Plan to box in pipes

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I want to box in the pipes that come out of the top of our boiler, and go into the ceiling (in the corner of the room).

I realise for most this is a straightforward project, but being pretty inexperienced in woodwork I'd ideally like to do this 'properly' - and hopefully learn something along the way.

My plan is to build and fit an L shaped box (i.e. 1/2 a box with only 2 of the 4 sides) to cover everything up. I'd expect to start by fitting two vertical battens (1" x 0.5"), one to each of the walls in the corner where the box is to be fitted. Then I plan to cut two rectangular pieces of wood, fix them together at right angles (with a third batten) to create an L shaped box, and then screw to the battens already attached to the wall (apologies for the abuse/non-use of correct terms!). Depending on how brave I'm feeling, I may get the bottom edge of the 'box' to sit above the flue (to allow access to the sensor), or I may even try and cut a semi-circle out of the bottom of it (the box, not the flue!) so it sits a bit neater, but still provides access to the sensor.

Finally I'd like to paint the wood with emulsion (to match the colour of the existing walls) - Most likely the painting will happen after measuring and cutting, but before fitting to the wall.

My initial questions:
1) Does the above plan sound sensible?

2) What wood should I use for the rectangular sides (to be painted in emulsion). Plywood, MDF, something else?

3) What should I cut the wood with, a hand saw, a jigsaw? I don't own a jigsaw, and all my hand saws are ancient, so whatever I use, I'll need to buy new tools for this job.
 
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I assume that boxing in the pipes won't stop an engineer checking anything

To save buying tools, mock it up with a bit of cardboard so that simple cock ups can be spotted then buy the smallest sheet of ply that you can get away with at b&q, getting them to cut it to at least width, if not height. You may have to pay for more than a couple of cuts and check as they have changed the rules on the minimum sizes they will cut
 
If you are painting , mdf gives best finish though you could make it with baton and plasterboard .What sensor are you referring to?
 
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Thanks for the replies.

Mocking up with cardboard is a great idea. I'll do that!

The boiler engineer confirmed it was ok to box up the pipes, but recommended leaving access to part of the flue they plug their gizmo into, used to take readings/diagnose it (that's the sensor I was talking about).
 

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