Anglesey Smallholder

With the days starting to get longer, but spring still not quite here, it’s time to begin some maintenance. My first task was simple: to repaint the somewhat dilapidated front gate.

The gate was quite dirty, and the paint was starting to bubble in places where water had got in and caused the metal underneath to start rusting. I decided that to make the best job of it, I would strip the gate right back to the bare metal, removing all the old paint and rust.

To prepare the gate, I used a wire-brush attachment for the power drill. The first drill I used was 450 watts, and unfortunately it seems that I burnt it out by using it for hours at a time. I switched to a 1000 watt hammer drill (with the hammer action disabled, of course) to finish. Remember to wear a breathing mask and goggles when doing this – the dust goes everywhere and is probably quite toxic. I’d also recommend doing it outside if at all possible, because it makes a terrible mess. Getting all the paint off took several hours, and wore the brush attachment down to a stump.

Once the gate was all cleaned up, it was time to paint it. I used Hammerite metal paint. It’s tough, long lasting, needs no undercoat, and is perfect for the job. It also goes quite far – I only used about quarter of a small tin. Painting it is a lot quicker than preparing it. I gave it two coats – the second coat has to be applied within 8 hours of the first so that the layers bond together properly. Once it was all done, I left it to dry overnight, and then re-hung it. It certainly looks a lot smarter!

My DIY skills were put to the test today with the addition of some shelves to the cloakroom.  The cloakroom had started to become a bit of a dumping ground for papers and boxes to be burnt on the fire, stocks of firelighters, loo rolls, and all those things that are useful to buy in bulk but need storing away somewhere.

I had intended to make the “baton” style of support by screwing a long baton to the wall and then having some braces coming out, with a solid wood shelf.  However, it turned out that it would be too expensive, so I opted instead for melamine covered chipboard shelves with metal brackets.

You will need:

• Wood for the shelf
• Brackets
• Screws for attaching the brackets to the wall (5mm x50mm / No10 x 2″)
• Screws for attaching the shelf to the brackets
• Rawl (wall) plugs (suitable for a 5mm / No10 screw)

Tools:

• Tape measure
• Set square
• Saw
• Hammer drill & 6.5mm – 7mm (No12) masonry bit
• Screwdriver

Installation is simple:

1. Measure wall to get the desired length of shelves.
2. Measure the wall again, to make sure you got it right the first time.
3. Measure the wood, and mark with a pencil at the desired length.
4. Use a set-square to draw a line across the wood.
5. Place masking tape along the line, on both sides.
   This stops the melamine coating from cracking, you don’t need to do this if you are using solid wood
6. Cut the wood – I used a jigsaw, but a hand saw will do just as well.  Don’t forget to support it at both ends so it doesn’t split when you get near to finishing the cut.
7. Offer the shelf up to the wall at just below the desired height.  Use a spirit level to make sure it is perfectly horizontal.  Use a pencil to draw a line along the wall on the underside of the shelf.
   The reason you draw the line below where you want the shelf is that you are marking where you want the hole for the bracket to be, not the actual shelf.
8. Decide on the spacing for your brackets.  This will depend on the type of wood you are using, and how much weight you want to put on.  Melamine coated chipboard is weak and will bend, so you may need more brackets than if you were using solid wood.  I opted for 3 brackets for a 1.2 metre span.
9. Mark on the line you’ve drawn where you want the brackets to go.
10. Offer the bracket up to each of these marks, and use it as a template to draw circles on the wall for each screw hole.  Note that the bracket may not be symmetrical, so make sure you get it the right way up.  Use a spirit level to make sure you have the bracket straight while you’re doing this.
11. Drill the holes.  I was drilling into brick, so I used a hammer drill.  Use a 6.5mm or 7mm drill bit.  Wear goggles and ear protection. I didn’t think about ear protection, and everything sounded muffled for the rest of the day.
12. Put 7mm rawl plugs into the holes.  If you’re mounting on plasterboard, you’ll need special a kind that fold out.  If you’re mounting on brick, just use the regular plastic ones.  Give them a light tap with a hammer if they don’t just push in, but be careful not to squash them.
13. Screw the brackets to the wall.
14. Place the shelf on the brackets, make sure it’s positioned correctly, and screw it to the brackets from underneath.
15. Stand back and admire your handiwork.

The hardest part was figuring out which combination of drill bit / rawl plug / screw to use, because they were all a mix of imperial and metric units.  As I said earlier, use a 6.5mm or 7mm (No12) drill bit, 7mm (No10-14) wall plugs, and 5mm (No10) screws.