Vlog 241: A Night on the Tiles
Partly because of a leak and partly because I never liked the tiles anyway, I have refurbished my shower cubicle with shower panels, stuck over the old tiles. This is the tale of how I did it.
Panels bought from DBS Bathrooms
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:15 Introduction
01:31 The Problem
02:39 Demolition
03:47 The soggy bit
05:05 Tracking the culprit
07:59 Testing the theory
09:29 Cracked tiles
10:41 Proposed solution
12:54 Tricky bits
14:17 Work begins
14:53 Cutting the first panel
15:01 Scribing the rear panels
17:26 A miracle!
18:08 A problem emerges
21:09 Day 2: Another problem
21:36 Tap issues
21:58 More efficient cutting
22:26 Sealant removal
23:34 Degreasing
24:32 Glue and screw woes
28:19 A solution manifests
28:53 Glueing begins
39:50 Fitting around the taps
42:01 Refitting shower fixings
David:
I general I have noticed in the basic construction of you boat several item have come to light. The shower Non-Drip Tray approach is the basis of the difficulty. By this I mean the basic shower stall, bottom tray, itself does not have a drip resistant means of water containment. Rather the base or drip tray has a flat surface which the vertical side are set upon. Having installed these items in the past most new version now have a lip which the vertical sides are placed on the water side of the vertical portion thus once even with a modicum amount of sealer will prevent water from entering then having to travel up before it can then go down the out side of the drip tray. These lips are usually 1/2 inch or nominal 1 cm to 1 inch to 2.45cm tall.
How ever that does not solve your immediate problem, unless you are prepared to replace the entire shower stall assembly. As Always I do enjoy hearing about even the difficulties you have to endure while living on board your charming Narrowboat. I am quite envious, to be honest.
Hi. Cheers but that’s not the case. My shower tray is one of the (apparently rare) ones which *does* have a lip on the sides to contain drips. Oddly though, the tiles were set so as to merely meet the top of that lip. So when I bought the boat, I added some sealant over the “join” so as to ensure water went into the tray. With the new panels, I specifically added them on top of the tiles because that meant at the bottom they’d go over the tray lip and thus any water goes into the tray without fail. However, the leak was never from around the top of the tray, it was just in that one corner from water wicking up the piece of wood that I showed. Adding sealant underneath has totally solved the leak issue.
Cheers
David
EXCELLENT little unfettered, DIY, honest video log of things that need to be done aboard David.. …
High production vids are always nice, but these type of candid,/off the cuff diary logs of honest life and the corresponding tasks are equally as good..
GREAT to see you back posting again sir, showing us all your work in your usual characteristic exuberant flamboyance and style.
Great job with the shower David.
Long may it keep the water in.. ,.. The exact opposite to your hull..
(Though i hope for your sake that neither leak)
Anyway, have yourself a great Bank Holiday weekend David and looking forward to the next installment..
Whatever that may be..
Regards,
Daren.
PS: Why when watching your DIY does it make me think of those sketches Kenny Everate used to do with/as Reg the handyman.
Hahahaha I feel like Kenny’s handyman most of the time too!
A good job well done. I never thought it would turn out so well.
If you have already had a post from me, I’m sorry. My own bad computer skills.
Hello Iris, thanks for watching as usual and glad you enjoyed it :-)
Good job David, looks great. A little tip on your caulking gun. To stop the “gunge” continuing to issue forth when you stop pressing the trigger, press the little lever at the back of your gun and it will stop immediately.
Cheers Peter. Believe it or not I do know that (honest!), I just didn’t do it while waving the gun at the camera that time!!!
you’re turning into quite an accomplished diy’er..
having a narrowboat does that to you, or it gets expensive.
it’s come out all right, it’s much better than the manky tiles now.
any cruises planned for this year yet?
Thank you. No cruising planned (on my own boat); see vlog 238 for the rationale.
amazing DIY. It looks fantastic, well done.
Many thanks!
Well I enjoyed your video.
I am always repairing something in my house and I think you did a great job and it looks great…!! I spent 52 years in the paint business painting and selling paint. Just some advice, you can also use vinegar to remove grease and it’s non toxic.
Looking forward to your next video, take care.
Cheers Jim, thanks for the tip. I happened to have that can of stuff left over from doing the van so thought I might as well use it up.
Very very brave and looks good!
Thank you
GOOD JOB, BUT I MUST SAY YOU ARE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY. YOU OVER THINK YOURSELF………BUT IN THE END YOU DID A FINE JOB AND IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL
Ha, I agree, I am indeed my own worst enemy!
Quite an amazing solution to your dampness issue David. I don’t know if I would have even considered this “Rebath” (that’s what they call it here in the U.S.) type of repair, I probably would have demoed everything out to the bare studs, so to speak and rebuilt the whole shower. Having seen this retrofit you performed, I imagine you now have two layers of protection, the original tile and the added laminate. This truly does seem to be a far easier fix as well as less costly repair. Kudos going out for you mad DIY Skills and prolific use of your multi-tool, something I’m sure to buy once I own a narrowboat of my own.
Cheers. I really didn’t want to rebuild the whole thing if I could avoid it!