Fortnightly update 14.08.2016

Work has continued on some of the smaller jobs that needed completing. The window in bedroom 3 now has its curtain rod. Also, one of the 13A mains sockets in this room was faulty so I've replaced this with a new one.

On the landing, painting of the cupboard door is now complete so I've fitted the door furniture and hung the door.

Next project was to build the cupboard in the living room which is to house the gas meter and provide a platform for the TV. I had a rough plan in my head so bought a selection of 6, 12 and 18mm MDF sheets and four 2.4m lengths of 69mm x 20mm PSE redwood.

First, the pieces for front frame were cut to length then drilled out to take dowels.

To keep it flat, the whole frame was then assembled on a sheet of 18mm ply, the joints glued with PVA and the whole assembly clamped with a selection of sash clamps. The sash clamps weren't quite long enough, so I screwed a series of battens to the ply sheet and the clamps pulled the framework firmly against these. A set square was used to ensure the corners were perfectly square.

The edge of the frame was then scribed into the adjacent wall and cut to fit round the skirting board.

The doors were next... To make the frames, a 6mm router bit was run down the centre of one edge to form a continuous groove. Then, having carefully cut this to the required lengths, the ends were also grooved using the router.

These end grooves were then fitted with pieces of 6mm MDF to form biscuit joints. 6mm MDF sheet was also cut to size to form the door panels.

PVA adhesive was then applied to all joints and the doors assembled. These were set into the frame to ensure a good fit.

The rest of the frame was constructed from the PSE redwood with the rear batten being screwed to the wall and joined using angle plates.

The doors were test fitted prior to painting.

The frame and doors have been painted with quick dry water based primer-undercoat and satinwood topcoat...

...whilst the 18mm MDF top has been routed to round off the top edge, then primed, undercoated and finished off with a couple of coats of oil based Dove Grey eggshell, each applied with a foam roller.

Meanwhile, work has commenced on the front door. Having rubbed down the surfaces, an acrylic primer was applied to the exposed areas.

Then a coat of dark grey oil based undercoat...

And, to finish off, one-coat "Slate" grey gloss gives the door a new lease of life.

And, of course, the gate needs the same treatment in order to match the door. A little bit of rotten timber had to be treated and filled...

...and the exposed areas have been primed.

Meanwhile, amid some controversy, Jacqui has painted the exposed copper central heating pipes with white satin radiator paint so they now blend in with the walls.

The step into the pantry has been tidied up a bit using plastic filler...

...and Jacqui has given it several coats of white masonry paint.

Both this and the step into the dining room will be trimmed with a stripwood to cover the tile edges in due course.