Minor repairs to rental house on the cheap

(insert name)

I'm moving out of my rented house in the next month and just want to tidy up a few bits for deposit purposes. The pullcord in the bathroom has come away from the box on the electric shower switch and for the past few months we just turned it off and on from the switch in the fuse box.

The bathroom must have been tiled after the electric shower was put in as there was an area cut out of a tile and filled with grout around the box :rolleyes:. Anyways i got it off and removed the casing. All the stuff is on the front of the switch leaving an empty box but i couldnt see any obvious way to reattach the cord so I think it needs replacement.

I don't want to call a plumber/electrician for such a small job so I'll have a crack myself but i have a few questions on the matter:

• Can I buy just the cover with the cord for the box OR if i have to buy the pair can i keep the existing box(i.e. same screw layouts)? (I would have to bust a tile to get the existing on off)

• Is it as simple as turning off the witch in the fuse box and copying the existing setup? All the experience I have is wiring a plug but in fairness this does seem to be very similar...

• Is the part I need readily available in hardware shops or should i go to a builders providers/electrical wholesaler place?

• If both of the above would hae it would i be better off trying a builders providers to get a better price?

The bathroom is poorly ventilated (no fan) so over the cold winter just past we didnt bother opening the windows while showering resulting in a mouldy roof.

• How best to was this off? I'm thinking a bleachy solution and a mop followed by leaving the door and windows open for a day or so followed by a lick of paint

• Its only a cheap fix and the landlady admitted that mould had to be painted over before so i only care about how it looks on an inspection. Can I use any old white paint left over from doing a bedroom or what? does it need to be special bathroom/ceiling paint?

• Would a glossy finish be preferable to matte in terms of condensation?

I also need to remove some heavy enough scuffing on a few walls - shoe marks from getting into the attic with no ladder and the results of a high-kicking contest etc...

• would soap any water do the job or would i need a stronger solvent?

• Are the magic sponges you see any good?

Finally, we had a deep fat fryer in the place which has kinda stunk up the house. Is there any way of getting rid of the hum of chips from the place besides opening windows and febreezing the fuck out of the place?

yoshytoshy

You don't need to fix the shower cord or ceiling ,they are part of normal wear and tear.

I wouldn't worry about decorating either ,theres certain things a landlord has to do anyway.

AckwelFoley

Id love a tenant like you!

I wouldnt bother replacing it, as said its normal wear and tear, and as a landlord myself, i wouldnt expect my tennants to have to do that.

If you insist, just by a switch and replace it..

I dont recommend people that are not qualified electricians or at the least compitent with electrics to do it... But if you are, do it during the day time, turn off the main breaker (killing all power to the house) doing this will prevent accidently turning off the wrong one and killing yourself!

(insert name)

Well, a few times she was over she saw plates with mould and stuff and commented on the mess a bit and she seems to be a bit of a control freak so we think sheslooking for excuses to dock us...

There are a few things else wrong so we're really trying to minimise the deposit loss. the shower cord broke from excessivve force - it wasnt frayed/rotted nd one or 2 walls are very bad. For example the white kickboard on my built in wardrobe has a few tippex and sellotape joins on it (hey nobody noticed so far)

I just thought if we do a few cheap fixes the place wont look as bad and we'd get more back. the ideas in the 1st post should only cost about 20 quid but would really improve the look of the place.

michael999999

ill do the painting for you for 160 a day,thats the recession price.let me know if your interested.