Saturday, September 15, 2018

Customer Toilet now in Place

Things went well with the renovations once I'd decided how to put a light in the toilet.
I made a false ceiling to take the light fitting which I'd made from a wired bulb fixed to a paper shade with a piece of silk clay. The clay air dried quickly and held nicely. I coated the paper shade with Triple Thick which gave it a nice gloss and also made the shade firm.

The wire went along the false ceiling and out through a hole in the back wall of the house.
That is a story in itself.
I fought my way into a cupboard and after removing several heavy items I got my little Black and Decker 'does everything gadget' out. I spent an hour sorting out the drill bits and trying to get a drill to stay in the chuck and eventually gave up, put it all away and poked the hole through the wall with my trusty little 'pokey thing with a handle' in two minutes.
I was then able to slide the new toilet cubicle into place, making sure the wire wasn't doubling up behind. Luckily it went well and the glue has now dried. I will never be able to show you the light as I can't get my hand and the camera inside the cubicle!

Today I spent hours and hours on the computer, designing some shop blinds. I had a couple of disaster prints and wasted two sheets of fabric but eventually made, what I think will look very nice once I get it fixed on the roller if I can remember how it went!

I hope your weekend started at least as good as mine.



Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Victorian House Renovation Continues

The Victorian house renovation work is overwhelming at times. I feel it will never be finished.

I was able to take bits outside this summer and do the dusty, sanding work, so now, all the window frames have been painted and reglazed.
All the interior walls have been lined with paper and painted.
I'd previously scored floorboards for the Victorians on the ground and third floors so I have painted these white. I have to think what to do with the others yet.

Meantime I have worked on the ground floor Customer Toilet. As this will be enclosed I had to put everything in the corner first because I will not get my hand inside the doorway once the walls are fixed. 
I started with the floor covering, I made up some tiling and printed it to size then sprayed it with a satin finish inkjet fixer. 
I spent a day outside, beneath the sunshade cleaning the Victorian bathroom tiles of all the old glue and paper. 
I find the best way to tile a wall is to glue the tiles onto a piece of graph paper. This allows you to line them up well and once finished it is easier to place the tiles as a pre-made sheet. I also glued the skirting to the paper below the tiles before putting on the wall. 

Next, I put in the toilet, then placed the skirting on the side wall.

The basin was added next, with mirror above. I added some soaps and box of tissues, followed by the toilet roll holder and a paper towel dispenser. I was happy to reuse all the old fixtures and only needed to replace the toilet paper.

All of this will only be seen through the open doorway so I resisted the idea of making a waste bin and of putting up a hook for customers to hang their coat or bag!

Currently, I'm putting a light into a false ceiling which will be installed with the walls. I spent a couple of hours yesterday testing all the lights and wiring that I have for best effect. 
More soon, I hope,