Home DIY

That might he useful, thanks. I'll give you a shout when it gets to that stage. I will no doubt post photos of the progress here so people can see me systematically dismantling half of south London when I get carried away.

I also have a mitre saw/chop saw, which would make decking fear you.

Will be back in London tomorrow.

I've got a pressure washer ...

I've heard that in London this is covered by the hosepipe ban. But you are entitled to flout the hosepipe ban if there is a "safety issue". So if they come knocking (which I am told they do) you must point out that the green gunk on your decking was a safety hazard as it has made you slip and fall over.

It totally has.

Bought the required stuff today. White masonry paint with brush, 34mm x 34mm baton, 6mm x 70mm hammer in fixings (basically really long screws and plugs) for securing the batons to the wall, a new saw, "TURBODRIVE" 4mm x 40mm woodscrews for fixing the decking to the batons and also a new bathroom light pull switch and a coat rack for the hall. The last two have been fitted.

Got the 2.1m baton home by taping it to my top tube. Camberwell was fun.

What is the final finish of the wall going to be? Plaster and paint or tile?

1) I would use self adhesive glass fibre scrim tape on all joints as a matter of course, this will help the plaster bridge any gaps and if adjoining panels move relative to each other it should help reduce any cracking.

2) Just Plaster it already

3) With the scrim tape you shouldn't have any problem with the plaster sticking you will props find that the plaster on top of the sealant will dry/set up more slowly than elsewhere (no suck) but if you're patient and allow everything to set up before troweling off and/or use 2 coats of multifinish you should still be able to get it smooth as a baby's bottom.

Whoa there. Aquapanel is tile backing board, it'll suck the shit out of multi finish if you try to plaster it. You would have to prime it first to reduce suction.

Assuming its the same as Wedi/Marmox -prime the Aquapanel boards with SBR or acrylic primer. wait till the primer is tacky, then plaster.
Aside from plaster board everything needs priming,sealing or wetting before plastering to prevent too much suck.

Aquapanel is the heavy stuff, not like marmox at all. Unfortunately in a previous life I did this shit for a living.
Question is, if you're plastering then why use a tile backing board?

Ah. I see - it's like 'Wonder-board' as it's called in the states. I've never used it .
Unfortunately I do still do this for a living...
As its basically solid portland held together by glass fibre you should be able to plaster right on to it...

You can't, it sucks the moisture straight out. You have to prime the living shit out if it and even then it's touch & go.
We even used to prime it before tiling because it's been known to suck tile adhesive dry so quickly it breaks the bond.

It's actually proxy stuff, heavy and annoying. The Marmox type boards are far better but not as widely available.

Well, this was posted a couple of weeks ago so I've already plastered it without priming. Thing is, I went trough the process on the phone with Wickes when I bought the stuff and they never mentioned priming. However, they told me NOT to tile straight onto it which doesn't fit with you describing it a s a tile backer board?

Anyway, the plaster stuck on quite nicely at the time and now feels rock solid. So am I OK to continue to the next step (tanking with BAL kit) or is there something I must do to compensate for not having primed it?

You can't, it sucks the moisture straight out. You have to prime the living shit out if it and even then it's touch & go.
We even used to prime it before tiling because it's been known to suck tile adhesive dry so quickly it breaks the bond.

It's actually proxy stuff, heavy and annoying. The Marmox type boards are far better but not as widely available.

Ah, so I should not have done this:

And then I should have primed before doing this?

And all of this may fall off?

I've got around 60 doors hinges to replace. The new ones are slightly longer and thicker than the old ones. I really need this guy on my side.
Skip to around 2 minutes in. Awesome!!!!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEMTUEbxFs0&feature=related"]Install
new door with mortise hinges - YouTube[/ame]

Ah, so I should not have done this..

I think you're ok. Aquapanel is supposed to be waterproof? It should therefore not suck the moisture from your tiling. Wickes leaflet says tile in the normal way.
http://www.wickes.co.uk/content/ebiz/wickes/resources/images/gil/54.pdf

Well, this was posted a couple of weeks ago so I've already plastered it without priming. Thing is, I went trough the process on the phone with Wickes when I bought the stuff and they never mentioned priming. However, they told me NOT to tile straight onto it which doesn't fit with you describing it a s a tile backer board?

Anyway, the plaster stuck on quite nicely at the time and now feels rock solid. So am I OK to continue to the next step (tanking with BAL kit) or is there something I must do to compensate for not having primed it?

It's the manufacturer that describes it as tile backing board:
http://www.knaufdrywall.co.uk/product-range-overview/aquapanel/aquapanel-interior

If your plaster is sound then I see no prob with your tanking kit. Although taped and jointed marmox and Aquapanel can be tanked without plastering. If you're tiling over the tanking then there was no need to plaster.

Ah, so I should not have done this:

And then I should have primed before doing this?

And all of this may fall off?

What I said was we used to prime it even before tiling, that was a professional company who did 100s of bathrooms, if there was once a small problem with the Aquapanel causing suction with a certain type of tile adhesive then we took precautions against it.

You will probably be fine.

What's with the mirror Neil? So people can witness their Francis Bacon like physiques first hand whilst performing their ablutions ?

You should see the bedroom- if it's sunny I have to wear a welders mask

But if you want a sensible answer- the room is 0.8X2.7, with a window at the end opposite to the shower.

So, the mirror makes the room significantly brighter, and has the added bonus of being a) waterproof and b) a wall I don't need to tile

If I had 60 hinges to fit I'd make a template and use a top bearing guided cutter in my laminate trimmer (easier to handle/balance on the door edge than a router.
Do you have? It's very hard to get as good a finish/fit with a chisel.

... I've got around 60 doors hinges to replace. The new ones are slightly longer and thicker than the old ones. ...

hmm.. I just chisseled out indents for 18 hinges and found it quite doable. of course, the guy in the video works fast but it's the standard way, which you can definitely manage provided you do it a bit more slowly. the grain in the wood will stop you from making stupid mistakes.

Any power tool is going to leave rounded corners so it's down to hand tools. I'm just going to plod my way through them as and when the urge takes me. The builder must have found the only 100 mm hinges in the world. All other manufacturers make them the 4" equivalent.
Marples chisles on order.

Don't be put off by the rounded corners you can easily cut those out with a chisel. The set up time will be longer with the template router/laminate trimmer but the job will be much quicker and the results better.
Of course using hand tools can be much more enjoyable and if you just do a few doors at a time it's no big deal.
Get your chisel sharp as fuck and you'll be fine.
Make some wedge clamps so you can work easily on the doors.

Ha ha, mudhut alchemy.
Better than a glorified shed!

I remember the old man doing doors with the chisel like that. He didn't own a router. He wasn't that fast though. Show off.

Don't be put off by the rounded corners you can easily cut those out with a chisel. The set up time will be longer with the template router/laminate trimmer but the job will be much quicker and the results better.
Of course using hand tools can be much more enjoyable and if you just do a few doors at a time it's no big deal.
Get your chisel sharp as fuck and you'll be fine.
Make some wedge clamps so you can work easily on the doors.

Wedge clamps are on their way too.

The only thing I'm lacking is a big dose of HTFU. These are all fire check doors and are frigging heavy.