Smile of the day - What is yours?

[Adam Ef]

Prices of bits and bikes we stock have gone up hugely. £350 basic bike is now £450. Parts at around £8 are now £12+. I'm quite suprised at some of the new RRPs from the distributors when I get out the pricing gun after deliveries.


I'm seeing more examples of food items / packages getting smaller rather than price going up. They used to be careful about it and do it subtly. Now it seems to be really blatant and noticeable. Bags of things that would feed our family of four now look pitiful when served up.


The most ridiculous is energy bills. They were already too high. Now absurd.


(Doesn't feel like this should be in the SOTD thread )

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by Bibio

we all knew that we were going to have price increases after brexit (apart from the brexiteers).... its just that covid came along as well.. so what do people expect??

Exactly, Brexit and Covid.

[Seeker]

This started off as a gripe but has become a tentative smile. I'm not very good at DIY (hopeless, if you're being unkind). I can measure something multiple times and the more I measure the more it guarantees it will be wrong when I cut. Since I'm aware of this failing I tried unsuccessfully to get someone to install a sliding door at the top of my stairs. I can do this I thought (erroneously).

(I should add that one carpenter told me he was leaving town for good when I approached him with the job).

Anyway, the door is up, the track is level, the door hangs vertically so far, so good. Can you see the "but" coming?

Sigh, but when the door meets the wall it's not square and the when the door is open the gap at the bottom is different side to side. The (brick) wall is not plumb and the floor slopes slightly which brings us to the next issue - the door binds on the floor slightly on one side. Since I made the support for the track where it meets the brick wall somewhat "robust" I can't take it down and pack it to bring it back to plumb. Bother. I'll hide it with draught proofing battens - another bodge added to my lifetime of DIY attempts.


Since there's no more adjustment left on the door hangers I need to trim the door to stop it binding. I don't have a saw bench, nor a circular saw but I do have a jigsaw but, from experience, cutting a straight line with a jigsaw even with a fence is tough. Still, needs must.

This is where it transitions from Gripe to Smile (hopefully), whilst browsing in the shed for the G clamps (bearing in mind this was my Dad's shed and has never been fully explored) I found an electric planer! I have used one before (a long while ago) and I think this will be a better option than the jigsaw. What could possibly go wrong? (see you over in the Gripe of the Day later).

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by Seeker

DIY door......

I love a cliff hanger episode (or in this case, a door hanger)!

[Bibio]

knock knock..

[Seeker]

Public Service Announcement

Do not use an electric planer in your bedroom (without a debris catcher attachment) unless you like the rustic stable effect.

Yes, the planer worked well (yay), the mess is incredible (boo). The door hangs vertically and slides ok but it didn't affect the plumb of the wall, obviously. I should have thought ahead and checked it - like the man writing a warning message for quicksand: "Warning: Quicksand Ahea"

Anyway, I had always intended the door to slide between 2 battens when closed for draught prevention (honest) so the wonky wall won't be noticeable. I'll pick the wood up from B&Q tomorrow, hopefully it won't be as warped as that was delivered by Wickes.

Another obvious point (to me now) is that my plan to put a handle on the door is not going to work (if I want to fully open the door). Fortunately my thoughts are ahead of my wallet this time.

I contacted 4 carpenters/joiners to do this - 1 was leaving the area permanently, 2 never returned my calls and the 4th said he'd come and look and never showed up.

[Sir Trev]

The lovely Lady Poppy has bought me a (full size) bottle of Penderyn Peated. She is an absolute angel.

[DJ123]

A nice 150 miles out on the Bike today.

Was certainly a bit wet & muddy, and will get a deep clean tomorrow.

[ethariel]

Took the bike for a full detail and ceramic coating today, looks better than the day it rolled out of the showroom, Sam work miracles!

[svenrico]

In my weekend paper there was a summary of the changes to the highway code, one of which concerned zebra crossings and stated vehicles should stop for pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a zebra crossing !
Wasn't that always the case, that is what zebra crossings are for ?!!!