Derek's DIY Disaster Thread - With Pics!

Derek W

Derek W

Derek W

Soldato
Joined
1 Oct 2008
Posts
12,737
Location
Designing Buildings
Evening all,

Well September last year I bought my first house and the previous owners had decorated it quite tastefully so i didn't have much to do but I've decided to get my hands dirty and do a few things around the house and garden.

First up is the bathroom. There's a couple of things that have bugged me so with the football season now over for me my weekends are now free to cause havoc in the house! Be prepared for some stupid questions!

5SreUz7.jpg

Ty4PM7s.jpg

2uBd8vb.jpg
Shower curtain is useless so this has happened to the carpet / skirting board.

First up is to strip the wall paper and get the walls prepared for painting instead of papering again. Colour still to be decided.
I'm a bit confused on the removal of the radiator for painting behind it. I've had a look on youtube but a lot of the videos show the radiator being partially bled before removing it. Now the radiators in my house dont have a valve to bleed them so does this mean I have to get a professional in before removing it or is there a risk I could mess up the system if i do it myself?

I'm also wanting to add a fixed glass shower screen across the side of the bath so that the water wont (famous last words) leak onto the floor. Is there any particular pitfalls with getting this mounted on the wetwall through to the plasterboard that i should be aware of?

I bought a two door mirrored cabinet as well which I'll be mounting on the wall after the rooms painted.

Ideally i want to tile my floor as well as replacing the skirting but think this will need to wait for a wee while yet as i need to amass the tools for the job as well as the materials :D

Updates will happen as and when I get through to B&Q if my local DIY store doesn't have the things I'm looking for.

Any advice on what I'm attempting is most welcome though :)
 
No real issue with your glass shower screen, but you'll want to use proper plasterboard anchors for it, and I'd suggest a decent grab adhesive to supplement. Make sure that you silicone bead both sides (and the top edge of the frame), and you'll be laughing.

I wouldn't remove the radiator personally, lots of hassle for no real benefit. Instead, spend a few quid at your local trade DIY place and get a radiator roller, since you'll get right down the back of it with no issues.

I'd also investigate that carpet and wall, just to see if any "pruning" is required!
 
Getting a second opinion tomorrow night when my dad pops round but after that ill be stripping the paper off (nearest thing to breaking something dice!)

Not too worried about colour coordinated sealant as I've used brilliant white on the bath already.

Already got some platerboard screw in wall plugs (metal) for my mirrored cabinet but since ill be hanging the shower screen off the plasterboard through the wetwall I guess ill need some extra long wall plugs? Do these exist?

A quick inspection of the wall at the bath appears to be fine. The only adverse thing is the discolouration of the skirting and carpet.
 
Last edited:
Most of the shower screen weight will be taken by the side of the bath (presume it's a fixed one?), so I'd just drill an oversized hole through the wetwall, drive the plugs into the plasterboard, fill the hole with gap adhesive, and put a long screw through the screen and adhesive while it's still wet.
 
Peronsally I've never had a problem with shower curtains...just have to make sure they sit nicely against the wall, which usually means decent curtain hangers, and then it's a case of making sure the curetin is inside the bath when showering...
 
A lot of people tend to put the shower rail too far out, so the curtains hang out side the bath, hence your stain.

I would normally use a plumbob, to make sure rail is just in line with inside edge of bath when fitting.

With those metal plasterboard fitting, you can fit them into aerated concrete, with a 7mm or is it 8mm predrilled hole.
 
Last edited:
the position of the curtain rail isn't too bad. I tend to wet the curtain first and 'stick' it to the wetwall / corner of the bath to create a seal but some water still leaks out. Last night i did notice that there was a small amount of water on the back wall behind the bath / below the shower. I'm hoping its just a wee hole in the sealant which I'll take a look at tonight.

As for the carpet in the bathroom, that's the previous folk! Even vinyl would be an improvement but as said, I will be looking into tiling things down the line.
 
Let the stripping commence!

ZDj8Qvt.jpg

Thought that the blue paint was the final layer but no when i ripped some of the wall paper off I've taken off that layer, the lining paper and I'm back to plasterboard. Ah well all the way back I go then! Will need to get some new lining paper so that I've got an even surface for when i paint. Looks like the previous folk had a minor repair over the door as there's some normal plasterboard at lintel height.
 
well decided to go shopping today so excuse the crap pic but......

NFFEr6Q.jpg

Big box - Cooke and Lewis Bath Shower screen
behind it is a mirrored bathroom cabinet (bought a couple of weeks ago)
paint, brushes, rollers, wallpaper scorer, paint for the shed, polyfilla, lining paper extendable pole for window washing, and weedkiller.
 
chief barker said:
Little tip regarding lining paper, leave a small gap (1/2mm) in between the lining paper and fill the gaps with polyfilla....wait for it to dry and sand it down for a gap free finish!
Click to expand...

Good tip. And here is one of my own since you're working on your bathroom. Before applying sealant around the bath and sink, fill them with water first so you don't end up with a gap if there is any movement between full and empty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom