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Tobias Ashby

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A new video every Sunday: one job on the house, what it took and what it cost.

November 2026

5 videos

  1. Setting the hall floor tiles

    Hexagonal tiles laid over a levelled floor in the hall: three weekends, 40 hours and $1,420 in all.

    Hands setting hexagonal floor tiles

  2. Restoring the front room fireplace

    Stripping the paint from the surround and relining the grate: two weekends and $640.

    A finished living room with a restored fireplace

  3. Fitting the shaker kitchen

    Eleven cabinets, a worktop and a sink in six weekends: 120 hours and $8,900, the biggest job so far.

    A finished kitchen with shaker cabinets

  4. Skimming the living room walls

    A first go at plastering over old lining paper: four evenings, 24 hours and $210.

    Tobias skimming plaster on a wall

  5. Marking and cutting skirting boards

    Measuring each wall twice and cutting the corners to fit: 8 hours and $180 in timber.

    Hands marking a skirting board with a pencil

October 2026

2 videos

  1. Sanding the pine doors

    Four doors taken back to bare wood and oiled: 30 hours and $95.

    Hands sanding a pine door frame

  2. Stripping three layers of wallpaper

    Soaking and scraping the hall walls down to plaster: 14 hours and $35.

    Hands scraping old wallpaper off a wall

September 2026

3 videos

  1. Treating the damp patch in the hall

    Cutting back the old render, letting the wall dry for a month and sealing it: 10 hours and $160.

    A restored hallway with patterned floor tiles

  2. Painting the living room ceiling

    Two coats of white on a ceiling I should have done first: six hours and $85.

    A finished living room with a restored fireplace

  3. Painting the kitchen walls

    Two coats on bare plaster before the cabinets went in: nine hours and $90.

    Tobias skimming plaster on a wall

August 2026

1 video

  1. Cutting four new window sills

    Four sills cut from oak, fitted and oiled: 20 hours and $310.

    Hands sanding a pine door frame

The Snag List

A short letter every Sunday: what I did on the house this week, what it cost and the small job I left undone.

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