Home DIY

It is indeed both red and wood.
Wonder if the same dude calls oak orangey wood?

Also, not looking to pick holes in the very thorough and sound advice that @Airhead takes the time to contribute on here.
I don’t know anything about 95% of it but I do know the difference between redwood and Sapele so thought it worth pointing out to avoid confusion for anybody wanting to buy Sapele and ending up with pine.

Well worth making the point. I have learned so much from this thread over the years.

You are absolutely right to point this out. It's embarrassing how bad my knowledge of different woods is considering the amount of joinery I've done. Sadly mostly in MDF!

It's very true that I'm calling it redwood because it's red wood! Sometimes the bloke at the shop will mutter something about the name of this week but I'm too busy eyeballing the stock for a straight piece :)

Replacing cills with the generic red wood is a double edged sword. I've had good results with it but I tend to be a bit more sympathetic to the paint needs and I prepare them very well, until recently with the very thin Dulux weathershield primer. Although they changed the formula a long time ago I have a tin of the original blue one which soaks into the surface of the wood and provides a flexible 'adhesive' surface for the undercoat to stick to.

I do see problems with replacement cills and windows of all different kinds of wood but mostly poor painting seems to be the cause.

One major advantage it has over pine is the lack of knots. I think that is probably why it's seen as a better option by a lot of carpenters.

I guess the most important aspect is, slow down the project a bit, allow proper drying times and yes, fit the floor before the skirting. It's unlikely a plasterer will be on site when the skirting gets fitted if things are working out well :)

All noted, thank you :)

(I'm probably coming across as a tad more naive than I am in reality...)

Other half is having quotes for a kitchen extension. The stairs come straight into the open plan dining room/kitchen, and the plan is to extend into the garden 3 metres.
Builders are quoting to wall off the stairwell and put a fire door at the bottom.
Do we need to do that? It'll look a bit shit, and it seems weird to have to turn the stairs into a closed stairwell with a new door...

The pillar in the middle of the pic will be going too

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I mean at the end of the day your paying the bills so tell them that’s not what you want and if they can’t provide what you what get someone else

Can you fit one of these new fangled spray systems that detects and targets the source of a fire. I've seen a couple in houses recently to avoid problems with fire egress.

Don't get me started on skirting boards and plaster :)

Painting a bathroom window frame after I repaired some wet rot with 2 part wood filler - is zinsser 123 followed by dulux diamond satinwood the way to go?

The bulk of the window paint is in fairly good condition but there are some light mould spots and the filler is unpainted.

Don't forget that a lot of what is sold as sapele (or more frequently generic "hardwood") in places like Selco is often meranti which apart from being a different species has a completely different grain structure. It is however the same approximate colour as sapele (mostly) but the grain structure makes it less suitable for some joinery techniques it's hard to cut a mortice without a hollow chisel/chain morticer for example as even a razor sharp chisel will cause significant tear out. It takes paint fantastically though.

Find a building control company and have a chat with them. There may be ways round it with more fire alarms, sprinkler, etc

What to do here?
Shitty picture, but this is an MDF bench seat. Obvs. Kids.
Paint has bubbled. So.
Can I sand it back (I think so) and what is the paint I should use here? What's going to form a "fuck off kids" layer?

I guess this would help shape the "I need to refresh the woodwork what paint is bomb proof here?" Chat I need to have soon.

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It's not a very clear picture but those kind of problems are usually contamination of the primer/undercoat layer by something greasy which stops the top coat bonding properly. It's hard to tell whether it's been properly prepared and painted but there's not much that will resist kids anyway. Might be easier to apply some kind of thin surface like cork or rubber tiles. Basically a thin floor tile or some kind of hard wearing plastic coating.

It could be done with paint but it's not going to be the most durable surface for the time and money it will cost. Plus you will probably need longer drying times for any paint that has more pigment/binder in it.

Tile is good idea. Thanks!

Just thought : cork less so as fiddle fingers. But a thin rubber /something could work. Cheers!

There's some sort of dulux hard wearing kitchen paint I used for a stool that's holding up well despite not getting round to doing the top coats and finishing.

(obvs if they take a metal table spoon to it paint won't prevent gouges in the wood)

Edit: it's "Dulux Easycare Kitchen Paint Matt Pure Brilliant White"

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If you go back a few pages there's an Instagram video of someone making a work bench. The cover it with something.

123 will do it. Cover stain would be a good option to cover mould but it's not moisture vapour permeable. When you paint it with 123 you will pretty quickly see if the mould spot colour bleeds through.

The new one 123+ is supposed to be better at hiding. I used a lot of it earlier in the year and it does seem more opaque. A lot of suppliers deny it's existence at the moment and only stock the original variety.

It’s a building regs issue - talk to an approved inspector. If you are not making an existing condition worse there may be some leniency. Otherwise look at automist systems.

You might want to look at zinnser permawhite for the top coat (assuming it's white). Meant to be good for resisting mould. I've used some recently but too early to tell how it does.

@Airhead @Sheppz @aggi @konastab01

Thanks. Think that tallies with our googling so far. Can see the need for the regs of course, but seemed odd to have to build an extra wall in order to close it off. Fancy sprinklers probably the way forward. Or staggering the work so that the hallway/door comes last, with a separate contractor, then running out of money and having to postpone that bit...

(The running out of money bit might not be a lie in any event. Architect started out with 'sure, £xx is doable'. Now the tender is coming back and it's not even in the same ballpark. Joy)

They're not vandals, it's just if there's a bubble and they spot it they'll pick it. I'm surprised this isn't bigger (and tbh I picked it first).

Thanks for the paint tip.

Fuck off. My kid isn't a vandal.

They just take pleasure in destroying what they can when unsupervised.

Just in case it's not clear the scratches in my pic are gouges from them hitting it with a table spoon.

Worth pointed out that paint has quite a long full curing time. But it has stood up to semi-regular cleaning with a scourer and kitchen cleaner.