New Bath!

[sweetheart]

Ok, so I have shouted and cried and OH says he will put a new bath in.

Now he is changing his mind. Is it better to have a new bath ( well new old really - its got March 2004 on the box but the bath has never been used - long story). I had convinced him to put it in. But now he is having second thoughts.

He says its better just to repair the old bath. The old bath is cast iron. Its circa 1983? Avacado. Its got white marks on it which go when I clean it but return. Is it better to have a new bath or should I agree to the old one?

Also , whilst on the subject, the new bath ( OH says) will be two inches smaller than the old one ( that's width) and will leave the shower box overlapping outside the bath which means he cannot put the bath shower panel back. The shower fitting is well inside and will still be over the bath.

I have said I will be happy with a shower curtain until or unless he wants to shift the shower thing ( which means moving the water and electrics) . he says shower curtains are not a good alternative. I think shower panels are hard to clean.

he also says it will take ages to knock out and will leave a mess. he tells me I wont have water for three days. Is this true? Or is he having me on?

Which do you think? Is it better to keep the old bath? Is it that hard to fix a new one? ( He is not a stranger to plumbing by the way)

[blod]

Shower curtains are better than those panels. You can put them in the washing machine occasionally. The screens need wiping down after every use to keep looking good. Not to mention that they may leak, and that you bump into them while having a shower, whereas a shower curtain accommodates all sizes of people and elbows. It is troublesome to remove a cast iron bath because it is so heavy. A new bath may need new taps, but that is not a big job.

[Andy Cap]

Well I think only you can decide if the condition of the present bath is acceptable. Not really something someone else can decide for you !

If you do decide to renew and the replacement is narrower, then yes of course the screen will require moving, but that shouldn't be a huge problem. Presumably it would attach to the existing tiling !

If he wants to take a few days over the job, why not simply pin up a temporary shower curtain or even take a good wash. I tend to like working that way these days, rather than killing myself, but there's usually a workaround if everyoen co-operates.

Whatever you decide to do, you need to sort the damp problem out, because wet floors don't last very long.

Last resort, divorce him and get a flat ! ;-)

[Jules Richardson]

Sounds like someone cleaned it with something they shouldn't have and it damaged the surface. I don't think that in itself causes any problems though - it just looks a bit ugly.

Hmm, I'm not getting an exact picture of the layout - but if it's just a

2" gap between the new bath and some kind of shower wall / whatever, can't you just bridge it with tile? As it sounds like such a small area, measure it and ask around (e.g. freecycle) - you can probably get some suitable tiles and backer board offcuts from someone elses' DIY project for free that'll do the job.

I hate 'em both equally :-) Moving plumbing and electrics is a bit of a pain if you can do something different, though.

No water in the house at all? Not sure about that - if there's no shut- off valves for the bathroom/bath now, I'd cut the pipes and put some in first so I could work on the bathroom without impacting the rest of the home. Shouldn't take long to do that at all, but of course I don't know your plumbing layout (we've got a big basement at home with all the ground-floor plumbing accessible, so working on it's dead easy).

Three days for everything in the bathroom might be possible though depending on how fast he works and what horrors he uncovers that need doing when he tears into everything. Sealant normally needs a good day to dry (unless he gets the 3hr stuff, but I'm never quite sure if I trust that), so maybe he's factoring that into the estimate.

As a DIY project I reckon I could have a new bath in place, levelled and sealed and the shower moved in 2 days *if* everything went smoothly - but sometimes there are unforseen things that a professional contractor would anticipate or cope with more quickly, and of course DIY projects don't always run from start to finish with no interruptions :-)

cheers

Jules

[dom]

You're the "Snails in bath" woman on your last thread - on that your hubby couldn't get the panel of the side of the bath - now "he is not a stranger to plumbing". Though apparently fixing leaks isn't one of his skills.

[sweetheart]

Well, the bath has gone ( almost) he knocked it all out in half an hour in three pieces but he has left one section in place because it is attached to the taps and he didnt want to turn the water off.

We dont have any isolation values in this place. We had them to every tap in my last house OH put them in as he worked his way round the kitchen and bathroom pipes. But all the pipes were easy to get at in that house, they are all hidden here.

If he takes water off it has to be from the mains stop c*ck outside , so it will mean no water. However, there is an old standpipe ( rising main) and an old outide toilet ( nowadays rather poshly called a " garden loo" I think) both of those are on a separate system , so there would be water and a toilet.

I have spent the morning cleaning the cobwebs out of the loo. It has a new toilet in it . OH put it in about five years back.

It is a small area. Its the length is OK, but apparently the old bath was just two inches wider than modern ones . In fact the new bath will give us two inches extra space between it and the basin. ( for me to clean and elbow room).

So I have told him to put it in and get on with it.

I now have to clean all the dust / bits off the bathoom floor and put some paint on the ceiling before he will continue.

I am keen on the shower curtain. As someone else said, it can be washed . I dont like the panel anyway. Its smelly and harbours algae and slugs! Its a posh panel ( not mine, got it with the bungalow)

I am happy to have a curtain and will be off to get the necessary tomorrow or this evening , depending on timing. ( I have to get a rail and a curtain)

Thanks. He could work fast ( dare I say he was a plumber before he retired a couple of years ago - aged 58 - got made redundant) but it seems he might have been in the wrong job for forty years given he wont do me a baothroom and tells me how ard it is. his record for a baoth - remove and fix - when he was working was under three hours. They put the time and moteion men on him to set the targets for his firm ( local authority).

But I will take three days.

he now says I will have to have a new basin and toilet ( cant have green with a white bath). Eco warrior moans about the costs! So I need cheapies. Who is best for take away cheapi basins and toilets ( close coupled unit)? Anyone any ideas?

Thanks for all help and suggestions.

[sweetheart]

No, it isn't apparently. I can do better, OH is an indentured plumber. Forty years in the trade! Its only me he wont do anything for. He tells me how hard it is and I don't know whether he tells the truth or is just unwilling and tight fisted or really cannot do it.

I know he is rubbish at carpentry. I know his tiling is limited. Wall papering none existent. His electrics are very good.

[<me9]

Unless it's plumbed in something very old or nasty, (like lead pipe, and even then there's a way) it is only a matter of five minutes to cut the pipes and fit isolating valves. Then the water can be restored to the rest of the fittings.

[ARWadsworth]

Yes, but Sweatheart's (AKA whiskeyomega) OH is a d*****ad.

DIY divorces are not expensive if done properly. One of my mates has done that 5 times now. It costs him more on wedding rings than on divorces.

Adam

[Douglas de Lacey]

Or plastic pushfit pipe ends. Fit in seconds, remove in seconds, watertight in between. Even a plumber should be able to cope with that! Douglas de Lacey

[Piers Finlayson]

It took me two years to fit a new kitchen after ripping the old one out in our old house. SWMBO isn't so keen on letting me loose on this kitchen yet ...

So 3 days sounds like far too short a time to do get a proper job done.

[sweetheart]

Well I am still waiting for my bath. Have been minus water for two days. I cant see why. He has moved the water pipes and blanked them off ( then returned water) . He switched it off again today to allegedly finish . He took the bath out again to knock plaster off the wall. I don't know why. It was a perfect fit.

Anyway, my gripes aside. He claims that being a plastic bath he wont get it to seal properly if it isn't right against the wall and with no plaster behind. I cant see this - what's wrong with some no nails of grout to fix it to the wall and then that white sealant stuff? Is it true acrylic baths are " not stable" like he says?

How do you make there bath seal to the wall ( which is tiles by the way. He hasn't split a single tile taking the old bath out so far and has the new one sitting n the same exact position the old one was in.

I think he is messing me around but cant prove it.;-(

[Tim Watts]

"sweetheart" wibbled on Saturday 10 April 2010 14:34

I put 4x2" battens under the lips of mine. Others here have left a small gap between the plaster and the bath and rammed it full of silicone rubber (I did that too). Others here recommend doing as your bloke did - cut a channel in the plaster.

Sounds like the job is coming on - for all the wibbling, at least be glad he can do it well :) Many couldn't...

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "sweetheart" saying something like:

They need to be braced properly, but once they are they are ok. The cheap shit ones take more bracing.

Good going that. Now tell him to pull his finger out.

[sweetheart]

I thought I would update this. I have a bath. complete with hot and cold running water and a shower. ;-) It still needs the bath panel on . There are no leaks and all the tiles are in tact - so no re tiling.

Now dare I ask him to fit a white basin and toilet to match? ( the existing ones are green ( avocado , 1980) . How long for those?

[Owain]

uk.divorce-'im-yourself?

Owain

[Owain]

Do you have another toilet you can use? If not, be careful what you wish for.

If I'd known ... there's a complete avocado suite in my cellar.

Owain

[The Wanderer]

Does this mean we don't have to keep upwind of you now? :-)

[sweetheart]

Congratulations.

Do you have another toilet you can use? If not, be careful what you wish for.

I have an outside toilet. But if he takes the water off, we can only flush once. But we had that with the bath. But he did only take the water off for one day and one hour on a different day.

If I'd known ... there's a complete avocado suite in my cellar.

Thanks, nut I think its better in your cellar. I can send you a basin and toilet to keep it company if you like? ;-)

I desperately want a new bathroom.