Remove excess or flaking paint manually with a wire brush or with a cup or wheel brush attachment on a power drill. Always wear face protection. If repainting, use a metal primer on the cleaned surface first. Once metal has started to corrode the process will continue, and accelerate, unless it is properly treated. Where you find rust, indoors in bathrooms or on leaky radiators, or outdoors on decorative iron- work or guttering, use a wire brush to remove all traces of it. Finish off with wire wool to clear away any fine dust from the surface.

After that, paint over the whole affected area with a rust- neutralizing primer or a decorative rust-resisting enamel paint of the type used for radiators, which does not need a primer coat- and allow it to dry completely before applying the top coat. Rust by using a printer that reacts the rust and between the metal and the moisture-laden air. Different methods and materials used in the construction of walls often depends on the age of the building, when alterations or extensions of anywere made and whether the walls are external or internal.

For the purposes of decorating it is hardly important to know how walls are built for they are usually covered  internally with a layer of plaster or plasterboard, which presents a smooth surface for painting or papering. All types of wallcovering from wallpaper and vinyl to hessian, cork, and ceramic tiles can be fixed with special adhesives, as along as the plaster is firm and sound. But for fixing anything heavier it is important to know what lies beneath the plaster so that you can make the right choice of fixing.

External Walls

The outside walls of a house are usually built with a double thickness of bricks or blocks. Originally, walls would have been solid but, in the 1 920s, cavity walls were first introduced, and these are now stand- ard in houses built since that decade. These double walls improve insulation and reduce the risk of damp.

T Surfaces and primers Unpainted softwood composite boards Ordinary wood primers, all- purpose surface primers, or primer/undercoat Resinous softwood and hardwood Aluminium wood primer Insulation board Stabilizing primer New plastering, plasterboard, rendering, or brickwork All-surface primer under resin-based paints; no primer needed under emulsion Porous or powdery plaster, rendering, or masonry Stabilizing primer Old wallpaper Treat metallic inks with knotting New iron and steel Calcium plumbate primer outdoors; zinc chromate primate indoors Bitumen-coated metal Aluminium spirit-based sealer Galvanized iron and metal Calcium plumbate primer Aluminium Zinc chromate or zinc phosphate primer fnot lead- based primers) Copper and brass No priming necessary Lead Allow to weather before painting; no priming necessary Ceramic tiles All-surface primer or zinc chromate metal primer Plastic, glass fibre All-surface primer

This, too, is often the most attractive option. With fitted furniture there is the potential problem of uneven ceilings and out-of-true corners. To overcome this, first fix a framework to the walls, using hardboard or plywood scraps to level out the undulations. Below By building the wardrobe out more from the wall, the chimney breast can be incorporated. Bottom This wardrobe fills out the alcoves, leaving the chimney breast intact.
Wardrobe fitments Fitted wardrobes help you make the best possible use of space, but they must be fitted out carefully inside or you will end up with a disorderly jumble. Interior fittings It is a good idea to fit an inter- mediate shelf to the width of the wardrobe just above hang- ing rail height, with a clearance of 4.S-6.Scm f1 j:,-2Y,in) to allow space for hangers to be hooked over the rail. Where the wardrobe is not sufficiently deep for a side-to-side rail there are various front-to-back rails that enable you to organ- ize your clothes efficiently. • Top to bottom Sliding rail with hanger guides; sliding wardrobe rail; extending wardrobe rail; traditional side-to-side clothes rail. tE Hinges There is a good range of different types of hinge designed to be  used by those with little or no carpentry skills. Lay-on – Flush – Concealed Easy hang- Butt – made screwed to does not cabinet – this cranked of pressed inside surface need a recess requires a hinge does steel, this of door and in either the hole to be not need a is useful for cabinet side. door or the bored on the recess in internal and Concealed door frame inside surface either the external doors when closed of the door frame or the door • T
Dowel joint Dowels fhard- wood pegs) are an effective means of strengthening a butt joint without resorting to screws or nails, both of which are visible on the surface. Use precut, fluted dowels with chamfered ends, which make a strong joint by allowing glue to escape from the dowel hole, coating the surface of the dowel as the joint is assembled. Hardwood dowels are an excellent form of invisible ——- Simple woodworking joints A well-madejoint will increase the strength of the piece as well as ensuring that it is completely square. There are many different woodworking joints and their variations, but the ones most useful for the storage projects in this chapter are described here. Butt joint This is a simple joint but it needs to be carefu Ily prepared in order to be strong and look professional. The square-ended butt joint involves joining two pieces of wood or board together, usually end to side, to form a right-angled corner, or a T- joint. To be successful, a butt joint must be cut squarely and accurately.
Trim the cut ends with a plane if necessary and then glue and pin or screw. strengthening for a butt joint. Centre points help to align holes. r • • ~ ‘)., Corner-halving joints Halving joints are ideal for joining wood of the same thickness. This joint is formed by measuring and cutting each piece to half its thickness. ../’, f,;//’ , To make a corner-halving joint, first saw down to the shoulder line on each side. ~ -, Fixings The range of simple-to-use DIY fixing joints now available makes many building projects very straight- forward. These joints require no woodworking skill to use, and all are invisible once the doors are closed. -: ……………———– Square-section wood batten ” .> • Traditional dowel joint Then saw square to the shoulder, and then finally across.