hole saw would give up completely before I'd finished the hole.
The stack was slightly bigger than plastic soil pipe so the clip together closure wouldn't work. Easily solved with a cable tie. I sealed the boss to the stack with some roof and gutter mastic from Poundland. It all looks fine now.
The ground floor structure in the hosue was something I'd not seen before. Probably late 1940s or early 1950s. The joists are concrete, roughly "I" beam shaped with a thick web, presumably reinforced. There's a slot in the top edge with a roughly 1" square strip of wood in it. Hence floor boards can be nailed down but 2" nails are a bit too long unless you drive them at an angle. All rather horrible.
I've discovered that a 2kg SDS drill is capable of doing a 4" hole (for the vent fan) in a 9" brick wall with a diamond core drill. Just need to be patient. This was my first time with a big core drill - I bought a cheap set from Screwfix as it wasn't much more than hiring the kit and I've got them for future jobs.
Drilling the metal soil stack was a hassle. I got a strap-on boss for plastic soil pipe and a cheap (£6) 57mm Erbauer holesaw. I reckoned on wrecking the holesaw and I was right. Not sure a Bosch one at £12 would have done any better. As i later discovered. the stack wasn't cast iron, it was malleable iron. Hence I should have lubricated the cut rather than working dry as is common for cast iron. I struggled to get through and ended up busting out the last bit. That saved any problems of the slug dropping down the stack. It also told me that the metal was malleable, as it had to be bent back and forth several times to break it out. It was touch and go whether the hole saw would give up completely before I'd finished the hole.
The stack was slightly bigger than plastic soil pipe so the clip together closure wouldn't work. Easily solved with a cable tie. I sealed the boss to the stack with some roof and gutter mastic from Poundland. It all looks fine now.
The ground floor structure in the hosue was something I'd not seen before. Probably late 1940s or early 1950s. The joists are concrete, roughly "I" beam shaped with a thick web, presumably reinforced. There's a slot in the top edge with a roughly 1" square strip of wood in it. Hence floor boards can be nailed down but 2" nails are a bit too long unless you drive them at an angle. All rather horrible.
www.borinsky.co.uk Jeffrey Borinsky www.becg.tv