Friday 20 July 2018

Up a Ladder and on a Chair in the Bathroom

Over a week ago I sanded down the bathroom walls ready for painting. It's only a small bathroom, one wall is almost all tiles, another wall has tiles, the bathroom door and the airing cupboard door, the third wall is part shower-wall and window so in theory there isn't too much to paint, but is darned awkward. Although one good thing, no doors, door frames, window or skirting board to paint - the doors are stained solid pine, window is plastic double glazed and the skirting and door frames are a sort of limed melamine type wood(?) which only need a wash down.

A day later was when my back went ping and that was the end of the decorating plans for last week.

So this week,  using a step ladder in the middle of the floor and a chair for other bits which is the only way to reach everything, I got started by filling a hairline crack in the ceiling and then got the paint out. (Dulux Bathroom colour Timeless- in case you are interested!)
 To reach the deep sides and top of the window recess means climbing over the basin and loo and  sitting on the window sill. Managed that OK and did the fiddly bits behind the loo and basin.
That was enough for day one, I want to get it all done by the last weekend of the month so plenty of time and no point in overdoing it and aggravating my back.

Last year when I painted the living room you got a blow by blow account!  (I was quite chuffed to do a whole room myself as in the past Colin did most of  the decorating while I did the small bits and the fetching and carrying! ) but I don't need to do a day by day description because I got the rest done all in one day. I didn't really mean to but had it done all except one wall in a couple of hours so thought I might as well press on to a finish.

Here's the new walk in shower, all nice a tidy. I'm still marveling at the fact that there was exactly the right number of wall tiles spare in the garage to add two rows to what were there to bring it up to shower height!


Replacing the huge, totally impractical Red bath which could never be filled as the water pressure is too low and impossible to climb out of too!

Picture from the sale brochure when we bought the house.




Clearing everything up and getting it all downstairs, cleaned and back into the garage took nearly as long.

 The next room to do ............but not until September at the earliest............... will be the big bedroom. It's a weird pink/biscuity colour at the moment and I have a bad feeling it might take two coats to cover it.

Back Tomorrow
Sue


46 comments:

  1. There's nothing like the look and feel of a newly decorated room is there?
    Just remember the old saying: - : the slower you go the faster you get there!

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    1. I'm not the best of home decorators but at least it's cleaner

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  2. Looks lovely Sue, I no longer have a bath, showers are so much easier for us older ladies.

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    1. I much prefer a shower, never used that huge bath at all

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  3. Well done - that's looking lovely. I rather like your red bath - did you sell it? Quite desirable. (There's the dealer in me coming out!!)

    There has been a little progress on OUR shower this week, as K has been putting up a few tiles a day.

    Good luck with your next project - it does sound like a two-coat job. I have our huge bedroom to tackle - I bought the paint a month ago but haven't made a start yet. Perhaps I might see what the "insipid" (K's description, not mine) paint looks like in the window aperture today . . . Just for badness. Then I HAVE to go on, don't I?

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    1. The plumber people took the big bath away. It wasn't as good as it looks in the photo!

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    2. At least you weren't stuck with it then. We have roll top baths here, which is why I have a soft spot for them, but ours are level all the way round, not slipper bath as yours was, and easy to climb in and out of.

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  4. Wow, what a transformation! It looks fabulous. I really admire the way you are getting stuck into home improvements and glad your back survived it too.

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    1. We moved in without really knowing how many things needed doing so it's good to get on with sorting out all the problems

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  5. What a feeling of satisfaction you must have to walk into your beautiful new bathroom.
    Good to hear that your back coped ok too.
    Keep doing the exercises!
    Sue.

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    1. I'm very pleased with how the shower fits in and painting has tidied it all up

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  6. Wow, that is a lovely shower room now, Sue! Unlike Bovey Bell, I thought that bath was huge and ugly. I don't understand how people can want these free-standing baths - fitted baths will surely make a comeback soon! - especially when they are against a wall. What happens when you splash water over the edge … you can't get at it to mop it up; a lot of gunge will surely build up in places you can't reach while cleaning? The shower is lovely. I think you've done so well to do these jobs.
    Regarding painting the large room, my advice, for what it's worth, is to paint the room with white paint to remove the deep colour, and then over that paint the colour that you have chosen. It will need two coats, but then, to get the depth of colour from any paint, two coats are best. However, this way, it might be that you have to give it three coats - one white to remove the colour that is now there, and two top coats of your chosen colour. But the end result would be worth it, Sue; and you don't have to do it all in one day.
    Margaret P

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    1. The bath was just wrong for the room and the house, Red didn't go with the tiles and as you say impossible to reach anything over the other side of it.
      The big bedroom will take several days maybe even weeks but at least it will be empty-ish so room to move around. I'll be doing it a shade of white or as the house sale brochures say - neutral!

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    2. It will look elegant when finished, Sue, and repay the hard work. We did our sitting room in 2002 (yes, all those years ago!) with Farrow & Ball paint (believe me, it's worth the extra, the depth of colour is exceptional compared with other paints we have used because they use more pigment) and it's still beautiful 16 years later, and this is a room that is used every single day.
      Neutral will look good, you will be able to add colour in soft furnishings, cushions, rugs, etc. I think you are do so well, Sue. Hugs from a very hot Torbay,
      Margaret P
      www.margaretpowling.com

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  7. The shower looks a vast improvement on that red bath. I bet it was really awkward climbing out of the bath with the toilet in the way, and pretty dangerous too.

    A great job, and I'm glad to hear your back is much improved 🙂

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    1. I never used the bath - the low water pressure meant the water would be cold before there was enough in the bat. Just used the huge ugly shower cubicle in the corner of the bedroom - which is coming out next month

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  8. I appreciate the bath is not practical but it is certainly a stunner. Glad to hear your back held up and you were able to get the bathroom done.

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  9. Your new shower looks so clean and bright and the walk in ones are so much easier to clean down - we had an apartment in Italy with one - we only have room for a corner shower here at home and it is so awkward to clean.
    Bathrooms are so fiddly to paint so well done you are obviously a good contortionist (can I book you to do ours!)

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    1. Painting one bathroom is enough thank you !!

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  10. You must be delighted having such a nice walk in shower.
    Temperatures are too high to paint the bedroom, aren't they?

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    1. It should be cooler by September I hope for the bedroom

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  11. I bought the paint for our shower room walls ages ago. I've just done the two sides and finished the tin with the third smaller area still to do. Yesterday I bought another tin - that had to be mixed to the same colour - brought it home and found that I had bought two tins before and now have a extra tin and a half over.

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    1. Oh No How annoying. can you use it somewhere else?

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  12. Good job done, Sue. Did you have to cut the bath to get it out? When we renewed our 1960s suite, the plumber reckoned the wall had been put up round it and he had to cut it to remove it. My daughter’s FIL is a painter and decorator and Timeless is the neutral colour he uses most. New shower looks great-enjoy.

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    1. No the bath wasn't cast iron and just 2 blokes carried it out

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  13. I remember getting stuck in a bath once at my sister-in-laws house in America. The bath was higher than normal baths and the side that was against the wall was more or less flush with the wall, so nothing to hold onto to get out. I think I had to get onto my knees and hold the one side with both hands and heave myself up. My mother-in-law had the same problem when she visited.
    I am a bit embarassed to say that I have never done any decorating in my life. When we were first married I tried to do my bit, but was getting the paint everywhere but where it was supposed to go, so my husband wouldn't let me do any after that. I still help by fetching and carrying and making cups of tea/coffee etc.
    Going by what Galant said reminds me of our house in Wales. All the woodwork was brown in all of the rooms including bedrooms and bathroom. Skirting boards, door frames and the dado rail in the lounge all dark brown. My husband tried white, many coats of white, but they didn't work. He was tearing his hair out with it as he lives for white paintwork when decorating. Anyway someone told him to use grey before using white and it worked and he became a happy bunny again.
    Apologies for this long comment.

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    1. No need to apologise for long comments, makes it like a proper conversation.
      Brown woodwork sounds terrible as does getting stuck in a bath!

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  14. I love your new shower! I’m lucky to have two bathrooms in my home but both have tubs with attached showers. They are OK but I’d much rather have a walk-in shower.

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    1. We had a walk in shower at the smallholding - so much easier to use and simple to clean

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  15. Great job on the bathroom. People sometimes think it will be an easy job because it is usually a smaller room, but actually it is often much more time consuming to paint than a larger room without all the fiddly bits (e.g. mirrors, cabinets, light fixtures, towel bars, etc.).

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    1. I couldn't get right behind the radiator - had to just reach behind from sides top and bottom and hope no-one notices that behind the radiator is a slightly different colour!

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  16. that shower is a vast improvement. good call on your part in selecting it.

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  17. Well done. But slow down. Steady on there - Rome wasn't built
    in a day.

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  18. Looks very lovely. We have a plumber booked for end of September to put in a new shower and then a decorator to paint it!
    Well done you.

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  19. Nice clean lines, a big improvement. I prefer a bath - but that will all change when the Rayburn gets taken out, so I will just have to get used to showers.
    It is a lovely feeling when you get another job ticked off the list, just remember to be kind to yourself and your back.

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    1. I'm very pleased with how it looks.
      Still plenty of jobs on the list but no rush

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  20. Great work Sue, bathroom looks great and my favourite colour timeless used it along. Big pat on your back. Don't over do it in case it goes again. I have it when my back plays up. doing a bit of yoga at the moment but really should have a swim. Take care, think of you often x

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    1. Thank you Christine. Jacob+ coming up to visit next weekend, looking forward to seeing him again.

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  21. See from your comment on my post Sue that you still have not had any rain. We had four hours of pouring rain today - eleven this morning to three this afternoon - and still very cloudy and cool but supposed to be hot again tomorrow. But it has done the gardens good.

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  22. The bathroom looks lovely, Sue. You do very nice work. I like the red tub but I can see where it could be a hazard getting in and out. It is so much easier to walk in and out of a shower.

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  23. Sue, your new shower looks great. So good to have a walk in, so no shower curtain to battle with. Mine has a clear door, through which my tabby cat likes to stare. Okay until she tries to come in! I'm sure you'll enjoy yours, Michelle in Wellington, NZ

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  24. I've read the same advice in many decorating books, if you want to cover a strong colour, you use a grey undercoat.
    The new shower looks beautiful, enjoy the convenience of lovely hot showers and ease of cleaning. If you use a squeegee after every use you won't get that awful buildup of the water minerals on the glass.
    Have fun with the rest of the painting and take care of your back.

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