My first bathroom project

[Supercoley1]

Hello, I am just setting about doing my first full bathroom DIY job (not pro at all) and have managed to do most things through internet research etc.
The project in question is a bathroom that currently has a shower over bath, W/C, sink and a wall hung radiator. The room is approx 280cm across the breadth (window wall) and 270cm from the door to the window wall. There a dog leg to the room as the airing cupboard is set within this room into a seperate area on the left of the door.
I will be keeping these apart from the wall hung radiator which I want to remove and then put a towel radiator in another place. I don't have a problem with the plumbing and radiator aspect.
We have had the bathroom like this since we moved in 30 months ago and all we did was to change the bath taps for a shower mixer type, tile the shower area on the window and half the bath side wall (It only had a 420mm high splashback around the bath previous to this), put up a shower curtain rail and laminate the floor. Pretty basic 'quick' but ready to use. The picture below shows what this was like:

After planning to redo the bathroom we decided to do it early July and it would take a few months to complete due to the budget (Each month we can afford the 'next step')
So on 10th July we started to plan the bathroom. The W/C and sink will remain in the same place. The Bath will still be on the wall but will be moved so that each end is an equal distance from the wall. A frame will then be built around the bath so that I can tile under the rim and make it look like the bath has been 'sunken'.
The radiator which is currently on the right as you enter the bathroom will be removed and then the plumbing redone to put a towel radiator behind the door as you enter the bathroom.
The area where the bath is will be tiled in black, white and lime green inspired by a picture on Toppstiles here:
Fusion Kiwi Wall Tile | Topps Tiles
however we don't have anywhere near the budget to use those tiles and get the exact design. I have sourced some lime green, black and white tiles that are all a lot cheaper and are 150mm x 150mm. The design of this area is here (These plans are rough guides as they don't allow for grout joints. I will line them up properly when I get the tiles to gauge the number across etc when the tiles come.)
This is the 'fold out' design and what you will see facing the bath. The lime is bit bright in these pictures where the tile I have bought is more subtler more like the ones in the Toppstiles picture:

And this is the plan from above:

The green/black/white combo will only go as far as the bath surround and the rest will be plain white.
This is the lime tile I have bought. 2 boxes:
Tiles, Ceramic Tiles, Wall Tiles, Gloss Lime Green Tile
The floor will also be tiled with white 330x330 tiles. Very crisp very clean, very bright with the single 'feature' area of the bath drawing the focus.
I will update tomorrow on what I have done already.
Regards
AC

 

[macten]

Apologies Polishtradesman,
I should have said that's rubbish in England. :lipsrsealed2:

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Apologies Polishtradesman,
I should have said that's rubbish in England. :lipsrsealed2:

Nice one Mate, very diplomatic

 

[Supercoley1]

Where have I tiled onto the bath?

The bath is 'sunken about 5mm under the plaster on the wall side. The tiles are 2-3mm above the bath on that wall. Silicon this 'join'.

The tiles around the bath are only just touching the bath edge and then silicon again there.

No tiles on the bath at all

I assume you are looking at this image without reading the text with the post.

In this picture I am lining the tiles up to gauge where the cuts will be and how many there will be on the shelf. These tiles when fixed are cut to fit down on the shelf past the bath not on the bath.

However the way it was before the council contractors had tiled onto the edge at this end and their shelf at opposite tap end was flush with the bath and the tiles overlapped the bath chamfer. No silicon was just filled with grout.

Therefore the 'pro' had tiled onto the bath and Mr DIY (me) hasn't

A little patience guys. I've finished the whole section of the bath area. Just a question of updating the website, hosting up the pics and then putting them in here. Will be done tonight

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

18th August 2010

I have got the hang of this now. The joints may not be perfectly equal and some of them are larger than others but over the 4 hour timeframe here I did the whole of the back wall, the shelf and trim, and got half way up the side walls.

Its starting to look quite cool.

AC

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

WOW!????:yikes:

 

[Supercoley1]

Before I carry on, just a little anecdote from the day I purchased all the gear.
I had seen on the Screwfix website that they sold Mapei ultracolour plus so I went in there and put the Mapesil, Dunlop kit and Ultrcolour on the form.
Took it up to the counter and the girl said 'sorry we're out of stock of Ultracolour plus, but there is an alternative or we can get the ultracolourplus for Tuesday'
'Great' I said 'whats the alternative'
She showed me the screen and up came Keraflex'!!!!
Now I wouldn't have known that this wasn't viable if I hadn't been doing my research so intensely prior to the project. that of course is mostly down to you guys.
I replied 'Are you sure thats grout? I thought it was adhesive'
'Oh' she said 'I'll have a look'
She clicked on the picture and up came the description 'adhesive'
'I'm so sorry she said', 'Not your fault' said I. 'Its the rubbish data entry at your head office'.
I must admit I had a little bit of a rush at my sudden intensive knowledge of adhesive and grout at the moment I discovered I was right. lol
Needless to say I wanted to do the project so ended up paying over the odds at B&Q for the Buildflex (@ 8.50 per 2.5kg bag )
Shows how important research is. lol Anyway on we go
19th August 2010
The final tiles went up and then after 3 hours the lot was grouted, cleaned and then polished.
Even my wife made a nice comment and that is a first. I love it. Super cool and modern I think. Just a few little details and touch ups required here and there, plus the Mapesil to complete the first stage.

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

Not in the uk you don't.. the baths over here have a chamfered edge and fixing the bath afterwards would result in a wide Silicon joint and that will look very poor.

Mine's wide anyway. I like it that way. I use a 2p coin all the way along. lol

AC

 

[Polishtradesman]

Where have I tiled onto the bath?

AC

Picture 7 and 8 in lastest picture post. I see tiles on bath edge. Dave says that Silicon join doesnt look good. Does diffrent size of bath edges look good?? For me it looks like someone just cut one of baths` egde. Thanku you that you told me that is common thing in uk otherwise i would never belive. Is bath quarantee still valid if you do that??

 

[faithhealer]

Picture 7 and 8 in lastest picture post. I see tiles on bath edge. Dave says that Silicon join doesnt look good. Does diffrent size of bath edges look good?? For me it looks like someone just cut one of baths` egde. Thanku you that you told me that is common thing in uk otherwise i would never belive. Is bath quarantee still valid if you do that??

don't think baths are guaranteed once fitted anyway, you give it the once over before you fit it and thats about your lot. And a good bead of silicon looks really neat

 

[Supercoley1]

Picture 7 and 8 in lastest picture post. I see tiles on bath edge. Dave says that Silicon join doesnt look good. Does diffrent size of bath edges look good?? For me it looks like someone just cut one of baths` egde. Thanku you that you told me that is common thing in uk otherwise i would never belive. Is bath quarantee still valid if you do that??

Where? those tiles aren't on the bath edge. they are on a plywood shelf that is surrounding the bath. Here is a pic of it pre tiling:

~Different size of bath edges? The shelf is 130mm all the way round except for the back where it is siliconed under 5mm or so plaster.

I am really struggling to see what you are seeing here

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

21st August 2010

The Stage 1 is complete. A couple of finishing touches are the old telescopic shower rail. This will have to suffice until next month when I get a chrome U shaped one. the old mixer/shower tap has been returned and I have mounted the shower to the wall lower down. It will eventually be a 'rinser' and I don't want to drill holes to fit the riser bar when it won't be there at the end.

The shower curtain was cheap from Poundland and will suffice until we find one that suits the decor.

I think it looks really good.especially as the green tiles are slightly larger than the black and whites.

You can see how the right outside 'bows' out half way up from the bath and back in from the ceiling and also the ceiling rises half an inch from the window side to the stud wall side.

Next I will be onto stage 2 which has changed. I was going to continue on tiling the other half. However after using the shower in it's now hand held position rather than on its riser bar I (and the wife) have found that it is pretty darned awkward to use without flooding the whole bathroom. lol

Therefore I am going to make the plumbing, sourcing and fitting of the thermo shower the priority next. As well as the U shaped shower rail.

Hope you guys like it even if only for the colour scheme A lot of tiles there for a DIYer. In case you are wondering.....I have done 413 tiles so far

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

Just a little tip off for you guys.

A bit of my specialist subject this. I am quite well known on aquarium forums on the subject of lighting. Specifically flourescent lighting although I now have a high power LED setup above my aquarium.

If you notice in the pictures taken at nighttime with the light on the colour is a little yellower from daytime. This is due to having enery saving CF lights in every room in this house.

Many people hate the colour of these lights and are always complaining that they don't give out as much light as the old incandescent ones did. Noone believes the '15W = 75W' statements on the packaging.

The bulbs are indeed giving out the same actual amount of light as the the incandescent bulb they are replacing however they are not giving out as much 'brightness' due to their K rating.

K = kelvin and is the colouration the bulb gives out meaning lower K is yellowish, mid K is pinkish, higher K is white to green and very very high K is blue.

I have no idea why in this country all bulbs are sold in 2700K as standard. This means it is warm white.

So why have I put this in the thread? This bathroom is white. It is supposed to look modern, crisp and clean and therefore I am not happy with 'warm white' tones. I want it to look pretty similar at least in colouration as it looks in daytime and therefore I sourced some daylight bulbs. (5500 - 7500K) The ones I got are 6400K and I will take a picture with the different colours tonight to show you.

It is annoying and most people think its the type of lighting that just isn't doing what they want. In relaity its the K rating. Strange because the standard in the USA is the 6500 - 6700 range.

Something the yanks are getting right where we aren't

Maybe also something you can offer in your 'white' bathrooms to customers

These bulbs aren't available at Tescos etc. All those bulbs are 2700K. I got this off the net for £3.30 each. You think that it is expensive? You are looking at nearer £10 each in most places as they are just not produced inthe same volume as the crappy warm white ones.

AC

 

[Polishtradesman]

All right, i can`t explain exacly what i mean becouse my language skills are not good enought, thank you that you show me the cammon way in your country. Maybe it is not so bad but i dont like it. In my gallery there is a way i do bath. I dont use any wood and nothing which water can destroy, and it is much solid. On those pictures a can see wide string of Silicon as well, but the size of bath top (?) is diffrent and it looks bad. Propably two ways are correct if you say so and aleweys baths` owner got main decision. Sorry if i was too stubborn.

 

[Pebbs]

What happens when the bath is full of water? it starts to pull the bath down away from the tiles?

Pebbs

 

[Supercoley1]

Sorry guys. can't take those light comparison pics at the mo. Must've worn the camera out. The screen is dead and the lens won't 'pop' out. lol

Will take them at a later date though.

AC