Home DIY

I'm astonished any professional specifier would still be using putty today.

Putty is chalk crushed into linseed oil.

Our garage door opener zoomed straight from 1984 to 2024 in one fell swoop. Took a bit of swearing and fettling but can now open and close it using my phone.

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I'm expecting this one to have a few extra ingredients added

Well metal casement putty is no longer available but there are other butyl based options so things have modernised. I don’t know of any other non mouldable alternatives for crittall windows.
I’ll be running a fine bead of silicone round the thin inside edge of the putty that’s visible between glass and frame to stop any condensation running into any cracks that develop.

I was quoted £5k to build an outdoor seating area and BBQ stand. This seemed a bit steep so I thought I’d give it a go. £400 and a weekend later and we have this. I think one more weekend and we’ll be good.

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very nice mate, i have designs on doing something similar at some point.

I don't think the ply(wood) would stop all the bounce/movement - that's quite a long span! Depends what weight will be where on the finished shelf I suppose, but I'd try and get a central support in there if it can be unobtrusive. Maybe a large right angled bracket off the back wall. Or just a central supporting upright, if that doesn't offend aesthetics.

Very neat, nice job

You might be ok if the skins are properly bonded to the framework as that's how torsion boxes work, though I'd have more of a framework grid internally. As said though it's a long span.

For reference I build a 3m x 2m torsion box to use as a base for a router sled and it flexes less than that when only supported by sawhorses. I did use a 10cm frame though.

From personal experience the ply won't give any perceptible reduction in the deflection. Whether or not that's a problem is really going to depend on what you plan to put on them. The set I made with a span of just over a metre needed a centre vertical support to reduce deflection enough for doors underneath when loaded with books, but was fine for open shelving.

That Hodgson's product, (which doesn't seem to be on their website), contains 'drying oil', typically Linseed oil, rather than being the non-setting, (i.e non-curing), butyl based 'putty'.

Any cartridge silicone you can buy will have poor long term adhesion to unprimed Crittall windows.
You are better off with a tube of modified silicone. Support a firm that supports your favourite sport and treat yourself to some Soudal Fix-all.

Thanks all.

They’re largely going to be used as overspill for my Lego collection. Unbuilt boxes and a couple of models.

There are going to be two more above so I think I’m going to have to do a support.

I guess I could just use the same lumber and clad with mdf or I could use pipes or something. Will have a think.

I’m flying on holiday Tuesday so it’s a couple of weeks time problem.

That Hodgson's product,

Do you recon the hardener for it is just a bag of chalk whiting?

Got some high modulus stuff from a glazing company specifically for the job. Frames have been stripped/mordant solution/zinc plumbate primed and painted.
This is for the inside not outside BTW.

We might be venturing into the Linseed/'boiled Linseed' discussion.
Linseed oil does not polymerise that quickly as it absorbs Oxygen. As the surface skins over as the double bonds in the unsaturated fatty acids react with Oxygen, forming simple epoxides, the rate of absorbtion of Oxygen slows down. True 'Linseed oil' putty takes years to fully cure.
Boiled Linseed oil, is not just heated, that would cause some dimers, trimers, but also contains heavy metal compounds that act as catalysts to the polymerising and cross linking.

An initial thought suggests that the base might be Linseed oil putty, (low hazard, slow to cure).
The 2nd component could be a suitable amount of Boiled Linseed, (containing the heavy metal compounds), which when mixed with the base will give the required skin formation to take layers of paint within a couple of days, depending upon temperature, (especially overnight temperature), and incident UV.

Excellent, thank you, do understand

torsion box alcove shelves

Never heard of these before. It sounds like the top and bottoms are essential to the strength, so Idk if you can rely on your 5mm flexing as an indication of final rigidity.

How much will putting an additional bracing(?) strip on the front muck up your design?

If the ply is vertical that will be pretty stiff.

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Bottom skin on and deflection is less than 1mm with heavy pressure.

Front will also be mdf so won’t be massively supportive but should probably finish off that last bit.

Won’t get to do the other two until May now.

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Bottom skin on and deflection is less than 1mm with heavy pressure.

That's really interesting.

Is it screwed and glued?

Yes

The skin is essentially an infinite number of tension and compression lines, so adds considerable strength.

Adding glued surfaces to both sides reduces torsional effects as the top and bottom skins counter each other with tension and compression at the same time.

Bought some ladders to clear my gutters, realised 5m is quite high. I have a mental block around 3.5 meters, hoping I can build up to it.

Have a look at some mindfulness techniques - things like feeling your feet ("feet and seat" should hopefully throw up some guides)

I developed a fear of heights later in life and I managed to do ours recently.

Final stretch

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