Home DIY

Good to hear

No need to smash it up, just pop out the glass, slip off the plastic roof and unbolt the frame work. (Of course you could just cut the sides down to the height you like, drop the top rail down and fill the gap with white plastic the same as the lower section) Put up some gutters. Repoint the bricks where it was screwed to the wall and the bit where you’ve removed the flashing. The only bit you may want to farm out is making a nice bespoke set of railings.

That’s what I’m hoping. Get someone in once it’s down to sort the brickwork and build railing/glass surround. Might also think about installing something so I can have a retractable canvas sunshade.

build some outdoor storage cupboards against this wall.

I also wonder if you could reuse some of the glazing for a cold frame / mini greenhouse against the other wall.

Good thoughts, will have a ponder.

that is screaming out for a firemans pole so you can leave the house in style.

Or a helter skelta slide!

It sounds a bit like you might end up building a paddling pool if you shorten the sides.

@TTM have you looked at some kind of re-instatement as a more useful indoor space? Balconies are pretty useless most of the year in my experience, whereas a properly roofed area can at least be used for storage.

I hear you, but (and I don’t want this to send me straight to the clubhouse) we are not wanting for space/storage here. We have a big double length garage with small workshop space for storing stuff out of the way.

At the moment the conservatory is being used as a greenhouse and bike storage which just feels like a waste as it gets great light. I think it would be a lovely place to eat/hang out as an addition to the garden and wouldn’t need much investment to convert.

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Wondering if there's something you could do with a heavy duty retractable awning? But yeah cool that you have loads of space!

Wondering if there's something you could do with a heavy duty retractable awning?

I was thinking similar, so we could use it for more of the year

I've put down some yellow Colour Flooring Company vinyl in my bathroom and now I want to finish it off with a yellow transition strip - does anyone know of a company that does them in primary colours? My Googling is only finding 'light yellow oak' or 'gold' as related colour options...

Could always paint a raw wood one if necessary but would prefer to use something that more closely matches the vinyl!

I want to put a shelf across here in my cupboard under the stairs, will be required to hold about 10kg. Wall on the right is a piece of plasterboard ~12mm thick with, I think, a void (possibly with a fair few electrical wires) of about 35mm behind it.

Any suggestions on the best way of fixing it? Just wondering if half a dozen of these
https://www.hafele.co.uk/en/product/shelf-support-plug-in-with-thread-for-5-mm-hole-for-wooden-shelves/P-00861956/
would do the job or I need to start thinking about battens and the like. Cheers

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We have a balcony with roof, and it's the best thing ever as the garden is two stories lower.
What if you just got rid of the glass in a first step and have a balcony with roof?
But the glass might be structural, no idea.

Batten for sure, those fixings will pull straight out of the plasterboard.
Left you could do upside down L brackets, but make sure the screws don't got through the stair risers.

Take care around the switch, the wiring will either go straight up or down (hopefully).

balcony with roof

To take this another step on, what about a half living roof?

Make it big enough to take a small bistro chair so you can sit on the balcony while it rains.

My brother put a similar size deck and roof out the back of his place (albeit not on stilts). It gets loads of use and having an immediate outdoor space that’s covered is deffo better than a sunroom that’s either boiling or freezing.

After a lot of stripping (heheh) the dining room is ready for some love. Will not miss the carpets.

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and @Nef

Good to hear positive stories about this plan. I’m convinced it’s the way to go and am looking forward to getting rid of this plastic box ASAP

@soul did you have a build thread for this?

Or details of it in another thread?

No. It’s pretty straightforward.

1. Make the box (I used dominoes)
   
2. Create a couple of internal braces to keep it square
   
3. Make the front
   
4. Join with flat hinges (like these)
   
5. Create French cleat and attach to back / wall
   
6. Hang it
   

Was going to suggest something like this beauty ! For cost saving you could do it all in painted mdf and then use a pine board on the top for durability.

Cheers.

For reference this is the space and initial design thoughts (2 doors or 3 rather than 4). Width is 1226mm... Which I think means a 48-50" TV.

My OH would like a teak stain to match our other furniture. But thinking about it, painted mdf cabinets at least would be much more forgiving of my handy work. Then maybe have ply doors stained (or veninered if not cost prohibitive). A wood top sounds like a nice idea... Then maybe wood shelves.

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Draw the rest of the owl.

Didn’t someone shamefully rip it off on YouTube also?

Other outloud thoughts/questions I need to answer....

1. Floating or plinth?
   
2. If plinth, skirting?
   
3. If floating how high?
   
4. How far out from the alcove wall should the TV be?
   
5. If far plasterboard or mdf false back for cable hiding?
   
6. How deep? Deeper is more practical, but will it look odd being flush with chimney brest?
   
7. If hinged doors, how will they open with the wall and fireplace?
   
8. Is there any chance of kids not fucking concertina doors?
   

Ha. Fair point.

They did indeed. Video was posted 2 weeks after I posted it on Reddit myself.

We had the same vinyl in our bathroom/DS toilet (one orange, other black) and found boring old silver threshold covers were the simplest and most neutral option.
We’ve subsequently had both rooms tiled as keeping the vinyl looking clean was a nightmare - it showed every speck of dust, hair, water mark and kiddy piss. Terrazzo really does hide a multitude of sins.