|
|
|
Mar 22, 2022 20:47:38 GMT
|
Do you shave electric? My brother hads done so all his life as long as not out on manoeuvres with the army where no power was available. I never got that technological. No, I did try it for a while years ago but found it unsatisfactory; the bathroom sockets will just be used for toothbrush charging. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I need to learn to plaster. it's a skill for sure, and I've found they all do like to throw it around a bit. My friend taught me, and I found it was far more physical than it looks, and you need a lot of patience. I found that it's best when there are two of you, one to mix the plaster and feed the plasterer when they're throwing it on the wall, and the other to be throwing it on the wall. The polishing it to get it smooth is what takes the time and patience. Good luck. By the way, I reckon you're doing a great job, the house is looking fab. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've done a bit of plastering and it's really hard work, you also cant afford to be tidy, you need to get the bulk of it on and level as quickly as possible, as above the polishing to a final finish can be a bit more leisurely though. The only way to be tidy is to cover everything first.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 25, 2022 10:46:20 GMT
|
I've done a bit of plastering and it's really hard work, you also cant afford to be tidy, you need to get the bulk of it on and level as quickly as possible, as above the polishing to a final finish can be a bit more leisurely though. The only way to be tidy is to cover everything first. I know that plastering is hard work and messy, but this guy has done some some really nice tidy work for me previously, and cleaned up after himself; not an unreasonable expectation, imo. This time however, he not only made and left a lot of mess, he damaged some of my previously finished work, failed to mention it, and in quite a few places close to floor level there were lumps proud of the surface which I have had to chisel off to get a surface acceptable for tiling. That's the last time I pay anyone without inspecting their work first; something new learned every day.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 25, 2022 16:30:52 GMT
|
The bathroom floor is finished, at last.
I used a couple of tile holesaws to bore holes for heating and H&C pipework, making one measuring error owing to lameness, fortunately I was able to use that tile elsewhere, the hole being in the middle of an offcut.
The tiles are 450mm squares made to appear as four individual ones, and finished with a fake patina :
I made the cutout for the WC soil outlet by careful use of an angle grinder and segmented masonry blade:
Ready for grouting, maybe over the weekend.
Something I hadn't shown previously was what we started with, mostly because I omitted to take photos, Andi had taken some though.
The original toilet, no handbasin; apparently 1930s RAF officers didn't wash their hands after using the facilities, nice.
The adjacent airing cupboard which formerly housed a hot water storage tank with an immersion heater:
The floorboards had a fair bit of rot, presumably caused by leaks, some of the original steel pipework can be seen above floor level.
Next jobs, are to glue some ply reinforcing above to support the light fitting and pull cord switch, fit the latter, reinstate the loft insulation which I disturbed when wiring, then on with wall tiling.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 29, 2022 17:44:18 GMT
|
The idea of grouting wasn't very appealing on Saturday, and the weather was good, so while Andi was planting, and replanting what she had changed her mind about, I set to with the Jeep, and a tie down strap to tug the birch stump out of the lawn,
which left something of a crater, and disturbed the grass more than somewhat.
This needed to be cut / split into lumps which I could lift, but not today. 
Nor Sunday, as a blast out in Andi's car, followed by
and beer seemed a far more attractive proposition.
More of that this evening. 
Monday morning I planned to fit the reinforcing plates for light fitting and pull cord switch in the loft, and reinstate the insulation. Opening the loft hatch and pulling the ladder cord, I was attacked by our flattened removal boxes and various other junk which I must have disturbed last time I was up there; another hour gone reorganising that into more stable piles well away from the hatch.
By lunchtime I had made and glued in position the plates, tidied up the wiring, added an earth to the lighting circuit as the planned fitting is metal, and after lunch grouted the bathroom floor.
There was no more avoiding the stump / root cutting 
into portions which I could lift into the Jeep:
It took almost as long to (sort of) level the ground. A Guelder-rose now occupies the space vacated by the Birch.
|
| |
Last Edit: Mar 29, 2022 17:49:40 GMT by etypephil
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 29, 2022 20:48:43 GMT
|
|
Good to see Yorkshire puddings accompanying the roast.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 29, 2022 20:55:12 GMT
|
|
That is a ton of work, whichever way you cut it.
Well done mate.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Apr 22, 2022 11:54:34 GMT
|
I have had several weeks of diversions, helping Andi with the donkey work in the garden, grass cutting, scarifying, other odd jobs, meeting my kids for beer and grub, a little car maintenance, as well as the time consuming day to day stuff, so it has taken me three weeks to complete the bathroom wall tiling (apart from the wall which I have yet to construct, that is), and patches test grout with the creamy colour which I used in the kitchen, and the gunmetal as in the shower room. We are still undecided which to go for; I thought that I would prefer the lighter colour, but am favouring the gunmetal at the moment.
Next week needs to be much more productive.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More garden diversions from the bathroom.
Andi discovered an access to what turned out to be a long redundant drain in one of her flower beds:
High winds threatened to uproot another tree:
and bring it down on the new fence, so I attacked it with an Aldi special handsaw, as it was moving around too much to use a chainsaw safely. I cut off two of the longest branches which made it present less of a sail to the wind, and stopped it hitting the fence:
I am reluctant to cut it down completely, at least until the adjacent laurels grow another couple of metres, as there are a few new houses being built the other side of our boundary.
Andi "invested" in a bird bath to position on the old drain cover,
a statue to face one of the garden benches:
both of which are extremely heavy,
and 25 mature privets to add a bit of interest and shelter behind the bench, because I don't have enough to do already:
whilst I planted the privets an especially helpful robin removed sundry worms and insects from the excavations:
Andi QC'd the results and laid a path of stone chippings to the bird bath:
whilst I removed 14 8' posts which the previous owners had used to line a gravel path in the centre of the garden:
absolutely knackering; they were buried about 30" into the ground,
a couple of them snapped off just below ground level owing to rot, but the rest I salvaged to repair the one remaining old fence.
That will not be happening tomorrow.
After deliberating about grout colour for the bathroom walls, we (Andi) decided that the Antique White was too light, that the Gunmetal had a slight tinge of blue which didn't sit well with the paint to the upper part of the walls, so settled on Natural Light, which seems to work.
The quantity (and cost) of the grout is incredible, the three walls visible in the photo consumed 10kgs; about another 3 kgs for the fourth wall, when it goes up, after the bath is in.
|
| |
Last Edit: May 3, 2022 17:56:09 GMT by etypephil
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grout colour get the thumbs up from me - works really well.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That is looking lovely.
And I know how much work has gone into the garden.
That is a big job.
Well done Phil (and team Andi)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A little more progress on fiddly stuff; radiator and towel radiator fitted and connected, holes bored through the tiles in preparation for the bath supply stand:
Bath supply details. A free standing bath seemed like a really good idea, but the associated tap system was a real PITA to fit; everything from having to file the corners off the connector nuts so that they would pass through the vertical tubes, to having to allow for several inches of vertical movement in the underfloor H&C supplies so that the connectors could be tightened, and the tap itself then lowered into position.
Basin, wall, door, finish tiling, mirror, WC, light fitting & switch, making good outside, and doubtless sundries which I have forgotten about (or extras Andi has yet to think of) still to do, but after a year and a half here, we at last have a proper bath.
|
| |
Last Edit: May 6, 2022 17:54:59 GMT by etypephil
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That is a beautiful place to sit and contemplate, nipple high in hot water.
Excellent result if all your work Phil.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 12, 2022 17:08:45 GMT
|
Andi's attempts to keep the weeds under control involved 1,600 litres of bark which had the Jeep nudging its bump stops last weekend:
Now distributed, it covers about half of her salvaged and newly created flower beds:
The balance will be collected in 800 litre batches in deference to the poor old Jeep, my poor old back, and Andi's rapidly emptying purse.
|
| |
Last Edit: May 12, 2022 17:10:37 GMT by etypephil
|
|
jjp666
Part of things
Posts: 139
|
|
May 12, 2022 17:52:44 GMT
|
|
can you not look at getting it delivered?
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 12, 2022 20:33:15 GMT
|
can you not look at getting it delivered? Probably, although having to be at home all day, doing nothing which can’t be abandoned at a moment’s notice to receive deliveries with no specific time slot, can be a bit of a pain. Sometimes it just has to be done, but I generally prefer to collect things at my own convenience. |
| |
Last Edit: May 12, 2022 20:34:13 GMT by etypephil
|
|
|
|
|
May 12, 2022 22:48:14 GMT
|
|
Can you not get shredded bark/ woodchip for mulching delivered n 1 tonne bags, or from a local tree surgeon who needs to dispose of their waste?
|
| |
Last Edit: May 12, 2022 22:49:11 GMT by llwynogmon
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Can you not get shredded bark/ woodchip for mulching delivered n 1 tonne bags, or from a local tree surgeon who needs to dispose of their waste? That’s another idea,but suffers from the same downside as any other delivery. Andi favours B&Q large bark for what she’s doing, and another two trips of smaller loads should do the job for this year, so not too much of a problem. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 13, 2022 15:49:00 GMT
|
Today's effort was to complete the plumbing to the basin and WC, the latter very easy; just one soldered joint and connecting a flexible for the cistern inlet:
The aim to bury the pipework in the basin pedestal while leaving it possible to carry out maintenance, had me puzzling over routes for H & C and waste. I settled on the supplies passing either side of the basin outlet, with the rising hot supply curving around the slightly angled waste pipe, the service valves are accessible from below the basin. I used a wet rag to separate the plastic waste from the copper while soldering:
There is about 2mm clearance between supplies, waste, and pedestal in use:
|
| |
|
|
|
|
