Home DIY

thanks! think i'll always be a fan of the 'follow the floor up the side of the bath' look

100%.
I wanted to do the same but didn't really have the money of the confidence in the material (terrazzo is actually weak asf).

Cork

Is modern Cork sealed at the edges?

My memory growing up was that water gets between the gaps then makes the tile swell from the edges.

I think that's where you need to be careful. Varnish should help as long as it doesn't get worn through. I would say it potentially needs maintenance unlike tiles or lvt etc.

the tiles I had upthread (30x30cm) were sealed on top, but not the edges as far as i could tell/remember - was recommended to seal with a layer of polyurethane type stiff (which i did not do, of course..!).

for what it's worth, the folks that bought the flat from us had a very specific idea of what they wanted which involved taking the floor up entirely (bit of a shame really, think of materials/sustainability, as we were only there a couple of years)

With the price of 18mm ply these days there's a bit more encouragement not to throw out the pine floorboards which are often really decent pine by todays standards.

Yeah, I spent the weekend before last pulling up a late 90s bathroom floor which had done exactly that

i’m surprised cork is a thing, oh look you have a pinboard on your floor!?

Any one had luck cutting a hole for a back box in a ceramic tile with an angle grinder?

no, but i have bought an angle grinder and diamond blade in order to do this very soon, and have been putting it off! 😬

It does look fucking horrible.
I’m surprised other bad 70s ideas like polystyrene crazy paving ceiling tiles, shag pile bath mats and Spanish lady toilet roll covers haven’t also made a comeback.

Ha, hopefully this means we are on to something.

Fancy giving it a go and reporting back before I make a similar purchase...

Literally having a similar conversation with a bathroom fitter today. He doubted I’d notice having an 11mm step up with some 9mm plywood plus LVT fitted on top of the old boards.

The door frame is 193cm and I’m 197cm.

Thanks for the advice about custom plywood ordering. Cutmyplastic wanted £450!! Plydirect was about £150 delivered.
In the end I found somewhere called builders marketplace that will deliver a 4ftx4ft custom cut of 18mm birch ply for £100.

How else would you do it? :)

I also use a small wet tile cutter. I use one for most tiling jobs. You need to be careful with the angle grinder but common sense careful is enough. Be very careful if you are holding the tile in one hand and the grinder in the other, it's a valid technique but there's lots more to go wrong.

Gloves and safety glasses are a good idea with this job.

Yup, pre 1960s I guess they just used fairly natural (still farmed) types of pine, not the genetically engineered fast growing stuff we have now that's not far from balsa wood.

Recently had most of a town house worth of it through the woodburner, lots of tar in it. Saved the good length for house fixing, rest had already been zipped into tiny pieces by strip out guys.

Thanks for the info @Bobbo and @stevo_com.

Used the heavy object method. Really felt the pressure trying to get all the glue down before it started drying and to get enough weight on it! Wasn't so sure it worked at the time as the edges seemed a tiny bit gappy but I trimmed/shaped the edges off post glue so looked good in the end. Saying that, no one fat has sat on the bench yet!

Made two of these benches and a table which was single 18mm ply.

got the sample of Flotex flooring - less than 24hrs after ordering!

I like it - my wife says 'disgusting' (in reference to it being 'carpet')

Lovely work!

I would happily sit on that, and I am fat.

My gran used to have it in her kitchen. It probably divides opinion more than cork!

Funny you should say that, as my granddad's kitchen has it too, so there's a strangely nostalgic feel/nice memories associated with it (especially as he's just had to move into a nursing home).

No, no thread, it's just me bitching and moaning about some work that I've got on at present. Its the worst example of cowboy builders that I've tried to put right.

Very nice.

Flotex is that stuff that's something like a cross between toothbrush bristles and velour on a rubber backing, right?

We had it in the kitchen one of our houses when I was younger, and it didn't stay long - it caught every bit of dirt and fluff and held on to it tight.