Home DIY

Air wedges are a good call but may be difficult to remove once the tray is bedded I usually do it one of two ways:

1. (Vastly preferred option) Ask for help. I usually try to lift things this heavy as a 2 man job, especially when they need to be delicately placed.

2. Set the tray in place and then lift the front edge up so that the top of the tray is tight up against the wall. PROP THE TRAY UP BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. Set your mortar bed and then gently lower the tray into place, from here you should be able to "shoogle" the tray into position to fine tune and level. The tray will not be bedded for 35 ish mm from the wall but about 10mm of this will be taken away when you tile, more if you build up the adhesive on the tiles so it should be ok

Be warned those shower trays crack surprisingly easily I've seen some proper hissy fits on site when people realise they have to have that chat with their client / gangerman. To avoid this make sure that the bed is even and give the mortar you're bedding onto about twice the usual drying time before putting weight on it.

Turns out plumbers like to waste as much time as cyclists.

This is true and some of the flames wars make Mumsnet look tame.

Thanks, hadn’t thought of option 2 - definitely easier than lowering it the other way. I could pack mortar into the tray recess to help mitigate the gap? Do you reckon that gap is better or worse than the gap that would be left by waxed wooden runners?

I'd say better, much better. Realistically you are looking at less than an inch on the wall side of the shower and unless you are planning on some kind of freaky Ron Jeremy type antics in the shower with your better half the chances of it ever bearing weight are slim to none.

No comment!
I’m not familiar with how the mortar will move/squidge - the underneath of the tray is deeper towards the edge, shallower towards the drain - do I try and account for this or just make the whole bed level?

Make the whole bed level drop the tray onto it and then assess it with either a laser or spirit level. If you do it the second way I recommended it should be slightly high at the front. Using the heel of your hand tap the high spots down so they are level. Start with gentle taps and check how much it moves then gauge it from there. It may be worth checking out a YouTube channel called skillbuilder it's aimed at trade and advanced DIYers the guy who runs it is a plumber and they have some really good bathroom installing tutorials.

Ok that’s more or less what I thought. Thanks for the heads up on that channel, I’ll see what I can find before starting.

Great success!

Enlisted some help in the end, which was mostly moral support but they did stop the tray falling on my head whilst I spread the bed.

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Hello fine people of the DIY thread, another weekend looming, more DIY to be done.
I need to reattach some architrave that I removed and fill in the nail holes. What 2 part wood filler do I want?

Anyone in east London got a pressure washer I could borrow for beer / other commodities / cash?

2 part mitre adhesive. https://www.toolstation.com/mitre-adhesive-kit/p47409?store=O8&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1f_F-LSr5AIVTeR3Ch1c2gDMEAQYAiABEgJl7vD_BwE

All 2 part fillers are much of a muchness really. If I have to use 2 pat I use this one not because it performs better than any of the others but because the hardner is coloured making it easier to tell when it is mixed properly.

I prefer using brummer to 2 pat filler it gives a better finish IMHO but takes a lot longer to set.

Tray looks good, trap looks clear! Job worthy of a pro. Nice one

Thanks, slight issue with the seal thing bottom left but it is still sealed and that bit should be outside the actual shower area once the glass is in.
Also been worrying myself with reading about mortar not setting right... Just going to ignore it for the rest of the weekend and see how my test piece in the garden turns out.

Oh and I've been talking with my plumber about him fitting the panels - I reckon he'll be cheaper than me buying a track saw!

Are you talking about where the blue tanking has bunched up a bit? If so you're right not to worry.

As long as the mortar was well mixed you should be fine. It's only really when the weather / temperature is below 5 degrees that you need to worry.

A tracksaw doesn't have to be Festool/Bosch etc. Screwfix does a titan tracksaw for ~ £100 Aldi does one even cheaper both have been reviewed as being very good even when compared to the expensive ones. Not sure how long they would last in daily commercial use but will be fine for DIY.

He who dies with the most tools wins!

There’s also the prospect of fucking up near enough a grands worth of panels but at <£100 I’m tempted just so I can trim the door without removing it.

You're welcome to borrow our Aldi one if you can collect from Leyton

Anyone got any bright ideas on how to attach this to my ceiling? Also there's no ground wire on the fixture, as you can see, so not sure what best practice is here

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Almost looks like it's supposed to have some two-part bracket and you only have one part

Indeed, but I can't begin to imagine how that would work, still

Aha!

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Can you access the other side of that plate or does the thing you're holding get in the way?

If you can, you could fix something like this to the ceiling and then bolt the light fitting to it with some kind of large washer to hold it in place

The sides came away from that middle bit with a little persuasion, so I hung a plate off the existing screw holes, slotted the horizontal bit above that and then clipped the sides back on.

The whole up-and-down thing is incredibly satisfying

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Nice shade- where’s it from?