So here we go. The bathroom has really needed doing for a number of years, but has been put off due to lack of spare cash and the spectre of what to do about the water tank cupboard. The difference this year is I am now resigned to the fact that the 35 year old heating system could do with a modern replacement. With the installation of a combi boiler looming, the cupboard will no longer be an issue and this will give me enough hot water pressure to install a shower.
21st May
Phoned a local heating firm about installation. They will get the surveyor to ring me to arrange an appointment.
22nd May
The lady that took my call yesterday rings back to say the surveyor is confused by the situation. I've said that I can source the boiler myself (through a staff discount scheme), but they suggest that buying through them will give me a 5 year instead of 2 year warranty.
28th May
Phone the heating company to chase them up. I am told the surveyor will ring.
30th May
Bought the sink and loo from the Bathstore sale.
1st June
Ring up a differnent local heating company and arrange for the surveyor to visit tomorrow. Get sidetracked on a vist to B&Q and discover a local place for bathrooms, kitchens and tiles. Notice a bargain P-shaped bath with shower screen and side panels for less than the price of just the screen from Bathstore.
2nd June
They turn up on time and confirm the water tank cupboard can go. The quote is fine too. They will register the boiler through their own system and I will still get a staff discount and 5 year warranty. I start the ball rolling by getting the boiler organised (cheers SC). Delivery estimate 9th June. Arrange installation for 11th June. Find the matching wallpaper to my lounge online. Quite amazing because its been up for at least 13 and a half years. One of the radiators in the lounge is being replaced along with the central heating due to a broken bleed valve. I order a roll to cover the area left exposed when the shorter radiator is fitted.
Before Pictures:
note: the damage on the radiator wall was done by me looking what was under the hardboard that someone had stuck up.
The Plan for the Bathroom:
The plan will be to re-tile the floor, tile the walls from floor to ceiling. Re-paper the ceiling. The new sink will go where the old one was, the shower end of the bath will go where the airing cupboard is. It is important that any remaining pipes going to the central heating header tank in loft are hidden within the walls. This was discussed with the heating surveyor.
3rd June
The sink and loo arrive by 10am. I strip tiles and plaster from one of the walls. The plaster that was above the tiled area needs very little persuasion to come off. The day is punctuated by 3 trips to the council refuse site to dump the spoil.
4th June
Mostly running around today. Screwfix, B&Q, etc. Order the bath from that bathroom showroom I mentioned. A 60 mile round trip to collect the boiler which arrived unexpectedly early. By the evening I start to strip the paper off the toilet wall (seperate room). In places, the plaster is already wobbling, quite seperate from the supporting laths. It looks like this may need completely stripping and plasterboarding too. I give up for the day.
5th June
Spend the day removing the remaining tiles. There is a 2 inch square piece behind the sink I cant get to. There appears to be a layer of mortar behind the tiled area which is like concrete. The top part of the walls is between 3mm and 8mm further back. I have little confidence that I could take things back to the bare brick. Even with my new chisel, the tile backing is really tough. If I batten the wall and plasterboard it to level it off, the pipes to the sink will have to move, and the subfloor would have to come up. The plan will be to apply mortar or plaster to raise the level of the wall to match the area that was tiled.
8th June
Nothing done over the weekend. Today I took up all the floor tiles from the bathroom and loo (along with two trips to the tip). Got 3 cement boards from Wickes for the shower area plus most of the things needed for tomorrow. With the floorboards exposed, I'm going to attempt to plumb in the new loo and sink. I've some new floorboards to replace some of the ones that look a bit dodgy and I've decided to batten out the sink wall after all. Fitted the loo together in the lounge to measure where the pipes need to go.
