www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi,

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?
The frame is mostly reused timber at 3/4" thick; the ply is Wickes 18mm exterior grade and actually not bad at all at least it was flat and straight; lamination holes were easy to fill in. The curved end involved lots of head scratching; the bendy MDF proved useless around the 6" end radius so was dumped; thin 2.5mm thick strips were then cut on my home made 4hp single phase saw bench; not a job for a raw novice at all.

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.

Hi,

I forgot to add the picture of how I formed the curved end. The three pieces of Formica were glued together using Evostik exterior woodworking adhesive and having already been cut to correct length the ends were slotted into rebates then wooden battens and cramps used to pull them to profile; the panel was glued to the frame and into the rebates; it worked very well indeed; the cramps were left in position for over a day before being removed.
Kind regards, Col.

Well done, some tricky work there, it turned out well.

DWD

Excellent work
now you have learnt the lessons need to make one in a week it will probably never happen again
but well done

Hi,

Thanks DWD; good job I had the spare Formica sheets.

Thanks also big-all; yes lots of lessons learned; now I know how to make these vanity units I could set up a production line knocking them out in bulk but I think one has been enough for me. Having laminated the first rail I then found I could use 1/8" thick plywood; this was cross cut and two layers were the base with a layer of the thin softwood strip glued on the outside. The plywood obliged by bending around the former without splitting which surprised me. I'm currently doing the painting; then I'll do the papering above dado level. Leaving hanging the vanity until one of the last jobs means I won't be working with it in the way. I'll update as the project progresses.

Kind regards, Col.

Hi,

At last I'm making better progress but this afternoon I'm grounded; hospital appointment again. The vanity unit is now fully installed to the wall; the "V" groove paneling is coming along nicely and I've just sealed the top of the vanity unit to the wall using self adhesive sealing tape made for the purpose ensuring a water tight seal.
Kind regards, Col.

Hi,

It's taken ages but at last the vanity unit is fully installed together with new marble basin and taps. I never want to do another bathroom makeover where the bathroom is constantly live; it's been a nightmare.

good work there col, it is a total nightmare working in a busy room i must admit. regular experience of that one

hope all is well

Hi,

Many thanks fin; I wish things were better with Bron who is increasing unwell. Bron and I hope you're keeping well; you'll be over the moon with all this non stop football which is taking over the UK closing stores etc?

I thought remodeling our kitchen years ago was difficult enough it being a fully working kitchen throughout but this bathroom remodeling has been a nightmare. It's still fighting me every inch of the way; I expected three full lengths of Screwfix polyurethane coving to be plenty but how wrong could I be. Stressed out with Bron being so ill; shopping; ironing; meals; gardens and trying to make progress with the bathroom badly impacted on me. I usually make mistakes but I've never ever made as many mistakes as I did installing the coving; I ended up using the full six pack but still needed to add coving over the shower enclosure. Screwfix only sell packs of six and no way did I want to be recycling lots of brand new coving so I've just made two new lengths of coving out of softwood; this morning I added the second coat of Benjamin Moore paint and when this dries I'll secure them in position. I still cut the first end of one length completely the wrong way it being a miter.

This was the time to give up and ignore all the YouTube videos I've been watching; I browsed the web instead and found a website posted by a young lady; her instructions in text and pictures were brilliant and incredibly simple; I was attempting to cut in internal miter; I have a miter saw so place the coving upside down and the long length is always at the bottom; incredibly simple; it worked for me; I didn't watch how she cut external corners but assume the cove is placed the right way up and again the long edge is correct; I've lost her website which is a shame.
Coving made using saw bench and bandsaw.
One length of 2" x 4" softwood was just enough to give the two lengths needed; I deep cut these on the sawbench to separate them; cutting was quick; setting up very slow because I've not used this method for years.
New cushion floor makes a lot of difference. White silicone sealant was used for the shower tray to cushion floor black silicone sealant was used to seal the shower enclosure to the tray but only on the outside.
The new vanity unit is well stocked with essentials like toilet rolls.

Sorry for adding details here but I don't have time at the moment to play around with new threads. Got to go; I've a lot to do before bedtime.

Kind regards, Col.

Hi,

The bathroom makeover is finally completed.
Wooden coving installed and painted; it's glued and screwed into position so should withstand steam.
The wall panel tops awaiting the coving.

This makeover took a great deal longer to complete than expected but it's our only bathroom so was constantly in use meaning many interruptions to the progress but it's been worth it in the end. I've since spent a week cutting back very overgrown laurels and last week removed a conifer hedge which had become too tall; there were 18 conifers and a huge fire thorn which was nasty and hostile. Jobs never end but I'm never bored.

Kind regards, Col.

I have been cutting back my Laurel hedge too. I found that several fence panels needed replacing but with the back face of the Laurels growing over the fence I decided I needed to cut a two-foot wide access path to make it easier for now and the future to attend the fence. This was quite a task and I have worked on it for a good few weeks working on sections at a time. I have the process down quite well as I cut the thicker branches at the base and then cut back the fallen wood and branches into 3-foot logs and the thinner branches of 1" diameter with leaves that I put through my chipper. The logs and bags of chipped green waste from a section were manageable enough to fit in my car to take to the dump. I need to trim the tops now but that will be lighter as they are only thin fronds. I have a Titan electric chainsaw and my faithful mini one-handed chainsaw which did the job. My petrol chainsaw is too noisy. I had to keep sharpening the chains as Laurel is a very dense hardwood that blunts the saw teeth. I am also conscious of the cyanide content especially when chipping. It was a lot of work but I am glad it is done.

You did a nice job on the bathroom refurb, well done.

DWD

Hi,

A late reply because as usual I'm extremely busy. Thanks DWD; I'm delighted to be free of the bathroom it took much too long to complete and was nothing but hassle all during the work constantly fighting me.

Well done DWD with your laurel cutting back; it's hard work isn't it; I find cutting things down to be the easy part it's getting rid of everything that is so time consuming. I used to have an heavy duty Bosch shredder which did a tremendous amount of shredding for me over the years but have sold it because it's no longer needed now all the trees and bushes are down I wanted to remove; any future rubbish will be bagged up and dumped at the tip.

I've only ever had chainsaw problems when I've accidentally hit soil or stones etc which immediately kill the chain; actual tree cutting including laurels the chain lasts for ages; I felled 15 very tall trees and cut them up on a new chain which still was sharp after the job. My huge oak tree was very dense and heavy but the 20" petrol chainsaws cut it without difficulty; I've more recently removed a dreadful Pyracantha (fire-thorn) it was over 15' tall with masses of growth; I was amazed by how dense its trunk and branches were; it's one of the heaviest timbers I've ever cut; the brash filled four very big bags which in turn filled the car whilst being run to the tip; it was horrible getting rid of this Pyracantha.

Have you completed your cutting back DWD; I hope all went well?

Having only had the bath it was very strange at first using the new shower but we've now got used to it; cleaning the shower is more difficult and time consuming than cleaning a bath but it's wonderful to be under a hot deluge; because it's heated from a combi boiler it has a lot of pressure; it's like standing under Niagara Falls. The new vanity unit has been well worth making and installing; it holds lots of toilet rolls and other bathroom essentials making for a much tidier bathroom. Because it's a floating vanity unit the extra floor space beneath it greatly increases the illusion of a much bigger bathroom than it actually is. The bathroom makeover and all the hassles involved have now been well worth it.

Kind regards, Col.

Hi Colin, I have just finished topping out one side of the gardens Laurels, I hope to start this week on the longer other side. I am not looking forward to it. I may be teaching you to suck eggs but in our shower I use a squeegee and a sponge pad to sweep most of the water off after use and then finish off with a towel. This keeps the shower from getting any limescale streaks and it always looks clean. I have done this since I fitted it which must be 14 years ago and it still looks like new.

I hope Bron is doing okay

DWD

Hi,

Many thanks DWD for your kind wishes and information.

I don't envy you working trimming your laurels; the gas they give off isn't nice especially if a car load of cuttings are being transported to the tip also every bit of the plant is poisonous; laurels make excellent hedges but need to be kept under tight control. About three weeks ago I started to remove a tall conifer hedge which had started to go ballistic including the Pyracantha I mentioned earlier. I removed five of the conifers these reaching up to 20' tall in the afternoon. The day after I heard our immediate neighbour in his garden hut so wandered up; he wasn't an happy bunny at all telling me he was unhappy but didn't want to fall out; he went on to say removal of MY conifer hedge would cause subsidence to his property also put his mains incoming gas pipe at risk; further he wasn't happy about losing privacy; I let him go on thinking what a selfish self centered guy he's turned out to be; he took me completely by surprise because I thought him to be a trustworthy honest guy. Years ago I was at the top of our mountain with the chainsaw with the intention of removing these conifers before they joined their 60' tall relations; these neighbours came to me and asked me to please reconsider felling the conifers; I'd explained I was fed up of constant big tree work and wanted these down before they took off. They volunteered to look after the conifer height and also their side at their cost so being the good but soft neighbour I am I agreed. The conifers now ranged from 15' to 20' tall and their height hadn't been trimmed for at least four years; now I'm told he's unhappy but doesn't want to fall out. Our next conversation will be quit different when I explain to him how I now regard him; I'd rather have such people as my enemy than a so called friend. Being soft and kind these days is seen as being weak? Former neighbours 35 years ago built the large house but used every inch of garden width totally unconcerned regarding maintenance; they must have assumed freedom from our garden to carry out their maintenance; their flight of garden steps is right up to our boundary. Having told me he was unhappy then he asked if I'd consider selling him a section of our garden so he could build an office; if or when Bron and I apply for planning permission I bet he'll be the first to object.

I too use a squeegee to remove most of the water from our shower panels but now with a difference; after my first shower I thought I'd dry myself off and put clothes on before cleaning the shower; all was going well and I'd almost finished when I hear a rumble overhead followed by me getting a fully clothed shower of now cold water. Now when I take a shower I leave the shower alone for an hour or so to let it have its fun before wandering in to use the squeegee and wet towels then throw the towels into the washing machine; it works for me; I've also bought a shower cleaning spray to remove soap marks which works very well leaving the glass crystal clear. Our shower being new started off clean so I want to keep on top of it as you've done in keeping your shower clean for so many years. I use VIAKAL No1 against limescale also Morrison's Daily Shower shine. This morning whilst in Home bargains I bought a very plain squeegee only costing about 59p for future use; I've been using my Karcher WV50 but it's cumbersome and difficult to use on our quadrant enclosure.

Kind regards, Col.

That neighbour is typical of idiots around today. The conifers are yours to do with as you please, if he was worried about privacy he could have grown his own screening hedge. Lazy mug that he is he only had to top them out once a year to keep you happy, idiot. I am sure I have gassed myself with Laurel cyanide many times over the years. it is horrible stuff.

Be a bit careful of that shower shine Colin, I used it once and it made the tray a slip hazard, I think it has silicone in it.

DWD