# Fitting New Bathroom



## jowwy (16 Nov 2020)

We are now out of the welsh lockdown, so I can get materials for the bathroom refurb.......

after removing shower cubicle yesterday, today it was tile and old plaster board removal






















First bit of boxing in the pipwork for the toilet, sink and handbasin waste


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## BSOh (16 Nov 2020)

Is it a typical DIY project for you, or are you pushing yourself?

2 weekends ago I was browsing new floor tiles for the kitchen. Only looking mind you. 24 hours later I had ordered them and knocked a stud wall down to make more room  

Waiting for electrician to come and move a switch or two, and plasterer to tidy up then I can crack on and have a go at the floor. Done walls before and did a pretty good job, so fingers crossed I can pull it off 

I love a good DIY project, this is my biggest to date. Good to do something productive whilst waiting for a vaccine, not much else to do.

Good luck!


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## jowwy (16 Nov 2020)

BSOh said:


> Is it a typical DIY project for you, or are you pushing yourself?
> 
> 2 weekends ago I was browsing new floor tiles for the kitchen. Only looking mind you. 24 hours later I had ordered them and knocked a stud wall down to make more room
> 
> ...


I fitted and tiled the original bathroom 5yrs ago before we moved in.....myself and my father gutted the house and rebuilt it in 6wks....with new kitchen, all new central heating (paid gas engineer), plastered every room ceilings and walls, created a dressing room in bedroom 2, fully decorated the whole house, engineered wood flooring all down stairs, carpets all upstairs.

but i was never happy with the shower unit my partner ordered and always said I would rip it out and rebuild it at some point and during this mini lockdown the shower started to leak.....it was the excuse I needed 

will be tongue and groove all around up to 950mm, dado rail, then 2 rows of 600x600 tiles all around to ceiling height.......hoping to be done by Sunday, as only using evenings due to WFH


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## BSOh (16 Nov 2020)

jowwy said:


> ...hoping to be done by Sunday, as only using evenings due to WFH



😲 by Sunday? I salute you sir, but from your description of your work when you moved in that is probably taking it easy for you 

I've given myself until Xmas. I prefer not to rush


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## jowwy (16 Nov 2020)

BSOh said:


> 😲 by Sunday? I salute you sir, but from your description of your work when you moved in that is probably taking it easy for you
> 
> I've given myself until Xmas. I prefer not to rush


By doing it myself, if it goes wrong, I’ve only wasted My time......if I pay some one else and hate It, ive wasted a tonne of money on labour costs.....


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## Bonefish Blues (16 Nov 2020)

jowwy said:


> We are now out of the welsh lockdown, so I can get materials for the bathroom refurb.......
> 
> after removing shower cubicle yesterday, today it was tile and old plaster board removal
> 
> ...


That's very good.

I can only imagine what it looked like before you put the new bathroom in.


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## jowwy (16 Nov 2020)

Bonefish Blues said:


> That's very good.
> 
> I can only imagine what it looked like before you put the new bathroom in.


It was all peach....bathroom, toilet and sink


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## JhnBssll (16 Nov 2020)

Nice work  I'll be following this as I've got a downstairs loo to build and the bathroom upstairs to replace once I'm done with the structural stuff


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## newts (17 Nov 2020)

Within the shower area tile backer boards are recommended rather than plasterboard.
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Knauf-New-Aquapanel-Board---12-5mm-x-900mm-x-1-2m/p/207027
http://www.dukkaboard.com/
Plasterboard failure is the most common cause of leaks & mould within showers.


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## jowwy (18 Nov 2020)

newts said:


> Within the shower area tile backer boards are recommended rather than plasterboard.
> https://www.wickes.co.uk/Knauf-New-Aquapanel-Board---12-5mm-x-900mm-x-1-2m/p/207027
> http://www.dukkaboard.com/
> Plasterboard failure is the most common cause of leaks & mould within showers.


Not putting in a shower........roll top bath going in


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## jowwy (18 Nov 2020)

So we have some updates...tonight started like this






Few hours late and some trips to the skip






Then we started plasterboarding


























So thats it for today....


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## Drago (18 Nov 2020)

Are you doing your own plastering as well Jowwry?


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## jowwy (18 Nov 2020)

Drago said:


> Are you doing your own plastering as well Jowwry?


No plastering required........

tongue and groove upto 950mm, waterproof bathroom paint

then dado rail,

then 600x600 tiles

due to the size of the tiles each wall requires around 8 tiles

Hope the bottom will come out something like this


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## Mines_a_pint (18 Nov 2020)

Are you tilling the floor?


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## Drago (19 Nov 2020)

Fair play to Jowwry, that takes some doing. I fitted my own bathroom suite, but paid a rough salt of the earth tradesman type to do the rest of it.


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## Adam4868 (19 Nov 2020)

I've done mine a few times,I'm a plasterer when I want so that's sorted.Tiled it last time,floor and walls.I think if I was doing it again I'd use that aqua board.Was plastering a ceiling at someone's house and they'd had the bathroom done in it.Looked good and no messy grout etc.Easy to maintain I'm told.Fitted it to the ceiling in our bathroom and looks ok.


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## jowwy (19 Nov 2020)

Mines_a_pint said:


> Are you tilling the floor?


no the house is too old and unsquare for that and all the pipes for the boiler etc etc are under the floor.........so i'm just going to pin some plyboard down and then laminate flooring


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## jowwy (19 Nov 2020)

Drago said:


> Fair play to Jowwry, that takes some doing. I fitted my own bathroom suite, but paid a rough salt of the earth tradesman type to do the rest of it.


in my rental property which was our previous house, i did that bathroom twice in the 10yrs we were living there. Not bad for a pen pushing data analyst


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## jowwy (19 Nov 2020)

So finished at 3....so had around 2hrs before the light outside fully went on me and i couldnt see my cut marks


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## jowwy (20 Nov 2020)

Was all on plan to finish on Sunday as per my schedule and then we unwrap the bath and find this






so a quick email and a few photos to the bath company and a new one is arriving on Tuesday and the damaged one collected.......it means I can take an extra day or so’s care over the tiling now


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## jowwy (25 Nov 2020)

Bathroom has stalled a little due to partners health and our beloved cat becoming ill....

but I have put the first coat of paint on the woodwork and started the tiling....also laid osb board so the flooring will have a better structure to adhere too and a bit more strength where the bath will sit

i will lightly sand the painted areas before the next coat of paint and the new bath arrived uncracked this time


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## ianrauk (25 Nov 2020)

@jowwy 
I suggest you get some Frog Tape for the masking. It works so much better than ordinary masking tape. No bleeding, easier to remove and doesn't pull new paint.


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## jowwy (25 Nov 2020)

ianrauk said:


> @jowwy
> I suggest you get some Frog Tape for the masking. It works so much better than ordinary masking tape. No bleeding, easier to remove and doesn't pull new paint.


its only on the tiles to stop paint getting on them @ianrauk after the painting i will remove the tape and then grout


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## Drago (25 Nov 2020)

Blimey, not hanging about there Jowwry. Top work.


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## jowwy (25 Nov 2020)

Drago said:


> Blimey, not hanging about there Jowwry. Top work.


to be honest i was hoping to have been finished by now.......but partners health will always come first


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## irw (25 Nov 2020)

jowwy said:


> to be honest i was hoping to have been finished by now.......but partners health will always come first



Hmm. Don't tell Mrs. IRW...I started ours 7 months ago...still going...! 

(To be fair, I ended up getting a job a week after getting all the materials in, when I was expecting at least three months of nothing, and we also had a baby in September...!_


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## shep (25 Nov 2020)

Won't you burn your feet on that ladder?


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## jowwy (29 Nov 2020)

So yesterday to take my mind of losing one of my animal family on Friday night, I cracked on with the bathroom.....

laid the flooring and the rest of the big 600x600 wall tiles, got all the smaller pieces and cuts to make today. Then tomorrow will be grout afternoon and then it will be time to fit the bath in.....

pictures will follow later as I and other things on my mind.....


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## MrGrumpy (29 Nov 2020)

Well done ! Sorry about your loss as well . Bet you would have done a better job than the f...n plumber who did my bathroom!! He is back today to fix his utter clustersf.......k of a mistake with my radiators! Seriously this job has been the worst thing ever and I should of just done it myself !!


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## jowwy (29 Nov 2020)

So all the tiling is done now and all setting nicely ready for the grouting tmrw evening.......then I can fit the bath back in on tuesday evening....

without blowing my own trumpet...it looks pukka


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## jowwy (29 Nov 2020)

MrGrumpy said:


> Well done ! Sorry about your loss as well . Bet you would have done a better job than the f...n plumber who did my bathroom!! He is back today to fix his utter clustersf.......k of a mistake with my radiators! Seriously this job has been the worst thing ever and I should of just done it myself !!


It’s been great to take my mind off things......


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## jowwy (30 Nov 2020)

Tiling looks good and ready for grouting


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## ianrauk (30 Nov 2020)

jowwy said:


> Tiling looks good and ready for grouting
> 
> View attachment 560963




Looking good.
Its one of those things I've never attempted. We will be doing up our kitchen in a few months and have been thinking about doing the tiling myself. Have a go. If it's crap looking I'll rip it all off and get a professional in.


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## Trickedem (30 Nov 2020)

ianrauk said:


> Looking good.
> Its one of those things I've never attempted. We will be doing up our kitchen in a few months and have been thinking about doing the tiling myself. Have a go. If it's crap looking I'll rip it all off and get a professional in.


I've got an electric tile cutter you can borrow.


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## ianrauk (30 Nov 2020)

Trickedem said:


> I've got an electric tile cutter you can borrow.


May take you up on that 
In fact, I think I may rope you in to help


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## jowwy (30 Nov 2020)

ianrauk said:


> Looking good.
> Its one of those things I've never attempted. We will be doing up our kitchen in a few months and have been thinking about doing the tiling myself. Have a go. If it's crap looking I'll rip it all off and get a professional in.


at least if you do it and its crap, its only the materials you have wasted, thats how i look at it....if a pro did it and i hated, then ive wasted the labour costs too......lucky for me its not my first tiling rodeo


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## MrGrumpy (30 Nov 2020)

ianrauk said:


> May take you up on that
> In fact, I think I may rope you in to help


Also a cutting disc for a grinder as well for the very awkward cuts  . I managed to cut out socket holes in all my tiles when i did up my utility room.


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## jowwy (30 Nov 2020)

MrGrumpy said:


> Also a cutting disc for a grinder as well for the very awkward cuts  . I managed to cut out socket holes in all my tiles when i did up my utility room.


there's defo an art to cutting around light switches and sockets that's for sure


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## MrGrumpy (30 Nov 2020)

All about having the right tools and knowing what you need.


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## jowwy (30 Nov 2020)

MrGrumpy said:


> All about having the right tools and knowing what you need.


it is indeed.....


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## Hicky (1 Dec 2020)

ianrauk said:


> May take you up on that
> In fact, I think I may rope you in to help


Have a go on a piece of wood I'd say a min a sq M screwed onto a wall depending on the tile size, I had a go in my last house in the bathroom having never done it before too. You can tell as ever where you start and finish by the improvement in your work...it helps having a decent base to work from ie a nice flat wall rather than ropey back base. I'd say the same for most diy work due to skill fade.


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## figbat (1 Dec 2020)

Tiling - something I can do well but I absolutely hate doing. I also hate letting someone else do it for me because they inevitably do it differently to how I would have - things like centring on the wall vertically and horizontally, treatment at external corners and so on. I've done a couple of bathrooms and a dining room floor (floor is much easier). I made the mistake of putting in a mosaic frieze in one bathroom - that was a nightmare to both install and grout. However, having sworn and cursed and thrown some things around, it is immensely satisfying to step back after that final polishing wipe and see the end result.

I have a bench rotary tile cutter, nibblers, a scorer, a tile 'hacksaw' and a 'snap'-type tile cutter - between them I can get all the cuts and shapes I need. I started out using a combined adhesive and grout but have graduated to individual versions of each which works much better.


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## jowwy (2 Dec 2020)

The bath is now fitted into the space, waste all connected and leak free. Taps need a 22mm to 15mm pushfit pipes, so will collect and fit them tomorrow.....just need to touch up some of the paint and grouting


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## bikingdad90 (2 Dec 2020)

Curious @jowwy why is the towel rail next to the bath when it is normally seen on the opposite wall of the bath?


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## jowwy (2 Dec 2020)

bikingdad90 said:


> Curious @jowwy why is the towel rail next to the bath when it is normally seen on the opposite wall of the bath?


Because originally the was a shower cubicle to right of the towel rail and we didn’t want to employ a plumber to pull up pipes and move the towel rail as there isn’t really any other position for it....as the wall opposite the bath has a full sink unit and toilet, it’s a small bathroom

it was also more important that the bath got fitted this winter as my partners health deteriorates at this time of the year.....and she can now soak in the bath and ease her pain and fatigue ....

it wouldn’t be everyone‘s choice to leave it there, but for now it suites a purpose


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## jowwy (3 Dec 2020)




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## jowwy (6 Dec 2020)

Will add some more photos later, but I have now boxed in the toilet, added two shelves and an extension to the toilet flush so it sits on the new shelf area.....also added a new window board


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## Tripster (7 Dec 2020)

Very smart, a job well done


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## jowwy (19 Dec 2020)

And thats the bathroom all finished


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## Pale Rider (19 Dec 2020)

Good effort in a small space.

I read somewhere most bathrooms - mine included - have the floor area of a double bed mattress.

I've gone the other way and (paid someone) to rip out the bath and put in a shower.

No poxy tiles, just floor to ceiling polycarbonate board.

The window reflection on the right is misleading - that's white polycarbonate board as well.


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