On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 23:39:15 +0000, Mary Fisher wrote:

We did our bathroom about thirty years ago when we had no money. We used
oblong cork tiles in a herringbone pattern. Someone had given us a pile of
waste from the manufacture of head gaskets, we made a jig and cut our own!
It's still going strong, unbelievably. The lavatory was done with one pack
of proper cork tiles, they were even better but we could only afford one
pack and didn't have enough of the others to do even that small space.

Sounds like something my friend "Oily Mike" would do. He made reproduction
exposed ceiling beams (non structural) from an old industrial-robot
pallet he got from his mate's workplace, carefully hacked down as if with
an adze and coated with black paint thinned with petrol for that
"blackened timber look". Complete with fake woodworm holes. It *was* an
18th century cottage, so it did look kosher.

I can't remember the make, it was years ago. It was a high spec, heat, cold,
grease, acid, alkali, everything proof, recommended for industrial use I
think. After sanding (with a hired machine which was worth every penny) we
wiped down the boards with white spirit to get all the dust off then used a
10% varnish solution, brushed on. Then about three full coats, lightly
sanded between. Each coat was allowed to dry absolutely thoroughly between
coats and we didn't use the room during that time. When we did go in to
paint another coat we had bare feet covered with tea towels. We could have
used socks if we'd worn them! We used a matt finish so while the colour was
brought out and it's a smooth finish it's not shiny. The room faces due
south and there are enough reflective surfaces in it, we didn't want to
attract attention to the floor.

Hmm. 3 coats. That *is* a lot of work... I might think about wax or just
use a stain/sealer for the non-polished look.


That was the dining room. My workroom/office was done a couple of years
before, using a high gloss finish. It hasn't been as durable as the dining
room - which gets more wear. The varnish under my wheeled typing chair has
worn off. I should re-do it but there are always more interesting things to
do ... Spouse's wheeled typing chair hasn't damaged the dining room floor at
all.

Good luck to you, it was just the all pervading dust even though we kept all
doors shut. It's so fine ... it seemed to go on and on ... although masks
were used when actually sanding I'm sure what we breathed the rest of the
time wasn't healthy. There were no children around though.

I'm expecting that. Can't be as bad as when my other mate sanded his walls
with an orbital sander - now that *did* get everywhere. Forever. Plaster
dust too - doesn't do the video heads any favours.

Our floors are pine and acceptable but if we had to replace them we'd go to
the reclamation yard.

We have to replace the 30yo vinyl in our kitchen. I don't think I want
laminate in there but I'm not looking forward to replacing the old stuff.
Spouse built a unit on top of the vinyl :-( I've worn through the pattern
in front of the sink and my chain is getting a bit thin too but I daresay
we'll continue until I get right through the vinyl ... Perhaps we'll use
floor paint. There are some very durable ones in attractive colours. He
could simply cut through the vinyl leaving the unit undisturbed ...

I copped out with my vinyl - I know I'm cr*p at cutting large sheets of
floppy material so I paid a couple of blokes to do it. Took them about 20
minutes and didn't actually cost that much.

Thanks for the tips Mary

Tim