Many years ago (when I was but a lad!) I made a hot-wire cutter for polystrene by making a bit of plywood into roughly the shape of a fretsaw, attaching a pair of screw terminals between which I stretched a bit (ca. 5 or 6 inches) of resistance wire from an old electric fire element. I powered the thing from a 4v winding of an old heater transformer. Don't get the wire too hot or the polystyrene will melt too much around the wire.
I just put 14 linear metres up this weekend. Just cut it with a regular handsaw, perfect mitre joints. I use a coving jig though as well.
I have used both plaster coving and paper backed polystyrene coving (covemaster stuff) and once up the poly coving looks identical to plaster. Plus, I did the whole room in 2.5 hours. Usually use coving adhesive but this time I tried No-nails ultra. MUCH easier / quicker.
No particular reason, George. Just that some aspects of the thread had generated some derision from certain corners, so I didn't see a lot of point in opening myself up to a cartload more by describing how I made my sad little cutter. If anyone else is actually interested, just say, and I will happily copy the mail that I sent him, to the whole group ...
Arfa
Yep. Pretty similar. Just brought up to date a little with some more modern materials.
Arfa
If it's paper covered stuff, then I guess that the hot wire cutter would not be any good for that. Likewise on using coving adhesive normally, and likewise this time in her bathroom, using No Nails. We put up about 10m of the stuff, and under 2 hours on the whole job.
Arfa
The paper coated stuff from Wickes (and no doubt others) is *excellent*. I've been completely converted. It seems to be a denser foam than the cheap nasty polystyrene stuff (I agree - hate the texture of it showing!) and being paper wrapped it seems to resist bendning a bit as well making it more like the plaster stuff.
Wickes certainly don't have much of a range though - just two sizes IIRC.
Cut with a breadknife, stick up with no nails (make sure it's the solvent free variant ;-)). An easy one man job - unlike putting up lengths of plaster coving IME.
It is a bit more expensive than the plaster stuff I think though.
Darren
Plenty of different coving here...the fancier it is the dearer it gets.
Sorry Kevin. My response was un-called for. You caught me at a bad moment on a not-very-good day ...
:-(
Arfa
Then may I wish you the best for its improvement.
Yep. That's where I got mine. Good company to deal with.
I am too long in the tooth to let usnet (or what ever its called) to wind me up :-) but we all have bad days mines next Monday (best friends funeral)
Sorry to hear that. Never good when you're getting old enough for people in your life to start checking out on you ... My bad day was caused by being tired having worked every day, and then had to go round to my daughter's every night to work on her goddammed bathroom. She's like a rottweiller, and just wouldn't let me have a night off. I can kind of understand it, because it's the only bathroom she's got, so once the bath and bog were out, she was a bit stuck ! Still, I too am getting too long in the tooth to be doing with it, and I was just getting plain ratty. I guess you were just joking about with your comments, but boy, just at that particular time, it really set light to me. Worrying really that I was that near the edge. Still, two weeks from now, I shall be a long long way from here, taking some sun, and it can't come soon enough ...
Arfa
Thanks ! I'm better now ... d;~}
Arfa
No problem we all type something we regret later after the send key has being pressed, I do it quite often (along with typos, grammar errors)best of luck with the bathroom ,and sorry if my sense of humour is not yours :-)
I found a serrated bread knife worked best. A mitre box is essential to keeping the cut straight as the serrations are normally bevelled to one side. I was using very fine dense grained polystyrene, not sure if the cheaper stuff will cut as well.
That question was asked in 2008. Get yourself a sane newsgroup client or portal. This is news:uk.d-i-y. Not a website.
NT
Razor saw is even better Or junior hacksaw
PMSL!
The paper covered polystyrene is OK.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.