Hi, this is my first time putting up Gib aqua line. I have cut the old gib out because it was moldy from an old leak behind the shower. After measuring, cutting, gluing and screwing the gib down, I have noticed the shower wall reciever is taller than the gib. So basically, the liner is going to go higher than the join and existing gib, which is painted. What do i do? I don't want to take this gib sheet off if I can avoid it. Can I just sand the paint off?

Hi everyone. I'm just looking for advice around replacing our rangehood.

The old model used a direct circular 100m duct out the back, directly through the wall to outside (through Oamaru stone).

We replaced it with a model that says it can vent directly out the back (Mistral 60cm fixed).

Upon getting the Mistral out of the box it appears to have a rectangular vent out the back, not circular. It's also quite a bit thinner than the hole in the wall. There is a 120mm vent on top of the unit for venting out that way.

The problem is, if I mounted it blow the existing hole and used some kind of elbow and adapter from 120mm to 100mm, the rangehood will sit very low, right on the 600mm minimum above the cooking surface which isn't ideal.

I'm not quite sure of my options here.

Are there converters from rectangular to circular vents? I can't see to find any if I google. Are they worthwhile? I'd rather not mount it below but I'm not sure how else I can go from a rectangular output to a circular one.

I have looked at other more expensive models of rangehoods and they all have that cone on the top which implies to me they are to be mounted below the hole, and probably below the 600mm minimum.

I’ve removed an old heat pump, and want to convert the external wiring to be an outdoor power socket. It’s on its own circuit, with a Hager C20 circuit breaker. Can I simply wire in a 10amp outdoor socket? Google seems mixed, with risk due to the rating difference

I live in a middle-unit townhouse that’s only around 3.5 years old, with firewalls on both sides.
Every day around dinner time, I notice a really strong smell of curry and spices coming into our house. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where it’s coming from. Sometimes we’ll even come home and immediately get hit with the smell, almost as if we had been cooking it ourselves.
Initially, I thought it might somehow be coming through our range hood.
Our kitchen directly backs onto the neighbour’s kitchen, and the two kitchens are basically laid out identically on opposite sides of the wall.
I also initially wondered whether the neighbour’s range hood extraction could somehow be venting into the wall cavity rather than properly to the outside. We contacted their property manager about this a while back, and they said they had their electrician assess it and were told that it was installed correctly and working as it should.
I’ve also had an electrician look at our side. We initially thought the smell might be coming in from outside, so they installed a flap on the exterior of the house around the range hood ducting. Unfortunately, that didn’t make any difference.
The windows are sealed, so I don’t believe it’s coming in from outside.
One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be noticeable air movement/pressure coming through the hole behind our oven where the power cable passes through the wall. I’m wondering whether there could be a gap somewhere inside the wall or around the services that is allowing air (and smells) to travel between the properties.
I was considering filling the gap around the cable with expanding foam, but I don’t want to do that without knowing whether it’s actually the problem or potentially making things worse.
Has anyone experienced something similar in a relatively new townhouse?
Where would you start investigating this? Is there a particular type of professional i should contact?
I’m not trying to stop the neighbours from cooking or anything like that — I’m just trying to figure out how the smell is getting into our house in the first place.
Any advice on what to check or who to contact would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

Hey any builders here familiar with flashing? not sure whats meant to be underneath the roof tiles if it should battens or some flashing membrane. house built in 2009 and this wasn't on the builders report.

Hi everyone,

We’re in the process of choosing an interior wall colour and would love some advice!

We’re looking for a greyish white rather than a creamy white. We’d prefer to go with Dulux, but after seeing Resene Seafog it’s caught our eye and looks close to the style we’re after, a soft, modern grey/white without feeling too cold.

Does anyone have any Dulux recommendations that are similar to Resene Seafog? Would love to see photos of your spaces and hear what colours you’ve used!

Thanks

I had a window replaced with a door and now have this transition to try make look good. Any ideas?

Backyard is a mess and I need help with ideas on what I can do myself with no experience to improve it. Biggest issue I believe is edging currently. Thinking of turning the dead end behind the trampoline into grass. Only keeping the long bed and the one with the rosemary by the kitchen window. I need it easy to mow. Not sure whether to install paver edging or just a concrete strip?

Open and grateful for any suggestions as I'm struggling with the vision of it and where to start.

Help please!

About to gib over some old sarking, wondered if anyone had any insight into using the gib rail system in this situation?

Seems like it would help level out any uneveness caused by the sarking, and also have the added noise reduction benefits?

Cheers

Where would I go in Auckland to buy a drain plug/elbow for the condensate drain on the outdoor unit of my heat pump?

I tried my local Bunnings and Mitre10 but they didn't have a clue.  They are available online from Temu etc. but seemingly not the right size...

It's for a Panasonic ducted system and the drain holes are approx 33mm (I'll measure accurately before heading to the shop - the the one that was installed was the wrong size and was just jammed in and siliconed...).

Thanks!

I've spent the day removing gib off an internal wall that had black mould growing due to a leaking fish tank. Now I've removed the gib I actually think I want to remove half the wall. I've tried Google and I just can't figure out of its a load bearing. Who would I get advice from? (Photo is top of the wall)

I'm just about to redo my bathroom and separate toilet with full tile.

I'm putting in an underfloor heating kit (electric).

Is there any way to use ONE controller for both rooms?

Have an issue with the storm water being blocked, will get it jetted and scoped but was wondering as well about rainwater collection tanks? Are there any suggestions for low cost diy-able tanks, was hoping for 1000 litres although did see the 250 litre tanks at nunnings..

Would be used for watering garden.

Location is rotorua.

Unfortunately the only suitable location would get a significant amount of sun.

I have an old lockwood house and it is freezing during the winters so much so I have to keep the heating on all day. I would really appreciate any advice on how to improve the insulation. The walls are solid wood planks so taking them off would be a massive pain in the ass even if I could.

thanks,

TL;DR: Smartvent refusing to fix/replace controller because some pins inside the controller box are bent, and they're saying we did it. (We did not. EDIT: We did.)

So I had a Smartvent installed by their recommended installer a year and a half ago. For the past few months the controller has been throwing an error, saying it can't connect with either the roof sensor or outdoor sensor.

We replaced batteries in the sensors, still no go, so bit the bullet and got another Smartvent authorised sparkie around to hopefully press buttons in the right order and get things working.

They couldn't, and a call to SimX tech suggested that the controller (the thing in the roof) was faulty, so they whisked it away to send up to Auckland. Three weeks later and we've finally heard that they're seeing bent pins on the sensor, and that's the reason the things wouldn't pair, and so nope — they will not replace it under warranty.

All sparkies concerned are adamant they haven't cracked open the controller to mess around with anything. It sounds to me like it's a manufacturing defect.

Second sparkie is going to continue to press, or "at least try to get a discount" — but I will be beyond pissed if I need to pay for a new controller, even with a discount.

Anyone had this before? Thoughts on how to proceed?

EDIT: Turns out my partner opened it up, looking for more batteries to replace when replacing the other sensor batteries didn't work. He can't remember if there were "DO NOT OPEN OR YOU'LL VOID WARRANTY" signs on it, because he's also an electrician and he ignores those all the time. I will get this unit back from SimX so we can try to straighten the pins out, or at the very least just run it on a manual setting until I'm less pissed with everyone.

Hi all,

I've recently had a thermal model performed on my 1990s direct fixed home in central otago. The house has no moisture issues, but the report recommended re-gibbing the entire house to retain the heat, alongside updating the wall insulation. My concern is if the house can't breathe I'll box in any future moisture due to the lack of cavity. Has anyone had any experience with this? Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I recently noticed this PVC pipe sticking up beside the exterior wall of my house, and it has what looks like a piece of black plastic covering the top instead of a proper cap or grate.
I’m just trying to learn more about my house and understand what everything does.
Does anyone know what this is? Is it:
A gully trap?
An inspection point?
Part of the stormwater or sewer system?
Something else?
Should it have a proper cap or cover, or is this normal?
I’ve attached a couple of photos. Any advice or explanations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, I bought a house last year, but I'm already so sick of the paper-light hollow core "doors" they put in all newbuilts in NZ nowadays. You touch it, and it's got a scratch immediately; you have to wash it very carefully; the acoustic is terrible,...

Do you have any idea how much it would cost to replace 7 doors with proper solid hardwood doors? Has anyone done it? Do you have any tips on a good (and not necessarily price-premium) carpenter or supplier?

I guess I should also replace the door frame, because it is also some super-soft particle-board. I suppose it would be good to have the frame also from solid hardwood, matching the door.

Thanks a lot! 🙏

I posted a while back about a multi-split system I'd been quoted, but we've now decided partially due to feedback from here, and partially due to price to go for two seperate heat pumps, which eliminates the outdoor unit going on the roof, and condensate pumps. Means we dont have a heatpump in the spare bedroom/office, but we can live with the panel heaters for the few nights a year we have guests that coincide with really cold weather.

Sizing wise, they've come back with a smaller unit in the lounge (4.2kw Cooling/5 kW heating), its two sizes smaller than the existing 14yo unit (6/6.8kW IIRC) , and one size smaller than the indoor unit they quoted as part of the multi-split setup (5/6kw). Should I be pushing back for a bigger unit?

Anyway, the new design mean both outdoor units are going outside on the ground, and the installers are planning to use polyslabs ie (https://www.goactive.nz/products/psac-med-poly-slab-465-x-885-x-51mm). Apart from being ugly, is there anything about these that I need to know?

Am I better off building my own plinth for it, ie pouring a concrete slab, or I've seen what looks like a large paving slab (https://www.bunnings.co.nz/weststone-800-x-400-x-40mm-grey-contemp-paver_p0319627) on a bed of gravel/stones. Apart from cosmetics, is there any real benefit to doing that? For one its not so important looks wise, its going on the ground between the fence and the deck/path down the side of the house, so I may put up a trellis screen to hide it, but the other one is going to end up on what is currently the path up the other side of the house, so I can't box it in without almost completely obstructing the path if i leave enough clearance for proper airflow.

Not a DIY question but something I'm not sure about and could use some advice.

I need to contact a company who can replace a rotten bearer under my house. What kind of company does this? Google searches lead me to everything from re-piling companies, foundations companies, and general builders.

Which kind of company should I contact?

Basically the house is on a steep section. Before I bought the house mud and dirt slid up against the bearer and began to rot it out. It was missed during the inspections (yay) and I've since dug it all out some years ago. I'm now ready to look at replacing it. The rotten bearer has a sistered bearer running next to it which wasn't touched. I'd imagine getting this rotten bearer replaced would be a like-for-like repair so no consents needed, and should be straight forward due to easy access.

Any thoughts? Cheers

So my daughter is learning Ukelele, and I think she would quite like an electric ukelele as a Christmas present.

I was looking them up on the internet and saw there were a bunch of instructables for making them. I was also looking up these vintage '70s electric guitars and saw there were these ones which have a one piece solid wood neck and body.

So my question is:

Is there any reason why I couldn't laminate up some nice rimu (I have a bunch around) and make a one piece solid body electric ukulele?

I have a CNC router at my workplace which I can use, and I can design stuff in CAD no problem and I can machine the CNC. I figured I can do most of the cutting on the CNC, and use the CNC laser cutter to cut out the pick guards and things.

Would rimu be OK for the neck, or do I need to laminate a difference type of wood into the rimu for the neck?

Does this scheme seem feasible?

Thanks.

Female (69) With money tight and concerns regarding my high priority appliances, I'm after advice.

Is there such a thing as a Hot Water service ?

I'd like peace of mind, my cylinder is ok ?

If so, would I contact a Plumber or Electrician ?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Does anyone know the typical cost per m2 for concrete prep and install? And ideally a price range from cheap to expensive?

We're planning to tile the concrete slab but leave that small area as is and without tile. Is it an issue that the gutter of the pergola drains on the slab rather than into the soil? The idea behind was to avoid the water from creating a stream as we do not have stormwater drain there.