FREEZE FRAMES

It’s freezing!  I’m sat here blogging with my finger-less mitts on in a bid to thaw out my pinkies whilst I update you on progress with our panel frames.  If I could, I’d wear the duvet as despite having the heating on all night, this room’s frostier than then current relations between Brussels and the UK.  

To keep warm, we’ve resorted to DIY as it’s cheaper than heating.  Last weekend saw a flurry of activity on the panel framing front and unbelievably we completed everything bar the stairs in record time. 

Adding the last rails to the stair panels

Are we nearly there yet?

If you're following in our footsteps and making your own panels, here's how we tackled the recessed frames:  

Having prepared and painted your panel frames, thoroughly check sizing before you apply any adhesive as even the smallest amount of paint can make a big difference to fitting specially if the frames are quite snug to begin with.

Lumberjack wood adhesive to glue frames in place

As we'd cut all the frames at the same time, we used a numbering system on the back of each piece of frame to help match them with the corresponding panel.  Dry fit frames into the recess then fettle down to fit.

Sizing up the frames in the recess

Apply adhesive.  To start with, I drew a thin bead of glue along the back of each piece of frame but soon found this caused a problem with 'squidging' ie excess glue seeping through the edges so in the end I applied the bead to the panel itself.  To prevent the squidge factor, less is definitely more and if you're using a fairly robust glue with a snug fitting frame then it's surprising how little you actually need to hold everything in place.

Draw a small adhesive bead in the join

Lumberjack adhesive goes off very quickly hence why it's important to check sizing first as once your frame is stuck in position then there's little scope to rectify any mistakes.

Recessed framed panels under the window

The finished panel now has a more stylish look to it with the recessed frames added to it.   

Recessed frame in  place

At last, all of the base panels have been completed, frames added to the straight forward sections so now it's just a case of adding frames to the stair section then finishing the whole lot off with a nice dado rail.

Progress after 6 months