More finishing lines!

Today we tried to get through as much of the finishing lines as possible, although a few people were given the job to insert shelfing into cupboards or attach the vanity in the bathroom and ensuite.

Not much therefore learnt today as we kept on with things we had already had some exposure doing.  

One thing that I did pick up today, is doing the skirting for exposed corners within the interior of the house.  The way around this was to get a mock piece of skirting and to draw a faint line on the floor, where the skirting runs when held hard up against the wall sections that the corner will be fixed to (as it would sit if being fixed to the wall - usually on edge).  

This will give a cross section of where the mitre join should sit.  The length from the wall out to the edge of this marked out section is then taken and this is the length that the mitre cut is cut to.  The same step is repeated for the the other length of wall that the corner is present on.  Once attached, it will join up neatly together.

Architraves & Skirting

Back into the architraves again today.  Rich had me in the laundry concentrating on the hot water cupboard so that the hot water cylinder could be installed.  Did the skotia and architraves fine, and then learnt how to do the skirting.

With the skirting, the same principles are followed as doing the skotia, so the back wall is the first to have the skirting attached (both with straight cuts).  From here the side lengths are done. The end butting up against the already fixed skirting will have to have a 'fake mitre' done to give the appearance of a mitre join, but not really being one.  The reason this is done, is to allow for movement where no matter where the timber goes, it always looks like a mitre and won't show any gaps (as it would if a mitre was really done & movement occurred).  The other end of the length will just have a straight cut.

To achieve the 'fake mitre' the end requiring it needs to be cut at a 45 degree angle (to create an actual mitre cut).  The timber is stood on edge and cut at this angle, and then a hand saw or the drop saw is used to cut straight down along the edge of the mitre cut (which will create a straight edge).  It is best to have this cut slightly undercut, so rather than setting the drop saw to '0', it can be set to '1/10' to create the undercut automatically.  The cut should be done so that it is approximately 1-2mm away from cutting off the beveled edge.

From here a coping saw is used to cut thinly across so that it leaves a thin triangular shape on the beveled edge of the skirting which when rested against the already fixed skirting will give the appearance of a mitre join.

Once done, the skirting can then be fixed using 40mm finishing nails or panel pins, at regular intervals of approximately 200-300mm & also where needed to hold it hard against the wall.

Before attaching the skirting, its important to check that the nails and screws that will sit underneath it are flush against the gib so it doesn't cause the skirting to jut out.

This process is continued until all of the skirting is done.  

All About Architrave!

Everyone carried on with doing the architraves and skotia today.  

I have been concentrating on getting the two rooms done that I have been working in, which has been Bedroom 3 & Toilet.   Yesterday I had done the skotia's in both room, and had almost finished the architraves in the toilet, so today I spent the most of the day in Bedroom 3.

Everything was much the same process, however learnt how to do the architraves for the doors, where the gap between the architrave and the corner of the wall is too small to fit the standard architrave timber in (40 x 10mm).  

Even though the timber does fit in the gap, it only leaves a tiny space to the corner, making it difficult for the stopper to get in to finish off the area.  As a result, the skirting timber is used and is ripped back to fit the whole space from the 3mm quirk to the corner.

To do this, the door should be taken off the hinges so that easy access to the area can occur (more so if fitting the wider architrave to the hinge side of the door).

Next the piece of wider timber cut to a 2.1m length is held in the space, hard up against the corner of the wall (so that the straight edge is against the corner of the wall, and the beveled edge is on the overhang), a ruler is used to ascertain where the largest overhang is present.  Once found, the rest of the timber should be fixed to this overhang amount along it's whole length, for example 7mm.

Once fixed and the overhang is double checked to be the same throughout the whole area, a packer must be found that is 10mm (the 7mm + 3mm quirk), which is run and marked out along the edge of the timber that is closest to the corner of the wall.  

This mark will show where the timber needs to be ripped to.  Once this line has been cut out, then a planer needs to be used to slightly undercut the edge and then it should be able to fit up against the wall.

Once done, this is checked and held up into the space to see if it fits, making modifications where necessary.  It should now fill the whole area between the door frame and the wall and still allow for a 3mm quirk.

For the top section of this length where the mitre cut is, it will need to be cut out flat by marking the section where it overhangs the already fixed 40x10mm timber for the top architrave, this way it will all sit flush.

Skotia & Architraves

Attached the skotia's today for the most of the morning, after learning how to do it last week on Wednesday.

Was quite a easy process, but you really had to concentrate when cutting the skotia that you had made the correct measurements firstly, but also that the right angle for the join is made.  The edge that is exposed to the open should be sanded back so that it isn't too sharp and doesn't have the possibility of injuring the gib stopper when they come.

A tip that Rich gave for long lengths of wall when working on your own, was to measure one part of the wall to a easy measurement eg. 1000mm or 1500mm, then turn tape round and measure up this point (rather than trying to do the whole length).  

For external corners, Rich also went over how to mark this out today for the skotia.  Firstly we had to wait for the slimline to be stopped, this is because it will be covered up by the skotia and the plasterer will only be able to stop up to the skotia (but not the whole length)

Once done, cut off's of skotia are used to lay at each angle and is marked out on the ceiling.

The point where the two lines cross will indicate where the length of the skotia needs to go up to in order to form the join.

This measurement is taken and the length is cut out from a skotia with a mitre cut on edge done so that the two angled skotia pieces will meet.

We also got started on the architraves today as well.  The first step when doing this, is to check that none of the fixings on the gib are protruding out, or expandable foam or packers on the openings frame edge either.

Once all clear, a 3mm quirk can be marked out at each corner, which act as a guide for the architraves to be lined up against (as pictured to the right).

Once the quirk has been marked out, the first length of architrave can be cut out.  This should be the top length, and is a measurement of the width of the opening is taken with a good 100mm additional added to this to allow for cutting out the angles required.

It is a good idea to mark out on the timber the direction that the mitre cut is to go, as because the timber used is a single bevel it means the straight edge has to go against the back fence of the drop saw (which can start making the cut a little confusing).

Once a rough length of timber has been created, one of the angles on the end is cut out and then lined up on the opening to the quirk line, the opposite end can then be marked out on the architrave by matching up with the quirk, and can then be cut out.

Next the lengths can be done, with the same process followed. When attaching these lengths to the already fixed top section, it's edges are glued to provide additional fixings.

The last length to be completed will be the bottom length, with the same steps.  The overall result will be a architrave with beveled edge facing inwards & straight edge outwards, witha  3mm quirk.  

Fixings used are 30mm pins through architrave to jamb, and 40mm pins through architrave to gib using a finishing gun.  These are done in couples in even intervals that are sufficient enough to hold the architrave in place.

It may be necessary to bring the architrave forward so that it is flush with the other fixed lengths of architrave (sometimes the gib may not be flush).  In these cases a chisel is used to prop out the troubling piece until it is siting correctly, and then it is held into place by a panel pin being manually driven in (as pictured right)

For lengths of architrave down the sides of doors, the bottom section will be cut straight to go in line with the floor.  

A quick way to get where this cut should be, a 2.1m length should be cut out with the top mitre cut done so it can sit in flush with the top length.

This piece of timber is then stood upside down and leaned up against the top fixed architrave.  Where the top of this fixed architrave meets the upside down length, is where the cut should be made (as seen on drawn picture to the right).

When trying to work out the quirk for the door area where the hinge is, it is very difficult to get measuring equipment in, however, if the architrave is fixed hard up against the screw, this will allow for the 3mm gap required.

Finishing off the bath & moving on to skotia's

Finished off installing the bath today.  

Mark had finished the cradle that it had to sit on (as pictured), and was done so that the top section was only at a 20mm thickness so that it could sit in the lip of the bath ok.   Aluband then had to be placed around

the edges of the bath that would sit against the walls to provide additional water proofing for area.

Once all attached & backing taken off, the bath was then sat in position so that it was against the wall and sitting on top of the cradle created for it. 

Before putting in place, liquid nail was applied to the floor so that it would have further fixing to area it is sitting in. It is very important to have the bath sit securely, due to the large amount of force that is placed on the area once water is added, along with the weight of a person.

Next Rich took us through the steps of putting the skotia up.  The first thing that needs to be done, is to ensure that all of the fixings are securely in and are not protruding in any way, as this can damage the timber of the skotia if something is sticking out.  

The first length of wall to be done is the back wall from the main entrance.  This is because if there is any shrinking of the timber over time, the gaps created won't be as noticable when you walk in the room as it will be hidden by the angle it is fixed at.  The length of the back wall is measured & the skotia timber is cut to this measurement with both ends having straight cuts.  It is best to add a couple of millimeters to this length, as it is better to have a really tight fit & the bow caused from the length being too long is easily straightened out when the finishing gun fixes the skotia into place.
The skotia is fixed to the wall in a double nailing pattern atleast every 200-300mm (& elsewhere if required) with 50mm nails, alternatively panel pins can be used.

From here the sides of the wall are measured out in length.  Again an additional 2mm is added to this so that it is tight.  These sections of skotia will need to have one angle cut (so it sits up against the skotia already fixed to the back wall) and a straight cut for the other end.

Once all done, the last section of the skotia can be done, the same processes are followed, however this time both ends will need angle cuts to sit up against the already fixed skotia that is there.

When doing the fixings, there are no spacing requirements, so long as it sits hard against the wall and ceiling.

Step 1 - BUIT 4545 PRESENTATION, Q12: INSTALLING INTERIOR DOORS

Step 1 - This video looks at aligning a interior door for the Hot Water Cupboard, by first gathering measurements and finding the right pre-made door for the area.

First step is to refer to the plan to see where the door is going to be fitted, what side of the door frame is going to have the hinges hung on it & which way the door swings.

Next step is to measure door frame, then the door to make sure you have right one, along with work out the gap that will exist between the door jam on either side & the door frame.

Step 2 - BUIT 4545 PRESENTATION, Q12: INSTALLING INTERIOR DOORS

Step 2 - This video looks at checking the floor levels & what it means if it makes the hinge side higher or lower (if it is not plumb).