Desperately Need Carpentry Advice! (CLOSED THREAD)

Beverley75

Thank you for this - it's actually interesting to see it years later, unpainted.... 

I don't think painting the understairs storage (doors etc) white would look good in the space. 

Thanks again! 

theoretica

You have a white painted door nearby - so I think that is a backup option if you decide you don't like the wood.  At the moment you have one wood colour on the floor, and another on the stairs - and you are never going to get the doors to exactly match the stairs in colour and figure.  I would probably look at what is available in ready made doors - or even recycled wardrobes someone local is getting rid of - and add/cut triangles above as needed.  If I didn't think that would work out, ply sheets and moulding would be my second choice.

Beverley75

theoretica said:

You have a white painted door nearby - so I think that is a backup option if you decide you don't like the wood.  At the moment you have one wood colour on the floor, and another on the stairs - and you are never going to get the doors to exactly match the stairs in colour and figure.  I would probably look at what is available in ready made doors - or even recycled wardrobes someone local is getting rid of - and add/cut triangles above as needed.  If I didn't think that would work out, ply sheets and moulding would be my second choice.

Thank you for some great ideas! 

Bendy_House

Beverley75 said:

Excellent points!!

My main concern is that, in the space, having MDF painted white wouldn't look good? 

I'm really bad at DIY - and as a "working poor" single Mum, I just can't afford to not get it right, first time. 

These are the pictures of my staircase:

If that photo of the pine stringer is a true reflection of the actual tone, then I think it looks yummy.

Everyone has different tastes, of course, but I feel that to also have pine doors underneath it would be too much - it would take away from the staircase, and just make it a large expanse of wood.

I'm not at all suggesting that the alternative is 'white', but a soft shade that would compliment the wood.

Have you checked out 'under stairs cupboards' on Google images? Very few of these - if any - are actually 'white', at least not 'brilliant' white. If you keep 'clicking', you'll get to all sorts of options, including examples of it in all-wood. Eg: https://www.cabinetmaker-leeds.co.uk/gallery?108

Again, before you go 'pine', you need to KNOW what style of door this fellow will/can make up for you. Creating a 'door' is not easy, at least not one of any style. 'Flat' pine panel doors will, I fear, look pretty hellish, imo.

To look good, they'll need to LOOK like actual doors, so will require frames, panels, stiles, rails, mullions, whatevs. In real, solid wood, that is not a straight-forward task. It is not something I'd attempt, for instance. Whereas, MDF is a far more compliant material that can be layered, grooved, cut and stuck to make it resemble pretty much anything you want.

Has the joiner shown you any photos or ideas of the sort of thing he has in mind? If not, then may I suggest you need to show him? And the best way is an image of something you want to replicate.

This HAS to be your taste and YOUR choice, but I really feel that filling that space with pine panels will not look good, and will seriously distract from what is a lovely staircase.

Keep Googling!

The second one up - the wood doors framed in a bit of wall - looks pretty good, I think, but then the other doors are also timber, as are other features.

If the top two are what you are looking for, then great - that's clearly what you should go for. Just be absolutely clear in your mind what it is you want, not just in terms of material, but also of style. And have a way of putting that across to the joiner.

https://www.sharps.co.uk/inspiration/clever-storage-ideas-under-stairs

https://customcreations.furniture/galleries/under-stair-storage

https://onestopstairshop.co.uk/joinery-services/under-stairs-storage/

FreeBear

All the timber I've had from B&Q has twisted and cupped badly - Some of it to the point of being only good for firewood. If I need planks of wood, I now go to a local independent timber merchant. They are able to cut & plane to size which can be an advantage for some jobs.

Bendy_House

FreeBear said:

All the timber I've had from B&Q has twisted and cupped badly - Some of it to the point of being only good for firewood. If I need planks of wood, I now go to a local independent timber merchant. They are able to cut & plane to size which can be an advantage for some jobs.

I cannot see 'wood' doors being successfully made from planks of wood, unless they're ledge 'n' brace type - which look great

MDF doors don't need to be white

Martin_the_Unjust

It’s possibly worth getting the doors priced up online to get some ideas of costs (and styles)

e.g. https://doors2size.co.uk/angled-door-guide/understairs-doors/

(I’m not recommending them as I’ve not used them)

ChasingtheWelshdream

Just thought I’d throw in what I did on a shoestring. Ideally I’d have proper framed doors made up, but with money needed elsewhere I just needed to get something knocked up.

2x1 (plus some random off cuts we had knocking about) to make a frame.

Hardboard to cover the frame. (I wanted 3mm ply but couldn’t get hold of any at that point)

9mm mdf (cut into 100mm strips by the timber merchant for free)

Decorative trim.

They are not the most professional by any means and not quite finished, but for £50 ish (and a lot of head scratching), they will do  for a turn.

stuart45

They look really good to me.

Beverley75

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

Just thought I’d throw in what I did on a shoestring. Ideally I’d have proper framed doors made up, but with money needed elsewhere I just needed to get something knocked up.

2x1 (plus some random off cuts we had knocking about) to make a frame.

Hardboard to cover the frame. (I wanted 3mm ply but couldn’t get hold of any at that point)

9mm mdf (cut into 100mm strips by the timber merchant for free)

Decorative trim.

They are not the most professional by any means and not quite finished, but for £50 ish (and a lot of head scratching), they will do  for a turn.

This looks really, really good! 

I'll look into the pre-made doors (@Martin_Thr_Just also mentioned these)

Thank you