Bodges you’ve seen.
Discussion
Darkslider said:
505diff said:
Very common in 1930’s houses, just a rug in the middle of the room with the outer area stained
If you put it into context then I suppose it might have meant a little half pint tin of varnish would have stretched to doing the whole house, rather than all being used up on one room. Perhaps a sobering insight into what it really meant to be cash strapped circa 100 years ago rather than an amusing 'not my job' incident.The norm was a square/rectangular piece of carpet in the middle of the room and then paint or varnish to the walls.
The same applied to stairs, often only the centre 1/3 was carpet, with the rest paint.
skinnyman said:
In our first house the previous owners had built a garage and remodelled the garden at some point. The garage had 3 strip lights, 6 double plugs, and an outside plug. They also had 4 garden lights, and a 1600W outdoor patio heater on the wall. All of this, was spurred off a double socket in the kitchen, which also powered the washing machine and fridge freezer.
The best part? He was a sparky.
Sounds like I bought your house!!!The best part? He was a sparky.
Found something very similar in our house recently, it felt good to strip it all out and start again but so much work involved.
505diff said:
miroku1 said:
Darkslider said:
Think that used to be quite common was it when people didn’t have fitted carpets but a rug of some kind ?
Not a bodge, it's just what everybody did before wall-to-wall fitted carpets were common.
thebraketester said:
Alan535 said:
blingybongy said:
Do you recall what the people were saying ?looks like the woman is angry?
Best one I saw was a house advertised locally as a 4 bed. It was almost identical to the house we lived in, couldn't see how they had gained the extra bedroom but we were curious enough to go and have a look. We needed the space after all so a move to a similarly priced 4 bed would have been ideal.
Got there. It's the same type of house as ours in every way, same layout downstairs etc, no extensions we could see. So where was the mystery fourth bedroom?
You know how some houses have built in wardrobes back to back in adjoining bedrooms with an airing cupboard at the front? They knocked those out to build one long, thin, lightless internal corridor and at the end of it was a cot. It was about a foot wider than this cot. This was the mysterious fourth bedroom. We left. Unsure whether child became Harry Potter.
Got there. It's the same type of house as ours in every way, same layout downstairs etc, no extensions we could see. So where was the mystery fourth bedroom?
You know how some houses have built in wardrobes back to back in adjoining bedrooms with an airing cupboard at the front? They knocked those out to build one long, thin, lightless internal corridor and at the end of it was a cot. It was about a foot wider than this cot. This was the mysterious fourth bedroom. We left. Unsure whether child became Harry Potter.
Brilliant thread - some amazing bodges!
One of my friends was renovating a tenement flat in Glasgow a few years ago. The living room carpet was a little 'bouncy'. Turns out there were 7 carpets laid over each other and when he finally got down to the floorboards he discovered a mummified cat stuck underneath the floor. He reckoned they'd just kept on adding carpets to get rid of the smell.
One of my friends was renovating a tenement flat in Glasgow a few years ago. The living room carpet was a little 'bouncy'. Turns out there were 7 carpets laid over each other and when he finally got down to the floorboards he discovered a mummified cat stuck underneath the floor. He reckoned they'd just kept on adding carpets to get rid of the smell.
Not me, but a mate of mine; My knowledge and experience of building are NIL - my mate's - less that that.
We were looking at one of the tiled bathroom walls in his newly acquired house - "What do you think"? he asked.
I noticed an edge of what turned out to be wood-chip wallpaper, I gave it a tweak - and all the tiles - the entire wall came down as one sheet.
Why are people this sh!t at hanging wallpaper? - common, it isn't that difficult!
We were looking at one of the tiled bathroom walls in his newly acquired house - "What do you think"? he asked.
I noticed an edge of what turned out to be wood-chip wallpaper, I gave it a tweak - and all the tiles - the entire wall came down as one sheet.
Why are people this sh!t at hanging wallpaper? - common, it isn't that difficult!
skinnyman said:
In our first house the previous owners had built a garage and remodelled the garden at some point. The garage had 3 strip lights, 6 double plugs, and an outside plug. They also had 4 garden lights, and a 1600W outdoor patio heater on the wall. All of this, was spurred off a double socket in the kitchen, which also powered the washing machine and fridge freezer.
The best part? He was a sparky.
Lived in a student house which had a lean to extension off the back. Somebody had plumbed in the washing machine there and one day, when it went onto the spin cycle, there was a flash and a bang as a streak of flame went up the wall. On further investigation it turns out the owner had wired in a socket off a spur in the kitchen using...The best part? He was a sparky.
....2 core bell wire.
Triumph Man said:
Joyrider1 said:
This was one of my particular favourite 'discoveries' in my house:
(condensed house renovation thread here for further bodges found: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
You'd be suprised how often I see that (condensed house renovation thread here for further bodges found: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
This bodge was on holiday at a rather swanky hotel for a special occasion
On an external light fitting - no chance of water ingress, given it was also on the edge of the sea...
and the 'spacer' used behind the outside wall light on our house - my mate is a sparky who was fixing the light and confessed he had never seen a 5p piece (across the face) as a spacer before, don't you hate that walk back to your van to get something you need when you can dig around your pockets to see what turns up !
Back in 1989 we bought a posh house from a retired colonel (something to do with signals)
in the main bedroom some very thin 2 core was poking out from under the carpet.
Splayed in a V and stripped back about an inch.
When we removed the carpet, this wire went to the centre of the room and then under the floor boards.
On lifting the board, it then went just over the top of a takeaway type foil container and was fixed about half inch from the top'
this was underneath a joint in a central heating pipe that had a very slow drip.
We could only assume that rather than get the leak fixed, he'd measure the resistance on the cable every week or so
and when the level came up to the top of the foil container he'd move the furniture, lift the carpet and floorboard, empty it, and then
put it all back till next time.
He was a lovely old character, when I was trying to haggle the price of the house down he said,
"if you haven't got enough I'll lend it to you
from a retired colonel (something to do with signals)in the main bedroom some very thin 2 core was poking out from under the carpet.
Splayed in a V and stripped back about an inch.
When we removed the carpet, this wire went to the centre of the room and then under the floor boards.
On lifting the board, it then went just over the top of a takeaway type foil container and was fixed about half inch from the top'
this was underneath a joint in a central heating pipe that had a very slow drip.
We could only assume that rather than get the leak fixed, he'd measure the resistance on the cable every week or so
and when the level came up to the top of the foil container he'd move the furniture, lift the carpet and floorboard, empty it, and then
put it all back till next time.
He was a lovely old character, when I was trying to haggle the price of the house down he said,
"if you haven't got enough I'll lend it to you
technodup said:
This was found in a friend's house...
Loft conversions are easy aren't they? Basically just an extra staircase?
The best bit was that this was added by the tenant that had been renting it from my friend...
The 'bedrooms' were as bad as you might expect.
who's that for, tibbles the cat?Loft conversions are easy aren't they? Basically just an extra staircase?
The best bit was that this was added by the tenant that had been renting it from my friend...
The 'bedrooms' were as bad as you might expect.
Got called once to a "make electrics safe", landlord of a flat got a call from the guy downstairs b1tching him out for not having the curtesy to warn him of his building works... he was like WTF, zipped over to find his tenants on the 4th floor of a block of flats had decided to go open-plan by removing a 9' load bearing wall, got stopped JIT and building had to be evac before structural could assess it.
Few of mine from the last couple years, might seem trivial but some pretty dangerous and rectification in many cases was painful:
personal ragebait - use oversized 1.5mm (and tell me theirs is therefore "better" than my work) then jam it in a too-shallow box. Earthing optional, works without.
Every electrical connection in this house made by screwing through the insulation rather than stripping ends. Beginning of a basket case, called by tenants as many lights flickering, but ended up with the landlord aggressively trying inform me this was good/ok practice. Classic case of a very well finished house in expensive street with $$$$ everything and looked really pukka on the surface, but everything installed by unskilled presumably cheap fkwits.
I call this one "because plumber". (An extended collection). Although it would have taken 2 seconds and a functioning brain to move wire first.
My brand new electrical work I'm ashamed to say, my fault of course for expecting the plumber to brain.
Make sure you earth the continuity post when installing sockets, kids.
not many sparks realise this but shed supplies are exempt from nonsense like circuit protection, not to worry about the man spading a 100 amp non RCD cable in your back garden.
Impressive junction, no need to waste money on enclosures.
Backbox enclosures, 100 years and counting of wasting money 50p at a time.
you can switch the neutral right it'll work the same. forget earth too it wont stop it working.
I say whats this, hiding in a wall
My my its a junction box
The destruction caused because barrybodgit thought a couple of quid in cable was a bit of an extravagance when you can just join+plastery over.
pub in my home town literally collapsed due to too much bodgery , they removed floors and walls to make best use of the premises and cram as many punters as they could in there , but went a bit too far and it all collapsed
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-17319203
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-17319203
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