Home DIY

And for people who don't have solid concrete floors.

It would make my life a lot easier if I could run pipework under the floor- without needing to cut channels with an anglegrinder.

In the "shower corridor" pictures what you are seeing is a Bette 80X100 shower tray with a mirror at the far end, which then gives the illusion of the shower area being 2m long.

It is in reality just a conventional shower, with the mirror giving a lot of light and the illusion of more space.

You need to put a couple of steadying handholds on that mirror, to get the full benefit of it.

I'm thinking of lining the walls of my bathroom with this http://www.british-gypsum.com/products/plasterboard___accessories/gyproc_thermal/gyproc_thermaline_basic.aspx
By the look of it dot&dab is out of the question, does baton&screw/nail sound like a good idea?

Finished, a lot less straight that I would have liked but the concrete was all over the shop.

Still need to scrub the deck. That's tomorrow's job.

and I had so much fun on the last B&Q run, I did it again

does anyone have experience of sound proofing? I am thinking of taking on a victorian conversion flat and would want to sound proof for the people above. I know conversions can be noisy

decking scrubbed up ok, proper hands and knees shit.didn't get all the green off (my sweat was probably diluting the cleaning solution!) but definitely better then it was.

the landlord approves, success

moving on.. painting and tanking.
will tile next weekend hopefully.

That's almost the perfect plank transporting setup, you just need a boxing glove on the front for pedestrians in the cycle lane.

S&C your mudhut alchemy looks to be going well

What's this?

And me, sitting on my freshly hung throne:

I approve! What are you edging the corner of that boxing with? please tell me it will be a strip of carbon fibre

No, that's too heavy, would make the house collapse.

is there a "rider weight limit" on those type of dunnies? I wouldn't trust it in my gaff. Looks great but I need stability whilst experiencing my movements. Preferably a throne hewn from a solid lump of granite with foot holds, handles and a 5 point harness.

It's pretty sturdy, no 5 point harness though.

Boxing: I'm going to mitre the edge of the bamboo so no need for any edging.

very nice. so with the toilet hanging from only two bolts, does the manufacturer suggest a structure behind it or do you have to work it out for yourself?

hehe. the mirror right in front to make sure you exercise correct poo posture.

very nice. so with the toilet hanging from only two bolts, does the manufacturer suggest a structure behind it or do you have to work it out for yourself?

Those bolts fasten into this steel frame, behind the plywood and bamboo:

Right- lighting.

I want to fit low voltage lights in the ceiling of my ensuite.

I've created a ceiling void by putting 50mm battens across the existing ceiling north-south, then longer 50mm battens running east-west.

With the moisture resistant 12mm plasterboard screwed on that gives me a void of ~110mm from face of board to ceiling overhead.

If we look at this luminaire:

That's the kind of thing I want to use.

The instructions state a minimum depth of 130mm however- I assume due to heat concerns,

That's with a 50w bulb- could I drop to 35w and lose 20mm of clearance?

They say in the instructions that you can fit the luminaire to a "normally flammable surface" if you drop the voltage to 35w, which is why I ask.

I was going to use 8X 35 watt lights with a dimmer (on the wall in the bedroom- not in hte bathroom!).

However, I was going to put the extractor fan on the light circuit, so was unsure how that would cope with a dimmer switch.

These lights say they only require 37mm depth:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-ip65-12v-downlight-polished-chrome-pk3/99047

So I'd have a big air gap between them and the (board over concrete) ceiling.

1m X 3m, pretty much.

The ceiling is a bit odd- the way they built the the building seems to have been as follows:

1. Reinforcing steel assembled/wired in for posts
   
2. Shuttering assembled
   
3. Concrete poured
   
4. Shuttering for floor assembled
   
5. Compressed cardboard laid on top of shuttering
   
6. Internal electrical wiring installed inside iron conduit
   
7. Reinforcing steel assembled/wired in
   
8. Concrete poured
   
   

Which is along way of saying that there is a layer of what I can only call highly compressed cardboard attached to the underside of the ceiling, around 12-15mm thick.

Clearance between the plasterboard of the new ceiling and the old ceiling above is 100mm, too close for halogens?

I fairly obviously don't want to set fire to my ceiling!

Ensuite's a wet room, or with shower? If so, and for that size of space, it'd be classed as a zone 0 special location and the fittings will have to be IP65.

Find out the coefficient of heat transmission constant for the surrounding surfaces and use the most onerous one. Find out the max operating temperature of the light fttings. A quick calc on volume and heat absorption will show if the space is adequate for the heat output generated by the lights.

Dimmers in bathrooms, hmm, local building control might get sniffy.

And one question: who's certifying the electrical installation?