Wednesday 8 February 2012

Sunday 5 February 2012

Enfin! (if you'll pardon my French)

The bathroom has now got to the point where I have been able to think of clearing up some of the mess that I have made. It's not just the offcuts:

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though there are a lot of them: virtually every flat surface in the kitchen has got either tools or reject pieces on it. But I am pleased that I've used every single one of the darker tiles I bought, though I do have a whole box (that's 18) of the lighter ones left. One or two of these will get used, but the rest will be scrap. And I'll be able to take the big tile-cutter back to Raymond who kindly let me borrow it.

With the edging in place it all looks a lot better. Here is the edge of the wall between the shower and the washbasin:

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And here is a general view from the door (not yet put back on its hinges). There's a bit of reflection from the flash on all those shiny surfaces.

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I think the overall effect is a bit 1930s: the brown is very close to bakelite colour, and the stainless steel edges do have a bit of that chromium trim appearance.

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What's yet to be done is a couple of small areas of grouting round the tiles that went in today, and - a job I am not looking forward to - grouting between the bottom of the wall and the floor. I couldn't have done this piecemeal with the plastic sheeting down (as I put it right up to the edge) but now I will have to do the whole lot at one go. And then just bolt on the wc - et voila! Though first I have to work out what the hieroglyphic instructions mean that are trying to tell me how to cut the pipes to the right lengths. Since they refer to an addition of just 3mm to some measured distance (though what?) it's presumably important to get it exactly right.

Wednesday 1 February 2012

What a shower!

I fitted the shower today, with a bit of difficulty, as I don't think anyone planned to have the shower column fastened to a wall made of tiled plasterboard. Worse, behind the place where it fixes are a couple of metal uprights. But I think in the end, by using longer screws and a judicious bit of superglue, it's fixed firmly enough.

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I've now grouted nearly all the areas that are tiled, but I am still waiting for the edge pieces, so I can't finish. And although I have tested the shower for leaks, I can't really use it yet as I have to put that nasty silicone sealant between the bottom of the tiles and the shower tray.

I grouted around the sink, too:

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As this is grout that goes between a glazed surface and a glazed basin, it took a long time to set. Much more difficult than doing joins between tiles. One day I may succeed in removing that label too: it seems to have been stuck on with something a lot harder than my fingernails. The water supply is now connected and it works fine.

I also started tidying up under the basin:

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Before and after: in the second picture there's a thin bit of tile holding the flexible pipes out of the way while the cement is wet. It will come out later. I can't tile it just yet (even if the cement were dry) as I am possibly short of the brown tiles, and I may need to tile it, at least partly, with off-cuts. It would be better to do that where it won't really show than somewhere very visible. I have plenty of the light-coloured ones, though.

It is all beginning to look like a proper bathroom, which is heartening.

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