February Monthly Update
After a lot of time spent away, I’m back, and despite being sick again for the 300th time this winter, this post will fill up as normal and you can skip ahead to the different weeks by clicking the links below:
February Week 1 & 2:
Last month, Dan plastered the now insulated upstairs bathroom as part of its re-fresh plan. This took a week or so to dry, but before we knew it, it was time to get this room painted.
There are two things that make a project like this feel closer to the end. The first is paint, the second is skirting board. Don’t ask why - I don’t know. The first of the two finishes was upon us here, and Dan tackled it with gusto.
As is normal with fresh plaster, a mist coat went on first (2 coats, technically), leaving us with a blank slate on which to build.
Next up was a leap of faith on a paint colour for in here. As you know, we’re holding onto the existing suite and panels, which means that decor choices need to match that as best as possible. Given this room is a west facing garden view room, it tends to be lit with a slight green tint except for at golden our on an evening. The subtle green cast muddies neutrals quite badly, so I went with a slightly peach-toned cream that takes a light hue from the existing waterproof panels.
I will admit that watching it go on made me questions my choices - it sort of looked like gone off salmon with a yellow tint. Trust the process counted here too, because once dry, it sat as a neutral and worked really well to add a fresher feel to the space.
Next up in here was floor prep. The floor has been through horrendous leaks from above and we went back and forth on just ripping it up and boarding out instead. However, the warping had settled almost completely through the drying out process and it’s now just kind of grimy and a bit uneven underfoot. Instead of creating another problem for ourselves right now (this section will be ripped out in 5-6 years), we opted to clean, screw down any loose boards and then board over the top.
Dan got to it straight away:
Next up was boxing in. Because the waste pipes were completely removed to be rerouted, the new wastes would be in-room until this room is completely rebuilt later. The in-room pipe needed boxing and Dan used ply, adhesive and a finishing nail gun to complete the boxing for the sink and shower waste that connects to the general waste pipe outside of the room, through a new hole in the wall.
Finally, by Friday of week two it was time for the toilet water supply. The toilet is being rotated 90 degrees out of necessity due to the waste location outside, and therefore the water supply also needs to turn a corner 90 degrees.
Dan used the existing supply and added chrome pipework, including a short flexi that will tuck up behind the toilet itself.
In the meantime, I’ve been getting flooring samples for in here. This room won’t have underfloor heating in it until the section is redone, so we’re fixed with cold flooring and given it will be removed in a few years too, we’re opting for affordability. Therefore, vinyl is the way forward and I have to make that work in the interim.
Tile effect or wood effect was the first decision. Given the wood elsewhere upstairs (the beams, etc), wood is where I’ve started. The room is quite tall, taller than it is wide. A dark floor will exaggerate that height, but I’d rather it felt roomy in width. Therefore, a medium or light floor choice makes sense. But which to try? It has to work with the panels, so here are our current options:
The current consensus is the top option on the last image. Thoughts? Dan may veto again and prefer to look at darker samples, but I’ve kept it neutral for now.
The same flooring decision needs to be made for the room immediately below, the downstairs shower room. This has a concrete floor and is freezing in all seasons. Down here, there is a black marble effect waterproof panel that we also have to keep for now, so I’m thinking of taking that down a fairly traditional route with a black and white diamond tile effect vinyl.
Either way, these two rooms, along with the existing kitchen and existing master bedroom, have to just ‘work’ for a while, but they won’t be the end result in terms of finish level and aesthetics.
That’s all for this week, as we’re frozen solid again and both of us are sick. Next week will be better!