So after two weeks the bathroom is starting to take shape. We came back from a weekend away to find that the builder (who'd promised to work all weekend) had done very little, but had drunk the beers we'd left for him! Anyway, he made good progress on Monday and on Monday night I was able to install the wall insulation. I actually bought roof insulation (R1.8, 95cm thick) as it was much cheaper than wall insulation - it only cost $100 to do the two walls we had exposed in the bathroom.
I had decided to glue building paper to the joists to provide a bit more of a weatherproof seal between the weatherboards and the insulation. This is not an orthodox procedure but can't hurt, and should provide a bit more wind-proofing. Only problem was the joists were so dusty the glue didn't stick so I ended up just wedging the paper in place.
For the most part the batts just stayed in the wall without me needing to fix them in there which was helpful. I managed to do the building paper and the insulation in about 5 hours (insulation alone would have been very quick).
Nearly finished!
Tom the builder then installed gib board over the insulated walls. He did a stirling job installing our easy niche - a feature of the shower which is fitted into the tiled shower wall. The plastic niche cost $200. Here you can see it fitted into the gib.
Tom spent a day renovating the existing sash window in the bathroom. It was pretty grotty before because the shower was fitted right into the window frame, which had led to rotten sash cords and mouldy frames. The top of the sash is painted in but it is so high off the ground we can't reach it anyway. The bottom sash now opens though.
This is the new window I had made for $400. Tom then said he could have done it for $200! Typical. But at least it no longer has louvres which let the wind and rain through.
Both of the windows with new framing.
So Tom finished his gibbing and window-ing on Saturday (he was much more effective with us there watching and no beers on hand) and on Sunday we laid out the underfloor heating cable. This is not a difficult task but you can't cut the cable so you have to lay it out precisely to line both ends up with the thermostat lined into the wall. You tape down the corners and then the tiler lays a levelling compound (type of cement) over the cables to make a smooth surface for tiling.
This week: tiling. I think we'll have one more week of no bathroom facilities but with any luck should have a toilet and bath by next week. Fingers crossed....
I had decided to glue building paper to the joists to provide a bit more of a weatherproof seal between the weatherboards and the insulation. This is not an orthodox procedure but can't hurt, and should provide a bit more wind-proofing. Only problem was the joists were so dusty the glue didn't stick so I ended up just wedging the paper in place. For the most part the batts just stayed in the wall without me needing to fix them in there which was helpful. I managed to do the building paper and the insulation in about 5 hours (insulation alone would have been very quick).
Nearly finished!
Tom the builder then installed gib board over the insulated walls. He did a stirling job installing our easy niche - a feature of the shower which is fitted into the tiled shower wall. The plastic niche cost $200. Here you can see it fitted into the gib.Tom spent a day renovating the existing sash window in the bathroom. It was pretty grotty before because the shower was fitted right into the window frame, which had led to rotten sash cords and mouldy frames. The top of the sash is painted in but it is so high off the ground we can't reach it anyway. The bottom sash now opens though.
This is the new window I had made for $400. Tom then said he could have done it for $200! Typical. But at least it no longer has louvres which let the wind and rain through.Both of the windows with new framing.So Tom finished his gibbing and window-ing on Saturday (he was much more effective with us there watching and no beers on hand) and on Sunday we laid out the underfloor heating cable. This is not a difficult task but you can't cut the cable so you have to lay it out precisely to line both ends up with the thermostat lined into the wall. You tape down the corners and then the tiler lays a levelling compound (type of cement) over the cables to make a smooth surface for tiling.This week: tiling. I think we'll have one more week of no bathroom facilities but with any luck should have a toilet and bath by next week. Fingers crossed....
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