What "man jobs" have you done today?

Skiddley · 20 Mar 2017 at 12:01

I've been on a mission to finish all of the storage in our renovation as we've got clutter hanging around with no obvious place to live.

Never made cabinets before, but I'm handy with a router, and have a well stocked garage. 12 alcove shelves, 2 alcove cabinets (just waiting for jointed tops to dry!), and a massive bathroom cabinet done so far.

You get the idea...

topgun06 · 20 Mar 2017 at 14:26

Well I've got myself a paint roller extension pole. Lets see if it now becomes as easy as I see in the videos.

Simon · 20 Mar 2017 at 20:40

Well it's a bit better but still obvious banding. The texture difference is the issue even with 8% water added it still dries too fast

Super matt next lifetime (when I paint it again )

topgun06 · 21 Mar 2017 at 09:43

The extender pole was a huge success. It makes things so much more efficient and provides a more even coat.

Simon · 21 Mar 2017 at 10:02

Nice, what about the paint ? What did you use?

Mine looks better this morning after fully drying out

topgun06 · 21 Mar 2017 at 10:38

Yes, it can look different once it has dried. It seemed like using the pole was putting a thinner layer of paint on the wall, but this morning it looks just like the part of the wall where I hadn't used the pole.

Its only a base layer on the plaster so no proper colour yet!

valve90210 · 21 Mar 2017 at 10:58

Skiddley said:

How did you make the doors? I like those a lot!

Simon · 21 Mar 2017 at 11:00

topgun06 said:
Yes, it can look different once it has dried. It seemed like using the pole was putting a thinner layer of paint on the wall, but this morning it looks just like the part of the wall where I hadn't used the pole.

Its only a base layer on the plaster so no proper colour yet!

Ah, wait till that fun. I'm a big fan of farrow and ball now after seeing how flat and even it looks

topgun06 · 21 Mar 2017 at 11:04

I've used Johnstone's in the past and plan on using it again. I was looking to have the same colour in this room as I do in the adjoining room.

topgun06 · 21 Mar 2017 at 21:14

Right, so I'm painting again with the roller on the extender pole... How the hell do I stop the paint roller part sliding off the roller? It's doing my head in! I have to reposition it even before I've ran out of paint on the roller!

topgun06 · 21 Mar 2017 at 21:25

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Simon · 21 Mar 2017 at 21:42

Insulation tape around the plastic.

Just invented it but hey. It might work

topgun06 · 21 Mar 2017 at 21:48

Applying less pressure seems to work... But I'll need to load with more paint. It does fall off eventually though. Insulation tape is a fair idea. Or maybe I just have a crap roller!

Simon · 21 Mar 2017 at 22:56

Hate painting !

pepp77 · 21 Mar 2017 at 23:07

Few things I have done over the past several days

I finished stripping the paint off the woodwork in my living room using a heat gun and a scraper. Then I gave it a bit of a sand down to get it a bit smooth, never going to get it perfect without replacing it all, but it will look better with just the one layer of paint rather than about the 8 dating back over 30 years.

Used some filler to fill a few holes in the woodwork and then sanded that down.

Next decided to paint the ceiling with basic white matt emulsion. Wasn't too bad so just did the one coat. I used a Harris roller on a 2m pole, meant I didnt need a ladder for 90% of it.

I then stopped for a couple of days whilst a timber company came in and replaced about 25 linear metres of floorboards and completed a woodworm treatment (nice £1200 gone there)!!

This brings me to today where I drilled 12 x 8mm holes in the wall (6 for the TV mount and 3 for each of the rear speaker mounts) and finally I fitted a 10" piece of skirting to a section of the wall that had no skirting in place for some reason. Ready for tomorrow evening when I think I will start the painting of the window frame and maybe the skirting board (depending on what I can get done before the England game starts).

SniperDude · 22 Mar 2017 at 01:25

pepp77 said:
Few things I have done over the past several days

I finished stripping the paint off the woodwork in my living room using a heat gun and a scraper. Then I gave it a bit of a sand down to get it a bit smooth, never going to get it perfect without replacing it all, but it will look better with just the one layer of paint rather than about the 8 dating back over 30 years.

Used some filler to fill a few holes in the woodwork and then sanded that down.

Next decided to paint the ceiling with basic white matt emulsion. Wasn't too bad so just did the one coat. I used a Harris roller on a 2m pole, meant I didnt need a ladder for 90% of it.

I then stopped for a couple of days whilst a timber company came in and replaced about 25 linear metres of floorboards and completed a woodworm treatment (nice £1200 gone there)!!

This brings me to today where I drilled 12 x 8mm holes in the wall (6 for the TV mount and 3 for each of the rear speaker mounts) and finally I fitted a 10" piece of skirting to a section of the wall that had no skirting in place for some reason. Ready for tomorrow evening when I think I will start the painting of the window frame and maybe the skirting board (depending on what I can get done before the England game starts).

Heat gunned all mine.... got rid of years of gloss.... Satin for wood everywhere now.... Best thing I ever done... Stays white never yellows

Skiddley · 22 Mar 2017 at 13:24

valve90210 said:
How did you make the doors? I like those a lot!

I used a groove cutter bit on my router to cut a 6mm recess on the inside edge of the stiles and rails, the panel is 5.5mm ply and fits into this. I used the same bit to cut a tongue in the ends of the rails, to fit into the stiles, making the frame. It's just glued up. The beading is simply cut to size, mitred, and glued. One thing I did do, is set the groove for the panel back a bit to ensure the beading is fully recessed into the panel, and not proud of the frame.

Never done it before, but with a little care to dimensions, normal door hanging, and setting of magnetic catches, they look, and work spot on.

The mad thing is, I was getting quotes of ~1k per alcove for cabinets and shelves in MDF. The cabinet in the picture + top + shelves, completely finished cost no more than £200 all in with better materials. One I did with a solid oak top, it looks perfect.

Martynt74 · 22 Mar 2017 at 14:09

Excellent job on those mate

MassiveJim · 22 Mar 2017 at 23:32

topgun06 said:
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

You have to put slight pressure on the roller sideways as you roll to effectively push the roller back on.

valve90210 · 23 Mar 2017 at 09:13

Skiddley said:
I used a groove cutter bit on my router to cut a 6mm recess on the inside edge of the stiles and rails, the panel is 5.5mm ply and fits into this. I used the same bit to cut a tongue in the ends of the rails, to fit into the stiles, making the frame. It's just glued up. The beading is simply cut to size, mitred, and glued. One thing I did do, is set the groove for the panel back a bit to ensure the beading is fully recessed into the panel, and not proud of the frame.

Never done it before, but with a little care to dimensions, normal door hanging, and setting of magnetic catches, they look, and work spot on.

The mad thing is, I was getting quotes of ~1k per alcove for cabinets and shelves in MDF. The cabinet in the picture + top + shelves, completely finished cost no more than £200 all in with better materials. One I did with a solid oak top, it looks perfect.

Cheers for the info, they look great!! I've been partway through building some similar cupboards for the last three years (delayed for various personal reasons) and wish I had cracked on and done similar to what you have!