It’s amazing how much stuff around the house you can block out. Little projects here and there that you’ll get round to eventually, but never do. I’m setting out to change that mentality and get the fiddly things done once and for all. First things first, I’m on the…

Chopping Block

I have been using a big offcut of European Walnut from my desk as a massive chopping board. It works really well as there is a lot more room than my previous separate boards, but it does take up a lot of space. Friends of ours have a sort of “over hob” cutting board that can sit neatly on the cooker when not in use. In a classic “why can’t I do that” move, I started to plan an alternative solution. Rather than the sensible option of adding little blocks to raise the board up, I’ve instead opted to route out the channel underneath. This, as it turns out, is incredibly labour and time intensive and is close to driving me mad. You’d think I would have learned after routing about a tonne of solid oak boards for my raised beds, but I just can’t get enough apparently.

I ran into a challenge with this method after a relatively short period of time. If I’ve lowered the surface evenly, what guides the router for the adjacent portion? I had a piece of wood of convenient thickness that could act as a faux surface to guide the router, allowing a consistent depth to be cut. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s getting the job done. Once the whole thing is cut out I’ll set about ensuring it’s semi-level. It doesn’t really matter though as this will be on the underside of the board. Once complete it will (in theory, anyway) conveniently slot over the top of the induction hob. A bit of a faff, but hopefully it will be worth the additional space and the freed counter top for baking.

That Awkward Hole in the Floor

The previous owners of our house had failed to properly seal around the shower, and as a result I unveiled a fun surprise after a few months. The wood skirting had completely rotten, and water had seeped into the flooring and the plasterboard of the wall. A minor disaster with a somewhat unsightly gap left after the necessary surgery was performed. It has been on my “to fix” list for a long time now, but I’ve successfully blanked it out of my vision for a while. I don’t know what prompted this recent bout of enthusiasm, but this was one of the targets and I set to work cutting an appropriate replacement piece of skirting, and grouted the gap left following the water leakage.

I have since painted the piece with gloss white, and will match the surrounding paint for the epoxy putty at the lower part that was replacing some rotten wood (the grey stuff is the putty). Once the pieces are all ready, it will just be a matter of some silicone to secure it in place and reduce the chance of further water ingress.

Bath Blues

The hot tap in the bath failed about three years ago. The little plastic bit that allowed it to turn the brass valve had completely eroded, and the part was no longer available. That meant replacing the bath taps which would have been a simple task, if not for the enterprising bath fitter who tiled the bath in entirely. No access to the taps was available at all. A completely mad move, but one we had to live with, and the only option was getting through the tiles with the accompanying destruction that entailed. The resultant hole has remained a constant reminder to poor bathroom fitting practices. A constant eye sore. As we rarely used the spare bathroom, it was another job ripe for the forgetting. I finally got round to properly considering the problem and began by tidying up the opening.

The job was made slightly more challenging by the addition of new radiator pipes from the heat pump to the towel rail. I cut the plywood to size, then trimmed it in the bathroom to get it exactly right. The key this time will be making a panel which looks acceptable while still allowing removal for repairs. I’ve got a few suitable sample tiles from Wickes and a questionable tile saw to do the awkward bits.

This post remains emblematic of these awkard projects which get forgotten about. I still haven’t finished them! Rest assured that when I do, I will add pictures of the finished results along with some lessons learned. One thing I have learned though is that epoxy putty is incredibly versatile and I’ll be using it plenty in future. It’s plugging up pretty much every hole left after the heat pump was installed.

New Day, New Bike

I love my VanMoof S3, and Sarah’s VanMoof X3 was equally excellent. Until it wasn’t. I have mentioned about VanMoof’s demise and resurrection previously, but they are still not fully functional for repairs so the X3 remains out of action. In the mean time we have picked up a Pendleton Somerby-E, an entry level electric dutch-style bike from Halfords. We needed a functional bike for commuting and the Somerby-E was relatively well reviewed for the price. It ended up being an absolute steal at just over £500 for a “Grade B” bike that is in perfect condition. I’m not sure who graded it but they were being particularly harsh on that day. The Somerby-E has a rear hub motor and an easy access battery for recharging. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the VanMoof bikes, but appears to be functional all the same. It remains to be seen how it performs on the roads of Plymouth. That will be for a future post.

For the conclusion of all these projects and more, tune in next time on Ordinary Decent Gamer!