I know many of you guys are DIY experts/fans/advocates so I ask you gently for a piece of advice:
Leaving the wavy “wood” and hanging doors aside, my biggest problem with the closets is esthetic: the cats have scratched the doors and frames to bits. It is not really wood, so it cannot be sanded down properly, and it is covered in a rather unfriendly varnish. Oh, and the closet is “incrusted” in the “wall” -I suspect that if I take its back off, I’ll find myself out in the open air, this extension used to be part of the balcony. I need cheap options. A thick coat of paint, perhaps? Wallpaper?
Forget about the landlady, she’ll freak out if she sees what the cats have done. And yes, anyways, it is my fault. I just let it go on and on and on… until it was like OMG! What now. It would be a nice summer project to fix some stuff around the house, though.
Oh, this is gone beyond wood il. Cats weight 5 kilos, with paws to match. And wood oil I guess works better on real wood, not this so called veneer. Man, can’t even sand it! The insides of the thing are plywood, and I am beginning to think the doors might be of some distant cousin of that.
Thanks for the interest. Will do over the weekend. It is not a pretty sight. Just imagine a heavy furry thing with claws tap dancing on a wooden surface…
Thanks for the interest. Will do over the weekend. It is not a pretty sight. Just imagine a heavy furry thing with claws tap dancing on a wooden surface…[/quote]
Ah ok, how about filling in the deep scratches with putty, then paint it to match the door, if u cant matchit, repaint the whole door a close match.
maybe you can get some thin, coated plywood and glue it over the door. Or you can buy plastic “wallpaper” and still that on the area. I think B&Q, Homebox and Hola do that stuff
Stuart: It’s got some grooves, so maybe plywood won’t do it but I have considered the wallpaper, even though I would be afraid of the cats doing the same shredding again. I got teh idea from a Spanish home decoration magazine and theirs looked awesome.
What are you trying to do exactly? If you repair the doors, aren’t the cats just going to scratch them up again? I know exactly the damage you mean. My husband’s cat was terrible for scratching up the furniture.
Are you looking for a repair that will just make them look better or a repair that will prevent the cats from damaging them again?
[quote=“Petrichor”]What are you trying to do exactly? If you repair the doors, aren’t the cats just going to scratch them up again? I know exactly the damage you mean. My husband’s cat was terrible for scratching up the furniture.
Are you looking for a repair that will just make them look better or a repair that will prevent the cats from damaging them again?[/quote]
Well, look better is necessary. Who knows when a visitor might come in and see that… not to mention the landlady?
As to fixing it for good… don’t know how can it be done. Though they have lost interest in the closet, anyways.
That looks like it’s only varnish deep. In which case you could sand them down and revarnish but I can’t see the point if the cats are just going to scratch them up again. Wouldn’t the landlady object to them being painted? I think if it were me I’d just face losing some deposit at the end of the tenancy.
If it was real wood I could sand it but I tried and it “slips”, it is more like tough plywood. And we would still need to re-varnish.
The cats have lost interest in that area. It would be difficult to scratch it again. i just want it to look better in case anyone comes -a couple if friends have seen it and have gone OMG! heaven forbid that the landlady sees that, if she does, she’s not a fan of the cats and we’ll be on our fanny’s on the street. We already had that soap opera last year, don’t want to have it again.
For DIY, think about living without the cats and pay to have the doors replaced, new furniture, new kitchen cabinets and hire somebody to deep clean the cat smell. If you have them, like a mother-in-law, live with it or do the obvious.
The cats are no problem. To be honest, they scratched the doors climbing to the top shelf to sleep there in winter. I have attached a lock there, they can’t get in, so they do not have any more interest in the doors and hence, won’t scratch them no mo. Cat smell? Only the litter box area, and because it is summer.
I would like to fix that and change the furniture and all, but as I have said, we are doomed for destruction by wreckball -sometime in the not so near future, thank Goodness-, and hence any investments are not considered vital according to my landlady. OTOH, I like to keep the place at least presentable, I hardly ever have company, but for my own sake, staring at that eyesore is depressing. I have already invested in light fixtures and new furniture and other stuff, I am considering painting the place slowly by myself and hence I feel the doors could be prettied up without much fuss.
If they could be sanded this whole discussion would be moot…
Man, can’t even sand it! The insides of the thing are plywood, and I am beginning to think the doors might be of some distant cousin of that.
heaven forbid that the landlady sees that, if she does, she’s not a fan of the cats and we’ll be on our fanny’s on the street. We already had that soap opera last year, don’t want to have it again.