Home DIY

Anyone thinking of re-designing their kitchen themselves, like me. This is pretty interesting..

http://starcraftcustombuilders.com/kitchen.design.rules.htm#.WJOhP1OLTIU

Richlite is an interesting board too.

Noice

But ridiculously pricey.

Is this still available?

So I've just noticed that on my front windows on the (outside) wooden sill it looks like there's some orange spherical fungal growths pushing up through the paint. I'm guessing along with all the other bodging the previous owners did they just painted over the wet wood or something and it's starting to come through. Strip back and treat with a fungicide or is this likely to be something more serious?

Could it be just resin seeping out from the knogs in the wood?

Don't think so - has the definite look of something you'd find growing on a log in the woods.

Knots sealer or knotting solution is most likely solution.
The Knots are very oily parts of the wood and seep resin for along time.

Sound like dry rot from your description

Hi I also hate MDF at the best of times but where it shines is exactly as you've described and perhaps a desk top, if your using 20mm you should be more than fine, there are better woods out there for book shelving but if you are painting it, then bit of a waste using a good wood, perhaps before you paint try some other finishes you may be pleasantly surprised, personally I wouldn't paint it because you will lose the smooth finish MDF already has, I know I would much rather re oil/wax this than repaint in the future. good luck

Thanks littleK. I'll see what the chap fitting it recommends this weekend. Cheers!

An actual DIY question. In my current flat I have an IKEA PAX wardrobe setup which I quite like and it works well for all our clothes - I built it up as a fitted wardrobe with external shelving down on side so I can't remove it.

We are moving to a new place this weekend and we can't take the fitted PAX with us. So, I want to install another one. But, the alcove its going into is 184cm and the double pax system we currently have is 200cm. Would I be crazy to take a 16cm deep piece out of the back/top/side of it so it sort of overlaps the alcove edge? I can make sure there are no drawers in that section as that wouldn't work.

If not where does one find other wardrobe systems that don't get McSpendy.

I reckon as long as you plan it well enough and like the product already, crack on. If you fuck it up, they are pick'n'mix parts so you should be able to get replacement panels/parts easily enough.

We have two massive PAX jobbies connected side by side so there are two double sliding doors. All the storage and really flexible where we both wanted different drawer/hanger combinations. Also the whole thing was less than about £1,200. Put them together during the Japan v South Africa game of the last world cup so was slightly distracted to say the least and they haven't fallen down yet.

If you've already built them then you'll have a good idea of the order of assembly so should be able to tell which bits you can get away with cutting.

@airhead @dbr I bought a sheet of Richlite to replace a section in my kitchen - I love the stuff, but as you say it is very expensive. Came to about 400 quid for a 12mm 8x4 sheet once VAT and delivery came into account. It's also really, REALLY heavy.
But if you compare it to other materials you use for surfaces such as granite or corian, then suddenly it makes sense. I've still got a large section I'm looking for ideas for.
(there are alternatives to richlite which may be cheaper - paperstone's the same thing, I think, and there's something from Switzerland whose name escapes me which sounded very similar)

This is what I'm working on at home at the moment..

Progress - hard to take good pics when all the furniture's up the other end of the room! . . . . . . . . #plywood #furnituredesign #woodworking #interiordesign #cnc

A photo posted by Themoderncarpenter (@themoderncarpenter) on Feb 5, 2017 at 2:22am PST

My first large scale adventure in CNC stuff. There's a few things I'd do differently - none of which you can pick up on in this shitty pic. Will post better detail shots once I've finished the carcases, and again once I've made the doors and drawers. Fun, but hard work.

edit: apologies for the instagram hashtaggy link; i just assumed it would bring the pic in on its own. never mind.

i need to replace a few bricks and repair some cracked mortar in an external (solid) wall. the house is over 100 years old. Will this mortar mix be ok to use?

That typical mortar mix is ok, but is concrete-based which is more suitable for certain applications. Concrete is stiff and very adherent, unlike lime which is more forgiving and generally permits more movement.

Is it an easily visible wall? For mine, I used a colour-matched lime mortar mix which I ordered online.

Yeah, it was the concrete content i was worried about. I wondered how much of an issue it may be.

Where did you get the lime mortar mix from?

http://www.lime-mortars.co.uk/lime-mortar

sweet, thanks

We are replacing the flooring in our flat. Chap came over and had a look so he could give us an accurate quote and he mentioned replacing the skirting boards throughout. It doesn't seem that expensive but is it worth it?
The flat is a 2 bed around 70sqm.

Yes.
Because who wants ornate shit when you can have low height plain MDF skirting.

I have received a quote for replacing a window from an established (founded in 1999) however they want £300 upfront. Is that usual?

Have you seen my skirting boards?