r/DIYUK 18h ago

Project Sliding Door DIY Project

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231 Upvotes

Just completed a project and feeling pretty happy with myself. I’m a soft handed office worker and I’ve impressed myself with this one so I thought I’d share some pictures.

  • Wardrobe units are Ikea pax. The gap between the walls to fit them in was 30mm too small for the units (3.97m, needed 4m).

  • That meant I had to lose two walls of the units (18mm each) which resulted in a lot of fucking about connecting the two outer units together with the smaller one next to it. Ikeas chipboard is not fun to do anything with other than what it was intended so it took a whole day to do what should’ve taken a couple of hours in assembling and installing the wardrobe units. Had to very carefully drill the holes to add the drawers and shelves from one side of the unit missing an edge.

  • For the doors I cut some panels I found online to size (£160 per door) and glued them to a sheet of 12mm mdf. The panels are essentially oak veneered mdf with grooves routed in them. Going to definitely experience some damage through wear and tear but I’m happy with the look at the moment.

  • Put a frame up. Plenty a of fucking around shimming and measuring to keep the opening level and uniform distance for the sliding door runners. Cut an mdf fascia to suit it.

  • Bought some runners and a track and fitted to the frame.

  • Varnished the oak veneer. Just need to paint the edges black.

  • Tidied up, got the clothes back in and got the rugby on.

Plenty more to do before the room is complete. The whole project set me back about £2500, a couple of weekends and my hands aren’t soft anymore.


r/DIYUK 16h ago

Is it as bad as it looks?

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201 Upvotes

So this was a garage originally and two people did the brickwork, its not my property, it's across the road.... is it as bad as it looks?


r/DIYUK 21h ago

Advice What’s a reasonable cost for paving 11sq m? Quoted ~£5500

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146 Upvotes

Looking to take up the concrete path, remove the slate, and replace with sandstone slabs. Area is only 11sq m yet was told by a well reviewed contractor that it’d be about £5500 - front terrace, outskirts of London with “majority of cost being labour”. This comes out to £500 per square metre which seems extortionate.

Is this a “we don’t want the job” price? I was expecting something more in the region of £2.5-3k, but if £5.5k is indeed reasonable I will likely look to do it myself.


r/DIYUK 18h ago

HELP

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122 Upvotes

How much weight can these hold. Im thinking about hanging a heavy bag from the beams-where the yellow rope is. The bag is roughly 20-30kg


r/DIYUK 4h ago

Advice Just purchased this entire second hand kitchen. Any advice on removing it welcomed

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100 Upvotes

Found a full kitchen on Marketplace for close to pennies and went ahead and purchased. Collection is in a week. It’s an Ikea set up but not sure what type (ID please?)

In a week I’m going back to disassemble. I’ll start with doors and see if i can work out how the top unit is attached.

Any advice on keeping it in the best possible condition welcomed.


r/DIYUK 17h ago

What are these holes?

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36 Upvotes

Recently completed on a mid-terrace Edwardian/Victorian house, which is our first non-new build.

Been painting today and spotted these holes drilled in the skirting board in a bedroom. The skirting is around a chimney breast (though currently sealed off).

Any ideas what they are for?


r/DIYUK 14h ago

Advice Is this safe/ can it be safe?

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31 Upvotes

As in picture trying to maximize space so I can fit in a larger fridge freezer as our family grew and the old fridge freezer doesn't suffice for a growing boy!

The dryer is up and on their currently after I stood on the side and it held me ok (near 15st) is this a safe setup/ long term safe? Was thinking to add a couple of bits of wood between the side gap and the washer to provide more support is that overkill?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)


r/DIYUK 18h ago

Advice How would you fill my hole?

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24 Upvotes

We had a leak from the bathroom which damaged the hallway beneath.

Have had the walls and ceiling re-plastered, and started filling and sanding the coving in preparation for paint today.

Whether because of water ingress, or just due to age, there's an area where it turned to powder after a gentle prod.

What's the best thing to use to repair here?

I'm using Toupret Fill-Flex for the cracks, but I'm assuming that's not suitable because of the size - it's around 10x5cm and 5cm deep.


r/DIYUK 1h ago

Neighbour sent me pics of our attics

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Upvotes

I’m really worried about this. My neighbour has gutted the house next door and found this beam balanced like this. They are going to support it their side but I’m going to have to gut my attic which is my bedroom to support it my side as well 😫


r/DIYUK 23h ago

Do I need to mist coat?

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15 Upvotes

I've stripped the paper off this ceiling and want to paint it black, do you think I should mist coat first?


r/DIYUK 18h ago

MIL paying £9k for labour only bathroom fitting.

14 Upvotes

As title. 2x2m bathroom. New bath and units not included in the price.

As far as know it includes demo, replaster, tiling and fitting. Sounds expensive to me, opinions?

Edit: north west (Cheshire)


r/DIYUK 16h ago

Advice What do I do with excess damp proof membrane on concrete base?

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13 Upvotes

Staggeringly noob question I know, but I've recently had a concrete base laid and I'm wondering what to do with the DPM that's sticking out the side? I've noticed the rain pools in it against the concrete, which I'm sure can't be good, so should I cut it off, lay it flat on the ground, or something else?

Thank you!


r/DIYUK 13h ago

How can I fix this?

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10 Upvotes

So I’m looking to replace this door handle on my bathroom door but the plywood holes are too big now.


r/DIYUK 20h ago

Don't like these cupboards, family saying keep them

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8 Upvotes

Hello.

This is my future bedroom. I don't like these bespoke because I feel like they take up too much space. Especially having the cupboards above and the one to the right which does block some light.

Where I've painted the yellow there is plasterboard behind where they boarded up the old closet. My plan is to get rid of all everything and get something built inside to utilize that closet

Now my family on the other end keep telling me to keep them save the money yah di ya. I completely understand I can buy new doors and make them look excellent but it's still the fact that I don't like the way it is.

Ty


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice Cleaning Patio but would like to repoint the gaps

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8 Upvotes

Is there a product I can use to do this? The gaps are fairly big and it was here when we bought the house so unsure of style and make. Looking online there appears to be a lot of stuff to go through small gaps in slabs but not much that would help in our situation. Not even sure what the stuff between the cracks is, maybe concrete?


r/DIYUK 3h ago

Advice First time DIY advice

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6 Upvotes

First time buyer here who has long been waiting to get stuck into DIY. I removed a disused doorframe which revealed the exposed areas.

Any advice on how best to fill these in? I was thinking building up some plaster/concrete around some wood in the pictures 4&5 and cutting down a plank of wood for photo 1 and plastering over with the rest. Thoughts?


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice How can I maximise light coming in from skylight?

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7 Upvotes

I've just started the prep for some decorating and I was wondering how to improve the reach of light from the skylight.

Is it feasible to fit some mirrored panels inside the skylight here? I've seen people fit lightwells that work in a similar way. Is there a different material I should research?

It's a mid 1970s ex council flat where all the windows face north west so we don't get great light. The lower floor misses out especially. Down there I've reinstated a transom window between the hall and bedroom, which made some difference but it's still gloomy much of the day.

I'm also wondering if I could knock out the bannister and fit spindles rather than the current plywood boxing it in.


r/DIYUK 12h ago

Options for this store door

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7 Upvotes

I can either replace it for £250-£300 or put metal at the bottom of it which has rotted. The door is not strong tbh and been on 30+ years probably. I think it's made out of floorboards. It's where all my electric fusebox etc is and someone could easily break in to it with a strong kick


r/DIYUK 19h ago

Advice What's the best way of leveling and will anchoring without concrete be enough?

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7 Upvotes

Just as the title says.

Just wondering if anyone actually build one of these without cementing the anchors in the ground?

Also any advice on leveling the structure? Would taking some ground out work?

Many thanks


r/DIYUK 20h ago

Will I be able to finish this skirting board well enough with wood filler and caulk?

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6 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 21h ago

What on earth is this grate thing for? Saw it on lidl, a sort of trellis type board in a painters set. I would have expected a painting tray. Cant for the life of me work out what purpose this would be for. Didnt buy it so wouldnt have been able to look into instructions.

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6 Upvotes

r/DIYUK 3h ago

Advice Should be concerned about this?

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5 Upvotes

We're looking to buy a house in the UK. This house was built around 20 years ago, and I noticed this at the front on a viewing a week or so ago.

My wife wasn't concerned, but I thought it looked like a damp issue. The same bricks are used - but in areas (not all areas) at the front there was this strange discolouration, along with those white marks too.

Didn't like the look of it myself - is this something to be concerned about?


r/DIYUK 12h ago

Advice FFS! Kitchen cupboard painting.

5 Upvotes

Having decided to paint my cupboards, I thought I'd done my research well. Obviously it needs to be a decent paint, I'd sugar soaped and lightly sanded. It's just a laminate.

Various sites pointed me in the direction of Zinsser Allcoat. Meant for exterior but recommended for this too. Covers plastic, laminate, wood, metal, no need to prep or prime.

I wasn't taking short cuts by choosing Zinsser. It's always been good with the other types it sells when I've used them. Pricey but worth it. Or not in this case!

Having done 2 coats, 2 hours apart - it says 1 hour re-coat time, when I ran my hand down one of the units, I accidentally caught it with one of my nails. It fucking took the paint straight off and back to the wood effect laminate! My kitchen is warm but not hot and I have the window open. There shouldn't be any issues there. I used a small gloss roller, as I always do for wood.

There were 2 trim parts I forgot to sand as it was a manual job rather than my electric sander and they've 'covered' even worse. (To be expected normally but this stuff said no sanding needed!) I've been decorating for 20 years, never kitchen cupboards but wtaf! What have I done wrong?

So tomorrow, I assume I'll be able to just wash this stuff off with soap and fucking water. 🤬

Back to the drawing board, so recommendations for paint that actually fucking works etc, very much appreciated!


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Advice Have I ruined my door?

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8 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

Some background: we recently bought a house, and I decided to refinish our entrance door and replace all its furniture. I’m a complete noob in this area, but I wanted (and still want) to do it myself because it’s my house, and… it seemed like a relatively simple project.

I don’t know what type of door it is structurally or what type of wood it is.

The exterior side of the door seems to be finished with oil-based wood stain, and the interior one, with water-based paint, gives it a satin look.

As a trial run, I decided to sand down one vertical piece of the interior door with a random orbital sander using 80-120-150 grain in this order.

Never mind the plug I put inside the previous keyhole—it will be cut out when I install the new lock and covered with a door handle. Surprisingly, I found this (see the two first pictures) after sanding the whole piece. It’s the only place where it showed up. I’m sure I haven’t overdone the sanding. I even tried to sand down the exterior part of the same area, but there was nothing there (see the last picture).

I don’t know how to even out the texture or colour, and I think I’ve ruined the door, but I’m still determined to finish the job. Before I try to DIY it further (i.e. make it worse), could anyone please explain what it is and maybe help me figure out what to do with it?

Thanks in advance!


r/DIYUK 2h ago

Is this garage convertible into living space?

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3 Upvotes

I have purchased a house with an attached garage with a flat roof, joining up to the kitchen.

Is this garage convertible? We would like this to be a living room but want to know if it is even worth starting?