DIYNZ,

How do I repair this hairline crack on the benchtop? I've seen a couple of videos, but none of them are from New Zealand, so I thought I'd ask here for advice on how to hide it or make it less visible. Replacing the whole benchtop isn't something I am looking at right now, and any sustainable way of repairing it would be really helpful.

Thank you

Hi fellow kiwis.

Weve just got a 21k plumbing bill for our bathroom renovation. They have include 111 hours of labour.

This included new heat pump hot water cylinder, amd change over to mains pressure system.

New shower installation, replaced bath, vanity, toilet.they did take old fixtures out but didnt have to dispose of them.

This was just the plumbing cost. Hubby did all the building, payed for fixtures separately.

This is much more than we expected. Is it reasonable or not?

Looking for a builder to build me a 18sqm deck just above ground level in Kwila. Located in North Auckland. If you have any recommendations or are a builder yourself please reach out

If so, could I get a quick ballpark pricing on these options so I can figure out which option is the sane one to pursue?

Have an old bungalow with short fat 135L low pressure hot water cylinder in a cupboard in the bathroom. its a standard low pressure system with an pressure reducing valve and a vent pipe out the roof. I want that vent pipe gone before the new roof goes on, for reasons.

So as is see it I have the following options:

option 1) convert existing cylinder to valve vented with a drain under the house out to the gully? i'm guessing im up for a few valves some pipe and a bunch of labour.

option 2) Mains pressure cylinder located in same position. Already found there are cylinders that should fit in the same spot. So the cylinders appear to be about $1500-1800, and it'll need a drain tray etc, and a different set of valves i guess.

option 3) outdoor mains pressure cylinder. Slight complication in that it wouldn't be directly against the house as we have a deck/walkway thing against the house, then a 800mm wide gap between the walkway and the fence. I could concrete a post or two in so the cylinder can be strapped to it for seismic restraint, and pour a concrete pad for it to sit on. Obviously pipes would need to be extended approx 5m out to where the cylinder is so some more cost there, but it frees me up to choose an all in one heat pump cylinder or conventional resistance heater, and go as big as I like without impacting the linen cupboard space.

Don't buy a Clearlite new Raya model the bottom door seal does not seal the water in properly.

Hey team, been in my house 2007 built house (fairview albany) for about 1.5 year.

Power has tripped rough about 6 times

2x of those were when i plugged in water blaster as well as a belt sander.

Another one when i plugged in an egg boiler which we assume was faulty as it would trip when we try it on.

3 other times were just totally random.

Would this be a cause of concern for a fairly modern house? Dont really know how i would start to troubleshoot, or if this is concerning enough that i should be getting a sparkie to check

Thanks.

I had noticed this crack a while ago and when I noticed it had got worse I looked in the crack and can see rusting steel. Anyone DIY repaired this?

Not sure what caused it to begin with
From what I have researched I need to remove all loose concrete, remove any rust off the steel and then re concrete over it

​Kia ora,

​I currently have an old downdraft hob in my kitchen that is reaching the end of its life and needs to be replaced.

​When looking into replacements, I noticed that modern hobs with built-in/integrated downdraft extractors are surprisingly expensive. Since my kitchen layout was built around having a downdraft setup (no ceiling hood above the counter), I’m trying to figure out what my best options are without breaking the bank.

​I’d love to get some advice or hear from anyone who has dealt with this:

​Integrated Downdraft Hobs: Are there any reliable budget or mid-range brands out there for integrated extractor hobs that aren't astronomical in price? Trade depot had some but they are all sold out. The cheapest I can find is circa $2700.

​Pop-up / Countertop Downdraft Extractors: Would it be cheaper to buy a standard induction/electric hob and install a separate telescoping/pop-up downdraft extractor behind it? Has anyone done this retroactively?

​Alternative Solutions: Has anyone successfully swapped from a downdraft setup to an overhead ceiling extractor and get effective extraction from this? It is quite a distance and would need to have control input from the hob.

​For context, my current setup ducts out beneath the bench see photos.

​Any recommendations on brands, alternative layouts, or clever workarounds would be massively appreciated!

​Thanks in advance!

My apt has three balconies. I would like to open the windows on these further than the restrictors allow. Can I legally remove these ?

I am unsure if I understand the rules correctly I have found in "Compliance Document for New Zealand Building Code Clause F4 - Safety from Falling – Second Edition":

4.0.1 Where the possible height of fall is 1.0 m or more, measured from the adjacent floor level, windows that open shall have:

a) The lower edge of the opening no less than 760 mm above floor level, or

b) A window opening restrictor fitted to limit the maximum dimension of the opening to 460 mm, or

c) A 760 mm high barrier located in front ofthe window.

I am assuming that, in the case of a balcony, the "possible height of fall" is 0, so no limiters are required. Furthermore, my third bedroom without a balcony has a window at 850mm. It appears like a limiter is not required here either?

Bonus question: is so, why do all these famously overheating new builds have these limiters installed where they are not required? It seems like such a no-brainer to remove them. I grew up in a country with lots of medium density housing. Our windows opened, and nobody fell to their death.

Hi all, I'm looking for a painter to come through for a small job in a wellington suburb (painting window frames after window replacement). Any recommendations for someone who did a quality job for you and seemed reasonable?

Hi all, any advice appreciated.

Looking to build a similar carport in Central Otago.

From my understanding we need to use a Chartered Professional Engineer to carry out or review the design work OR a LBP to construct it.

Is there someone in NZ that sells approved plans for such a build?

The reason being, we're on a tight budget and for what it would serve, can't justify getting someone in to build it.

Cheers

Morning DIY-ers,

Not specifically DIY but home improvement - mods please remove if not appropriate.

Gathering quotes to price out what it'd cost to get double glazing retro-fitted in our 1920's villa, some lead-lighting in the front that we want to protect as well (have seen that they essentially sandwich those panes). St Albans area in Christchurch.

Anyone have any companies they have used and would recommend?

I’m looking for recommendations in the Waikato to get some piles added underneath our house. Also what the average price range of something like this would be.

Thank you

Bought a house early in the year. The two bathrooms are beside each other, and both the inline exhaust fans sit right on top of my lounge. It’s pretty loud.

I presume they’re just whatever generic fan the sparky picked up in 2017.

Is it worth going to a “silent” fan? Seems like it’d be $500+ to do them both, so would want to know that they’re actually going to be substantially quieter, and that they’re not just achieving that by reducing airflow. Any recommendations?

Looks like 150mm, and they have sockets in the roof space for ease of install.

We’re removing our old fireplace and would like to sell it. I’ve heard some people take pride in restoring them? I’ve got no idea what it’s worth and it’s hard to find comparable listings online. Anyone know much about these or can shed some guidance? Based in Auckland

Best way to patch up cracked weatherboards without needing to replace? In this instance it's cracked close to the corner, which I don't think is the actual mitre.

Sand, fill and paint?

Building my bathroom which will 'end' with a bath. Please correct my thinking if needed but the plan is to frame then Aqualine making a room about 2mm wider than the bath is long. Bath in place with silicone then tape so I can then add a liner (2 sided liner then the far 'short' wall in another waterproof piece) to also silicone + liner glue in with overhang on the bath lip.

Any pointers or thoughts?

Hi were removing wallpaper in our house, has anyone used the accent pigment sealer? To seal the adhesive after removing wallpaper there Is quite a big price difference between that and resene sureseal

Hi all,

Complete novice here (gotta start somewhere!)

I'm tiling our front steps. I've just ground down the old concrete but I'm a bit stuck at the landing. The edges on the two sides and at the door go up on a 45ish degree angle but the lengths from top to bottom of the slope are different on each side by approx 10mm.

I ground of the edges okay (ish) on two sides but this side, which has the biggest slope, I've made a real dogs breakfast of, the one in the pic. I'm not sure what the best approach is when it comes to tiling this area. Fill the gaps with adhesive and lay tiles at a 45 degree angle or try to grind the sloped edges to 90 degrees and tile like that or something completely different?

Hopefully the picture makes it clear. Yes I know the gouges are not good lol first time on an angle grinder. Definitely going in to clean it up following advice from here.

Thank you!

Kia ora

Pushing forward with a dishwasher install, now I’m wondering how much space is needed behind it

Depth is 600mm from the wall to the edge of the bench, 575mm to edge of cabinet door

Really what I’m wondering is if a freestanding dishwasher would work or if I need to work with a built under dishwasher as they aren’t as deep

Cheers!

Moved into this house with wet shower on suite, 1st time having tiled shower. After a year and putting off the job to reapply the silicone due to black mould, noticed after cutting out silicone that it was still damp at the back. The other pieces I cut out only had surface mould and not all the way around.

Main concern its been leaking back there, is there another water proof later or is that the silicone?

Sorry the pictures aren't great, bit hard to get right in.

Cheers

I live in the upstairs unit of a two story 1960s building. The flooring is the original 1960s tongue and groove native timber. I want to replace the entire subfloor with chipboard or ply to improve the soundproofing between the units. The old floorboards have gaps and cracks which is pretty bad for noise. I'm sure the downstairs neighbours would appreciate not hearing creaky floorboards too.

Does anyone have an idea of what sort of cost I would be looking at if I hire someone? The house is 80m2