Home DIY

Just routed. The fit is tight enough that mini_com won't be able to pull them out. But if mrs_com decides she wants to paint it, it can come apart.

Will likely put a backing board on it which will have some patterned wallpaper on the inside. But for now it fits well enough in the gap that wracking is not an issue.

Thanks. I have been asked/told to make something similar for shoes and rucksacks. Doubt I'll get it done in half a day though.

Wickes "timberboard" available in a range of widths. Delivered pretty quickly and is not bad quality. For pine. For reference, there's about £170 of timber in that.

Is that the stuff that is made out of smaller battens to avoid cupping? I built some shelves with it a couple of years ago and really liked it. Expensive now though.

there's about £170 of timber in that.

Holy shit, and I thought birch ply was expensive!

@Sharkstar and @Nef yes to both. Would be cheaper if you laminated battens yourself or shopped around I'm sure of it. But I paid for convenience. Could only do it today and the Wickes boards were in stock and delivered quickly.

Have you thought about 2pac epoxy like people use for garage floors?

Idk how the cost stacks up, but with multiple angles / corners it seems like and easier application.

Plus just from a logistics pov you've got to get vinyl down into the cellar to lay it. All the cellars I've known don't strike me as easy places to lay it.

This is why MDF became so popular. Good choice to go with the pine though, especially for a childs bedroom.

I would be tempted to go with cheap LVT. We have used the LG Hausys stuff all through our ground floor, and it is standing up to significant abuse.

Wow! Thankfully I'm using up offcuts.

Chat up thread about vinyl has got me thinking - going back to my shoddy drawing a couple of days ago with the plan being:

chisel out a straighter edge into the concrete, then taper in ply or hardboard, then cover the whole thing in underlay - does any particular flooring type lend itself to a relatively tidy finish here? I'd assumed tiled vinyl glued into place, then skirting re-fitted on top.

Anything else I should consider? I have no real interest in what it is so long as it's relatively fool proof and relatively durable / doesn't show up the wonky floor underneath too badly (though I hope that after covering the whole thing in underlay we should be in a better place..?) Clicky things / planks? Rolls? Other? Everything I read says "works best on a clean level surface" and then I laugh and then I cry.

Is there a magic, forgiving surface that can make everything right in the world?

Second question, say I wanted to put some hardboard over the concrete as well? Would that be a stupid idea? And how would I fix it down?

As Shirley Maclaine said, life’s too short to laminate battens.

The clicky things are LVT. They would probably work well to cover the hardboard. You might benefit from having hardboard over the concrete. LVT often has a very thin underlay too.

I think we had the exact same issue - ended up using moulding like this: https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Pine-Decorative-Cover-Moulding---12mm-x-32mm-x-2-4m/p/121298

worked really nicely - actually prefer the size to normal architrave i think. didn't look odd, but it was two doorways next to each other away from other doorways with 'normal' architrave.

say I wanted to put some hardboard over the concrete as well?

I think you usually get purpose made stuff that fits together then it floats. It often comes bundled with /sold with insulation that goes underneath. Which wouldn't be a bad idea with a concrete slab.

That's exactly what I've been looking at. My issue is that one 'moulded' doorway sits less than a foot away from a 'normally' architraved doorway, so might look a bit odd!

Looking for another Xmas gift.

This time someone moving into their first place. They've been fairly nomadic, so I was thinking one of those Screwfix tool sets, but they don't do it anymore and the Magnason(sp?) is over budget.

Other than that wicked little Bhaco (sp?) ratchet set, is there a decent Screwdriver with multiple bits in the £20 range?

Like a budget Wera 073240 Kraftform Kompakt

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Thanks @Airhead and @hugo7

What about this cork stuff someone (possibly @chrisbmx116) recommended in the past, installed floating rather than glued:
https://www.colourflooring.co.uk/collections/cork-flooring/products/espira-corka
https://www.colourflooring.co.uk/pages/corka-installation

Instructions there suggest mechanically fixing the hardboard (screws). It does mention a moisture barrier if installing over concrete but presume covering the whole room in hardboard would negate this?

You'll need to fix the hardboard. It might move around otherwise. You could pin it to the floorboards or staple.

There's a tiny Wera set here (apologies it's evilcorp) :-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wera-Kraftform-Bit-Holding-Screwdriver-05056653001/dp/B0001P186O/ref=asc_df_B0001P186O/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=231905005622&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13093064153411254654&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-422516140975&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

I'm a big fan of cork, nearly went for it with my workshop but went for a very heavy lino glued down in the end. The workshop floor takes a lot of punishment though.

Have you considered trying to feather out a screed to lose the height difference between the two surfaces?

It's onto floorboards. I don't know enough about types of screed but is there one flexible enough for that?

You could do worse than starting with a set of these in the kitchen draw. They will always be useful.

https://www.toolstation.com/wera-kraftform-plus-lasertip-screwdriver-set/p12615?store=E4&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=558571386879&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAweaNBhDEARIsAJ5hwbeDTYGxEwoVUNgGG74oa99iK9eQMBuc7DwmRmGg-jbe29SZeztgD-gaAqbZEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Milwaukee and Klein seem to get some love for their versions.