ON SITE DIARY
This month Charlie, Helen, LB and Craig discuss their choices of second fix carpentry and flooring
Two sets of self-builders discuss their second fix choices and share their advice
We saw the integration of second fix carpentry features as the start of our oak frame cottage’s interior developing — its character, flair and identity. Looking back, we could have taken a bit more time to decide on our skirting boards. As with everything, there was more choice than you could shake a stick at! We chose primed MDF but in hindsight, undercoated skirting actually takes less work for a nicer finish. We would advise getting a sample to check that what you will receive is the same as what’s pictured on the website.
When it came to our downstairs flooring, we fell in love with limestone from the off. We knew it would complement our frame beautifully. It was laid with a view to making the area look spacious under the guidance of Richard from White Hall Flagstones. Who knew how much is involved with laying a floor?
Upstairs, we debated the merits of a hard floor with rugs in the bedrooms, but the allure of softness and warmth prevailed, and so we went ahead with carpet. By this point we had become efficient decision makers so we chose a grey scheme and looked at samples in the room’s light and against the oak.within 20 minutes having gone through a van full of samples we drilled it down to The One.
Our second fix carpentry quickly came around and we were presented with a million different options.we went for ‘torus’ skirting and architrave and, although we both liked the look of ledge and brace doors, we went for latch handles on oak doors as they’re much quieter.
Flooring options got a lot of airtime from the start; I grew up in a hot climate and couldn’t get my head around having carpet throughout the house, whereas Craig couldn’t imagine waking up in the morning and stepping onto a hard floor. We met halfway and decided to go with a tumbled limestone from White Hall Flagstones throughout the downstairs of our cottage.this suits our open-plan layout and we thought it would work well with children and dogs.
Upstairs, we opted for carpet in our bedrooms and on the landing. We liked the Scandi style of wood floors in bathrooms but we knew it wouldn’t be hugely practical, so instead we chose a light oak wood-effect porcelain tile from Topps Tiles; we have been thrilled with the outcome and can’t believe how realistic they look.