Modding Modding a bathroom - update - 24.08.2011 - tub finished ++

My bad, I didn't recognize the term "wetroom plates" and thought these are still tiles.

 

wheres the pc going?

 

Behind the two way mirror!

 

Ah, then the fault may be mine. I thought "wetroom plates" were the proper term, but then again I just translated the term directly from norwegian.

Obviously - right next to the IP camera.


As for today's update...

I got a good bit of work done this weekend, starting with getting the floor tiled.
Before I could begin applying tiles however, I had to cut a hole in a tile for the sewage drain. This was not as easy as it sounds as the floor tiles were a lot harder to cut than the wall tiles - it was like cutting stainless steel, taking a total hour and a half to finish making this hole as I could not find a tile hole saw of the correct diameter. And it was a messy job, but in the end I got it done, and though not perfectly circular, the hole fits.



Then I was ready to start tiling the floor, and from the starting point in the corner next to the sewage drain the job was completed easily apart from the small issue of running out of cement 2/3 of the way to completion. The next day however, I got a new bag of cement and quickly completed the job.





After this I had to let the cement harden, so I let it sit undisturbed for about 12 hours before going at it again. I was now ready to start grouting, but first I had to clean out the grouting grooves and the tiles themselves. This is one of the most boring parts of the job, but it is somewhat therapeutic. In the end though, the tiles had been scraped clean of detritus, and the grouting grooves where all deep enough to be grouted. Then I cleaned out all the dust and particles resulting from scraping the tiles and the grooves. I used a broom to get most of the stuff off the floor, and then I used the vacuum cleaner to clean out the grouting grooves - yes, even on the walls.

Now I got started grouting. If you have ever done a project like this before you will know that once you start the grouting process, you can't really quit it half way there. You sort of have to keep going until you are finished. So I did the walls first, starting from the floor and working my way upwards going diagonally across each tile until all the grout had been spread around and deposited fully into the grooves. That's when disaster struck - I knocked my beer over!

After having cleaned up that mess using mostly my tongue, I started cleaning the walls. This is by far the most time-consuming and boring part of the job. You clean it with a sponge and water, and you clean it again and again, changing the water ever so often. And then you clean it again. And once you get to the point where you think you're done cleaning it - you're not. So you clean it again, and when you get to the point where you know you are done cleaning it, you clean it again with a new sponge and fresh water. This takes hours.

When the walls where clean (though I will have to clean them again), I started grouting the floor. The grouting process itself is quickly done, however it's the cleaning that takes time. And obviously, after grouting the floor I cleaned it in the same manner as the walls - again and again and again and again. And I will have to do it again. By the time I was done it was 02:45 at night, and I was knackered.

However, I am now able to show you the room with the walls and the floor tiled and grouted.







The worst part of the job is now done, and the next step is sealing the corners with silicone, allowing that to dry and then cleaning it out thoroughly one last time. Then I apply the top sealant, and then I can start mounting the tub.

 

The builder I had do the wet room in my old house really screwed it up. The floor was slightly unlevel, and sunk a bit near the drain, which meant his shoddy tiling job kept messing up, water got under the adhesive and all the tiles kept coming up - his solution was to keep coming back, keep pulling up that corner, keep relaying tiles only for them all to come up a few weeks later - and obviously keep charging me. This became quite boring! The bathroom was built on an extension so had a concrete floor, built straight onto the foundations. My solution: It was a bit extreme, but i had booked a few weeks off work and I had just split up with my girlfriend so I had alot of time on my hands, and I also had a friend who works at HSS tool hire, so I hired a big pneumatic jackhammer, took the floor down about half a foot and re-skimmed the entire floor - only this time it was LEVEL. I got a builder friend to help me with this - becuase I didnt want to mess it up.

But this meant I had to pull off the bottom 2 foot or so of tiles off the walls so I could make sure the membrane joined from walls to floor well (I didn't even know this membrane was here untill i was smashing up the floor - because im a building noob and im too stupid to do any kind of research until after i have marched head strong into something ha). When i re-tiled the floor and walls I used swimming pool tile adhesive.

I felt like such an idiot! Not only had i given the builder a **** tonne of money to do this all for me, I had then spent loads more re-doing it myself! And also about 3-4 months later I moved out of that place - making it all completely in vain.

But as far as i know to this day the tiles have never come back up. And i dont think I'll hire a builder to do DIY again - it was quite enjoyable, and I like learning new skills. Your bath room is looking really great though I totally agree with the cleaning, that was by far the worst part of the job.

 

Yeah, I've heard so many horror stories about "proffessional" builders that I am by nature sceptical of them. I agree with you on the DIY though; learning a new skill and knowing that because you do it yourself you yourself are responsible for making a good job of it, so you pay double attention to getting it right. Plus, as you point out, you learn a skill - something which is always good.

Thanks, I hope to do the corners this afternoon, and as I bought fast drying silicone I hope to be able to clean it out one last time and install the tub as well. We shall have to wait and see. And I too used cement intended for use in swimming pools and such, just as an extra precaution - and also because it was actually cheaper than the other stuff. I don't think these tiles will come loose any time soon, though I do have spares in case they do.

And yes, the cleaning sucks.

 

Looks good so far.

A little tip when doing the silicone in the corners:

Lay down some masking tape along the walls and floor (as far away from the wall as you want the join, so about 6-8mm). Then apply a bead of silicone, and spray on a light mist of soapy water (from a spray bottle. You don't want to drench it.) and rub you finger along the join. Let it sit for a few minutes and remove the tape. The result: Perfectly even and straight joins.

Note that the silicone should be veeery thin where the tape edge is. You don't want a lot of silicone to lay on top of the tape. This will cause a hard edge.

Also make sure that the corner is thoroughly filled with silicone before you spray on the soapy water. You don't want any gaps in the silicone where water can gather.

Wait a sec, you made a bathroom floor level?

They are supposed to have a slight decline down towards the drain. If it's level the water run all other places before it find it's way to the drain.

 

Yes, I've had some trouble with this part on earlier projects, but I hope to be able to make a good job of it this time.

I wondered about that myself, though then I supposed he could have corrected for that when applying the tiles.

 

hmm - i didnt phrase this right. I made the floor "flat" - The problem with the original floor, was that the floor was not flat, and there was air and space under the adhesive - when i pulled up the floor it was obvious that the foundation concrete had no been skimmed at all, it was still a very rough pitted concrete surface, which was especially bad around the drain. When we re did the floor, for the most part it was "level" apart from around the "shower area" where my builder friend used a big, kind of like a shower base, but it was used to make that area slant toward the drain, when it was dry you could see that there was a definite (i dont know how to describe it, bevelled?) edge. I will try and find pics! Becuase the shower head was on the ceiling, the water only ever flowed straight down (big round shower head, was like being outside when it was raining), for this reason, we only depressed that area.

 

woah!!!
thats TMI
i will not be watching that camera
............ do you have a woman?
if so then i might just stalk that camera after all.............

 

Your question is answered in the very first post. Yes I do have a woman, and she is primarily the reason for this project. Still, you'll be glad to know that it won't just be my hairy arse on cam from this bathroom...

Now, according to plan, I did get a bit of work done yesterday as well.
First I cleaned every surface again, this time with soap and water, and after that had dried I wiped down all surfaces with a dry microfibre cloth. That stuff is magic, and the result is dust free, sparkling clean tiles.

Then I was ready to start masking out the silicone corners, which was quickly completed. Afterwards I proceeded to lay down beads of silicone, dipping my finger in Zalo (a washing up liquid) and rubbing the silicone down. As I pulled the tape away it cut right through the silicone and left sharp lines in all the wall's corners. However, I was a bit unlucky when going along the floor right inside the door - for some reason the tape did not cut the silicone as I pulled it away, but instead it tore it - making a mess of my hoped-for sharp lines. I hope to be able to correct this with a steel ruler, a stanley knife and a bit of patience later.

Behind the the area which will be covered by the tub and toilet I did not pay as much attention as these areas will be hidden away anyhow. Besides, these were the areas with the most resulting irregularities from wonky walls and tiling, so I applied the silicone as best I could but not worrying too much about keeping the lines sharp.

Then, after the silicone had dried out, I applied the top sealant with a much too small brush. The glossy tiles on the walls are obviously not the most absorbant, so this treatment left a lot of residue on the wall tiles. However, it was neccessary in order to treat the grouts. I obviously did the same to the floor, and these tiles absorbed the fluid much more readily, leaving, as you may see, a somewhat wet-look sheen on the surface. I will have to wipe down the walls again to get rid of all the residue however.

So, onto today's picture gallery. Not much is different from yesterday, but you are able to see the corners being sealed, and you may be able to notice a slight sheen to the floor tiles.







Then there's one last thing for today. The postman brought me a package yesterday - the sink I ordered had arrived, and it's a beauty!



Edit: And now I just received a text message stating that I may come to pick up yet another package. It seems my faucets have arrived as well. Excellent!

 

Yesterday, as mentioned, I received two packages in the post; both my faucets had been delivered, and they look great. So I set about mounting the tub and the faucet for the tub. At first I tried placing the tub directly onto the floor after mounting it's legs. This would not work as the rim of the tub would then be just below the water pipes for the sink. So, I had to place the tub on some pieces of wood to get it about 6cm higher in order to make everything fit. In my shed I found a few pieces of wood prepared for outdoor use, and I figured these would do the job nicely.

This way the tub cleared the water pipes by about 1.5cm leaving enough room for the water pipes as well as the connecting hoses for the sink faucet which is to be installed at a later time. I adjusted the tub's feet so that it stood level with a slight dip towards the drain, and then I set about installing the drain as well as the pipes going from the tub's drain to the main floor drain - I am one short piece of pipe ... short. Will pick one up today.

When this was done I turned off the water supply to the house at the main valve and emptied the pipes into the tub. Looks perfect with no leaks at the drain. As the pipes had drained I quickly removed the, frankly nasty old shower faucet, and set about installing my quite handsome new waterfall faucet. That's when I hit my first snag of yesterday evening.

Accompanying the faucet were two pipe adapters that look like they're inteded to increase flowrate at the expense of pressure, which is good when used with a waterfall faucet. However, these will not fit as they are male-male. So I need another small straight male-female 1/2" adapter, which I will also pick up today. Also in the package where two chrome "cups" that are to sit over the supply pipes to cover up the holes in the wall as well as the pipe, but since the adapter wouldn't fit neither would these. Therefore I just mounted the faucet temporarily for testing purposes, and I think most of you will agree that it is a vast improvement over what was there previously.

I'll let the pictures do my talking for a bit...

(Never mind the wood; this will all be hidden by the coming enclosure).


Here you can see that one more short piece of pipe is needed to avoid splattering around the drain. Also you can see the little chrome "cups" that are to go over the faucet pipes.





And here's a picture of the adapter that I suspect will accelerate flow, but decrease pressure. Looking through it at least it seems like that's what it will do. I will try it and find out. Truth be told I have never seen an adapter quite like this, and I may have to google a bit. Water entering a narrow passage from a wide one will increase flowrate though the narrow passage. Internally this adapter goes from a wide passage to a narrow one that gradually widen as it goes towards the other end.



Anyhow, there you have it. That's all I got done yesterday apart from starting to pull cable for the ventilation fan which is not quite done. Today I will remove the faucet again, get it properly installed with "cups" and adapters, and I will complete the drain pipe. Then I will get the fan cut down to size and installed. Additionally I hope to be able to start building the enclosure. We will see.

Until tomorrow. See you.

 

I'm still having problems finding a coupling that will work with my tub faucet pipes and the "cups" that should cover the pipes and holes. Anyhow, there's no real rush to this, so I set about building the enclosure for the tub yesterday (in addition to some required clean up of the resulting mess and various detritus after a week and a half of work).

Cutting the wetroom construction plates to size was easily accomplished using a stanley knife, but I was unprepared for the side-effects of working with these. You will inevitably get debris from the plates onto your skin, particularly if, like me, you're working in a t-shirt. And trust me, that stuff stings and itches like mad - it's almost as bad as rolling around in glasswool.

Still, I managed to get the enclosure constructed and set in place. It is now pretty much ready for tiling, which I will do today followed by grouting tomorrow - and the inevitable cleaning. Ugh.

Here is the enclosure almost completed, I just need to build some vertical supports.



And voila; completion. I've still to cut away excess metal from the screw-plates.



The fan is installed and wired up - fully functional. For some reason, in spite of measuring the gap twice, I still cut away too much material from the right side of the fan. Weird. I will need to get a new front cover for it, but that's not a big issue at the moment.



That's it for today. Tomorrow I hope to have the enclosure tiled and ready for grouting, and when that is done I can start constructing the cabinet for the sink.

 

Small update today.
I did manage to tile the front surface of the tub enclosure yesterday as I had planned, and I started planning building the small cabinet which will hold the sink. However, I have not begun assembling it yet. The top surface is ready and cut to size, though it may be a bit too wide which I will correct with the aid of my new bandsaw.

Anyway, tiling the front surface of the enclosure was simple, easy and pretty straightforward. The only hurdles was the required ventilation/inspection hatch which I had to tile around, and a subtle disagreement with the missus as to wether or not the enclosure should feature an edge at the top. In the end I constructed it without the edge because the missus didn't like it.

So here you go; first a picture of the enclosure tiled with tiling crosses still in place, and then a picture in which the tiling crosses have been removed.





Sitting on top of the tub in those two shots is the wooden plate that will serve as the cabinet top. It will of course be treated, painted and waterproofed. In the bottom picture you can also see the two wall braces I made that will hold the top plate securely in place. Not sure if I need them as the cabinet will be floor-standing, but the sink is quite heavy so as an extra precaution it can't hurt. Besides, it's easier to level the top while hanging on the wall than on the floor as the floor has a subtle dip towards the drain. Also visible in the pics; a small collection of various tools.

 

It's been a couple of days more than previously estimated, but today I'm ready with a big update. I've spent the past few days, and the weekend, getting the tub enclosure done and sealed, and prepping most of the room as well.

First I grouted the freshly tiled enclosure, followed by copious amounts of cleaning before I sealed the tub and the enclosure with silicone. I also started building the cabinet top, painting it and adding a few nice and thick layers of clear coating while also prepping it for the sink and the faucet.





Then, saturday night, I also finally reinstalled the throne and siliconed it to the floor. It was a perfect fit.



Finally, after shopping around a good bit, we found some downlight lamps we could use without the fear of burning the house down. These are 12V downlights using G4 bulbs rated at 10W. Six of these is more than enough to sufficiently light the room. Installing them however, was messy and troublesome, but in the end I got it done. Oh yes, and I will have to paint the ceiling as well.



I started out by cutting a 53mm hole in the outer ceiling plates, then slipped the cable in between the outer and the inner ceiling and teased them through to the walls where I fished them out again. This allowed for a flush fitting of the lamps, and hidden cables. The missus was pleased. It also caused me to have my first accident involving personal injury on this project. While working with an exacto blade, I was trimming a ceiling plate a bit to allow me to fish the cable out when the blade slipped, and I stabbed myself in the forehead. Blood flowed profusely for a few minutes. It was a mess.





Obviously the cables included in the box where not long enough, so I had to lengthen them. Not a big issue, but time consuming. I fastened them to the walls using drops of superglue at regular intervals, and they will eventually be completely hidden away by silicone and the frames(?) that go around the room.



Six lamps, six lengths of wire and a nice big pile of wire coils to sort out, add connectors to and plug in. In the end I got it done, and the lamps came to life. No dead bulbs, no broken connection. Perfect.



Then I installed the cabinet top, securely fastened and freshly painted and lacquered. And as I had decent momentum last night, I also installed the sink and the faucet. Mostly to leak test the new plumbing, but also to see how it would turn out. I will have to adjust the faucet a little bit, but all in all it looks good - do you not agree?





And that's it. That's how far I've gotten. And though there's still a good bit of work left to do (complete the cabinet for instance) we are planning to let the twins have the virgin bath in the tub tonight. Until next time; take care.

 

That sink looks awesome.

I don't quite see how you are going to hide those cables with silicone, though. Or are you going to hide them behind some molding? I think Langlo (Or was it swedoor?) makes some molding that have a channel for wires behind it. It's also held in place by a clip system, so there will be no visible nailheads.

edit: Can't find that molding I was thinking about, but I did find this: http://www.listehuset.no/uploads/images/listehuset_2009_web.pdf Look at page 4

 

Wow, that is an interesting sink! As a shower man I saw your old set up as perfect but this is looking nice

 

Thanks. When I first spotted it I knew I had found the right one.

Molding! Thank you! That was the word I was looking for; molding.
Yes, I will be hiding the cables first by sealing the top of the walls with silicone (which will also hopefully aid in anchoring the cables in place) and then putting molding on top. Not sure if I will go get new molding however, but I think I'll just rout channels in the molding that was there previously as those are still fine. They just need a bit of paint and they're good as new.

Thanks.
In our upstairs bathroom we've still only got a shower, but we did need a tub for the twins and for the missus who can benefit from taking mineral salt saturated baths from time to time due to her eczema.