A new bathroom at last (August 2007)

Our new bathroom is (mostly) in! It took much longer than expected. There is so much intricate work involved with installing a new bathroom, and we were learning all the way along. Plumbing seems to be one of those jobs that is "easy when you know how". I guess that's why professional plumbers earn so much! We did employ a professional, for the end of the job - to divert the water supply from the old pipes to the new pipes. George's new pipes held up well, and we now have a working bath, basin and toilet! We can't install the shower until we've built the next bit of wall. And we can't build the next wall until the stairs are removed. So in the meantime we are showering at work and the gym, and having the occasional bath at home when we have no other option.

Plumbing has not been much fun, overall. But I got my five minutes of amusement when I learned some new plumbing terms. Did you know that pipes can be described as male or female? Male = a fitting that is inserted into another fitting. Female = (you guessed it) a fitting into which another fitting is inserted. Nipple, cock, elbow; the list goes on. Plumbers are so admirably matter-of-fact - why use fancy words when a body part analogy will suffice?


One of the most infuriating things about this flat is the complete absence of right angles and straight surfaces. We had to build this wall to create a square set of angles, in order to install the bathroom furniture. We also had to make a specially shaped, sloping platform for the toilet to sit on, to make it level (unlike the floor).

This nifty drill really makes light work of an otherwise tricky task - making a new hole for the toilet drainage pipe.
Just look at that - isn't it perfect?
The slow business of installing the bathroom furniture.

And - a finished bathroom (sort of)! No tiles on either floor or walls, no mirror, no lighting, no ceiling, no door, no shower. But we have running water, and storage space!!

Filling the first bath. It takes about half an hour to fill it (the water pressure is still bad); we share the same bath water to economise on time and water. We've rigged up a makeshift shower curtain to stop splashes affecting the new plasterboard.

It's a very open plan bathroom at the moment - there are just two partial walls between it and the living room. Bathing in what is essentially a building site is surprisingly enjoyable - the room is full of light (during the day) and you can look up at the sky while lying in the water. Up until mid-afternoon the sun pours in - it's going to be a really pleasant room when it's finished.

We now have just one half of the back room to store tools, ladders etc. We also walk through here to access the bathroom at the moment; the proper entry to the bathroom is currently blocked by the stairs.