Home DIY

I've just put in a PAX wardrobe (100cm & 75cm connected) into an alcove in one of the spare bedrooms. Fixed it to a large board connected to the joists and then clamped and screwed together.

Next stop is to glue and screw in batons to the outside of the wardrobe and fix some mdf to make it "built in". Then paint and seal. Should get the last bit done between Christmas and new year.

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In my new place I have an issue with condensation on the inside of the old outhouse roof dripping down on my 'loved ones'. The outhouse is rendered block-work, 8x8 ft, with raised solid concrete floor, new window and door and
new corrugated bitumen sheet roof with a healthy overhang front and new gutter rear. When I moved in the thing had a corrugate iron roof and the condensation was even worse but the eaves had been filled so there was no air through. I was hoping the new roof with air gap would solve the problem. There is a sign of damp at the base of one wall which is probably due to rain water and plant debris trapped between the shed wall and an adjacent garden wall. Either way I don't believe it's solely responsible as it's only just visible. I would imagine there is some residual moisture in the unpainted floor that will be evaporating but, this aside, can I expect this problem to continue with this combination of materials?

Yep, I agree with you.

Ok looks like the kitchen fiasco is going to court as homebase offered £500 as a good will gesture and fuck all the problems. Thank god it is on credit as we don't own it.

Now which kitchen can I fit, quickly and collect the units so assemble and install. Ikea is out. Magnet any good?

I'm not strong enough to do the work tops but have the tools to do the worktops.

In my experience magnet is shocking. I've have so many problems with their design service and units that I add 20% to my prices to cover the inevitable fuck ups when quoting an install where they are involved.

Howdens have everything delivered from stock. You need to be an account holder but I have an account. I think you'd be able to get the design done and order the units using my account number then pay cash. Plus you can go to a dept to see the standard of the units etc.

I've tried to explain it a couple of times but when proof reading realise it's gobbldy gook. I think I'd need to either do a video or some kind of photo essay. Sorry

Guess what I'm doing right now...

I've decided this gap is acceptable

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It will be filled and be behind a sofa anyway

If you clean and degrease the "tap" would sugru work? Make a band with bobbles/grips.

Yep that's possible. Whether it would take the force required once set would be a question.

I could drill and tap it for a few mountain bike pedal spikes...

It's plastic. Not sure it would survive. Thought about 3D printing an improved version but how I would get the reasonably exacting design in is beyond me.

Thank you. Mentioned magnet as they won which award. Am opposed to howdens as the warranty is with the builder, but looking at others warranty that doesn't matter. Last chat I had I was offered 60 days credit on opening an account.

Looks like it will be me doing the work so, so am lost. Want it all done in a few days. Inc fucking about with electrics.

Is that on the bay? Looks like an internal 90 mitre if so scribing it is a better option.

I'm finding this frustrating because it's something that is easy to show people but tricky to explain by writing it down because there are lots of little tricks that add up to make the finished job. Plus I'm writing this on a phone

Until you have the joint cut you want the skirting to be slightly over length, you'll hopefully see why in a bit

1. You want the join to be facing away from the door as this will make it less noticeable. Take the board that is going to be at the back and offer it up to the wall, then take an offcut and place it on the other wall butting it up to the first piece of skirting and use the edges that meet to draw a line where they meet. This gives you the angle of the wall, use this to set your mitre saw to the correct angle cut the end off the skirting then offer it up to the wall again, it should now sit (mostly) flush with the wall it's meeting.
   
2. Next take the second piece of skirting and butt it up to the first, repeat the process with an offcut of skirting. So that you have the angle of the other wall. Set your mitre saw to this angle but this time with a 45 degree bevel set (tilt the blade to 45) and cut along the line.
   
3. Using the side of a pencil tip rub it along the edge where the cut meets the face of the skirting. This give you a much more defined line that is easier to follow.
   
4. Use a handsaw to cut along the straight part of the line. You want to back cut this so that the cut is at about 95 degrees from the face (slightly past vertical).
   
5. Use a coping saw to cut the wiggly bits at the top, again back cutting. The back cutting just makes a bit easier to adjust and means it will all fit together nicer if the joint isn't an exact 90 degree angle.
   
6. Offer them up ,should fit nicely. If you're happy fix them together.
   
   

This video is ok but not exactly how I do it, should give you the right idea though:

https://youtu.be/tQ21WE4KGfw

If you are going to undertake the work yourself, then the best advice I can give you is not to rush it or set yourself tight deadlines. There is an old saying in my industry "haste makes waste" I find it to be true, if you rush you are much more likely to make a fuck up. I would always plan for at least a week for a small kitchen, more if you include tiling, decor etc, as there is a lot of work involved and as the components are expensive it is costly to make mistakes.

This is why I like square trim boards - overlap one end or the other (depending on where it will be seen from the most) throw a little polyfilla or whatever your favourite white goop is, paint and done.

Thank you. Have done a few before and the reason I wasn't allowed to do the kitchen is that I wanted 14 days to get the kitchen finished. That is the floor cut and levelled, the walls and ceilings sanded smooth, etc and making the area clean and ready to be used to cook again.

New account sign ups and end of month sales targets are a big part of Howdens bonus system.

Did not know that but suspect it happened.

Am so so tired of everything that involves houses, flats and cars seem to go to rat shit. Yes I do feel very sorry for myself, especially as I living on eating out and take aways ;)

Yeah very first world problems.

Like Bobbo has said, there are a lot of little things to take care of with skirting. Especially tricky if you have 2 inside angles as you can't leave the ends over length when you scribe to the floor level. If your room is on a slope then you need to adjust for that with the boards or the mitres or both.

I don't use the method in the video but it's a very popular method. There's a special jigsaw base that helps me out occasionally with skirting but I find if you have them level and measure the angles with the starrett angle finder then you can cut them pretty reliably with a decent mitre. If you have a wall that slopes in at the base, which a lot do especially in the corners, then take some material off the back of the board with a plane or chip some lumps out of the wall.

I would always start by deciding on a level above the floor that I want the skirting to be. Use a level or laser line to mark that and then scribe the bottom of the board to fit the undulation of the floor. If you are fitting carpets you can leave a gap. So if you want 6" skirting you start with 7" and cut it down. This is the step I think most people overlook.

Most people think skirting should be pretty easy but it requires most of the tools and lots of experience to get it right because you have to account for the walls and floors not being straight and level.

Don't even get me started on the best way to fix them to the walls!

Bollocks, skirting is the job that's following floor sanding for me. I'm not looking forward to it.

My question for today is: should the fireplace surround be white? My sense is no, but the wood stain isn't in great condition, and when you look at the mantel piece up close (not something you do often, granted), there are marks and glue or filler from where it was previously fitted.

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Fireplace is nice in that colour, wouldn't worry about tiny details like that, maybe get a piece of glass with painted back or a thin piece of marble cut to size.

Might look a bit more airy if the wall behind the shelves was white.

Not sure what type of would it is but you could always lighten it with a good rub down (snarf). Personally I like a white surround and generally paint most dark woods but that’s my taste.

Agree with Airhead that painting the wall behind the shelves might make it feel lighter.

It's not necessarily about making it more airy, I like the colour of it and I think with better lighting it will look fine.

We're going to send and stain the floorboards and wanted a darker colour for them as well - will it look strange if the colours don't quite match?