You’ve probably noticed it’s been a bit quiet around here the last few weeks, and that is mainly because any spare time I’ve had, I’ve spent giving myself a crash course in plumbing and other DIY using the old fashioned method of YouTube and internet articles!
Yes that’s right, the bathroom remodel I’ve been wanging on about since January is finally here. In November! 🙂
I will make no apologies for the lack of words in this post as time is short and progress has been slow these first few days. I started the job on Wednesday and managed to rip most of it out in one day, however after day 4 it doesn’t really look like much has happened since then… haha! However a lot of planning and prep work has happened, it just doesn’t look like much to the untrained eye 😉
The good news is that I’m in my 2nd “two weeks off” period so have until next Tuesday to finish the job. More pics and updates will be coming your way soon enough, hopefully next time I’ll at least have the bath in so we don’t have to nip round to our parents every time we need a shower! I had TFS Senior coming round today so with his experience and my brawn 🙂 we should get a lot done I reckon.
I’ll also compile a list of my hilarious errors and oversights for a “how not to do a bathroom makeover” post once I’ve finished, along with some basic tips I’ve learnt along the way.
Until next time here are some “before” and “during” pics for you to feast your lovely eyes on…
Before…. Bath and sink
During… No bath and sink!
Before… Shower
During… I’ve since got the power shower off and am going to build a stud wall to house the piping. I’m installing a shower pump in the airing cupboard to give us a bit more water pressure.
Before… Toilet. Do you like the colours?! Lovely isn’t it! I don’t know why we ever wanted to change!? 🙂
During… No toilet! Also check out my cool step ladder which folds up in many ways to become a work bench and more! We got it from Screwfix (love that place! Along with Toolstation of course. Death to B&Q and Homebase. Yuk!) in case anyone was interested
Discussion (17) ¬
Err, dont B&Q own Screwfix?
Good to see you enjoying (?) your freedom
Hi Robin,
Apparently so! I still think it’s a far superior outlet for buying your DIY stuff though: cheaper, more efficient use of space and resources (hence the cheaper prices I assume) and less likely to bump into hoardes of zombified shoppers on a Sunday afternoon when all you need to do is drop in and pick up a couple of plumbing parts etc…
Alas they don’t do everything so I have made a couple of trips to Homebase and B&Q although during the week it’s not all that bad.
I am enjoying it so far, thanks again 🙂
Should be a great learning experience that will give you confidence to tackle more projects. Or a disaster that scares you off for life! I do tend to leave it to the professionals although in my younger days I’d pile in with the hammer and drill (no Youtube in those dim and distant times…) Which is probably why I now leave it to the professionals.
YouTube really has made it so easy to do, well, pretty much anything nowadays. However tradesmen are in greater demand than ever from my experience.
Go figure!
I’m not sure I’d like to learn some of this stuff by book and granulated black and white pictures like you would have had 30 years ago so kudos for giving it a whirl back then.
It’s going well so far, so fingers crossed it is the former of your two options 🙂
Thanks!
Wow, props to you sir! We just have one bog, and while I might have considered it with a backup, that was the point where I figured I’d pay someone else to do this 😉
I tip my hat to anybody who’s going to take on changing a toilet, although it seems a lot less ghastly that I thought it was. But nevertheless, it’s not something that’s easy to do without for a couple of days 😉
Yea we are lucky to have a back up one! In fact that is the last thing I’m going to put in, order of importance for us was bath (and shower) -> sink -> toilet.
Yea it was no where near as bad as I thought it would be. In fact more smelly gunk came out of the bath waste than the toilet which was pretty much clean.
I agree I would not be sure I would have done all of this without a back up one, it’s made the process so much easier and less rushed so I can take my time in getting things (mostly) right the first time round rather than bodging it in a rush to get it done.
Hey TFS, I’m also in the middle of a bathroom makeover.
@ermine, changing a toilet really not that grim. I thought it would be worse. It’s worth cling filming over the pipe to stop smells wafting back, but there was no shit explosion. We have finally found a use for the nearby 24/7 McDonalds and that free gym trial (who needs running water?).
I’ve found that for tiling, wear two pairs of gloves when putting adhesive on, and then take one set off when putting the tiles up (some smears of adhesive will appear, and you don’t want them on your hands). When the outer pair get too dirty, the inner pair take their place. Also credit cards are the best!!!!!! Seriously, I’ve got about eight of them cut with square and V notches for adhesive, cut skinny for the little gaps, and for cleaning off the other tools. I knew there was a reason I had so many. Next time I’ll plan the pattern so I cut fewer tiles, check how thick the different tiles are before I start the first row, and get a laser level earlier.
Hi Emma,
Ah cool! Going well I assume from your comment then?
Cheers for the tips. Re: credit cards, I would not have thought of that. I actually bought one of those tools a few years back when doing some tiling but couldn’t work out how to use it (LOL). I hadn’t discovered how great the Tube of You was for any such queries back then. I ended up using the old fairy liquid and finger method, it was a bit of a mess to say the least but it held solid on the waterproof front which is the main thing.
Tiling is the one thing I’m fairly confident on having done our old bathroom and kitchen before we moved, planning definitely helps here as with most things DIY doesn’t it?
Cheers again and good luck with the rest of your project. If you have any pics to swap send them over to me, I’d love to be nosy and take a peek at your handy work? 🙂
Glad to see you are using the local facilities for what they are really best for 😉
Aren’t B+Q and screwfix both owned by kingfisher plc?? Any way awesome job so far. Well done
Cheers Arsene! Nice screen name btw 😀
Ha ha! I am looking at your pictures and i am thinking: I will never do that. But then i imagine myself with a hammer and other tools, destroying things. Hmmm, i would like it! We will see. My supreme DIY work will be to paint the house and assemble the furniture. At the moment.
The destroying part is defintely the easy/fun part, although still quite a good workout of course!
Painting and building furniture is a great place to start, good luck 🙂
I love how it came out. Thanks for sharing your bathroom makeover.
Hey, thanks! Most bath remodel projects involve upgrading the bathtub, tile and wallpapers, shower controls, sink and vanity area, medicine cabinet, and similar fixtures. You can replace or repair busted, worn out, old components and upgrade to better amenities. Most homeowners say it is worth it 🙂