Could you have done better?

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by MrM, Dec 18, 2018.

  1. Beeero

    Beeero Active Member

    I would have hung a pair of doors opening either side (looks like enough room) with either a tower bolt on one side and a latch and handle on the other or perhaps a decent set of magnetic catches.
    Boxing looks ok maybe see if it can be trimmed to sit flush with the boiler couple of screw caps and a nice bead of sealant job done.
     
  2. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    I honestly can't see a real problem, the boxings not the best but how is he supposed to blend it in with an exposed boiler without making the boxing huge and wasting worktop space? If the boiler was housed within a wall unit it would blend in better, but you can't as you're stuck for space with the reveal being where it is. Either make the boxing out of batten, plasterboard and tile and paint it to match the splash back, or leave it as it is. The location of the socket is unfortunate, not much the carpenter can do about that. Source a track to be fitted on the floor for the bifolds and that should make it sturdier. As long as he matched the doors with the existing style I don't see what he should have done much different.

    I think he did the best he could with awkward areas and tight spaces.
     
  3. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    I agree with wiggy and Jord86's comments. The job will look a whole lot different once painted. The boiler cover could have looked a little better with a bit more thought given to hiding the mains cable.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2018
  4. spirits are real 2016

    spirits are real 2016 Screwfix Select

    your worried about the boiler being boxed in what about when you need to fill the boiler up again or is it self filling.
     
  5. Allsorts

    Allsorts Super Member

    I too agree with Wiggs, Jord and Wills - there is nothing particularly bad or wrong about either of these jobs.

    The bi-fold door is pretty conventional; the RH door is 'hinged' with fixed pivots top and bottom and then there's a track along the top where the leading edge of the LH door runs - all usual stuff. He's used 3 hinges to join the two doors so he hasn't skimped there.It should be fine.

    I replaced the top rollers on my in-law's wardrobes which had identical doors to these except much wider - no issues at all with solidity, so I'm not sure what the problem is here if you think they are not 'solid'. Mr M, do the doors open and close ok? And are they firm enough during this movment?

    If the issue is that they don't feel secure once closed, then perhaps a batten can be run down the LH vertical door frame (set inside by a little more than the thickness of the door) for the inside edge of that door to sit against when closed - that would prevent any movement inwards; the door should feel firm if pushed.

    Another wee detail is that the top architrave could be lowered down to cover that visible top rail - which is how it should be. On that note, the vertical archi could also be moved slightly to the right so's it forms a small overlapping lip where the leading edge of the door slips behind - just a teeny bit neater, but not essential. That exposed top rail is not good tho'...

    As for the boiler's boxing-in, it's hard to know what else can be done that won't make future access tricky. Do you need regular access to that area - is the filling loop behind it, for example? If not, there's nothing wrong with sealing it using decorator's caulk or even sili - you just cut it with a knife when you need to remove it. Again my in-laws had such a setup and there's was even tiled. It never needed removing in the 17 years they lived there, and all it would have needed was a craft knife if it had.

    I'd lift it off and belt-sand the corner of the two panels until the slight step is removed, level and smooth (also sand the sharp resulting edge) and then roller on a few coats of the wall's emulsion colour. Reposition prop firmly in place whilst a bead of caulk/sili is used to seal it against the wall and far tiles. Use a Fungi (what's it called?) tool to get a really nice finish. Jobbie jobbed.

    As folk have said, now't wrong with that plugged-in boiler supply provided that's a double-pole switched socket. If it ain't, then - as mentioned before - it should be an unswitched socket which then forces you to fully 'pull the plug' before going in to the boiler. But, jeepers, a FSU with buried cable would be so much nicer...


    Bottom line - there's nothing desperately wrong with that job, but it could easily be made better.
     
  6. wiggy

    wiggy Screwfix Select

    I didnt read the rest of that waffle but i agree with this bit
     
  7. Allsorts

    Allsorts Super Member

    :D 'ard.
     
    wiggy likes this.
  8. chippie244

    chippie244 Super Member

    We don't know what you paid him but if that is a bog standard ex council flat and he charged you 2/3 hundred quid supply and fit then that's what you get.
     
    Jord86 and wiggy like this.
  9. wiggy

    wiggy Screwfix Select

    Guessing it is on the cheaper side with laminate having been used over,
    engineered or solid
     
  10. chippie244

    chippie244 Super Member

    wierd curve on the worktop too
     
  11. Sparkielev

    Sparkielev Screwfix Select

    Absolutely disgusting I wouldn't stand for it !!!! A cup on the work top with no coaster
     
    Jord86 likes this.
  12. Isitreally

    Isitreally Super Member

    Im only on my phone so apologies if im wrong.

    Its look like he hasn't recessed the hinges and only screwed them on the surface, if this is the case that'll explain the big gap in the middle of the doors.


    As for the boxing in.
    I would have fitted the small section to the large section with 90° brackets on the inside 1st, this way you wouldn't see the two screws that look a total bodge.
     
  13. chippie244

    chippie244 Super Member

    Bought in bi-fold doors look like that.
    Until the client tells us the price he paid we can't say wether it was worth the money.
     
  14. Isitreally

    Isitreally Super Member


    Are they, with surface mounted hinges, budget range then.
     
  15. MrM

    MrM Member


    The boxing, as it stands is not sealed, it’s simply placed. The boiler is not self filling, and has a spring lever underneath it.




    Thank you for your detailed response, much appreciated.




    I paid £750 for the laminate fitting which was pretty big, 6m of skirts, the shelves and the doors and the boxing in.

    I bought the underlay and flooring, he supplied everything else.




    Laminate was from B&Q ( So I guess cheaper end ? C £17 m2). Laminate in the hall was down over original floorboards (with the green underlay board stuff), and the same for half the kitchen, the other half was on a concrete floor.




    Curve was done intentionally, as we wanted access to this cupboard thing. See attached image, which gives you better idea of why we did it.
     

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  16. wiggy

    wiggy Screwfix Select

    I think you got a deal there, I would have thought the flooring would have been that alone
     
  17. MrM

    MrM Member

    Thank you, it was 1.5 days work for the chap, and I suspect the materials would have cost c £200 on their own (the door was £70).
     
  18. mr moose

    mr moose Screwfix Select

    I think you have been a bit naive, you asked a carpenter to do some work which he has done reasonably well. You should have spent a bit more time thinking about the design or finding someone who could advise you.
     
    MrM likes this.
  19. njm

    njm Member

    As a joiner myself ,i think the door is exactly what you asked for, looks to be fitted well, maybe could of used a solid timber door rather than a hollow core moulded door but there is no real better option with regards to the slide mechanism, and you are limited to having to match it with other doors presumably, it also looks like there isnt enough gap for a normal door to open against that worktop so your stuck with a bi-fold.
    I think there are a few things i would of done differently with the boxing-in.
    Firstly, my main rule of thumb is to never have fixings on show(unless its going to be painted and can be filled e.g make it out of mdf)-he could of used a 1x1 timber behind the corner to back screw though so those screws werent on show.
    Secondly ,it could of been shaped tighter to the contours under the boiler
    Thirdly, its too wide but there might be some pipework etc limiting how far back it can actually go.
    Fourthly, the cable for that plug i would have made come straight out the side horitontally through a notch.

    And finally i would have calked down each side to get rid of the shadow lines and make it look more like it was part of the wall itself.

    These are small adjustments (bar cutting the top in tighter) which you could possibly remedy yourself maybe with a few hours work and some basic diy skills.

    -Neil.
     
    Allsorts likes this.
  20. Allsorts

    Allsorts Super Member

    Precisely.

    The only obvious - easy-to-do - improvements that I can see are to lower the doorway's archi to hide that top track (as I believe it should), to add a batten behind that LH door edge for the door to butt against when closed to prevent the door from being pushed in - IF that's an issue, and finally to tidy up that pipe cover by sanding it down, filling any fixing holes, and giving it a few rollered coats of the wall emulsion.

    IF you need access to these pipes for topping up your system, then leave it at that - you'll soon get used to it and it's also a lot better than exposed pipes. However, if the filling loop is somewhere else (say inside the base cupboard) so you should only need access if something goes wrong, then caulk the join along the wall at least, and a tiny bead along the worktop. Use a Fugi to give a perfect finish, and simply trim it with a knife if you need to remove the cover.

    Shame about that supply cable right enough, but that needs someone competent with leccy. Worth doing tho'.

    Other than that, it looks perfectly fine. You surely need a door knob on the doors, tho'? That is fitted on the LH door down its RH stile. A neat trick is to fit two knobs, a second one matching the first on the LF stile of the RH door - that looks good and confuse folk when they try and open it :)

    Happy Christmas. :D
     

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