Home DIY

These doors came up on free cycle and a while back we were looking for period 1950s doors so I grabbed them.

issues

• Here is a table of how much they are out. I've highlighted >1cm difference in red. On balance what's the easiest passable way to deal with adding this too the doors? Split the difference and add a strip of wood to the top and bottom?
  
  
• there's a chunky gouge out of one at the bottom hinge - maybe ~1cm at the largest point tapering into a point. Can that be filled with some sort of modern filler, or at that depth does it need to be cutout and filled with wood?
  
• any paint suggestions for the doors and skirting boards?
  
• any handle recommendations?
  
• any other top tips? They weigh a fucking tonne. Especially compared to our shitty laminate chipboars things.
  
  

Cheers.

Cheers. I was really hoping manually scraping it off wasn’t going to be the answer here, but maybe it’s the only way. Any other magic gizmos or products going to help me out?

Nice doors. I'd just glue on pine strips and paint them.

The gouge essentially the same except flatten with planes or cut out with a router/chisels

Cheers.

What units do I want for a kind-of-island?

https://www.diy-kitchens.com/kitchen-units/

Was going to put a table against a large empty wall but think I'd prefer some kind of sitting at stool to eat / extra work surface to dump the shopping on / maybe some kind of storage underneath thing. Thinking in particular with regards to the overhang of the work surface. The rest of the surface around the kitchen is 20mm thick and I'd want it to match, so you wouldn't be able to put a lot of weight on it if doesn't have support from underneath.

Particularly for a 20mm worktop you’ll want something like this I’d guess? Have to check you can use it on such thin worktop though.

https://uk.originalgranitebracket.com/products/hidden-island-support-bracket?variant=28121755091024

When we had our kitchen done the fitted didn’t fit these two end panels proper. They’re upside down and should have a piece of plastic separating the floor and the panel.

Since they were fitted they’ve taken on water from cleaning the floor. I asked the fitter to replace however have been ghosted.

We got them from Howdens which is trade only. Would most kitchen suppliers sell this type of panel?

1 Attachment

Yes. The guys 2 posts up say they do it but I can’t make their website work properly

Thanks will hit them up tomorrow.

i bought a cheap humanscale office chair from fb marketplace. works perfectly BUT the chrome finish on a few of the legs is a bit tarnished/oxidised from being in (poor) storage. i was hoping to buff/polish it up a bit..... i assume they are alu? what would be the best approach to this

Scrunched up tin foil was a trick I used to my old mini back in the day.

Autoglym polish and a cloth. For starters.

You might find it needs to be applied with wire wool and then with the cloth.

Won't wire wool scratch it to buggery? I would try autosol as familiar to steel-is-real types.

It looks pitted - which you’d be wanting to remove.

Try fine wire wool and wd40.

Start with the least abrasive method first!

So ignore all the tinfoil / wire wool comments until you've tried polishing.

A good method of polishing something like that is using a trick from polishing motorcycle exhausts with tights. For some reason nothing comes up for a quick search so I'll try my best to explain:

1. Secure the chair
   
2. Rub a thin layer of autosol on the metal
   
3. Take your strip of tight/stocking and wrap around the metal twice so both ends of the tight are pointing towards you.
   
4. Hold one end in each hand and pull back and forth, starting at one end then working your way up to the other.
   
   

Doing it this way massively increases the speed and friction you can apply by hand.

Edit here you go from 1.45

https://youtu.be/ajqNR6hTSwE

thanks - super helpful!!

very satisfying video

@swedeee yes definitely try less drastic measures first!

Yep, anything too heavy handed like sanding/wire wool will take the anodising off as well. So it'll be smooth but you'll loose the shine, the metal will become a dull grey matt colour.

I noticed our cooker hood was blasting air out of the side vents rather than sending it out of the house. I wasn't actually sure whether it was vented outside when installed, but an initial recce looks like it more than likely is.

Unfortunately I can't get behind the cover to take a proper look. The cover is fitted so snugly between the hood and the ceiling I just can't see a way of removing it. Am I really going to have to disassemble the whole thing to get behind it? Please tell me there's a cheats way that doesn't involve destruction!

2 Attachments

If it's anything like the Smeg cooker hood that I have just fitted, the chimney trim is a U shape and should clip sideways at the back of some metal fixings that are screwed into the wall, and will just sit on top of the main cooker hood part. If you can get in there, pull each side out sideways a little, and once released you should be able to pull it out towards you.

Thanks, it's the same U shape and has two retaining screws either side. I've got those off and released it no problem. The issue is that it's in a recess with a lip, and I just can't get it out of there to remove completely and get enough access.

It sits on a flat metal plate that also appears to support the motor. It's held in with 9 screws around the perimeter - I think I'm going to drop that to get the room needed to remove it. What an overcomplicated design.

Normally they have an extendable part between ceiling and hood. Looks like in your case it just fit the space exactly and they left out the extension and fit it all with the hood going in last. Probably thought they had done really well to get away with it.

I would loosen the hood from the wall and see if it gives you enough wiggle room. Possibly a 2 pairs of hands job though.

It's probably easier to unscrew the hood from the wall. They are not very heavy, and it's about 4 screws.