Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

[gentlegreen]

Bank holiday £5 voucher at Screwfix so I bought a stand for my mitre saw for £50 - something I should have bought with the saw - thus freeing up a crude, but substantial Wickes "workmate" it was precariously balanced on.
At some point in the near future I will not have going to work on a daily basis as an excuse for not getting started on the room it's sitting in ...

 

[Looby]

We had to get a colour match so it was Dulux or Valspar unfortunately. We used F&B on our bedroom but it would be ridiculously expensive for the hall.

Mr Looby messaged a decorator friend and he said people have complained that the top quality Valspar was peeling when wiped over and it needs to be cleaned regularly because dogs are skanky.

We've just got Dulux easy care who colour matched from the B&Q chart which Valspar said they couldn’t do. Dulux’s match was much better so went with that.
Fingers crossed it’s not too shit.

 

[bimble]

just paintwise.. if anybody ever wants to paint wooden things with a really beautiful flat powdery matt finish i recommend annie sloan chalk paints, expensive but lovely & you don't need to prep or undercoat (just clean the surface a bit) they just slap straight on and look really good.

 

[clicker]

just paintwise.. if anybody ever wants to paint wooden things with a really beautiful flat powdery matt finish i recommend annie sloan chalk paints, expensive but lovely & you don't need to prep or undercoat (just clean the surface a bit) they just slap straight on and look really good.

Handy to know. I've got a couple of dark wood bits I have been meaning to tart up for years. So no sanding? How many coats and does it need anything on top to seal it?

 

[bimble]

Handy to know. I've got a couple of dark wood bits I have been meaning to tart up for years. So no sanding? How many coats and does it need anything on top to seal it?

i reckon two coats. No sanding! Does want to get a wax finish on for durability, i've just used a tin of this applied with a cloth and seems to do the job.

 

[Boudicca]

I don't like Annie Sloane, but then I don't like chalk paints generally. I found myself explaining to a friend that brush marks were 'fashionable'.

And all that faffing around with wax, you might just as well spend that time sanding it properly because while the chalk paint does stick to shiny surfaces, it chips very quickly.
I like Farrow & Ball although their colours aren't bright enough for me.

My last lot of furniture was painted with Wilko exterior satin .

 

[mauvais]

I guess it depends what you want but I'm not a fan of chalk paint. My missus did a dressing table in it with basically no prep, and it worked, but it looks like something that got painted without any prep. Strictly amateur hour up close. Now I'm no perfectionist and I personally wouldn't necessarily do much better if I attempt to do it 'properly' but I think you need to ignore the hype and realise that you get out what you put in.

 

[mauvais]

Here you go:



It's fine, but it's not good by any means.

 

[Looby]

Yeah I found chalk paint easy to use but it hadn’t lasted on my bedroom furniture. I can’t face repainting it all so I ignore it. I can’t remember what I used on the last chest but it’s much better.
I got a load of farrow and ball estate emulsion really cheap and I’ve got chairs and a welsh dresser to paint if we ever get round to it.

 

[mauvais]

I finished hacking off plaster today, at least the bit below the picture rail that I'm taking on.



Also ordered a radiator from Castrads, a bit like this, only three more sections. Like but not exactly the colour of the back one - those are more expensive finishes.

 

[bimble]

Here you go:

View attachment 228604View attachment 228605

It's fine, but it's not good by any means.

Ah she didn’t do the Feathering, that’s your problem right there.
But yep do see that it’s a personal thing, and wouldn’t choose it for anything that you want to look pristine and not get chipped etc,

 

[clicker]

Hmmm I don't mind sanding and it would need to be chip proofish, so maybe not chalk then.

 

[danski]

I finished hacking off plaster today, at least the bit below the picture rail that I'm taking on.

View attachment 228610

Also ordered a radiator from Castrads, a bit like this, only three more sections. Like but not exactly the colour of the back one - those are more expensive finishes.

View attachment 228611

You keeping all bare brick?
What you got in mind for electrics? Galv tube?
If I could do only one type of work for the rest of my working life, it would be metal conduit. I love it!

 

[mauvais]

You keeping all bare brick?
What you got in mind for electrics? Galv tube?
If I could do only one type of work for the rest of my working life, it would be metal conduit. I love it!

No, it's getting replastered, and boarded which is probably a sin. Downstairs we did a skim but upstairs is all fucked, possibly as old as the house (112) and held together by wallpaper. Removing most of it wasn't very hard.

We need to plan out our electrical work but an electrician can deal with it. I wondered about the tubing you can see, actually. It's clearly had wiring in at some point, I assume it's long redundant, but I wondered - probably stupid question - whether this was original and whether it always had electricity rather than gas if the house was built in 1908. It appears to say 'Witton Grip' on it but that doesn't turn up anything.

 

[danski]

No, it's getting replastered, and boarded which is probably a sin. Downstairs we did a skim but upstairs is all fucked, possibly as old as the house (112) and held together by wallpaper. Removing most of it wasn't very hard.

We need to plan out our electrical work but an electrician can deal with it. I wondered about the tubing you can see, actually. It's clearly had wiring in at some point, I assume it's long redundant, but I wondered - probably stupid question - whether this was original and whether it always had electricity rather than gas if the house was built in 1908. It appears to say 'Witton Grip' on it but that doesn't turn up anything.

View attachment 228614

Wouldn’t know if original, possibly not though. Just read that it was around the 30s that electricity became standard in new build although posher house must’ve had it earlier.

 

[WouldBe]

The original wiring I've found in my house is individual cores wrapped in cotton that run at any angle across the walls. Nothing as neat as conduit.

 

[WouldBe]

dp.

 

[Cloo]

Getting MIL's decorator over to quote for some rooms and then see which we might do first. If he's free soon I might go for the front room, as we could store a bunch of crap from there in my parents' garden room while they're in Slovakia until next month. They never use the garden room but our dad would be funny about if they were there, and can't really complain if we do it while they're away. Also, if we start stripping it then I'll be able to force gsv to decide on a colour

 

[quimcunx]

The original wiring I've found in my house is individual cores wrapped in cotton that run at any angle across the walls. Nothing as neat as conduit.

I got rewiring done when I bought and the boxes behind the light switches were wooden and full of sawdust.

 

[Cloo]

Note, not our room - but think this may be the happy compromise for gsv and I on front room. He likes the idea of a coloured ceiling - I've said they often don't seem to come out that nicely. I liked the idea of a strong blue for wall, but he was nervous of that. He liked this I found on Houzz though - chimneybreast wall blue, coving (and in our case about 40cm of upper wall 'frieze' between picture rail and coving) white, ceiling same blue, rest of walls neutral/off white. This pic is a similar height room:

 

[equationgirl]

Note, not our room - but think this may be the happy compromise for gsv and I on front room. He likes the idea of a coloured ceiling - I've said they often don't seem to come out that nicely. I liked the idea of a strong blue for wall, but he was nervous of that. He liked this I found on Houzz though - chimneybreast wall blue, coving (and in our case about 40cm of upper wall 'frieze' between picture rail and coving) white, ceiling same blue, rest of walls neutral/off white. This pic is a similar height room:

I do find it a little strange that he would go for a dark blue coloured ceiling but not a similarly coloured wall. I used a dark blue in my spare bedroom that I did at Christmas last year but had white at the picture rail line and above. It really does help balance out the dark colour.

 

[Cloo]

All the big DIY stores near us seem to have shut, but there is a Dulux colour specialist place down the road, which I think we'll need to mix the colour we're after, which is something like the above - no darker, possibly a shade lighter.

 

[WouldBe]

I do find it a little strange that he would go for a dark blue coloured ceiling but not a similarly coloured wall. I used a dark blue in my spare bedroom that I did at Christmas last year but had white at the picture rail line and above. It really does help balance out the dark colour.

I used to have the coving painted the same colour as the walls beneath the dado rail. Looked good but too fiddley to cut in these be days so it's now just white like the ceiling.

 

[Callie]

I need some advice/ideas. I need to refurbish the kitchen. Currently located at the rear, leading into the garden. I live on a busy road and currently the living room is at the front of the house. There is another room next door that doesn't get used much.

Would it be a daft idea to swap the two around? Living space at the rear, onto garden. Join the two rooms at the front to make a kitchen/diner?

I think it will make the refurbishment more expensive but I want to make to most of the space and it seems to make sense?

We would have to move services, probable rsj for the joined rooms at the front. Putting the living space at the back means that area will need refurbishing too but that could be done much later.

I'm not really sure how bad an idea it is to have living space -> garden. That doesn't seem to happen in this style building. People seem to expand the rear space (side return), open plan it and leave living space at the front?

 

[WouldBe]

Not a daft idea but could be a lot of work rerouting services.

If you use the living room more than the back rooms it makes sense being able to open the living area up to the garden when the weather is nice.

 

[Sweet FA]

I made a bedside table thingy for Lil'FA. It's pretty shonky but it works and she likes it

Still getting vfm from old F&B tester pots.

Things I have learned:

• We're gonna need a bigger shed
• I'm going to saw my leg off if I don't buy a vice or something
• Choose better wood not just randomly pick up the cheapest bit lying around in Wickes
• Find more elegant ways of joining bits of wood together
• I should have built it then taken it apart and done the paint/varnish then put it back together - would have been so much easier

Many coats of varnish interspersed with lots of sanding later...

 

[moonsi til]

Aw it’s perfect Sweet FA -made with love.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

I made a bedside table thingy for Lil'FA. It's pretty shonky but it works and she likes it

Still getting vfm from old F&B tester pots.

Things I have learned:

• We're gonna need a bigger shed
• I'm going to saw my leg off if I don't buy a vice or something
• Choose better wood not just randomly pick up the cheapest bit lying around in Wickes
• Find more elegant ways of joining bits of wood together

First off, that's quite beautiful. Such a simple design, but the artwork and finish is spot on.

Vice or a work bench is a good idea. Wood clamped in place is far easier to cut straight with much less sawing effort, and all your corners will be squarer with less tearing at the finish.

To make neater joints, without the need for metalwork - dowels joints. Tap 2 panel pins into the end of each piece, and cut off the head until only a mm or 2 is showing. Locate the piece against the wood you want to join to and push - hey presto, location marks for your dowels with the job of a centre punch already done to guide your drill bit. Take apart again, remove the panel pins, drill 4 holes for your dowels deep enough for concealed fixings.

Plenty of glue, clamp it tight and wipe off the excess glue being squeezed out - a pair of sash clamps is a worthy investment for any workshop. Without clamps; screw or nail the joint tight.

If you still have a hairline gap in the joint, sand it while the glue is still tacky. Wood glue dries clear, but the sawdust creates forms your own filler.

 

[danski]

First off, that's quite beautiful. Such a simple design, but the artwork and finish is spot on.

Vice or a work bench is a good idea. Wood clamped in place is far easier to cut straight with much less sawing effort, and all your corners will be squarer with less tearing at the finish.

To make neater joints, without the need for metalwork - dowels joints. Tap 2 panel pins into the end of each piece, and cut off the head until only a mm or 2 is showing. Locate the piece against the wood you want to join to and push - hey presto, location marks for your dowels with the job of a centre punch already done to guide your drill bit. Take apart again, remove the panel pins, drill 4 holes for your dowels deep enough for concealed fixings.

Plenty of glue, clamp it tight and wipe off the excess glue being squeezed out - a pair of sash clamps is a worthy investment for any workshop. Without clamps; screw or nail the joint tight.

If you still have a hairline gap in the joint, sand it while the glue is still tacky. Wood glue dries clear, but the sawdust creates forms your own filler.

Ooh, nice tip with the panel pins

 

[Idaho]

A heads up for all those looking to paint. There is a real shortage of paint at the moment. Especially of the darker base colours for custom mixed paint.