Home DIY

Plasterboard - any tips?

Going to start making the attic a bit prettier if I'm going to be working in it a lot.

Currently there are roof tiles / covered in some kind of plastic sheeting and then the diagonal rafters on either side of our sloped roof. Velux on one side.

The previous, previous owner put a couple of plasterboard sections on some parts of the rafters. I'd like to finish the job then paint matte black. I'd also like some steel pipe running lengthways along the ridge - it's a terrace, so from next door to next door so I can use it as a truss for lights / frames etc.

Is there anything I should be aware of with the plasterboard - supported weights to hang at that angle etc? Also is there anything I will regret not being able to access? Should I insulate etc etc?

It's VERY hot up there at the moment.

I'm going to cover the windows with cinefoil (black tin foil) to control light. Maybe on a magnetic frame or something so I can have daylight when I want it but blackout when I'm shooting.

Anything I can do about the exposed struts? I kind of like them for rigging stuff, too but any common ways of making them less lethal for a 6'5"er?

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The black stuff looks like filter material. Is there a fan unit in the box?

Couldn't see one, but didn't try and open it up. Will take a closer look at the weekend. There were no obvious markings, or switches/power going to it.

(Caveat - this is all guesswork)

The beam / rsj / joist combo looks like it would be difficult to use PIR & plasterboard, and still have sufficient ventilation.

It looks like you could insulate the knee wall with PIR too (with sufficient ventilation to enable unimpeded airflow from eaves overhang to eaves overhang).

Insulated plasterboard might work over the rafters, or plasterboard over insulation blanket.

Plasterboard should be self supporting upside-down if you have it attached off the correct centres (the product spec sheets should have the details)

If that's a Velux, they do like to magnify the heat - After-market (external) awning blinds have some positive impact.

Foam pipe lagging on the big beams?

If that's a Velux, they do like to magnify the heat - After-market (external) awning blinds have some positive impact.

I'd go for something like this instead... especially as it doesn't matter if people can't see in.

We had one in our house when we moved in. It was to help reduce condensation. Our one had a powered fan. We removed the unit and filled the hole.

We had some damp work done and they quoted to replace it with something like this;

https://www.permagard.co.uk/perma-vent-standard

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Anything I can do about the exposed struts? I kind of like them for rigging stuff too but any common ways of making them less lethal for a 6'5"er?

Not paint them matte black?

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I've been circular sawing up big sheets of ply today. It's got some kind of white coating which I assumed was melamine or just plastic but it might have some kind of fibres in because it's kind of irritating literally. Anyone know what it might be? The panels might have been transit panels at one point

Plumbing! My new (gas) boiler works in such a way that when i open the taps (mixer) it's either on and hot, or off an cold - there's no in-between/regulation tap-side.

Is this likely due to not having a thermostatic valve in the taps?
Or is this inherent to a certain kind of boiler (this one, it's in Polish, sorry)

You wouldn't expect the boiler to do the temperature regulation (other than a very broad bush setting for all the water that comes out). Your taps should be mixing hot and cold water to get the right temperature.

The thermostatic valve ensures that it always comes out at the correct temperature if the supply changes (someone flushes the toilet for instance) but a normal mixer should still control the temperature.

Genuine lol :D

Yeah, was thinking that.

Thanks to @TW & @Soul earlier - will have a read up on how much space (hadn't even considered that insulation would need airflow!) I've got / would need for the boards. Vaguely considering at what stage it's worth getting a loan and converting from Velux to Dormer for the smaller chance of head bangery.

okay, good to know it's probably not the boiler itself - the other common issues i've come across is the pressure differentials between mains cold water (higher pressure), and the stuff that gets sent through the boiler to be heated up - that or the feeds are connected back to front (but then that'd have to have been done on the bathroom sink taps; the shower; and the kitchen sink taps - so hopefully not..!)

making this, to go on the wall, for storage jars.

1 - it would be madness to try to cut the vertical supports so precicely - just make them all 202 and the screws/glue will pull them all together?

2 - it will attach to a wall on the LHS, so, three screws in there. What about at the back? A 20mm square baton screwed into the wall then hang the shelving off of that. One baton, or one baton per shelf?

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Fitting your own bathroom suite? Is it really that hard?

I've watched some videos and it looks a lot more doable than some of the other jobs.

would be madness to try to cut the vertical supports so precisely

Not at all. 6mm is a huge difference, especially for a cabinet. How are you cutting them? What's the reason for the difference?
If you can make it so all the uprights are the same I'd do that,

the reason for the difference is probably minor errors introduced by screwing it together on the not totally flat patio

I'll be cutting them on a table saw

In my limited experience (one en-suite sans toilet), most of it is easy but not necessarily immediately. That’s ok when it’s reversible or a small job that repeats but not ideal when you’ve only got one chance to get it right and mistakes will be expensive or very obvious. Some of it is a lot easier with two people.
I read a lot, got a lot of advice on here and paid for labour on a couple of jobs that would have required excessive outlay on tools and experience to get right!
I also made it in sketchup first to work out the order I needed to build it in.

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Thanks. Are there any particular things I need to watch out for?

Have done a couple, for me it depends on if you are moving much stuff round? Moving toilets was a pain for me.