Home DIY

Yes I used a SIPS floor. The manufacturer provided a frame that the panels slot into. I taped the joins and then laid a vapour barrier on top.
These are their photos, not mine. I can't seem to find any of my photos - not that I took very many.

My father in law helped with lifting the panels into place. To be honest you could do it alone, but it is obviously easier with extra hands. I've seen videos on youtube of people using ratchet straps to help cinch panels together along walls.

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I don't and I didn't take nearly enough photos while I was doing it! I'll see what I can dig out but happy to answer any questions if I can.

No. Iirc that’s their water based primer.

loft progress - gone unexpectedly smoothly for the most part, was hoping for the area inmediately around where the ladder is stowed in, I could just board on the ceiling joists, but wiring and a cross-beam slightly higher means i’ll cross batten this bit to raise it a touch.

for the main storage area I decided against cross-battening with timber and have gone for the LoftZone kit (3.6*3.6m) as with the homebase first order discount it was about the same price the wood, but way lighter and hopefully less hassle to deal with.

then just a bit of plaster and paint to tidy things up as the previous hatch (read: hole in the ceiling) was bigger than a proper hatch.

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My advice, whilst you’re doing this, is make the loft hatch as big as you sensibly can.

Once you’ve got that space, believe me, You’ll find all sorts you want to store up there. Best case you’re able to store something that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to, worst case you just make your life getting shit up/down a bit easier. Given that the hatch will (I presume) be a bit of ply/mdf cut to size you can make it any size you like.

Also, I don’t know what you’re overall plan is (and sorry if I’m teaching granny to suck eggs) but I would double up the timbers around the opening e.g if you’re framing it out with 4x2, double them so it’s effectively a 4x4. That opening takes a lot more stress that then rest of the ceiling.

Last thing! Don’t forget to account for trim (architrave probably in this case), where you’ve cut back the ceiling on the right of the last picture looks like it’s right upto the wall.

thanks! the photos are a bit out of order - so the second one is the new hatch (albeit filthy from the lath and plaster above), the biggest one available from screwfix, though time will tell as to whether the biggest of the suitcases squeeze through..!

The previous owner of the house had made the cut out up to the wall and just covered with ply (no hinges, just screwed), so I’ll pack this out with plasterboard and filler and try to make good as well as I can. No architrave to worry about at least!

Appreciate the reminder about doubling up - will be sure to do that as I definitely have a tendency to say ‘meh, good enough…’ - did use l-brackets as well as screwing through to reinforce at the mo, though

Anyone come across Cambro shelving? I suspect this is more a question for hospitality workers as it's for sale on nisbets etc.

I'm having trouble finding OTP heavy duty shelving to fit a 76cm alcove and no metal fabricators want to touch a single job. Stumbled across Cambro by chance and it's almost exactly the size I'm after (could do with being a few inches taller but I'd take it). It's very spendy compared to metal so wondered if any good / why the plastic tax etc.

I know Cambro for their insulated boxes etc, but I believe they are very much an industry standard brand. Don't know how much that means they are 'better', but wouldn't question reliability (based on reputation not experience)

Spur steel lok do custom sized metal shelf twin slot

@Airhead or anyone else with external timber finishing tekkers - would I be crazy to use this pine skirting profile as external cladding - if I used a proper external finishing system ( osmo or zinsser ) ? It’s only an external porch fascia I’m doing

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Might want to treat it before painting with something like SikaGard Wood Preserve. I think you’d be fine. Most summer houses and the like softwood but you’d usually treat them with a preservative of sorts to help reduce rot.

**Disclaimer, I know nothing about wood

Wouldn't that be quite chunky (30mm) at the overlap than e.g. shiplap cladding?

Plan would be to not overlap - the top radius would give horizontal shadow gaps and theoretically shed water - bit like a rain screen cladding profile (which has 45 parallel chamfers top and bottom).

Yep - osmo preserver treatment followed by white stain followed by uv topcoat has worked lovely on some external oak I’ve done. B and Q pine is the concern !

Won’t be as stable as you’d like it I guess

Issue is usually getting quality timber in the first place, straight and not twisted, having it dry enough to paint successfully, not too many knots.

If you have decent dry timber, use some kind of knotting on knots or dry them out with an ir gun and fill them. Then something that soaks into the timber is good, Dulux have a very thin primer that is ok, the original more toxic version was much better, and either dulux trade exterior system on top or starting from bare wood, zinsser 123 if you can let if dry a couple of days you might get no bleed through zinsser cover up if not and on top of that zinsser all coat.

Either of those 2 systems should last 10 years in white but any problems with knots could show on the surface in 6 months. Knots really are your biggest enemy with pine either exterior or interior. It's why close grain woods without much knotting have become so popular for new windows.

Yep painting knotty shitty pine is a ballache.

Heat gun -> filler -> knot blocker -> BIN spot prime -> 123 -> allcoat

Should have just used composite

forgive the self-indulgence, bit more loft boarding progress.

got two sections of 1.2*2.4m boarded, after finding that either side of the central load bearing wall the ceilings are different heights (thought it was just the landing previously).
So, two separate decks instead of one big square - suppose I could have raised the other side the 15cm or so, but didn’t like the idea and expense of cross-battening and then loftzoning on that.

Might extent and/or tidy up the gaps with a bit of studwork, but medium-term-ish we want to conver the loft properly, so as long as it holds stuff, that’s the main thing for now.

Started the patch the gap from the old hatch too with liberal amounts of fill+finish.

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Floor laying today (and part of yesterday)

Quite a fun job once I got going, and ignoring the difficult bits). Should have enough left for the utility room if I ever get round to refurbishing that.

Evocore premium for those as care.

Ignore the table, that needs to go.

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Floor laying today (and part of yesterday)

Looks nice. Did you go all the way behind the cupboards to the wall and just leave under the dishwasher, or does it end just behind the plinth? How are you getting on with integrated underlay / what's the green stuff / what does the room have under that?

I need to bite the bullet and start on our living room as the carpet is extra smelly from the 3 dogs of the previous owner, plus leaving it sorta damp for 2 weeks between the unexpectedly wet cleaning and the moving.

Also I immediately checked Evocore Premium prices once more, thinking it would come to cheaper than the Karndean Korlok RKP8111 we have our eyes on, but to my suprise the Evocore premium range is more expensive for some reason...

Final update on here as it’s in its own thread now but very pleased with how this is coming along.

Only the baseboard to go now…

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D&M Toolshow next weekend 7-9th October.
At Kempton Park, so apologies to non-Londoners.

There are typically show discounts that make that 'wanted' tool slightly more affordable.

There are typical so many temptations that you will spend 2 or 3 times your tool budget for the year 😁

I'll be there on the Friday. I've missed it the last few years but been to the electricians/builders one which is similar. D&M ones have been great in the past though.

Nice one !

Agreed re £.
I'm after Wera Torx holding force bits.
[I've yet to try the Timber Wolf Hexstix 'Stick-fit' competitor,
I was gifted at a local Huws Gray builders' merchant, in a paying job].

We may well bump into each other then.