Questions and Answers

Q: Hello! We hope to cover some unsightly water and drainage pipes in our downstairs loo - please could you advise how to "box" them in? Do we build a frame? How do we attach it to the wall/skirting board? Is plywood the best material for covering? Please advise on what materials are needed. Many thanks in advance. Lost! Bev

A: It's very dependant on what you're doing, how you're decorating the box etc. What I did for the loo here was mark out the wooden floor where I wanted the box to go, and screw a wooden batten to it. Same with the wall - this time drilling through tiles and putting a few screws into it. From there I attached 2 vertical bits of scrap wood every 1/2 metre to the floor batten, and placed another batten on top of this. From there I attached some scrap plasterboard to the sides and top, then just tiled the lot.

Really, you just need to do what everyone else does with this sort of thing - you make it up as you go along, and use materials to hand - scrap wood, plywood, plasterboard, screws, nails, pretty much anything goes. As long as you measure up beforehand and cut everything straight you'll end up with something that does the job.