You're listening to the Resident build Up podcast with Peter wolf Camp from News Talks at Bay.
The house is a hole, even when it's darks, even when the grass is overgrown.
In the yard, even when.
A dog is too old to borrow, And when you're sitting at the table trying not to stop in the house scissor home, even when we are band gone, even when.
You're there alone, you know.
A house sizzle hole, even when those goes, even when.
You got around from the world, you love your move.
Screamed bling pains being.
In fund the world.
Locals lisball when they're going.
Leaving the.
House, even when web Ben love even when you're there.
Lone alrighty, oh, good morning.
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. I hope that you've had a good week. My name is pepe off Camp, the Resident Builder, and this is the Resident Builder on Sunday. So we are here to talk about your place, to talk about all things building and construction. So as I say, I trust that you've had a good week. For those of you, well, I think South Island had a fair amount of rain. We've certainly had well steady rain, which came as a bit of a surprise after what was a tremendous day
on Friday. It was hot, it was still, it was light, and then Saturday has been a bit sort of but ho hum, hasn't it And it's still raining this morning, which is probably what do there we say anytime rain comes and it's not too bad, Oh, it's good for the garden. Well it probably has been, so yeah, it was raining last night, which meant that no one could drive, which means in the motorways were all blocked up and
trying it. I was just ready to start a couple of jobs around the house, and maybe I'm taking the weather as an excuse not to crack into a few things. So if you're thinking, gosh, my excuse for not getting started is I'm not quite sure what to do, then the show is for you. I'm not offering up other excuses,
the other ways of getting out of doing jobs. I'm offering to you the opportunity to talk about a project that you might have or a dilemma that you might be facing around the house, and we can look for some suggestions and some solutions to those challenges that we have. So the lines are open. The number to call, oh eight hundred eighty ten, eighty. You can text, of course, because it is you can text through that's nine two
nine two or ZEDBZB from your mobile phone. And if you'd like to send me an email, you're more than welcome.
To do that.
It's Pete at NEWSTALKSEDB dot co dot Nz. So Pete at NEWSTALKSEDB dot co dot Nz. Righty, oh, well, construction has been so much in the news recently, lots of stuff around social housing networks, community housing providers, which is well, it's an important issue. I'm more than happy to talk about it on the show this morning. And also, well, I guess the most significant thing is today is the
first of December. So if you start to think about getting the house ready for Christmas, if you're starting to think about perhaps getting some trade, e's in to get some jobs. This is the classic Christmas rush sort of hasn't felt like it's really kicked off this year. It's been a quiet year, right for most tradespeople. So typically that Christmas rush, which might start sort of late October, sometimes early October if it's been a good year, doesn't
really feel that it's there right now. But if you do have a project that you'd like to get started and get finished more importantly before Christmas. Well, today's the first of December. You need to get underway with it. So if you'd like to call, oh, eight hundred eighty ten eighty is that number to call. We are back to sort of normal scheduling today on the program No
Rugby Commentary. The All Blacks obviously have finished their Northern tour, so Rid will join us at as regular time at around eight point thirty this morning through till nine o'clock. We have Bryce McDermott from Razine Paints. He will be available to answer any of your specific painting questions. Let's do that at around seven forty five this morning, So
Bryce at seven forty five this morning. If you've got any specific painting questions that you would like to ask of Bryce, he will be available, as I say, from seven forty five this morning, Oh eight hundred eighty ten addy. Though, Now if I'm getting some texts already, that's great. If you've got any building questions or want to make some comments around building and construction, oh, eight hundred eighty ten
eighty is the number to call. First text was all about the song I'm not even going to go there right, yeah, good morning, regular caller. However, throat isn't suitable for radio this morning. Any ideas on this. I have a unit with jib painted unit with a jib painted wall that meets a plywood roof and need to sort out a flashing to finish it off. At a loss what to know what might look good or work well? Kind regards
from Paul what jumps to mind. So if you've got plywood ceiling or a plywood roof and then you've got plasterboard running up to it is if it's already done, it's a little bit too late. But if I was building it from scratch, I would probably look at like a little negative detail, a little flashing. There's various different jib flashings. They're made by jibs metal flashings that will
allow you to have like a little negative detail. So you'd have the plasterboard running into the wall, then you put in a little negative detail and then bring your plasterboard or you had to have your plywood rather running into the wall, put in a negative detail and stop up to that, and you end up with like a little ten mil bead or ten mil recess running around the perimeter that would look really tight and tidy. I guess now, Paul, for you just a scotia and then
painted in with the wall color. If you pre paint the scotia before it goes up, then you don't. Cutting in becomes a little bit easier as well, especially when you're trying to do paint to plywood, which is probably going to be clear finished. Cutting in along there is always a bit of a challenge. So if you prepaint the scotia, it's much easier to tidy that up later on. Oh eight one hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call. We'll talk all things building construction, and we'll
have a crack at a little bit of plumbing as well. Simon, good morning to you. Gosh, there is something with the screen, gotcha? Silent? Simon, Hello, Sorry, go for it.
Okay. I have an old brass tap and I removed I wanted to replace the washer if they want. It's not a rubber one. It's one of those light brown ones.
Yeah. They almost feel sort of fiberish, don't they.
That's right?
Yeah?
Yeah.
And the old one, I I can't get it off. It just seems to be completely.
As kind of embedded. Yeah, used together and so I.
Ended up up doing was putting a new one over the top of the old one, but it left me with very little thread to screw the little nut back on the back onto the TAP's the one that closes off the water from coming in. So do you know how I can get the old washer off?
I would have thought that to be if it was me, I would just attack it with a sharp knife. Right in the sense that the washer itself, the fibrous one, sits or beds against a plunger, and the plunger is made of brass. So in the end, as long as you're a little bit delicate, you can't really damage the
plunger as such. So I just set to it with a knife, cut around the perimeter of it and then cut it into pieces, cut it off, maybe use a wirebrush to clean it up, and then you can seat your new washer onto the plunger and have more turns on the thread of the nut that goes that holds it in place. Yeah, yeah, right, you don't have to be I mean, you have to be a little bit delicate, but you know it's it's metal versus fiber, so it'll be fine.
Oh okay, Can I ask you another quick question, Do you know what a wet back is?
Yes, So, a wet back typically is a system where let's say you have a an argur or you know, a type of wood burning fire, you know, either for cooking or for heating. And then what people will do is they'll set up a system of pipework behind there that will have water flowing through it. The water is then heated by the appliance, by either the ivan or
something like that. And what it does is you can use it if you've got sufficient storage for all of your water supply, or I think most commonly people use it to preheat the water going to the cylinder. So if so, for example, cold water is twenty two or twenty three degrees, typically the maximum temperature we want coming
out of a cylinder is fifty five degrees. So if the water coming in is already at forty degrees, for example, because it's passed through the heating system at the back of the wet bag, then you're using less energy to get the temperature up. That's as I understand, that's how the theory, that's how it works. Oh yeah, right, I was.
Asking is because my plumber was doing some work under the house, and there was some kind of flu that was under the house that was going out to the side. So I've got around the house, I've it's all closed in. Yes, it's raised lawboards, and it was connected to one of the vents on the underside of the house. So you know how you've and you've the in the house when you've got raised floor, it's got the concrete around on the perimitive the house and all the events. So one
of the events has this flu attached. And the plumber said, oh, that looks as though it might be to do with an old wet back, and I was wondering what that was.
Yeah, okay, I mean a flu typically flues run vertically up right, they don't necessarily run across. Yeah, it's it's it's quite possible. It's unusual, but it is quite.
Possible, Okay, Because I was just wondering whether I could just remove it.
Look, I think I would trace it along from outside to underneath the house, and if ultimately, if you get to the end of it or where something was attached to it, and nothing is attached to it, then yes, you could remove it. Yeah, what's your existing hot water system, what's the heating system.
Electric ok yeah, low pressure.
Yeah, okay, so that'll have that doesn't need to be flu, but it will have an overflow so that if the pressure builds up inside the cylinder, it overflows and the water should flow to the outside of the building. Right, So obviously that's a different thing. But yeah, the flu. Look, if it's if it's not attached to anything you've been under there, go ahead and rip it out.
Yep.
All right, nice to talk to you. Sign all the best by your new salk seed B. If you've got a question of a building nature, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is that number to call. So one good morning to you.
Morning.
How are you morning, mate, I'm very well in yourself.
Good, good.
Question.
I'm gonna love with them. I'm gonna go doing some work and realize the platting they're still clading is getting for us. And I saw some stuff like ants and stuff crossing handier and it looks like we need to change it. And knowing that lockhood, the builders are quite hesitant. Yeah, anything inside outside, So just when I get some some ideas though, the people whom I can call or what's it. Of course, we're looking at if there's any standard costing.
When you say that the clouding is starting to deteriorate, or you said it's getting poorous, what do you like is it? Is it no longer weather type, which would be unusual, or is it just an issue around Obviously over time, some vermin, you know, some ants and that sort of thing I've managed to make their way into.
It's it's all time issues. A bit of sun and what if you are the natural elements working on it, I've got to an excellent depend on it. It's still seen, but you can see underneath or where the cladding is close to the nown you could see again there's a lot it's more deterioration there.
Yeah, the mud or.
Other boots as well.
And this is one of those things that it's often a maintenance issue over time. And I'm guessing you know, if it's an older lockwood home, it could be sort of forty years old something like that. Yeah, okay, well that's forty years ago.
Now.
It doesn't feel like forty years ago, but it is. It's anyway, long story, and sometimes with some of the earlier Lockwoods, it was a metal cladding rather than a timber cladding. Is it a metal or timber cladding.
Its timber cladding.
It is timber. Okay, Look, I think the great thing with lockwood is that they're still around, right, So I would suggest that your first call is actually to them to go, hey, look, I've got an older building. It's still in good condition, but I need to do some work. You know, are there some local experts that I could call on? And I'm sure that within their network of builders and so on, they would still have people who are involved, So I think that would be a good
source of information. Otherwise, typically, if the profile of the weather board is still available, or if you needed to do enough of it that it warranted the cost of paying to have the weatherboard's custom made, just fixing the weatherboards that are an issue you could do. I suspect that the way in which we did vermin treatment forty
years ago is quite different to today. So today, if we've got a cavity on most cladding, which we do, there is a little you know, there are a variety of pre made strips that will essentially prevent vermin from getting in there, saying that ants would get through, but other vermin won't. So it's really about mice and other creatures like that to get in and nest in the cladding. So you could go through if you really wanted to and address that. If the ground level, and we see
this all the time on buildings. You know, a building is built and then over time people build up garden beds and raise levels and start to get closer and closer to the cladding. Ideally, at a bare minimum, you should have about a fifty millimeter gap from the bottom of your cladding to any other ground surface, right, particularly something like a garden bed. So again, if the garden beds have grown and raised in height, strip those back
and lower those levels. Allow those boards to ventilate. If those boards have been rotten become rotten, you could replace those boards. But I think as the first step i'd know, given that the company is still in existence and will be for years to come, I'd get in touch with Lockwood directly and just go, hey, look, put me in touch with someone. Good luck at work today, Yeah, go yeah, thank you all the best, go go go.
Yep.
You mentioned something about the metal clanning. We've got to reserve, to reserve at the back of the house, and more than most that's a common problem. The thing is could be one of the option if Firings lock with home and discuss that, or that's something you wouldn't recommend.
A look In terms of no, I think I probably.
No.
I'd look at it and go in the end even if it, you know, whatever the cost of doing some remediation and some repairs, it will be considerably less than the cost of a reclad And unless you said to me, look, the cladding is an extremely poor condition, I would say it doesn't strike me as an economic or environmentally friendly solution to rip off a whole bunch of clouding that's actually serviceable to replace it with a different type of platting. That would be my approach.
All right, now that makes sense.
Good of you to call take care, enjoy your work today, take care your news, stork seed. But as this is quite in contrast to a job that I went to look at sort of like a little community project. Hey, look, can we do some work on this building to restore it and get it more functional for the community, et cetera, et cetera. But to be fair, it was in such
poor condition. You know, there were weather boards that had rotted, There were weather boards that had rotted, and fallen off or been ripped off by vandals, and then the cladding had been or their framing had been exposed for such a long period of time that there was extensive rot. So it's one of those ones where you go along to look at it and people go, oh, can we
tidy up some weather boards and repaint it? And I'm looking at it going, well, probably fifty percent of the weather boards on this elevation anyway of the building, on one wall of the building are unserviceable. They're either completely rotten or they're missing. Then beyond that, I can see that in some cases fifty percent of the stud has been and is missing, so that's got to then be replaced.
So what starts as a little job, and I'm sure for many of us as home owners, this is familiar territory, right, what starts as a little job just suddenly just spirals out of control in a sense and becomes a much much bigger job involving reframing parts of the building, which also removes which means you've got to remove the internal lining. So suddenly patching a weatherboard becomes replacing studs, replacing internal lining,
stopping painting inside new weather boards on the outside. Can you get that particular profile, you can see how jobs grow sometimes, Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number to call. Will come back straight after the break. Thank you to the texter who's come through and just said, Pete, there's a really good Facebook group called DIY Lockwood. I haven't looked at it. I can't vouch for it, but if it's good and the advice is sound, every now and then you do have to be a little bit
cautious about the advice. And some of the stuff you see online, isn't it. I mean, that's it. I'm telling you nothing you don't know. But sometimes in terms of DIY, because look, I watch videos online as well of different carpenters and different trades people doing things, and every now and then I just kind of go, oh, I hope people don't follow that particular piece of advice. But then I'm playing in that space as well at the moment.
So we've got a YouTube channel that's being built and a library of topics and discussion and top issues for discussion are being loaded into that. So I'd like to think that I'm a little bit more considered than some in terms of the opinions that I might offer. But that's up and running on YouTube as well. You search for it under resident builder or Peter wolf Camp. You'll find it there. Building up a library there quick text as well. Hey, I'm looking at purchasing a property in Wellington.
The property needs a retaining wall to be fair. If you've been to Wellington, you'll understand why most properties have retaining walls. The property needs a retaining wall between the properties. Who pays for it higher the lower or both regards gilly, I would suggest that whoever gets the benefit of it
pays for it. So if you're on the high side, and for example, you want to level out your lawn, for example, you know where it's sloping at the moment, you're thinking, I'd like to have a nice level lawn, So I'm going to put a retaining wall on the boundary and that will give me a level lawn. Then you will pay for it, and it will need to
be on your side of the fence. If, for example, you're on the lower side of the slope and you're thinking, well, actually, if I retained a little bit of that bank, I could create a level area in there as well. And so it's in your benefit, but you're on the lower side, then it would be on your side of the boundary and you would need to pay for that as well. So retaining walls not like fences in terms of being
able to seek a contribution from a neighbor. I don't think oh, eight hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call and David, a very good morning to you, A.
Very good morning, Peter. I've even intrigued with these packets, like from trade tested. I was synthetic decking tiles, you know kind of I think met a meter squag about ten to a bundle. But I was thinking, I've got a decking outside decking. It's twenty five mil highness. And when the builder put it in, I queried the you know, it's about forty years old. Now I queried the thickness and he said no, I've got the bearers closer together than normal. So I don't know he's a builder or not.
And anyway, I just thought, well to reinforce that deck and make it newer. Are these synthetic? I don't know if that plastic wood or all plastic. Have you any dealings with them?
As in a side I did buy four outdoor chairs from trade tested just the other day. But that's not really what you're asking about. Very nice cheers by the way, But okay, so it's synthetic decking tiles one of the issues meter square right, okay, oh yeah, I can see them here, so.
We also I asked, you know, I queried it and it said yes, can be laid it straight over top of wooden decking.
I just wanted to job, right, Okay, okay, So I'm looking at them now. So what they what they are is you've got the decking material, but underneath you've got like a plastic grid, right, And that was going to be my concern is that if you put you know, another surface on the top of your pine and there's no ability, like, you won't stop the moisture. So moisture will get trapped between the two surfaces and that will
accelerate the decay. So timber is treated in a different way depending on what the conditions of its use are. So something that is all going to be saturated like it's in the ground or so on, gets treated to a higher level. Timber that is treated for outdoor use. H three typically is designed to get wet but to dry out. But if you ended up sandwiching something over the top of your existing decking and it wouldn't dry out,
then it would accelerate the decay. In this instance, here the packs of deck tiles actually have a plastic grid underneath them, which means that there will be airflow between your new surface and your old surface, in which case, yeah, I mean that would be my primary concern is the airflow.
Well, the original decking in between the planks, you got the gaps, and.
Yes, but you imagine if if imagine, if you were just to go out and lay decking straight over the top ninety degrees to your existing one, every intersection would have a space of let's say ninety by ninety where the two surfaces would be held together, and you'll get moisture trapped in their and you'll get decay. Whereas, I'm not necessarily promoting this particular product, but from what I can see there is it's elevated, which allows for drainage
and for ventilation. So yeah, it's to be fair, it's not a solution that I've ever thought of, but that's quite clever. That's out of the box thinking I can't see downside to it. I mean, it would be interesting to know what when they say synthetic, you know what that actually is.
Yes, I don't know, but it just says it takes heat and that there's a certain amount of expansion and that word.
Oh no, it is a timber, it's and the good thing is it's FSC. So this is the Forest Stewardship Council. This is actually just isn't aside really important if you're ever considering buying timber, perhaps from overseas in particular, or timber a product that has timber that has sorn and
sourced overseas. So the Forest Stewardship Council is a worldwide organization that you can apply to have your product sort of licensed by them or endorsed by them, And in order to do so, you need to prove that it's been logged in a sustainable manner and that you've met certain environmental requirements. So the fact that this item or these products actually have FSC registration is good.
Is a good right?
Yeah, well, no, it's good in terms of it's good that you know the manufacturer has gone to the Forest Stewardship Council to seek their approval for the manner in which they harvest the timber, because you know, we've all seen pictures from South America and from Southeast Asia where you know, indiscriminate logging has destroyed enormous swaths of the planet. Right now, you don't want to be buying timber from
people that collect it in that way. You want to be buying timber from companies that do some sort of environmental management or they're replanting and that sort of thing, and only and those sorts of companies will get this FSC registration, which I think is really really important. Yeah, look, no reason for me to say you can't do it. I think it would work.
Okay, That's that's all I wanted to know.
To be fair, it's a solution that I hadn't thought of. So I like that as well. And if I steal your idea, I'll think of you. Thanks a lot, David, you take care. That's great. To be fair, it wouldn't be the first idea that I've stolen from this program. That is the nature of this program. People offer ideas, and every now and then I'll walk away and go that's a good one. Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty
is the number to call. Will take a short break back with philp in just a moment you and new talks there'd be The lines are open the number to call eight hundre at eighty ten eighty and our expert guest Bryce McDermott from Razine Paints will join us in the next hour. So if you've got any specific painting questions, feel free to text those through right now to nine to nine two and Bryce will be with us in
the next hour. A couple of other texts with regard to the retaining walls pete retaining Could it be the person who alters the natural layer of the land. Yeah, that's another way of looking at it, but it's I think the clearer way of looking at in terms of who would be liable for a retaining wall and who would pay for one if there's not one there already is sort of who gets the benefit of it, And obviously who gets the benefit of it is the one
who's going to alter it for their benefit. So again, if you're on the top and you want to level out part of your section and you're going to build a retaining wool, then you're going to pay for it, and it's going to be on your side of the boundary. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number. Call Phil A very good morning to you.
Yeah, yeah, look, this might be something for Bryce. I just he'll be on later on. But I've got a Galvani signed roof yep that I was wanting to get painted. But I've been hearing them advertising about sealing a roof rather than painting it, and I wasn't too sure what that was about, or whether one was better than the other.
Maybe you could help, Yeah, yeah, it's an interesting thing that's kind of a It's obviously a new product and a new notion around what do we do to protect roofs? Right? Look, I've painted any number of roofs over the years, and you know, typically what we would do is clean off any rust, do some spot prime, applying the Titian primer, and then apply a couple of top coats over the top.
And without a doubt I know that when I have done it, or when other people that I've been involved with have have painted roofs, it does protect the roof and extend it's life, right, which is what it's all about, the notion of sealing it is doing exactly the same thing. But I think what they're looking at is the application of the product. The final coat might be a little bit thicker or would be a little bit thicker, so we're talking microns here. Ultimately, this is what I think
it all comes down to is the preparation. Right. So, if you've got an old roof which is in poor condition, and you're thinking, I want to extend the life of the roof and push back that time that you have to spend the money and do the reroof, and you're looking at it and you're going, okay, well, look what I'll do is I'll get it sealed, for example, and that will give me more time. It's still going to
be about the preparation. So you know, you still need to remove the rust, you still need to do the treatment of the rust. You still need to have an adhesion primer, you need to make sure the surface is thoroughly cleaned. And then yes, if you apply a sealer coat over there that's of ational thickness, it will in my mind, that will give you more time. Yeah, So I think it's it's always about preparation, and that would be doubly true because you know, particularly if the notion
is that somehow. You know, a viscous material, a liquid material is applied over the top and that will address your issues with a gulf sized ball hole in the roof, right, you know, I don't I don't think that's reasonable to that. But if if she was even I was looking at my garage roof. So here's me talking about roofs. But I've never painted the garage roof because it was always my intention to replace it. It's got you know, rust all over the top of it. It's not leaking, but
eventually it will deteriorate. So you know, if I was to paint that, I'd want to make sure that I got rid of the surface rust, that I applied some rust primer to those areas or rust treatment to it, and then the adhesion primer and then the top coats, and that would be the same all over the place.
Yeah, because from from what I sort of heard, it was it had it was part of it was a rubber compound.
So you know, again it's that it's a viscous material, like a thicker material that will go over the top and that will work as long as it sticks right, as long as it bonds to the surface, And that's always about the preparation. So I think if you if you were making inquiries about it, the question would be how do you do the preparation? How do I know that that you know, what are the guarantees that sort of thing.
Yeah, I've seen sort of you know, like on an old roof that's been painted. When it deteriorates, you get the paint will start to flake, but you can usually sort of paint over that. And I was thinking, oh, well, if that happened with a something that had a rubber sort of coaching on it, then that might be you know, the roof might have to be replaced. Then you know that that would be much too much of a job to sort of see it again, to reprepare it. I suppose.
Yeah, I think there probably has to be a point at which you say, look the substrate, the actual metal underneath the roof, it has deterior to such a point that no matter how much more material I put over the top of it, it's still going to need replacement. Right, But then it's amazing how long you can eke things out for. So again, there's a property that I look after which has got it's only a small roof on a little lean to at the back of a bricontile unit.
It had metal on it. It's got very low fall ponds with water. I've put so many coats of various liquid membranes over the top, but hey, fingers crossed right now, it's still weather type, you know. So all I've been able to do is just push back that inevitable date that I might have to say it's time to replace it. Yeah, preparation, preparation, preparation.
Just well, I.
Suppose one thing, Dad, when we got the new roofine it was galvanized then, yes, sold just to let it you make use of the of the oxidation protection from the galvanizing. And I suppose we've done that but probably left it, you know, sort of ten years.
But this is your the roof. Is it galvanized or is it zincaloom?
Some are zinc aloon and some as galvanized. Right, it all looks about the same now. So it's got a few russ areas I suppose around some of the screw and our hold, but yeah, generally it's not too bad that it's probably the time it needs some sort of treatment on it, just to let a roof oxidize for a few years.
Is that a Well, that's absolutely fine. Yeah, absolutely, Bearing in mind that galvanized roofing iron and zincaloo roofing iron are two different products, right, and they perform over time differently. So again, as it happens when we did the roof on our own home and when I did the extension, I just wanted zincaloom, right, I just wanted it to be and I've left it and I could leave that as it is for the forever, right and until the
roof needs replacing and shivers. It's already almost twenty years old, right, and that's zincaloom, right, and I've got no deterioration. But that's because it's zincaloom. Galvanized iron works differently because it's a galvanized coating to the iron, and so once that the corrosion starts to penetrate through the galvanizing gets into the actual iron, that's where you'll get rust happening. Okay, Yeah, so worth having a bit of a read around the
difference between galvanized iron and zincloom. There are two different products.
Okay, And if you went for the painting, that'll be the same thing. Again, make sure it's all.
Preparation, preparation, preparation, absolutely, yeah, always as shortcuts there. Nice of you to call Phil. Thanks, you have a great day to take care all of this. It is coming up eleven minutes away from seven o'clock. We'll be back with Tony after the break. You would talk, it'd be we've got news coming up top of the hour at seven. But right now, Tony, good morning, Good morning, Peter.
It's good to talk to you again. And you I rang you about a year ago and we had a flooded house. It's now being bought out Category three and I've bought another property, which is good news. I've got to move on with my life. And I had a building inspection done, but we've purchased it anyway. But there's a concrete landing and steps which goes up to the front door, and the underneath concrete landing you can see
all of the reinforcing has become exposed. And when they did a building inspection, they said to me, water has been penetrating through the concrete, causing the rust in the steel, and then then some of the not much just like the surface of the concrete has fallen away. Now he's suggestion was that I needed to take all of the paint. That's because it's fifty one years oldest house, take all the paint off the landing, and then put a he said, a good quality celant on and then obviously paint it
over the top. But I haven't got a clue what sort of product put on there.
Yeah, I mean, look, that's that's reasonably sound advice. So how many like how big is the stairs? Is it like two steps up to the front.
Door or I know there's about the steps seem to be all right, there's about ten.
Steps, okay, all right, so that's great.
And then you've got this landing, which is a normal sized concrete landing. When it goes penetrates just into a recess for the front door, and it's the area underneath where the steels exposed is about about a foot by a.
Foot, right, okay, all right, Well, look I think treating the corrosion would be a good idea as well.
So what's oh yeah, I'm trying to do that.
Yeah right, great, okay, so you kind of strip back any loose material and then treat the corrosion, so a rust converter and then some russ primer. Then you'll need to do some patching, so you'll need a sementitious based product that you can use with some adhesion to patch the area and make the steps and the rises smooth again.
And then so what is a semious?
Oh?
So, like there's there's lots of products. They're almost like a powder that you can mix up now that are designed for repairing masonry. Right, so if you've got gaps and cracks and masonry, you can use different products. Typically they're either Seeker or see Mix and so on. Are two brand names that do this sort of thing. Then so are they painted at the moment or are they just exposed painted?
The steps are not painted, it's the top landings painted and it's like the paints cracked. I would say it's a good ten years since thenybody painted it at least and then obviously water's got in under the paint and some of it's blistered.
Yeap.
Would I take all the paint off completely, like put a grind on it?
I probably would, because of course, what you know, inevitably what happens is the paint deteriorates with the paint surface deteriorates and loses its grip. On the concrete below. So if you just supply paint over the top of paint that might flake off later on.
Then yeah, that's my thinking.
Yeah, saying that if and I've only got thirty seconds, So if if the paint doesn't come off, let's say, if you hit it with a tungsten scraper or some coarse sand paper or something like that, then it's probably sound enough. But you would need a primer that will adhere to the existing paint and also penetrate your new masonry, which will be a pigmented seiler. And then you could use paving paint over the top of the and then I would add some grip to that to make sure
that it doesn't get slippery. But stay tuned for with Bryce, we'll talk about that as well. We are back with after the new sport and weather. Remember Painting Expert next.
Hour, Yvonne wobblock Crown because the charge Jesus cousin lies the may.
Then he sends him to the final school and RDIO.
Welcome back to the show. My name's Pete wolf Camp. This is the resident builder on Sunday. We are here to talk about your projects, about your house in the nicest possible way, of course, I think tasks that you might want to do, tasks that you might want to get others to do. So we're talking about, you know, the sort of the difference between ceiling roof ceiling and roof painting. Earlier on, just before the break there, Tony with a set of concrete stairs that have had a
bit of deterioration over time. So again, you know, if moisture gets into and I'm sure engineers describe it differently, but the common phrase is what we call concrete cancer, where moisture has got through the surface of the masonry because masonry is always typically slightly porous, and it's the moisture has absorbed far enough into the masonry to then activate rust in the steel and the steel reinforcing that then as it starts to starts to expand slightly and
it pushes the masonry surface off, and that typically happens if the reinforcing is too close to the surface of the concrete. So if you're doing you know, foundations, for example, then typically the inspector will check that you're reinforcing's not sitting on the ground right, especially in foundations for houses and something you want to have that I think it's
typically seventy five millimeters up. You want to make sure that you're reinforcing is fifty mili in from the edge of the concrete, whether that's in the ground or in a wall, etc. Etc. There are rules around this to prevent what is exactly has happened at Tony's place, saying that not a significant issue for Tony. It's relatively minor. But treat the rust to the patch, apply a new coat of paint over the top. And the grit that I'm talking about is I've done it on concrete stairs
leading up to entrance ways and landings. Is if you just paint concrete, typically it gets quite slippery. So I do the adhesion primer. I do a first coat, then I mix up some paint and I make it into a slurry with some in it, and then I'll paint the surface of the stair where you're putting your foot with the paint that's got some grit in it, which means that it's a little bit more slip resistant, which is really important. Oh, eight hundred eighty ten eighty is
the number. Call cricky. People aren't liking the music today, Thank goodness. It's not a music show. Eh, it's a building show. Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty is the number? Call quick couple of texts actually before we go to the calls, PETE, what house size or what size house is permitted without a permit? Zero?
Right?
You can't build a house without a permit right now. And it's slightly worrying in the sector that people think that what is being talked about is actually law at the moment it is not. You need a building consent to build a house. End of story. And then another question with upgrading a bathroom which has a toilet that is entered from the inside, we are unable to find a replacement for the same type of system. Any suggestions.
So typically, if you go back to thinking sort of nineteen seventy ish, often toilets will have a e vent that comes from the system itself, right, so that the basically air is allowed to be drawn into the system via a duct or an opening in the side of the system that is vented to the outside. Now we don't do that anymore. We tend to vent the entire drainage system so that individual toilets don't have their own vents.
So I think the answer to your question there, Dave, is that when your plumber comes to replace the toilet, they will need to do some work on the actual drainage the wastewater system in the house to provide a terminal vent to the system in order to ensure that when as water is being sucked out of the traps, that air is allowed to come in so that the water doesn't get sucked out completely. That's what the terminal vent does. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is
the number to call. Lou A very good morning to you. Hang on. The fingers don't work. The mouse works, but the fingers don't work. Lou Good morning, good morning.
Good morning, morning preach.
What can you tell me about bora?
Mate?
Bora a small bug typically on the wing about October.
October.
Yeah, that's fly spray will kills.
Oh no, I think I'd go to the hardware store and go and get products that are specifically for bora. And I mean back in the day, it used to be bora bombs that you lit right, Do you remember those?
Yeah?
Yeah, alright, they don't exist anymore, thankfully, because they can be quite explosive. Well, I do have a funny story to tell about those, but I probably won't tell it on the radio. So you can buy either injected systems now.
So if you if you're trying to treat individual borer, let's say in a piece of furniture, you can go with a nozzle and inject borer killer basically into individual openings, or you can use a sort of a more extensive treatment, which is like an aerosol can that you'll put into an enclosed space and just release that and try and treat them. But typically listening to RID for all of these years, borer are on the wing around September October, so possibly a little.
Bit late, right now, Alkova, Alko, Yeah, good.
And look, while like I've seen, I've seen some timber that has decayed to the point of collapse right from bora, but it's it is relatively uncommon, and it's it's not as much of an issue now because obviously in the last forty odd years we've been using treated timber and timber treatment that's designed to prevent insects from making a home in it. So it'll it'll be older timber that's an issue.
Okay, Pete, Yeah.
Okay, all best you lou, thank you you have a great day. All of best. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty the number to call. Remember any specific painting questions send them through text to nine to ninety two and Bryce, our painting expert, will be with us at around seven forty five this morning. Cody, you're very good morning to you.
Good morning, Peter, good morning. I'll describe the layout of the house before I ask the question if I made sure we have a small guarade, the sidewall of which forms this is attached to the sidewall of the house, so that the side door of the house as it comes down makes the roof of the roof of the garage. The side wall of the house was repaired with weather board, and I want to law how far away from the roof of the guarages would be the law border of the weather boards.
So the door has been taken out and replaced with.
Weatherboards the wall that part of the wall was damaged weather boards. Yes, and as you come down it is very close to the roof of the small garage which is attached to.
The house, right, okay, yes, And then where that junction is between the roof of the garage and the house, is there a flashing on top of the roof, and then the weatherboards come down and stop above that flashing. Correct, Okay, Typically we'd aim to have a gap there of about well, it can be as little as twenty to thirty millimeters,
but it should be something like that. It should be a gap of about at least twenty to thirty milimeters to allow for airflow, right, because what we don't want to do is bring our weather boards down hard on top of the flashing and then it traps water in there and then it soaks up into the cuttage of the weather board sometimes and that will accelerate decay.
Yeah, that's in my concern. I'm not a builder, but a general common senses that weatherboard is in contact with this flashing, it will be in contact with water and the course damage.
No, it shouldn't be so ideally, you know, twenty to thirty milimeters will prevent that, but you know even ten milimeters will, But anything less than that and you're likely to get water that's trapped there and soaks up into the timber.
Yeah. How can I get a building inspector to come and do you report on this? How do I set about that?
So?
Was this work done? Did you and did someone come and do the work? And now you've realized that it's been done like this? Or is this has the is this existing work?
No, this was repaired nine months ago, one year ago. But I couldn't have a crosser look right because of the risk on the roll.
Yeah, fair enough too. I would suggest that you go back to the contractor that did the work and you know, get them to come back and fix it. And the simplest thing might be to simply remove that weather well, try and pop that weather board out and cut it down then replace it. But that's not always that easy to do. If it's only three or four weather boards, then maybe the contractor has to strip all of the weather boards off and replace them. But certainly having a
gap in there is not suitable. Having no gap it's not suitable, sorry.
Because because of the slope of the restrove that the weatherboard come to rest or stand next to it involt several pieces of weatherboard because of the stope. So it did not removing just one weather board. It has to be a series of weatherboard needs to be removed to rectify this.
See again, what I would say is that you know, given that the work was done. You instructed a carpenter, a builder to do the work about nine months ago. Builders should builders should know what the requirements are. Now. You know, if the builder can come back and prove to you that it meets the requirements of the building Code and provide evidence for that, then maybe you need to accept that. But I suspect that the per will. I suspect that the builder might find it difficult to
prove that what they've done is compliant. Yeah, I'm just looking at a couple of the brand's pages at the moment right, So for example, I'm just looking at some detail on the brand's website. Now. So Brands is the Building Research Association of New Zealand. They provide evidence and research to the government around building durability and product performance,
et cetera, et cetera. So you know, typical detail here is that you've got roofing coming up to weatherboard cladding, You've got a flashing and then they are saying you need a thirty five millimeter gap to the apron flashing. So and I would agree with that. So that's I've found. The interesting thing is it took me while we were talking, took me what fifteen twenty seconds to find that information online.
So if your builders saying no, no, no, there's no rules around it, or I've done it right, then I think they're trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
Yeah, because we had a build a wisiting voice and a different purpose covered from about a week ago and he put his arms up in horror and said this should be thirty five milimeters.
Well, and that's exactly what I've found on the on the brand's website, and it's taken me, you know, a minute to find it. So yeah, yeah, I think go back to your builder and look if you like, where did I I've gone to? If you search flashings brands or brand's website and then search for flashings and weatherboards, you'll find it print off the pdf. In fact, it's in build article one six two. There you go, Build article one six two. That information there, the builder comes back,
you go, here's the documentation. This is what should have been done. You haven't done it. I want you to do it, and I'm certainly not paying for it. Is the way that I would approach it. Cody, thank you and good luck with that. It's you know, from a
trades point of view. It is always disappointing when you know we're involved in discussions looking at work that is relatively straightforward with that's just done poorly or without lack of understanding, And this to me shows a lack of understanding, lack of understanding about building science, a lack of understanding about you know, basic ways that we build in order to prevent to decay. So if you're going to jam your weather boards hard down onto your flashing, it's going
to rot over time. That's why we have a thirty five mire gap. It's as simple as that. Oh eight, one hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number to call if you've got building questions, we'll take those. If you've got any specific painting questions. Bryce McDermott, our painting expert, will join us at around seven forty five this morning. So got some good ones already trickier the better to be fair. I quite like the tricky ones. Text them through nine to nine two. Back after the break its
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Find it at your favorite hardware store or garden retailer. B that'd be me. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number to call a text message. There's no excuse for that, whether or detail. This is referring to Cody's call a moment ago. Everything can be googled to get the correct information that builders should be on a blacklist and there needs to be a fine for work like that. I'm in I'm a lab oh been laborer. I'm a laborer. I presume been doing this thirty five years.
And if I come across something I don't know, I simply google it. Well, you're right, I mean, that's the thing. There is so much good information out there. There's also some pretty rubbish information out there. But if you go to a trusted source like, for example, brands, then you'll find information that's been well researched. And again, what I do find useful with some of the brand's documents that are available. And this isn't just available you know, to
me as an LBP or anything like this. I searched for it online. Found that detail, like I say, within forty seconds or fifty seconds or something like that to get the detail is that it's public, it's well researched typically, and it's available to all of us online. So that whole issue around what distance should you have between cladding and flashing? There it is, and also some really good pictures as well, and it's all available. Oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number to call if
you've got a painting question. We're getting some great questions. Feel free to text for a couple more. Bryce will be joining us at around calld to seven This coord to W eight. This morning, Catherine, A very good morning to you.
Oh good morning Page. My toilet is one of the old score ones with the side vents at the side of the bowl. And I just got the tail end of the conversation you had with that people having trouble trying to find a new toilet to six. Could you please just run over sation again from they please so in your situation.
And I've seen them, you know, basically in most houses before the nineteen seventies, is my guess. I did a bathroom in a nineteen sixties bricantile unit a couple of years ago, and it had exactly that. It had the old you know, wooden system or wood covered system with a nice copper insert, and you've got a pipe that drops down into the back of the pan, and then out of the side of the pan was another vent that went into the wall and then outside up the
wall and out through the roof. I think it was so typically today, when we're doing wastewater systems inside a house, let's say, you know, we typically we know where the connection is to outside, right, so we've got one hundred mil wastewater pipe in the ground, might have a gully dish, and then you'll have a connections that run through the house. One hundred milli line running to a toilet, then a maybe a sixty milli line running to a shower. And
it's like a imagine the roots of a tree. Right, you got the tree trunk, and you got all the branches that go to the different fittings around the house. And typically one of those lines will extend past and go up and that one is just open to the air, so that when you use the toilet use a hand basin that's got a p trap on it, air is allowed into the system, which means that the water as it's rushing out doesn't suck all of the water out
of the traps. Right, So every basin that we have has a trap below it and that holds water in the base of the trap, and that stops the foul air that's in the wastewater line from coming out in the bathroom. Right, it's the water in the trap that stops the foul vapors from coming into the house. So without a vent, that water will get sucked out. Now that's how we do it today. That's sort of modern plumbing, I guess back then with toilets, and that they vented
them individually. You can't buy, to the best of my knowledge, you can't buy toilets anymore that vent individually. So you need to make sure that your your wastewater pipework inside the house has a terminal vent on it. And that's what you've got to talk to your plumber about. And that might just mean that where the connection, for example, to the toilet is is in your instance, is the toilet on a timber floor, a suspended floor, so the
drainage connection is accessible and it's below there. Yeah, okay, So it might be that a junction is added underneath the floor penetrate out through the wall and up the outside of the house and that becomes your terminal vent. Great something like that. But you know, this is work that should be done to ensure that the system works properly. And of course this is work that should only be done by a registered plumber.
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, there's a lot of people out there masquerading as plumbers.
Yeah. Well again, the great thing with you know, plumbers and electricians and gas fitters and drain layers. Is that they are all registered trades, right, so anyone who is qualified should be able to provide you with their license, and all of their information is provided on a database which you could search. So again, you know, never allow someone who is seemingly masquerading as a plumber or an electrician to come and do what is restricted work without
proving their identity. If you don't know them, well that's it.
And sometimes even recommend for friends of friends can prove fatal as well.
So it's always a tricky thing recommending people. And you know, I obviously I get asked every now and then, you know, and most of the time the people that I recommend do a great job, but every now and then we all make mistakes, right, So it's a bit anyway, that's another matter, but that basically is the system. So if your older plumbing system has event on on an individual toilet, you just need to adjust the way that the plumbing has worked out in the house.
Great, I kind of thought that, but these days I like to triple check everything.
Put on you too, good on you?
Oh well, look you have a nice Christmas?
Thank you? Okay, and thank you?
And is it too early to say yeah, I think it has feel. I know it's the first of December, which is scary in its own way. Yeah, it is scary, isn't it first to December already? I just thinking about all those jobs that I wrote down on a piece of paper that I would get done this year. To be fair, I haven't got a lot of them done. Other things have gotten away, including making giant hats for plays, which worked out quite well. It was quite nice to see that, just in a quiet moment, roll out onto
the stage at the Artea Center. I mentioned last week that I had spent quite a happy sort of day in a bit making a giant top hat as a mad Hatter as in Alice in Wonderland in my workshop last week, and then I had to make a few adjustments. To be fair, there was some creative differences, so I went back on the Monday, made some adjustments to the hat, and then yesterday at the Artea Center during National Youth Theater's performance of Alice a Wonderland Music Hall, out rolled
the hat. I'm not giving anything away. I'm just saying that if you want to go, there are still tickets available today. Two shows today and then that's it for the kids, all two hundred and something of them who are proud of this musical theater. It was great, actually, it was wonderful last night. Oh, eight hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call. We'll take a break, then we'll talk to Neville. If you are at all idly curious about the hat that I made, I did
put some post pictures up on Instagram. Actually, so if you just search resident builder on Instagram you'll find them there me working away on the giant hat. It's a lot of fun. Actually, eight hundred eighty ten eighty is the number to call. Neville. Greetings, Hi, Peter, how Neville? Good, thank you.
I've got a house with a two story house scott block basement, and then it's got a large window that goes right up to the apex, and the window is writting out down the bottom right. It's also cancidly that over the block work.
Yes a foot and then you've.
Got a deck which is coming through the bottom. The bearers are coming through and meeting the bearers of the house, which has caused all the rotting. Right yep, there's two beams going through the roof that is parallel with the ridge. Ridge line and they're held up in the middle of the living room with two posts and then it goes to the other side above the window. So I've had Address to a look at about a year ago, and he took too long to do anything about your record.
He couldn't get the engineer to sort of want to look at it, so it sort of.
Sat here and yeah, that's all right. I mean, I'm pleased that you've engaged a professional, so to speak, because you know, it sounds like the scope of the repair is slightly beyond just a repair in terms of you've now got to move into that remediation phase. And you know, one of the things that I guess in modern building methodology we spend a lot of time focused on is moisture ingress for obvious reasons, but also flashing details. And
we were talking about that earlier with Cody. So you know, in I'm assuming from what you're saying that the way in which it was constructed in the past, where you've got beams that run from inside the building to outside of the building, that flashing that detail is really critical. Now today you can buy you can either have made custom made flashings or you can buy proprietary ones that
allow you to seal that penetration really well. That stops water effectively sitting on top of the beam that can't leavers tracking along the top and going straight inside the building, which is probably what's happened.
The thing is that I want to swap out that window.
Yeah, okay, bind snyder in.
Then whether the existing blocks will take that weight, what has to be done around supporting a larger sort of you know, a full length it's probably about six meters, right window.
Okay, that's that's fairly significant. I think, you know, if you've got I'm just thinking about work that you can do without necessarily requiring a consent, versus work that does require a consent. So, for example, if you've got an existing window and you want to change that to a door, typically you can do that without necessarily requiring a consent as long as you don't extend the width of the opening, right, So you can take out the framing below, but you
can't extend the width. As soon as you extend the width triggers requirement for building consent. So if that's what you're thinking about doing, you'll need to get a consent. If you're just taking out a window and putting in a set of a sliding door into the existing opening. I guess doing that amount of work will also allow you to expose those cant leave a jost and assess their condition. It sounds like if there is significant decay in there, you're probably going to have to replace those,
which means replacing timber well back inside the building. That's then a structural issue, So I think I would get specific engineering advice on that. Have it drafted up.
I think the actual house barers are okay.
Yeah, in terms of bearing on top of the concrete wall, I think the concrete wall would probably be okay. Again, worth getting specific advice, but typically they're okay. If you needed to, you could solid fill some of it, but typically they're okay.
So a slide away then, because you've got high windows as well above right the actual you know you've got like a V yes of windows.
Surely if you were looking at replacing it, you would
replace the entire joinery section. So you take out everything that's there, including the V shape or that runs to an apex, and replace it all with a new set of joinery rather than just trying to keep the original windows upstairs more in the upper part and replace the slider downstairs, right, I would have thought, because then you know, if you're trying to put new joinery into existing joinery effectively, then you've also got you know, flashing details that you
have to address there, because what you don't want is that a leak occurs at that junction between you new joinery and your older existing joinery above it, and if you haven't flashed it properly, that's what will happen over time.
So this window, like these two beams that are on the outside the roof, they go straight up from this window and they're sitting on the window sill.
Right, Okay, look, I think definitely you're going to need to get specific design on this because you know, and I've seen this before sometimes with older construction, where you know, the window itself is offering up support to the structure above it, so you'll you'll have a wall that's literally resting on you know, the mullions of the existing joinery, and when you take that out, you find that actually the lintel is insufficient and it's loading up or it
won't take the load of the roof above it. I very much am getting the impression that you're going to need to get specific design and and do that. It's going to end up being I think a fairly significant job by the sound of it. I wish you well with all of that, Neville, good luck, but do get specific design. Thanks for you call. Radio. We're going to take very short break. Do we need to take a break now?
Ah?
Yeah we can. Okay, let's do that. Then we've got Bryce who is going to answer your painting question straight after the break, Radio, Bryce McDermott, Welcome to the show. As always, lovely to have you with us on a Sunday morning. How are you, Bryce?
Not too bad mate?
Yourself good?
Yeah, not too shabby at all. Actually, thank you very much.
That's good.
Now we talk about painting, but we should actually take a step back and just go let's do the safety stuff and take a break and just take a moment to think about doing the job safely. Give us some tips.
Yeah, yeah, Well, you know, if you're thinking about painting a certain section of your house, you know, you think, how am I going to do this? It's going to get in the way. What could happen to me if I fall all off and all that sort of stuff. You know, don't work at home on your own. Make sure there's somebody homekeeping an eye on you. Especially if you're going to work around where the power into the building, you'll have to have that isolated, yes, or even disconnected.
You can contact your power company and they can do that for you. So you don't want to go up and smoke on your holidays, So it's important that you consider that, you know, it's quite dangerous. You've also got to check out your access equipment, you know, and make sure that you've got a reasonable equipment to get you to what you want to do, you know, not Granddad's old ladder that's been sitting in the shed for one
hundred years or whatever. Ye you know, you've got to have good safe equipment, you know, good aluminium ladders, scaffolds or what have you, just to get you up there. And it's a lot more fun rather than having your knees tremble while you're up a rickety ladder or something like that.
Absolutely. Look, I'll tell a story after the news about, you know, watching a guy tumble from a roof and it's still in my mind. I can still hear the thud. Right to be a graphic and no one wants to be in that situation, So you're absolutely right. You know, check your leads, make sure that that's safe. If you're using power tools outside and they're corded, make sure they're running through a proper RCD to ensure that if you cut the cord or something like that, then you're going
to be protected. And you write old ladders, go treat yourself to a new one this Christmas. Because I stood on one the other day whether the aluminium had decayed to the point or deterior to the point where the tread gave way under my foot right, and I was in the end. I just cut it in half and I took it and recycled it. That's the best thing for old ladders. Go and get yourself a ladder.
A lot of people don't realize you can just whip the old ladder down to the and they'll give you some money for it.
That's right. In the old days, it was beer money. Now it's money for a chai late. Right, let's get into a couple of tigs. Fence painting. Hey, I want to paint a fence black stain or acrylic paint an opinion on it about maybe warping or cost from Stephen So beatimber, let's say, and you want to make it black.
Well, in terms of maintenance, paintings that probably the better option. You know, with stains, they do to tear right after a couple of years, especially if they're in full sun. Right, So you've got to consider whether you want to spend you know, every couple of years out there repainting your fence.
Yep.
Cost wise, there's probably not much in it. But in the long term, paintings probably the better option because you're not out there redoing it every couple of years. So if you're looking at labor, maybe in terms of redoing it, painting is probably the more cost effective option. And there's a multitude of colors that you can use, but you know black, you know, you can buy a ten lead bucket of lumbersider and black and put it on the way you go perfect.
So over being timber. Primer first, then top coat.
Yeah, I don't know if it's if it's super important, but if it's freshly canalized and stuff like that, yes I would. I would prime it just to keep the cannalizing sort of blocked out from the top coats. If it's painted already then, and you know, in sound condition. You know, you could just go over the top of it. A fence after all. I mean, it's you know, you do have to do certain sensibilities and things, but it is a fence at the end of the day.
Ye perfect right. Someone would like to stain a front door slightly darker without having to stand it back completely. It has a varnish on top, it's weathered, hoping for a special prime. I think they're hoping for a shortcut, but I'm not sure that there is one.
There probably isn't.
Really.
We can tint up our water borne polyurethane and with a slight amount of tin by the little bottles tint that you can pour into it, but it's not really meant for an exterior situation. If you wanted to change the color, it's I don't think there's much option but to strip it back and start again, especially if it's deteriorated a bit. You know, you've got staining on the probably on the door, you've got opaque polyurethane, you've got cracks,
you've got things, all sorts of things. I don't know without looking at the person's door, but you know, it may be more sensible to strip it off, stand it up, stain it to the color you want, and re polyurythane, maybe with a marine vanish.
Right over the top. Brilliant. Now this is an interesting one morning. We've had a rat infestation in our ceiling last year, which we've now dealt with. We have had rat urine stains on some of the ceilings. How can we treat those areas in order to repaint successfully?
From Marie hmm, Well, we do have a product of now is called stain lock that you can you can put on stains on ceilings or stain on paint in general to can't block it out you know, felt pen marks and stuff like that. It will absorb the stain, but it won't go any further. And then you know you could quick try over the top of that and proceed with repainting, or you could you know, if it's dry and not too bad and things like that, you put the good old solvable and sure seal on it
block it out. But yes, I think sure seel or stain lock would be the option.
Okay. Now, in terms of quela, for example, like if you've got a new piece of quila, they're asking how long do you leave it before putting a coat on it? M And I guess dress as general for all hardwoods.
Yeah, because you've got the little the tenons and everything running out of it as soon as it gets wet, and people like to stop that because it can driple over the place. And you know, especially if you've got a deck above a patio below, you up all these brown stains and nice neat lines everywhere.
M hm.
Not a great deal you can do about it. Generally, you've got to leave timber or timber decks the weather for about three months before you can put a stain on them, just to let them settle, you know, allow the timber to expand and do its business and just generally settle in and then you can put the We do have a cooiler decking stain that you can put on that you know, sort of retains the color of the coiler, you know, sort of an orange sort of red color. But yeah, I would, you know, there's not
a great deal you can do about it. I would just leave it to weather, and leave it.
To weather first and then apply it's.
An issue of it dripping on areas below. Then you know, just the if it's just going straight onto the ground. It shouldn't be a problem. But then just after three months, just you know, give it a code of coiler decking stain. It's put the instructions and.
Away you go.
Now here's a classic. Recently, been painting skirting boards with an acrylic the painter has touched up the lino as well. Is there an easy way to get in this case acrylic off the lino floor.
Me misilated spirits will will will soften, and acrylics and things like that. Failing that, we do have a proprietary paint remover latex paint remover as the Americans call it, that will remove acrylic paint off surfaces. So if you nip into one of our shops and you can. It comes in a spray bottle, and you know that should do the trick. You know, you just spread it on, leave it for a bit and then wipe it off.
I'm writing that down because the number of times I've had calls from people going, you know, the paint has been or I've been painting and I've got, you know, splashes of acrylic paint on aluminium jewelery, for example, how do I get it off? So this latex paint. It might be the solution there.
Yeah, but you know, if something's been sitting on the aluminum joinal for quite some time, you know it's probably not going to do the trick, right might you might have to look at some form of solvent like go our number twelve center or something which is a good general cleaner.
Sounds good, Bryce, We're right on top of the news. Fantastic, Thank you you're a News Talks there'd be welcome back to the show. Bryce mcdommott, our painting expert just before the news and really appreciate his insights as always. I'm just trying to think whether that might be the last show with Bryce this year, because suddenly all of those deadlines are looming, aren't they. You know, December the first today?
How many couple more shows? As it happens, I'll carry on doing Sundays through the Christmas and New Year break. Looking forward to that. Actually, I'll be working here on Christmas Day. I'm going to be doing i think eleven to one on Christmas Day, so looking forward to that as well a couple of other quick painting ones. Just before we move back into the building, Can I paint the inside of a color steel fence straight away. Yep,
pretty much wash it down, apply an adhesion primer. So there's a very specific razine primer for that that you need to use.
Um.
And what's the other one that came Ah, remove roof paint spray that has drifted onto plastic outdoor chairs. I'm wondering whether that latex paint remover which comes in a little spray bottle might be the go there. It'll soften it up and then allow you to scrape it off, depending on how much there is. I have to say spray drift from roof painting is a little bit uncommon. Yeah, that would have been annoying. I would have imagined eight hundred and eighty eighty is that number to call?
Oh?
Another quick couple of texts that came through. I live in christ Church. Can I replace my toilet with a composting toilet? I wonder whether the local council might have some issues around that in terms of if you were in an urban area, I think you would have to prove compliance. You'd have to prove that it's not going to inadvertently become a nuisance to your neighbors. In the
same way that something that's sort of come up. I know Auckland Council, but probably other councils as well have started to introduce sort of a maintenance schedule for septic tanks as well within the Auckland city boundaries, which is reasonably large. So people are having to get an independent assessment and maintenance done of their septic systems. And I would imagine the same thing would would apply here if you were doing a composting toilet. Great idea, but it's
going to be a christ Church City Council question. Another quick text that came through love the show Thank You very Much. I want to repair my old letterbox. The wood is old and cracked. Would putty be enough to make small repairs to the cracks? The issue sometimes with putty is if you use too much of it'll just fall out. So for larger cracks, I tend to use specific products like repair Care, which is a two part adhesive and filler so it'll stick to the area, but
also you can use it to build up areas. There's a couple of similar products out there. The one that
I happen to use is repair Care. In fact, I've got a job for that shortly where power has been undergrounded, and so I've got you know, where the large screw goes into the facier board of an older house, the big hook that they hang the power on, and then the junction box with the terminal box that hangs next to it, and then of course there's the chorus connection that used to go under overhead has now come an underground.
So I've got to get up there safely. As per the discussion with Bryce just for the news around working at heights at home. So I've actually got a small mobile scaffold. I'll take that to the job. Get up there, unscrew these fittings now that they've been deleted, they're no longer live. And then you know, I've got like a ten twelve millimeter hole where the screw fitting when in
for the overhead power line. I'll back that out. Hopefully i can get that out in one piece, and then I'll use something like repair Care there to fill that hole. You can also fetch in a new piece of timber, but the repair Care should do that job all in One oh eight one hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number to call, and Dave a very good morning to you. How are you this morning, Dave. Hello, Dave,
why is that not happening for me? There we go, Dave, greetings, greeting. Sorry, technical issues on my side.
That's all right. I'll just tear a hole of the windows replaced with double glazing. Yes, and now that's where they come and then cut them on the inside and pushed them out and slide.
The new ones and into timber joinery.
Well, on my brick tile aluminium house, it's between the brickworks.
Yes, but there must be a frame that the double glazing.
Yeah, the frame was built into the window, and I think they just slide the new one into place.
And the frame is timber or aluminium.
Timber?
Okay, like it was.
I guess. My question is on the outside they put a ceiling along the top, but between the brick and aluminium down the sides there is a like a little gap where you can see the cavity behind it. Should there be ceiling? The old ones didn't look like they had it. I don't know.
No.
Typically, because the way that you know brick cavities work or brickwork is typically done is you've got your timber framing, then you have building wrap. Then you'll have a cavity forty millimeters, and then you'll have your brickwork, and you tend to put the windows in first. This is from new right. You put the windows in first, you flash behind the windows onto the timber framing, and then you
bring your bricks up to it. And typically we don't seal a vertical seal a bead of sealant between the aluminium joinery or the joinery and the brickwork, because the small amount of moisture that might get through there enters the cavity and drains out through there. So no, there's no requirement there to fill that.
Gap up helpsolute of breathe. I guess two.
The wall inside, Yeah, that's certainly part of it. In the same way that you know, at the bottom of the brickwork, you'll find that there is some joints raked out that allows air to enter. And then typically at the top the brickwork stops either a little bit shy of the feet lining or the whatever cladding there is above to allow air to enter at the bottom and vent at the top. That's really important.
Yeah.
Okay, so because my neighbor, I followed my neighbor, she had it done as well, right, now she said, some other work just recently done, and they've talked to her into ceiling the whole window, and they've gone around ceiling all the windows, all full sides.
So again depending on you know, like if, for example, if it was double brick without a cavity, or if it was solid masonry you know that it and the window was inserted into the solid masonry, then I'd probably apply a seilant. But if it's conventional timber framing, building wrap cavity and then brickwork, I wouldn't be too concerned as long as Now this is where it gets tricky because if you're retrofitting right, so you're you're not taking
the brickwork away, but you're changing the joinery. Basically, once you put the joinery in place, you can't flash behind it, right, So if you can't flash behind it, then you try and stop water entering the cavity by sealing the front. But if in your instance, they haven't changed the frame, They've just taken the glazing out, deepened the rebates and inserted the double glazing.
Then.
The tumbeln cut cut round the window.
But have they actually taken the window frame that the double glaze that sits out.
Yes, and then pushed the new one which has already bumped into the aluminium winder.
Think, yeah, see in that instance there, because you know, practically speaking, you can't once it goes in, you can't deal with the flashings behind it. And you know, in some situations when the joinery goes in, the flashing behind it is just some DPC right, some dampproof course that is stapled in and tucked in behind there, and that's enough to prevent water getting into the gap between your timber framing and your jowinery. You can do that from
you but you can't do that as retrofit. So maybe if it is a retrofit in this instance, ceiling around the outside would be required. Look, simple thing is to go back to the contractor and go is there you know, what's your methodology? Have you followed the process that you've established that you know is going to work, And if that requires selent, then they need to come back and do selant. All right, I hope that helps enjoy the
double glazing. It'll make a big difference. Really, Okay, that's good, all right, all the rest if you take care, I mean, that's one of the benefits of double glazing, isn't it? You know you had some single glazing, then you've got double glazing. You know the benefit the day after because it's going to be warmer. Oh, weight one hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number two. All pete spelt
the old way like my dad's name. My daughter has inherited a nineteen sixties house with asbestos in some of the ceilings. Are there other options than removing it? The kitchen one is badly stained from cooking, and the lounge is looking very sooty from Connie encapsulating. It is okay in the sense that with some decent advice. In fact, I think Asbestos Awareness Week was last week and there's a whole lot of new guidance. It's quite digestible, it's
quite readable. You'll find it on the work Safe website. So there's new guidance for homeowners around sort of dealing with asbestos in your house. So in this instance here, I mean, you know, option one would be pull the ceilings down, remove the material and replace the ceilings. If the other option is to encapture, so essentially to put a new layer of plasterboard underneath the existing ceilings, you got to be a little bit careful about that and
then stop and paint that. So those, broadly speaking, are your options, but neither of them is a cheap option. Your new stalk CEP. We will take your texts for ROOT as well, but of course we'll take your calls for RUT from eight thirty. Still got time for a couple more building questions if you'd like to call us now. The number is eight hundred eighty ten eighty Right now. You can save sixteen percent when you buy a gold plus solar bundle from Lightful Solar. That's a saving four
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and c's apply used dog ZB your new STALKSB. We've got rid on standby if you've got some gardening questions. But right now we're still talking building. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty is the number to call for your building questions, Peter, A very good morning to you.
Good morning, Peter Lock. I'm looking to project manage my house and it comes back to the LPP. Now, the individual trades, they will sign off their own work, is that correct? Yes?
Right?
And the bill and the builder hey will go.
His part.
But when do I need an lp B to oversee all of the work.
It's a very good question. No don't, No, you don't so in terms of so restricting building work in most cases needs to be done or supervised by a licensed building practitioner. So what's the scale of your projects? Peter?
So, we too be droom greennie flattyp.
With building consent. Yes, okay, all right, So the restricted trades that will be involved will be foundations, framing, cladding, roofing, waterproofing, those sorts of things. Right, So each of those contractors you could manage them, and each of them will provide you with either a producer statement or a record of works or a memorandum of work that you can then provide to counsel when you apply for your Code Compliance Certificate. You'r CCC at the end of the job. Yes, right, you go ahead.
What I was saying is that, yeah, I thought that would be the case, but when it comes to the final the builder, hey, will give me his certificate and then all I have to do is take them all to the council to correct. Yeah.
So what the builder should do, your licensed building practitioner is they will issue you with a record of works for all of the restricted building work that they do. So their record of works will if they've done the foundations, they'll include the foundations, they'll include the framing. So you know, I've done the framing in accordance with the building Code. I've done the cavity system if required, I've done the cladding, I've installed the joinery, I've done you know the roof framing.
I've done the internal bracing. So you know, if you've got a jib bracing system and it's a b LH one to one point two meters, they'll say, yep, I've installed that correctly. That's the restricted building work and all of that should be covered off on their record of works.
Thank you very much.
All right, good luck with the project. Thank you all the very best to you. Bother then, and a quick one from you, Bruce, how are you?
Yeah? Yeah, good good Figus. Hey, my questions this. I've got three houses of just relocated a new site and Evian's going well. That's the power which was put down the driveway, all went well, and then the electrical inspector came out through that last week and said, no, there's moisture in the power cable. What the remedy for that?
Look to be fair, you know, you need to get specific advice on that. When they say moisture, is there moisture in the cable or in the deducting for the cable in the contract?
He just indicated that that the power's coming from the streets. But then there's no power at the top of the driveway and there's no power at the bottom of the driveway to get this sixty meter driveway, and he said that the cable's broken or there's moisture that's stopping the movement of power. Okay, but I've got I've got to meet I've got my ectrician coming to myrow morning.
I was going to say, ultimately, it's going to be a discussion with the contractor who installed it, you know, and if they've done it in such a way that you know, I know, it seems really scary, and I still get scared about this, but apparently it's completely legitimate. Is you know, certain types of power cable for Maine supply are just laid in the trench, right, They're not protected by condurit And I always kind of look at that and go, jeepers. I think I'd prefer to have
mine in the conduit. And then, you know, if contractors have not paid attention while they're backfilling and they've used the wrong material, then yeah, inadvertently they may well have damaged that MAINZ cable, which would be a real big issue, especially in terms of identifying where the damage might be, you know what I mean, and digging up and redoing sixty meters of cable, because sixty meters of cable, you'll know that's not cheap.
No, it's right, it's three house.
It become I wateringly expensive, isn't it? That cable? Yeah? Look, I think it's all going to come back on your contractor, because it's simple. You've asked them to do a job, run power from the road to the house, and then they've done it and it's been backfilled. Now they might say, look, I didn't do the back it's not my problem. But you can argue that later on. Did you do the trenching yourself or did the contractors do the trenching?
Another contract? Yeah?
Okay, okay, let us know how you get on. I'd be fascinated to know what the discussion tomorrow, how that got resolved.
Yeah, I will all right, Okay, Pete appreciate that.
Bruce, good luck with it. Take care Criche To be fair, it's not one that I'm particularly familiar with, righty. Oh, If you would like to talk to rut and I'm sure you would because some of you have already started to call, the lines are open. The number to call is eight hundred and eighty ten eighty back in a moment.
For more from the Resident Builder with Peter Wolfcamp, Listen live to News Talk sai'd be on Sunday mornings from six, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio