My wonderful wife Bron was finding it dangerous to continue using the bath so I decided to remove the bath and install a walk in shower; whilst at it why not give the whole bathroom a makeover. Three new LED panel lights now installed with new wiring; white gloss paneled ceiling; new white V groove paneling is going in below dado height. The new shower enclosure is fully working; it has the side and back walls in large marble panel plastic sheets; the shower is 1,000mm x 800mm and we chose a black frame; the thermostatic mixer valve and shower tray were plumbed in and have since been checked for leaks but everything is fine.
The vanity unit has been hugely frustrating and a nightmare to make; I've lost track of the many interruptions whilst making it; so many interruptions in fact I felt I was losing the will to live but although it's taken what seems like ages I finally completed the vanity this morning adding door catches and handles.
Space in the bathroom is limited so I thought a rounded end unit would be more suitable but making this round end was far more difficult than I ever expected. Normally I'm good at cabinet work having done lots over the years but I've never previously made as many mistakes or wasted as much material as I've done with this cabinet. It was increasingly difficult to concentrate with lots of household chores daily also our large gardens were demanding a great deal of my time; Bron always comes first so I've done everything I possibly can to make her life easier but I could happily live with looking after her; it was all the other interruptions that rattled my cage. Installing the coving was an experience; measure at least four times then cut it at the wrong angle time after time; I bought a pack of six coving lengths from Screwfix and all it needed was three of these; I ended up using all six; I could have screamed.
There's no spare time for me; I've got a music studio kitted out with recording gear; four violins; a keyboard and a genuine Russian Balalaika; I've not been into the studio for weeks because it's crammed full of furniture I had to remove from the second room in the rear extension; the floorboards had to come up to expose the pipework from the bathroom; the original bath had a very small dia. waste pipe and the new shower tray needed a 40mm waste. This isn't usually a problem but it took two full days of very hard work to get the new waste pipe through the wall; the wall is random solid stone; the original builders had installed the old waste pipe between two big stones in the wide mortar joint. I was wedged between two joists with my heavy SDS breaker in chisel mode pounding away at these stones; now I feel like doing an action replay (NOT).
The whole project so far has been fighting me at every turn; silly little things were winding me up such as knocking off tired out at 8:30pm only to find the bathroom sink hot water tap washer had split; I've worked myself to a stand still many days; remaining on top of the garden maintenance is a full time job this time of year and our dire Yorkshire climate did it's best to drown me as I visited the workshop for tools; each trip to the workshop involved 12 doors; 6 down and six back; I wondered if I'd live long enough to make it to 77 this August?
- Checking top for fit.
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- Back view.
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- Bit of filler; this is Toupret and it's incredible filler; just so easy to apply and sand.
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- One door glued and cramped; I used lots of reclaimed timber I'd removed from the bathroom.
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- WOW this laminated rail finally turned out OK
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- Formica curved end under way.
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- Lamination's clamped onto robust form.
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- Bendy 6mm thick MDF with thin strips I cut on the big sawbench; I don't rate this Wickes bendy MDF at all; the ribs are so weak.
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- Completed this morning; what a job it turned out to be.
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I needed the curved panel and at first was worried this was going to beat me after all I was always short of time and things weren't going too well at all; I was making it up as I went along; normally I'd use "emachineshop" CAD to produce a detailed drawing but I couldn't spare the time for sitting down; I'd made lots of cabinets so surely I could manage to make this cabinet?
I then wondered if I could use three layers of Formica glued together for the curved end panel; I don't know of this ever being done before so perhaps it's unique? Using contact adhesive was out of the question otherwise the newly laminated panel wouldn't bend; I used Evostik exterior adhesive knowing this would allow each sheet of Formica to slide; it was a gamble but amazingly as seen it worked a treat. I had plenty of red Formica to hand so it cost nothing. The red was going to be painted so it could have been any colour; the surfaces were power sanded.
The new curved panel was clamped into it's finished position and even after two days it was still quite flexible because the Evostik between the Formica sheets would take a lot of drying with moisture nowhere to go. The wooden curved rails were trimmed to size on the bandsaw and well sanded then glued with the Evostik and wood screws for good measure ensured secure fastening. After a bit of filler and sanding I at last had a rare smile on my face and now after a couple of weeks the end curved panel is rock hard. far from easy but it worked.
The patterned Formica is stunning; I had this left over from when I made my office desk a few years ago; Bron and I think it's gorgeous and again this time it cost nothing. Had the vanity been square ended I'd have completed it in a week but the curved end really did cause me lots of headaches and problems; if ever I need to do such a curved end again I could do it in a fraction of the time. I love Bron to bits so I do my utmost to help her and make her life better; I've done the dishes; laundry; shopping and ironing for years and more recently started baking; the only reason I can add this lengthy thread is because I've got backache with all the bending over the bench. The new shower room will quickly come together now; I won't fit the vanity until I've papered and chopped the wall out to receive the new pipe work; the floor under the vanity will be clear apart from new skirting and cushion floor.
Enough for now but I encourage anyone to stick with projects in spite of them going wrong; just about everything frustrated me no end but I won through and we're both pleased with the result. The paint colour is Benjamin Moore TAOS TAUPE and the fancy Formica is AMBERWOOD BURL.
Kind regards, Col.
