Indy Total Construction

For many people a simple boxing-in of their existing pipes to keep them out of sight is all that they require. This is a straightforward task and the materials are easily available.

You’ll need softwood battens, usually 50x25mm (2×1 in), with a cladding of hardboard or 3mm plywood for the simplest job. Before you go ahead. however. you should check whether any hot water passes through the pipes to be hidden.

If this is the case and you’re using hardboard for your cladding, you’ll have to condition it first Of it will warp as the heat in the pipework dries it out. This is riot a difficult technique: all youl have to do is brush water onto the reverse (mesh) side and leave it flat for 48 hours in the room where it is to be fixed. The softwood battens should also be left lying flat in the room for a few days so that they. too. w adjust to the moisture content of the air.

If the wood has been conditioned, the two battens should be screwed to the wall on each side of the pipes and the cladding attached to the battens.

Fixing battens edge-on to the wall is not always the perfect answer but by doing so you’ll be able to cover adequately a few pipes that project up to 25mm (1 in) or so from the wall, and the cladding will, in any case, hold the battens steady.

Remember that you should never use glue to fix the cladding to the battens because you might need access to the pipes for repairs or modification at some stage in the future. Pins punched in at 150mm (6in) centres, with their heads covered with filler, should prove adequate; this way the cladding can be prised off if necessary.

Boxing in pipes running in a corner will require two 25mm (1 in) battens which have been chamfered at the front to provide an angled edge. These are screwed to the two walls and the cladding, also with chamfered edges, is then fixed to the battens. For larger pipes you’ll need just a single larger batten fixed to one of the smaller ones; the cladding will be pinned to this and the smaller batten.

Another method is to use a spring clip attached to a piece of 19mm (s/ain) thick timber. Its edges should be planed and chamfered to allow it to fit neatly into the corner, and the spring clip is then fixed to the pipe itself.

If the pipes are in the alcove of a chimney breast you can box them in and then finish off the boxing so that it looks like an extension of the existing wall (see Ready Reference). The boxing for horizontal pipes down near the floor can often be made to look like wide and deep skirting.

A 25mm (1 in) batten should be fixed to the floor itself and one should also run above, but parallel to, the pipe. To the upper batten an additional 50x25mm (2×1 in) batten should be fixed; the cladding is then attached to this and the batten on the floor.

Doors are subject to constant use, so it is understandable that they don’t always open and close properly. All doors have the same problems. They are caused either by the frame and door or by the hardware. Door and frame problems include:

• Swelling

• Warping

• A loose fit

Wood swells when moisture gets into it. Never sand or plane a swollen door. Wait until the weather gets drier or remove the door and keep it in a dry, warm place until the swelling goes down. If the door continues to stick even after the wood is dry, inspect it to find out where it is binding. Then lightly sand the area until the door moves freely. Seal the wood and finish with paint or varnish. The sealer and paint will keep moisture from swelling the wood again. Be sure to seal top and bottom of doors as well.

Humidity can also cause doors to warp. A warped door lets heat out in the winter and, in summer, lets heat in. You can straighten a warped door by removing the door and piling weights on the, bulging part. But it’s usually easier to pry loose the side stop and renail it to fit the warped door.

Since there is always a little swelling and shrinking, doors should be smaller than their openings. To have the door work properly but fit tightly, use weather stripping. The simplest weather stripping is adhesive-backed plastic foam. To install it, first clean the door stop. Remove grease and dirt. Then press the weather stripping along the top and side of the door frame

Seal the bottom of the door with a folding (hinged) threshold seal, or use a special aluminum-plastic strip that tacks into the threshold. You can purchase weather stripping in specific lengths or cut it to size.

Self-adhesive weather stripping is pressed along the door stop as the paper backing is removed. Since straightened doors fre quently warp again, it is easier to move the door stop to fit the door than to try to reshape the door. Remove the stop. With the door closed, draw a guide line on the frame and renail the stop along this line.

The bottom of the door can be sealed with a special strip attached directly to the door. Another type of seal, made of plastic and aluminum, fits right into the threshold.