Yet more wet and cold weekends have halted the frenzied pace of restoration.
Last attempts saw the removal of lots. Hope I can remember where it goes back and where I've stored it.
Frenzied is a term I've heard lots of lately.
Wifeys attitude to plotting a new bathroom......Frenzied.
Kids obsession with MSN and chats with mates.........Frenzied
Wifeys cajoling of me to make a start on said bathroom.......Frenzied
My resistance to do anything remotely interesting of a weekend........Frenzied
My boss's attempts at getting the sales team to sell more..................Frenzied.
OK you get the picture, there's some element of frustration embedded in me at not having a garage in which to work or store the items removed so far.
I guess I'm feeling guilty too of not having started on bathroom.
Well I did actually start and that was the prelude to.......well, P***edofness.
Like all males of the species I know best when it comes to DIY.
So tiling the bathroom floor should be easy. After all I'd done the toilet a few months previously ( 800mm x 1.4 meters, with 300mm square tiles)= 15 tiles including 5 cut tiles)that took best part of 2 days due to the awkward shape of the toilet base.
Under the tiles was regular hardboard. nailed every 2 inches ( just to be sure)
So they stuck fine and only one had to be uplifted and re glued.
Shaving an extra half inch of the door bottom made the largest contribution to the buggeration factor. ( undo 9 screws that have not moved for 45 years) move door downstairs, set up workmate ( all day job to remove MG bits from shed so I can see workmate, rest of weekend doing MENSA puzzle on how to extract workmate)
So work started in earnest. Except that I forgot brother in law had the electric tile cutter of mine ( I mean mine in the biblical sense, as it belongs to mate Chris. I borrowed it 5 months ago and he's forgot )
B in L used machine to do his whole bathroom and floor so its had some use and he says in need to cool down every now and then.
Frenzied comes back to haunt me again. That must have been B in L 's
F*****ed attempts at cutting at least 55mm thick cast iron tiles on a hobbyist machine.
The first cut I made the machine lasted exactly 2 inches before it conked ( sorry, overloaded the thermal protection device)
This required a wait of approx 30 minutes, still I could get on with measuring and gluing.
Things got decidedly worse.
After gluing and leaving the floor 80% tiled, the following morning displayed the tiles loose and wobbling like a see-saw.
Crap cement. Heating left on and little feet walking on them did not help.
However, my expert opinion is that I did not listen. I thought I knew best.
I used regular hardboard under the tiles. I needed to use at least 12mm thick chipboard.
So last weekend was spent chiseling off the cement from the tiles, cutting chipboard and laying tiles properly, leaving cutting tiles till the end.
By the way the cutter cuts exactly half an inch now between 2 hours cool down.
Should finish by Christmas then. Unless I ask Chris what's happened to his cutter and he buys a new one for me to borrow.
With luck the weather will improve and the bathroom finished in time for spring.
I hope the solicitor pays out by then, but that stories for next time.
