Indy Total Construction

If your bathroom is tiled, or if there is a tiled splashback around the bath, the simplest solution is to bridge the gap with quadrant tiles the ceramic equivalent of wooden quadrant beading.

These are normally available singly as straight lengths with both ends cut square, or with one end finished in a bullnose, and in mitred pairs for coping with internal corners. One drawback with quadrant tiles is that they are becoming difficult to obtain, and it’s worth bearing in mind that not only can they work out quite expensive, but they also come in limited range of colors (designed to existing bathroom suites rather than tile ranges).

If you’re going to seal the gap in course of actually tiling the wall splashback, then you can fix the tiles in position and grout them in the way, 12-24 hours after the last has been pressed into place_ In to accommodate any movement, you should make sure that the Wes bedded in a thick layer of silicone where they rest on the bath’s lip.Onthe hand, if you’re faced with existing round the edge. simply bed the tiles in mastic from start to finish. using instead of grout as well.

Quadrant tiles can be used successfrAl situations where the wall is not hied—pew painted, papered or timber-ciad.

However, in the last case its worth considering the use of timber quadrant beading as an alternative. All you have to do is pin it to the cladding or fix it to clean, bare plaster using an epoxy resin adhesive.

Again, make sure that the timber is bedded in mastic where it rests on the lip of the bath, shower tray or basin. Do remember to treat the timber with a good-quality preservative (one that can be painted or varnished over) and then paint or varnish it all round, including any cut ends, before fixing it in place.

One of the commonest problems associated with baths, shower trays and wash basins is the difficulty of sealing the gap between the edges and the walls. It is extremely important that this is done effectively as, apart from being an unsightly dirt trap, water continually splashing through the gap can lead to attacks of rot in floor timbers, as well as damaging decorations in the room below.

An ordinary cellulose filler will be adequate, but you’ll probably find that it won’t last for very long. After all, repeated soakings are bound to start it crumbling. And even if this can be avoided, the chances are that the movement of the bath relative to the wall — as it fills with hot water or as someone climbs in or out — will have the same result.

The answer is to use a special kind of filler, one that is both waterproof and flexible. called silicone mastic. This is frequently sold as bathroom sealant in small tubes, or, for larger jobs, in cartridges that fit into a special mastic gun. In addition to white. it is available in a selection of colors to match the variety of colored bathroom suites now on the market.

If you are faced by a crack up to 3mm (‘/sin) wide, then filling it is a straightforward job. All you do is squeeze a bead of mastic along the gap, holding the nozzle at an angle of about 45′. If you are using a cartridge gun: you can cut the nozzle to produce a bead of the correct size. If the mastic ends up on surfaces where it’s not required, wipe it off with a damp cloth before it sets. With the bead in place you’ll have to finish it off with a piece of dowel or narrow piping. Dip it in water to prevent the mastic from sticking and don’t be tempted to use your fingers — you won’t get as neat a finish and you could run the risk of inadvertently getting mastic in your eyes.

However, if the gap is wider than 3mm (1/sin) or so, you’ll find it increasingly difficult to apply the bead smoothly and neatly, and to prevent it sagging once in place. The solution is to caulk the gap before applying the mastic. This involves filling the crack with soft rope or twists of soaked newspaper to provide a base that will help the mastic to bridge the gap until it sets. Provided you finish off with a good covering of mastic, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t last. However, it is a fiddly job and you might prefer to use an alternative method.

When fitting the new taps or mixer, unscrew the back-nuts, press some plumber’s putt round the tail directly below the tap body a fit a plastic washer onto the top.

Push the tails through the holes in the base. Slip flat plastic washers over the tails where they protrude from beneath the basin. screw on the back-nuts and tighten them up. Make sure that the taps or mixer are secure, but don’t overtighten them. To make tightening easier, (and undoing, if ever necessary) use top-hat washers.

All that remains to be done is to conned the swivel tap connectors to the tails of the new taps or mixer. You will see that a tap connector consists of a lining — with a flange — that is inserted into the tap tail and is then secured by the coupling nut. This nut provided with a washer to ensure a watertight connection. When renewing taps you may well need to renew this small washer.

It is possible that when you come to connect the water supply pipes to the taps you will get an unpleasant surprise. The tails of modern taps are slightly shorter than those of older ones and the tap connectors may not reach. If the water supply pipes are of lead or of copper it is quite likely that they will have enough ‘give’ to enable you to make the connection but, if not, there are extension pieces specially made to bridge the gap.

If you’re replacing existing bib taps with those of a more modern design. it’s a relatively simple matter of disconnecting and unscrewing the old ones and fitting the new taps in their place. However, it’s quite possible that you’ll want to remove the bib taps altogether and fit a new sink with some pillar taps. This will involve a little more plumbing work. To start with, turn off the water supply and remove the taps and old sink.

If the pipework comes up from the floor, you’ll need to uncover the run in the wall to below where the new sink will go. You should then be able to ease the pipes away from the wall and cut off the exposed sections. This will allow you to join short lengths of new pipe, bent slightly “if necessary, to link the pipe ends and the tap tails.

Alternatively. if the pipes come down the wall you’ll have to extend the run to be,row the level of the new sink and use elbow fittings to link the pipe to the tap tails. In either case it’s a good idea to fit the taps to the new sink first and to make up the pipe- work runs slightly overlong, so that when the new sink is offered up to the wall you can measure up accurately and avoid the risk of. cutting off too much pipe.

Rather than having to make difficult bends you can use lengths of corrugated copper pipe. One end of the pipe is plain so that it can be fitted to the 15mm supply pipes with either a soldered capillary or compression fitting: the other end has a swivel tap connector.

Faults can also develop in the door frame — for example, part of it may work loose from the wall. In this case you’ll have to find the heads of the nails holding it in place — they are usually visible under the paint — and drive them deeper into their timber plugs with a hammer and punch.

However, if the plugs have split or shrunk this remedy will not work. So for a more secure repair drill through the timber and into the masonry behind with a masonry bit. Twist a plastic wall plug onto the end of a screw and insert the plug into the hole in the frame. Tap the screw head lightly with a hammer until the plug is fully home, then tighten up the screw. Fit as many screws as necessary to secure the frame.

Settlement of the building or loose joints may force the frame out the square, and then the door will not fit properly. The only answer is to reshape the door to fit — removing excess timber, adding a fillet here and there and shaping these until the door matches the opening as it should.

An easy way to do this is to cut the top of the door to match the angle of the doorframe, add an extra piece to the bottom and then reran the door. First transfer the angle of the frame to the top of the door using a small block of wood and a pencil, and then cut along this line.

It’s worth taking off a reasonable amount to make sawing easier —12mm (1/2in) would be about right. Measure the gap left at the top of the door and add a batten of wood of this thickness to the bottom. Finally, move up the hinges by the same amount so the door fits correctly, and adjust the latch striker plate too, cutting a new mortise if necessary.

Because the tile you want to replace will be hooked over the batten, you need some means of lifting the adjacent tiles sufficiently to be able to lift the broken one from the batten. The best method is with wooden wedges which you can cut from lengths of 2 x lin batten, about 6in long. You will need two of these and more if the tiles are of the interlocking type.

Push the wedges beneath the tiles of the course above the broken one so there is a big enough gap for the nibs (lugs along the top edge edge of the tile) to clear the batten. Lift the tile up and remove it. If you can not get hold of it because the end has broken off, slide the blade of a bricklayer’s trowel underneath the remaining portion and use this to lift it clear.

If it is nailed in place, try wiggling it from side to side, which may pull the nails free. If not, you will have to cut through the nails with a slate ripper, a pair of pincers or a hacksaw blade.

If the tile is of the interlocking type, you will have to wedge up one of its neighbors to free it.

Fit the replacement tile by lifting it into place with the trowel blade, hooking the nibs over the batten — without nailing; the tiles above will hold it fast.

Remove the wedges carefully to lower the surrounding tiles, making sure any interlocking ridges are properly engaged and that all tiles are sitting flat.

To remove a broken slate you will need a tool called a slate ripper. This has a thin, barbed blade for cutting through the two fixing nails, which are hidden by the slates above. Slide the ripper up under the broken slate, feeling for the nails. Hook the blade over one and tug downwards sharply to slice through it. Repeat for the second nail and slide the slate out.

If you have to cut the slate to size, scribe the size on its face and set it over the edge of a wooden batten; cut along the line with the heel of a trowel.

The new slate cannot be nailed in place because of the slates above. Instead, it is retained by a lead strip measuring 9 x lin. Nail this to the batten (visible below the two exposed slates) with a galvanized nail.

Carefully lift the slates above and slide the new one into place so that the beveled edge along the bottom is uppermost. Bend up the end of the lead strip to retain it then make a second bend for extra strength.

Slates at the gable end of a roof will need a horizontal clip to stop them from sliding off the edge.

Actual physical damage to stair treads is rare and will probably be limited purely to split or broken nosings. These can be repaired by cutting them off flush with the riser below, using a chisel, and pinning on a new molding.

A much more common problem, particularly in older houses, is creaking as a result of the treads becoming loose. The ease with which this can be fixed depends very much on whether you can get to the underside of the stairs or not. If you can, simply pin and glue 2 x 2in triangular blocks of wood between the treads and risers below, and drive screws up through the tread into the riser above. This is the only way you can fix a staircase with closed strings.

If the staircase has one or two cut strings, you can make the repair from above. First prise off the molding from below the tread nose and the molding holding the foot of the baluster in place, using an old chisel. Run a hacksaw blade along the gap between the back of the tread and upper riser. cutting through any fixings. Alternatively, cut through the riser itself with a backsaw. Drive a chisel blade between the tread nose and riser and lever it free. Then you can remove the risers if damaged.

If necessary. cut a new tread and riser from wood of the same size as the originals.

If one of the strings is closed, glue and pin supporting blocks to it for the ends of the riser and tread. Use offcuts of the tread and riser wood as positioning guides to ensure a tight fit. Then glue and pin the riser in place.

Pin and glue more blocks to the top of the lower riser and then glue the tread on top, strengthening the bond by driving screws or nails down through the ends into the cut string or strings. Do not drive any screws or nails through the leading edge of the tread as they may become exposed as the tread wears.

Refit the baluster, pinning it to the handrail and then pin the retaining molding to the end of the tread. Finally, refit the molding beneath the tread nose.

If you can reach the underside of a closed string staircase, you can replace treads or risers by removing their retaining wedges with a chisel and sliding the damaged parts out. Slot the new pieces in and fit new wedges. If a carriage runs down the centre of the stairs, however, the work is best left to a joiner or builder.

For a tight fit, you should only measure and cut a skirting board after fixing the adjacent one in position. What’s more, neatness dictates that the ends have to be cut in the right way.

External corners are always mitred. You can use either a deep mitre or box, or a circular saw which should be set to a 45° bevel, and drive light nails through the completed joint. Where walls meet at odd angles (eg, round bay windows) you’ll have to gauge each angle with a sliding bevel, and measure it with a protractor. Then re-set the bevel to half the angle, and mark the pieces accordingly.

On internal corners, however, a mitre will tend to separate and show a gap because, when you fix the second board against the wall, it will tend to move away slightly from the first board. The answer is to scribe the profile of the molding onto the second board — see opposite. Cut it out so that its end fits snugly into position over the first board. Then cut it to length at the other end. (Plain boards, of course; can just be butt-jointed.)

The fixing itself depends largely on what’s behind the old skirting. If it’s fairly recent, the plaster will probably run right down to the floor, the skirting being simply nailed on top of it. Nail the new piece on in the same way, using masonry nails long enough to pass through both layers of plaster and into the brickwork — say 63mm (2 1/2in).

For a hollow timber-framed stud partition, use ordinary oval or lost-head nails, making sure they pass through the cladding and into the timber sole plate (into the studs. too, in the case of wide skirtings). Ordinary nails will also do for solid walls of soft blocks.

Skirting boards are generally the widest and longest moldings around the house. They’re fixed, of course, along the bottom of walls, where they prevent damage to wall coverings and make a neat join with the floor.

Sometimes plain square-edged timber – say 150x25mm (6xl in) planed – forms a skirting, but molded pieces arc more usual. Nowadays ‘torus’, ‘ovolo’, ‘ogee’ and the plain chamfered and rounded types are by far the commonest. Plastic skirting boards are another modern development.

A gap between the skirting and the floor surface can easily be hidden with a quadrant molding – nailed to the skirting. not the floor, so any shrinkage or swelling in the floor won’t open up cracks visible from above.

If a skirting board has simply come loose, use a torch to look behind it for any wooden battens or plugs into which the original fixings may go. Then nail through into these. If the plaster continues to the floor, nail through it into the masonry behind. But if there’s bare brickwork without such battens or plugs – or if your nailing loosens previously sound fixings – you’ll have to use countersunk screws and wallplugs, inserted into holes made with a masonry drill.

If, however, actual damage or rot demands the removal of one or more whole sections, a bolster chisel makes a good lever for prising boards off. The best place to begin removal is at an external corner; otherwise take the overlapping board at an internal corner, or start at the point where the skirting meets the doorway.

Usually skirting boards are nailed in place, but you must be alert for screws (their heads may be covered with filler or even wooden plugs). Unscrew them. first, or, if that’s impossible, cut away a little plaster above the skirting board and slip a cold chisel behind the skirting to chop through them before you finish prising the board off.