The Morecambe DIY Project

[accykeef]

As we all know, things do go wrong from time to time and today was one such day - nothing as drastic as Mrs Keef having a traumatic ironing accident but annoying just the same.

First things first and the early morning job was to straighten that crooked wall. It was fine when there were cupbards above but now it is to be a full wall - it would have looked stupid and annoyed me greatly so I set about straigtening it up. It now sticks out a full 25mm above the magnet panel but looks a lot better than it did. At least the tiles will now sit fairly level. The clamps are there to distort the plasterboard a bit because not only was the original wall not vertical, it had a bow in it as well.


How to join the large tiles to the smaller grey ones?


Daub on a bit of stickum yackum


and add a bit of grey plastic internal angle beading


and the join between the dark and grey tiles looks so much better


I got another type of beading which I have never used before and this stuff is brilliant. It is square edged makes superb corners. This picture doesn't do it justice but Houston, there was a problem to sort out.


It was getting towards tea time and going a bit cold and I decided to close the door. Only problem was, the batten supporting the tiles was catching on the door as I closed it. Surely, the adhesive would have enough grip to release the batten, shut the door and then screw it back in place.





WRONG - after realeasing the batten, two tiles dropped off, a full one bounced and a small cut one smashed - It could have been a lot worse so I am not too concerned - just had to remove the adhesive from the wall before it had set and it was still soft - let's hope it is still holding firm tomorrow.


as a side note - I was wondering what the correct way was to deal with the small piece of tile which was required on the second row up.
I knew one of the rows would have to be cut down height wise so I decided to split the tiles into 3 to kake a feature of it. There is a small piece of tile to be placed somewhere and I couldn't decide what to do with it. The options were, put it at the very end, put it in the middle or make that part up out of 2 tiles. It would look odd any way so O went for the middle. Mrs Keef thinks it would look better at the end but after passing her the tools - it stayed where it was.

[trevnhil]

Hello Keith. I initially missed your last post as we must have been writing at the same time. Also we had no power for over 4 hrs last night, but all is OK this morning.

However now I have read it and seen the pictures I can comment and perhaps question as well.

I have never seen that straight edging that you have used between the two different coloured tiles. It certainly does the job well and looks good.

Going back to your first picture of the curved piece of plasterboard, the bottom left of the curve seems not to be against the wall. ie are you making the arched opening smaller in width.?

It was a shame that those few tiles fell off and a bigger shame that one broke.
Re, where should the cut be??? Well it has taken me some time to side with Mrs Keefy, but in the sure knowledge that you can't pass me the tools, Ha ha

I nearly pressed the 'send' button but remembered another question. What are you going to do with the ceiling. Are you putting a new false one in...... or even a real one.??

Much to my shame, no matter how much I rack my brains I cannot remember if you have resurfaced the drive yet. If the answer is a yes then I need some memory training.

Take care. Trev..

[accykeef]

A few answers
The straight edge is plastic internal curved angle

I have decided to make the arch - a proper arch shape and plan to make a fancy shaped thing to fit under it - watch that space.

The cut is done now so it would be areal problem to change it.

A real false ceiling is going in eventually but we are still deciding what to do about lighting so that will have to wait. It is not holding anything up so it will wait.

The drive is still a mess but I think that will be a job for next year as Mrs Keef has decreed that our bedroom should be completed next.

Saturday 28th April 2013

We were both up and about by 0630 this morning but it was too early to start cutting tiles.

After the minor trials yesterday it was on with more tiling today as well as a few other minor jobs. I am still a bit concerned about the tile adhesive although I suspect it simply has just not had time to set properly.


First job was to replace the missing tiles from yesterday. I removed another tile just to check the adhesive and as I suspected, it was still soft. I put it down to the cold weather slowing the drying time down as the tiles over the sink are stuck solid.


Next job was marking out the wall for our fancy little feature.


The blue sky gave me an opportunity to get a decent picture of the new roof.


I did minor stuff until about 0830 and then set about cutting quite a number of tiles wearing my new pinny made from a bin bag. It didn't look pretty but it did it's job of keeping me dry. Working outside is far better than messing up inside and I wasn't even stopped when it started raining. I just moved the bench under the garage door and carried on.


All that cutting was to finish off the pillar.


and cut the feature tiles for the second row up.


and the corner is looking really good now.


Over the arch had to be done in two parts as it would have been impossible to batten it all at once. The wall here is still not straight but it is much better than it was when I started - At least it is vertical now and looking at it, I am glad I decided to make it that way rather than leave it as it was. I would have cursed each time I saw it if I had left it bowed.


Cutting the curves for the arch tested my skill with the tile cutter and I got a tile cutting merit badge from Clerk of Works, Mrs Keef.



I almost forgot to take a photo of the colour feature in the corner. We both fell in love with these tiles as soon as we saw them. They come in 300mm x 300mm sheets of 6 x 6 tiles but I have cut them down to 3 tiles wide. I knew what I wanted to do with them as soon as I saw them in the shop but had to get approval from Mrs Keef in the colours and textures department.


They were the two tiles we bought from Tupps Trails the other day before we went to Wickes for the other stuff. Here is a close up, they are like a crinkled tin foil behind coloured glass.


More of the same tomorrow

[trevnhil]

Well I don't know where you get all your energy and time from. Maybe you have to work hard because it is cold.
However I have noted that you have got some help on this job. I see John and Miguel are helping you.
And of course I can see in another picture an older guy working at a bench.
So that makes 5 of you, including Mrs Keefy and You

The sun is just setting here and it is still 26c in the bungalow with the doors all open.

So, no imitation ceiling for you. It is going to be a real false ceiling

The Grey tiling is looking good, and you have done well with the curved archway.
Those colourful small tiles to the left of the microwave, do look really good.

The house roof looks good as well and it looks as though they just have to do the cement pointing, get rid of the scaffold and skip and knock on the door for the cheque.

Cheers. Carlesberg and Trev..

[accykeef]

The ridges don't need pointing as they are fastened on by bolts. It is all new to me too but they are designed for easy maintenance. They still have the soffets to do but their work should be completed this week.

I forgot to mention BT. One of their engineers was working across the road and he was looking at the dodgy telephone wiring on our scaffolding. I know what he was thinking but he didn't come across. I wanted him to as there is a tangle of wire on the house opposite which was reported to BT over 6 months ago and it is still there. When they put the scaffolding up, I re routed the cable under the boards at it was a trip hazard (2 ft off the planks) on the scaffolding.



Sunday 28th April 2013
It was time to fit the work top today and all went well except that I managed to give myself a black eye with a spanner. I smeared the bare edges of the worktop with silicone, lined up the 2 work pieces and then got underneath and tightened the bolts up. The joint had moved and so I had to do it again. This time I had Head of Alignment and Levels to assist and while I re-tightened the bolts, Head of Alignment and Levels kept her eye on the joint. While I was tightening one of the bolts, my hand slipped off the spanner and as I was led on my back under it, it was a relatively easy job of catching it with my face to prevent it damaging the cupboard floor. I was very lucky, it could have easily smashed my glasses had I not moved my head away.

The worktop is looking good but I still have add the end piece.


The joint is barely visible.
It cost us £30 to have the worktop cut and the joint routed but it was well worth it as I could never get such a good joint in a month of Sundays and one thing I didn't want was one of those ridiculous raised up jointing pieces. Some friends of ours had a pro kitchen fitted and the fitters installed one of those and it spoilt the whole job.


Now for some fancy stuff take 1 piece of hardboard and add some black wood and tiles an create a spice rack. The tiles are the ones we picked up from Tile Mart in Preston for £4.99 a metre - bargain!


By shear coincidence, 26 of Mrs Keef's Kilner jars just fit on it.


Now some MDF and the aforementioned black wood has been transformed into a shelf for Tea, Sugar, Coffee, Salt, Pepper and a few other items which are regularly required by today's busy cook. The clamp is holding the support together while the glue dries. The MDF split when I excitedly over tightened a screw.


Meanwhile - we have an invasion of drwaers in the hallway


An invasion of tiles in the dining room


as well as all kinds of wooden off cuts


and bubble wrap


More tiling to be done tomorrow but until then it is time for a rest.

[trevnhil]

Hello Keith. Rest well, you deserve it.

I will post a rely late tomorrow, but I must make two comments now.

1. I like the waterproof joint box for the phone cable.

2. I also like the wire Shoe Rack.

Trev..

[accykeef]

The joint box is waterproof - well, the wires are caked in silicone to keep the water out. It has been working for well over 2 weeks so fingers crossed, it keeps going.

[trevnhil]

Hello there.
I'm all settled for the evening now in my (usual) easy chair and full of evening meal.

I'm glad that your telephonic's are waterproof, I would hate water to trickle down the wire and into your ear.

No mention of the wire shoe rack!!.......... However, I must congratulate you on the worktop joint. I know it is machine made, but it is difficult to both tighten the bolts underneath and keep the top surfaces flush. It is amazing how the silicone makes it slippery.
I hope that your eye is OK, and about that I am serious.

I am still not understanding exactly what the metal is that goes on the worktop ends.

The spice racks look good and also the tin containers on the other rack.
Your drawers seem to be the same as the ones that we have here. Three pieces of grey plastic screwed to the drawer fronts.

You storage rooms don't seem to get much emptier, but you have to store stuff somewhere.

I hope your tiling goes to plan. I have done a lot of it but still never mastered using the notched trowel as you have done.

Good luck with it all.

Cheers. Trev..

PS.... 'There's plenty to do at Morecambe, it's all at your house. ;D

[accykeef]

Mrs Keef was most upset at the suggestion that her drawers could be used to store shoes. She had ear marked them to put veg in, now that should make her walk funny.
I have discovered the secret of good tiling and it is the same as any sort of decorating - it is all in the preparation, especially creating a proper level surface on which to lay the tiles. I really do wish I had sent Mrs Keef off for a few days and ripped the old kitchen ou, boarded the entire room and then put the new units in - would have been a doddle to tile it. Ah well, next time


I thought I would share some pics of the wonderful new roof - not a mortar smear in sight - excellent!


I have been winding Mrs Keef up that they have mixed some red tiles with the grey ones, on the back and spelt out CAFE. The lead work on the chimney is quite impressive although the chimney still needs pointing.


The photo has revealed a different coloured ridge tile - I will have a proper look at that tomorrow when I take brews up.


This mesh should stop them pesky Lemurs from building a burrow.


The fixings look quite ugly but cannot really be seen from ground level.


The whole setup is laid onto a self adhesive corrugated film a bit like Flashband. The whole thing looks a lot neater than cement pointed ridges.


Enough of the roof - back to the kitchen
Monday 29th April 2013

A bit of chamfering of tiles was required for that odd shaped pillar next to the arch


This is the pillar before tiling started


and then after a bit of tiling had been done


and the back breaking part of the day was complete.


next job was to fit the metal trim around the colour feature. It seemed like a good idea to put small screws in the wall and secure the trim with them - turns out that it was an excellent idea and it looks as though the trim was shaped for that purpose.

The tiling of this wall could begin once I had got the level and alignment of the batten sorted out. Note the old worktop is on top of the new one, protected with bubble wrap. Having a work bench makes it so much easier and so much easier on the old back.


and the tiles are slowly advancing towards the light switch


this is where the fun begins as despite the picture, the socket is parallel with the work top but needs a notch cutting out of a tile.


let's get ready for some creative cutting


The diamond wheel cutter is an excellent tool for such jobs


a little cut here and there and soon the cut out is taking shape.


after more work with the cutting wheel and then a bit of gentle grinding with the bench grinder - we ar left with a cut out which should fit round a double 13 amp socket.


and yes it fits although the one which goes above the socket is going to be a lot harder.


Now to do the upper tiling behind where the microwave goes


and all ready for action.
The area behind the microwave is partially tiled but I had to get out of the way as the Head of Nuclear Meals was gearing up for cooking the living daylights out of some poor creature, so I was tasked with cleaning up, showering and dressing for dinner.


I will take a photo before I start tomorrow.

[accykeef]

Tuesday 30th April 2013

OOPs - forgot to take a photo behind the microwave but I am sure life will go on.

on with the plot ....................

It is tricky cutting time once again and time to cut the upper tile for around the last socket.


Quite easy but takes a lot of patience - start by cutting a pretty shape.


Then nibble away at it with the bench cutter


and finish it off with thr bench grinder without the whole tile shattering into small pieces.


After the problem with the tiles falling off I was reluctant to remove the supporting batten but after 2 days it was make or break. I gently removed the batten and the tiles stayed in place. A loose tile on the door pillar was also removed and the adhesive behind it was still soft. Not sure if it is down to cheap adhesive or just the fact that I had put it on quite thick.

I have cut a few more pieces for over the arch and made sure that they are well supported. The chrome effect strip is in place but not properly fixed yet.


The glass tile thing looks good next to the grey tiles although it will look a lot better when it is all grouted.


The white sockets are being replaced with fancy grey ones but not until I have finished daubing everything with grey sticky stuff.

at this rate - the job should be finished before Christmas 2015 when I can look forward to a well earned rest.

[trevnhil]

Hello Keith, well who's a busy boy then. It really is coming along very well. I can understand your reluctance to take some of the battens off, if the adhesive is a bit thick.

By the way.... a little tip that you can pass on the Mrs Keefy..... perhaps show her this posting.
Here in Cyprus the men do not do the grouting... That is Womens work

You still have much detailed work yet to do, and You have it all in hand.

The pictures of the roof look good and I thing I have used those ridge that you screw on. Your men have put a waterproof roll of material underneath them so ...No Problems.

Good luck to you with it all. I hope you get a little rest before you start the bedroom.

Cheers. Trev..

[accykeef]

Mrs Keef's reply was quite brief and ended in 2 f's - I think I now need to buy chocolates.

[trevnhil]

Apr 30, 2013 21:07:04 GMT accykeef said:

Mrs Keef's reply was quite brief and ended in 2 f's - I think I now need to buy chocolates.

I really don't understand her response at all.

She has not got to clean the Kitchen at the moment and you are probably taking her out for meals anyway.
Due to pictures on the internet, it is clear that she can do little cleaning in the dining room or lounge. These areas being used as kitchen and tile stores at the moment.
Although straining at the leash, she will be unable to clean the windows due to scaffold and outside work.

You would think that she would be grateful of the grouting job, as it would brighten up her life a little.

Trev.... Down in the sandbags, awaiting the flak .

[accykeef]

I guess she is just ungrateful but there is no changing some people's attitude.

She is letting me have a day off tomorrow and another day off on Saturday so it is me who should be grateful. Lots of snagging to be done today although I will not be removing the support under the arch until tomorrow - as some of the adhesive I used on Sunday, stil has not gone hard. I don't think that this adhesive is designed to be applied thicker than a thin bead, it will dry eventually but just how long that is I am not too sure. Fortunately, the places where I have applied the adhesive quite thick is well supported anyway so I am not too bothered.
One job I need to do, which I am not too keen on is drilling holes through the large tiles in the corner for the extractor hood. I am worried that the tile will explode into numerous pieces.

[accykeef]

Wednesday 1st May 2013

On the subject of drilling the tiles for the cooker extractor hood, there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that the tile did not explode into thousands of pieces. Actually, I didn't try drilling a hole for the extractor but for the soon to be moved gas pipe. The logic of this choice was that if the tile cracks, it will be behind the cooker so may not have to be replaced - clever eh!

The bad news is the tiles are so hard that the masonary drill (a fairly new one) takes a long time to make an impression and the hole in the photo below is about half way through the tile and took several minutes in total to drill. I gave the bit chance to cool down between attampts so I am now having a rethink about how to support the hood. I didn't tile all the way to the ceiling, only to the false ceiling so I am sure I could design a hanging bracket to support it.

In a former life I had access to a MIG welder with which to fabricate some industrial solutions but up here in Morecambe - such luxury has not crossed my path yet. I need to ask around - perhaps a trip to the pub would provide contact with the relevant people, or the man at the garage. I thought I had found a useful source when I was put in touch with a metal fabrication firm on the White Lund but them wanting £40+ for a sq metre of steel mesh makes me think their prices are way beyond my means.

How about the lend of a MIG welder in exchange for a skip full of hardcore and fire wood - delivered locally, any takers?
The hole is the white dot to the left of the picture.


This was taken during tiling.


The wiring and pipework needs to be hidden from view.


and the tiling in the corner needs to be finished off.


This was taken late in the afternoon when I had boxed in the pipes and cables and put the drawers and doors back.


The tile over the right hand double socket cannot be laid yet as the socket needs to be removed and for that the power needs to be off and electric is required elsewhere at the moment.


There is a unit going to the left of the main cupboard but that has yet to be designed so there will be a gap there for the time being.


I have missed a small piece of tile under the shelf too.


The tiling up the corner is complete but I have had to use up some off cuts. Nobody will notice off a passing bus.


I quite like the boxing in but what a difference the steel effect boards make when the grain runs horizontal.


and that is me up to date - day off from DIY tomorrow but it will be back to work on Friday.

Ah yes - the roof, soffets and barge boards are all finished too - result! - and I have put the phone wire back as it was - well nearly, it is a bit shorter than it was.