New bathroom - not a big project, but big enough for me...
Discussion
Sorry, it's another "look at me making a hack job of my new bathroom" thread... I'm no DIY or bathroom expert, but we've decided to replace the bathroom suite as the old one was, well, old. And green. And big. And ugly, etc.
This is the old suite:
What is difficult to tell is how green it is (the photo was taken sans flash) and that the bath was on a raised plinth which, it turns out, was on breeze blocks and a chip board base.
The pipe boxing was all fairly nasty (and badly fitted) chip board and damp. The old pipe work was leaking, as was the waste pipe from the loo. The wood panelling was a doddle to remove but the removal showed why it was there in the first place and it was interesting to see where the first bathroom was installed.
What is also difficult to show is how big and intrusive the corner bath is and how small it made the bathroom feel - the opinion about our bathroom has been "oh, it's not that bad", but if you look at the first photo and the second photo, you might be able to work out how little space there is between the loo and the bath - there wasn't enough room to swing, well, anything...
I wish I'd taken photos of the work, but it was done over the weekend while we went away - we leave with a crappy suite, come back to a new one. In chaos - with crap dumped outside and loads still to disposed of despite having been to the tip twice with 2 full car loads.
Words have been had with the fitter too who kindly put a load of rubble in the bin - An apology was offered up as it was "his man" that did it. Honest (!).
This is the new bathroom suite - white and simple and somewhat smaller in comparison, but it's a proper sized suite:
As you can see, there's about a ton of things to do - the removal of the cladding around the bath exposed a load of loose and bad plaster so that had to be removed as I'm not going to be able to tile on it in the state it was in - the usual "gently, gently" approach quickly led to the "hit it with a hammer until the neighbour complains" approach. My OH joined in and we were left with a few holes to fill - too deep and ugly for filler, so mortar was used.
Still lots to do, so I've made a start on pipe boxing which took me 3 hours last night - starting this kind of thing at 2000, it turns out, is a bad idea as my brain stopped working at 2300 - I also decided that starting making the bath panel at that time with a fried brain and knowing I've got to be up at 0600 for work to return to start more work at about 2000 again was a bad idea.
These are the results - not screwed or fitted in yet as I ran out of time, energy and brain function - it's all self supporting for photographic purposes. I've got to work out what to do behind the loo (no photos of this here as I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it yet).
Once sealed, painted and fitted, I think it should look passable - possibly not all the way up to PH standards, but given my limited carpentry skills, I think it's ok.
Hats off to B&Q Rotherham though - I went in with all my measurements and they cut all the pieces I needed to the sizes you can see - saved me a whole load of heartache, time, mess and messing about.
Tonight - Build a bath panel, fit the boxing, make a window sill, remove the old paint over the radiator and get a base white coat of paint on the walls that will be painted.
Apologies for the long, boring thread, but I'm pleased with the way it's going and I thought I'd share.
My hands and arms are looking pretty battered and I wasn't paying attention when removing the tile border from the wall and, while using my favourite 16oz hammer, hit my hand pretty damned hard when not really looking where the chisel head was.
I'm not looking forward to the tiling (never done it before) nor to the painting (not sure how painting behind the radiator is going to work, but I've got the right rollers to do it - so there will be fun).
My OH has, however, asked me why it is that men get cranky and "off in to their own little world" when doing DIY. She asked me this just after I hit my hand with a hammer so the response wasn't very nice - I said, later, that it's because we need to think and concentrate on what we're doing and because we just do, dammit - and I'm not cranky at all
This is the old suite:
What is difficult to tell is how green it is (the photo was taken sans flash) and that the bath was on a raised plinth which, it turns out, was on breeze blocks and a chip board base.
The pipe boxing was all fairly nasty (and badly fitted) chip board and damp. The old pipe work was leaking, as was the waste pipe from the loo. The wood panelling was a doddle to remove but the removal showed why it was there in the first place and it was interesting to see where the first bathroom was installed.
What is also difficult to show is how big and intrusive the corner bath is and how small it made the bathroom feel - the opinion about our bathroom has been "oh, it's not that bad", but if you look at the first photo and the second photo, you might be able to work out how little space there is between the loo and the bath - there wasn't enough room to swing, well, anything...
I wish I'd taken photos of the work, but it was done over the weekend while we went away - we leave with a crappy suite, come back to a new one. In chaos - with crap dumped outside and loads still to disposed of despite having been to the tip twice with 2 full car loads.
Words have been had with the fitter too who kindly put a load of rubble in the bin - An apology was offered up as it was "his man" that did it. Honest (!).
This is the new bathroom suite - white and simple and somewhat smaller in comparison, but it's a proper sized suite:
As you can see, there's about a ton of things to do - the removal of the cladding around the bath exposed a load of loose and bad plaster so that had to be removed as I'm not going to be able to tile on it in the state it was in - the usual "gently, gently" approach quickly led to the "hit it with a hammer until the neighbour complains" approach. My OH joined in and we were left with a few holes to fill - too deep and ugly for filler, so mortar was used.
Still lots to do, so I've made a start on pipe boxing which took me 3 hours last night - starting this kind of thing at 2000, it turns out, is a bad idea as my brain stopped working at 2300 - I also decided that starting making the bath panel at that time with a fried brain and knowing I've got to be up at 0600 for work to return to start more work at about 2000 again was a bad idea.
These are the results - not screwed or fitted in yet as I ran out of time, energy and brain function - it's all self supporting for photographic purposes. I've got to work out what to do behind the loo (no photos of this here as I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it yet).
Once sealed, painted and fitted, I think it should look passable - possibly not all the way up to PH standards, but given my limited carpentry skills, I think it's ok.
Hats off to B&Q Rotherham though - I went in with all my measurements and they cut all the pieces I needed to the sizes you can see - saved me a whole load of heartache, time, mess and messing about.
Tonight - Build a bath panel, fit the boxing, make a window sill, remove the old paint over the radiator and get a base white coat of paint on the walls that will be painted.
Apologies for the long, boring thread, but I'm pleased with the way it's going and I thought I'd share.
My hands and arms are looking pretty battered and I wasn't paying attention when removing the tile border from the wall and, while using my favourite 16oz hammer, hit my hand pretty damned hard when not really looking where the chisel head was.
I'm not looking forward to the tiling (never done it before) nor to the painting (not sure how painting behind the radiator is going to work, but I've got the right rollers to do it - so there will be fun).
My OH has, however, asked me why it is that men get cranky and "off in to their own little world" when doing DIY. She asked me this just after I hit my hand with a hammer so the response wasn't very nice - I said, later, that it's because we need to think and concentrate on what we're doing and because we just do, dammit - and I'm not cranky at all
Good stuff.
I'm just doing a similar sized one myself but was converting a bedroom to a new bathroom.
I tiled the floor myself and it looks great but I have just found that working full time and trying to finish it off is just not happening. Hence why there is a pro tiler in there today finishing off around the bath.
Still got to fit my bog, sink and all the taps/shower/fitting.
re tiling....
Most imporant thing!!! .Pay someone who knows what they are doing!!...honestly.
It's not rocket science but it is an akward, messy and sometimes frustrating thing if your not used to it.
Porcelain tiles, bstd to cut compared to ceramic (takes 5x the effort) but do look lovely. Laid my floor in a brick paterrn to disguise the uneven walls. Also large tiles need a dead flat surface to lay on to so make sure your wall is nice and flat.
I'll take some pics of mine so we can compare/compete!!
I'm just doing a similar sized one myself but was converting a bedroom to a new bathroom.
I tiled the floor myself and it looks great but I have just found that working full time and trying to finish it off is just not happening. Hence why there is a pro tiler in there today finishing off around the bath.
Still got to fit my bog, sink and all the taps/shower/fitting.
re tiling....
Most imporant thing!!! .Pay someone who knows what they are doing!!...honestly.
It's not rocket science but it is an akward, messy and sometimes frustrating thing if your not used to it.
Porcelain tiles, bstd to cut compared to ceramic (takes 5x the effort) but do look lovely. Laid my floor in a brick paterrn to disguise the uneven walls. Also large tiles need a dead flat surface to lay on to so make sure your wall is nice and flat.
I'll take some pics of mine so we can compare/compete!!
My neighbour is helping me with tiling - he's fitted a few bathrooms and enjoys tiling - I'm not doing the whole bathroom which helps. He's got all the tools and the knowhow....
This is all a learning curve for me and I'm loving it - the pipe boxing, however, is something I've done before and enjoy anyway.
This is all a learning curve for me and I'm loving it - the pipe boxing, however, is something I've done before and enjoy anyway.
poo at Paul's said:
If that is mdf used for the boxing behind the bath, you'd be wise to replace it with some concrete plasterboard, aquapanel and the like.
horizontal mdf near a bath is asking for trouble with leaks!!
It is and that's been pointed out to me and I will be making a change to that tonight - Not sure what I'll use to be honest as it's for such a small area.horizontal mdf near a bath is asking for trouble with leaks!!
Excuse the stupid question, but can I not put tiles (all sealed properly) on to that small piece of MDF - given its location at the opposite end of the bath taps (and angle it slightly down)?
Failing that - what do I look for and where? And where can I get a piece small enough? (700x200mm max narrowing back).
ETA - Above.
Edited by james_tigerwoods on Wednesday 27th October 09:40
Your bathroom will look different again OP when you've done the tiling but it looks much better already without that humongous corner bath. What were people thinking in the 80s and 90s stuffing these things in everywhere!!
We've just done one of ours as part of a full renovation and we decided at the outset that tiling was one of the things we would do ourself to save cash as it really isn't that difficult, just time consuming.
As we have a bath in our en-suite we substituted a shower to save space in what is a pretty small bathroom and whilst the builders did the plumbing we did all of the tiling.
It's not perfect but we saved £1500+ in labour for a couple of weekends work
Before
After
We've just done one of ours as part of a full renovation and we decided at the outset that tiling was one of the things we would do ourself to save cash as it really isn't that difficult, just time consuming.
As we have a bath in our en-suite we substituted a shower to save space in what is a pretty small bathroom and whilst the builders did the plumbing we did all of the tiling.
It's not perfect but we saved £1500+ in labour for a couple of weekends work
Before
After
Simpo Two said:
Looks very smart but the window seems bleak. How about adding a windowsill?
We have tiled right around the window recess and prefer the clean look without a sill.james_tigerwoods said:
dugsud said:
Your Bathroom
Are they tiles on tiles in the back there??Looks nice - where did you get that mirror from by the way?
The mirror was from http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Kings-Bathroom-Ltd and was around £70 I think.
Dug - I more meant was that tiles ON tiles that the previous fitter put on?
I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
james_tigerwoods said:
Dug - I more meant was that tiles ON tiles that the previous fitter put on?
I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
Oh yes, they we're three tiles thick at one point I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
The whole house was a DIY nightmare over a period of about 30 years......up to about 1970 that is then nothing You can buy something called 'hardy backer board' which is specially designed for wet areas but not sure what the smallest size piece sold would be. What about a bit of marine ply?
dugsud said:
james_tigerwoods said:
Dug - I more meant was that tiles ON tiles that the previous fitter put on?
I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
Oh yes, they we're three tiles thick at one point I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
The whole house was a DIY nightmare over a period of about 30 years......up to about 1970 that is then nothing You can buy something called 'hardy backer board' which is specially designed for wet areas but not sure what the smallest size piece sold would be. What about a bit of marine ply?
thole in those 'before' pics at the bottom of his post.james_tigerwoods said:
dugsud said:
james_tigerwoods said:
Dug - I more meant was that tiles ON tiles that the previous fitter put on?
I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
Oh yes, they we're three tiles thick at one point I'm beginning to think that the eejit who installed my bathroom was drunk. Or stupid. Or both.
Any views on what I can use instead of the MDF there at the back of the bath? I know I can't use MDF, but I am going to need something small and I'm loathe to go out and buy a big expensive piece of something for such a small piece of work - Can I "cheat" and use some water treated wood (like external quality wood - NOT the green coloured stuff, of course) and then tile on that?
I'd like to pick something up this lunchtime if poss....
The whole house was a DIY nightmare over a period of about 30 years......up to about 1970 that is then nothing You can buy something called 'hardy backer board' which is specially designed for wet areas but not sure what the smallest size piece sold would be. What about a bit of marine ply?
Cheers,
FT.
james_tigerwoods said:
fatboy b said:
Looks like you got the same towel-warmer as us. Plumbworld? They rust like a good'un. We've already had ours replaced once (after a year) and it needs doing again.
NooooooooooooAnd no, Screwfix....
dugsud said:
You can buy something called 'hardy backer board'
Almost!www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/products-interior.sh...
Fume troll said:
Thanks - I did look up Aquapanel, but that came back with different results - I'll give that a go - even if I don't need that much.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff