For the sake of continuity I presented things slightly out of order. Order on a building site being somewhat more chaotic than one might expect. Let me return to drains for a second.
I installed two soil pipes. The most complex one is in the cupboard in the adjacent bedroom 2 (see the drawing):
From the floor up this has the toilet waste (large pipe, 90 degree bend with rodding eye), then the handbasin waste (small white pipe on the right), then an air admittance valve (Dirgo/ Durgo.....not sure of the spelling) as this isn't the head of the run. That soil pipe drops through the downstairs loo, below, where the bath waste drops down to join into it:
The other soil pipe takes only the shower, and drops down in the corner of the dining room:
After installing that latter stack I did the boxing behind the shower which was to hide the pipes:
This drain connection (shower to stack) was the shortest of any drain run, and the most complex. Well, not so much complex as "how do we make this work?". We were having a very specific shower base shape (a quadrant, which is a square shower with one of the corners radiused), and they are only available with the waste in a couple of locations. I looked at hundreds. Unfortunately, those locations were all the wrong side of a joist in the floor, or were too close to it and fouled it. This meant that is wasn't possible to have a tray at floor level. Really disappointing. We had to have a raised tray instead:
Looks easy, huh? There is an inch drop from the boxing at the back to the front edge of the tray, so each piece had to be scribed, taken out to the workshop and cut out on the bandsaw, offered up, checked, and adjusted if necessary. My little block plane got a lot of use.
I glued & screwed some MR t&g chipboard flooring over that, then laid a bed of mortar:
And then lowered the shower tray into position. That's easier said than done, as it is very heavy, and you can't stand on the mortar. Anyway:
Next, the floor. unfortunately, I didn't take a "before" photo. You'll just have to imagine what it was like after 3 or 4 days of plastering, mixing mortar, and so on. These are the nearest to before photos I've got, taken after I had scraped with a 4" paint scraper, vacuumed, and sponged down a couple of times:
I just cleaned and clean and cleaned. In the end I scrubbed it at least 6 times, including a couple of times with sugar soap, which was really effective. I also used a scraper and a chisel sharpened to a hook (to use as a scraper), to haul off huge amounts of carpet clue, paint, plaster, and various unidentifiable splodges:
My scraper is from a scraper plane I made years back. The bradawl was for cleaning out holes and gaps between boards. The wire brush is copper, so soft, but firm enough to get accreted crap out without raising the grain.
I fitted a few "Dutchmen", and did a little filling:
And washed again:
I knocked nails home, added extra ones, and used screws where I had to. I cleaned again. In the end, after letting it dry thoroughly for a week, it was time to apply the finish. I had purchased some water based lacquer from Smith & Rodgers (Aquacoat SP). I'd ordered matt, and didn't notice until after I'd finished that I had in fact received satin. It's very easy to use, very forgiving, doesn't smell (much), dries quickly (an hour or two) and it didn't change the colour of the floor (I tested it along with a couple of alternatives on the floor under where the bath would stand). Just the job. I applied 2 coats, then carefully filled gaps between the floorboards with brown Decorators Mate (a flexible sealant which accepts finishes), then applied a third coat. You just brush it on. It took less than half an hour per coat.
As you can see from the last photo, I couldn't wait to bring the sanitaryware in and stand it in position (once the floor was thoroughly dry). The bath in particular had to be offered in, and the position of the feet and waste carefully noted. I then propped it out of the way to prepare for its fitting:
You will note the added bit of boarding, plus of course the pipework (supply and waste). Before adding that board, I reinforced the floor with an additional joist. The floor in that area was weak because two of the joists had been set directly into the brickwork of the old chimney and they had rotten somewhat at the end in the brickwork. So, after a big struggle, I got a new modern joist in directly under the location of two of the bath feet:
I mentioned before how things have to be done in a certain somewhat chaotic order, and this is a good example. I wanted to board the hall ceiling downstairs months ago, and plaster it, but until the bath was in with its reinforced floor, I couldn't do it. Anyway, I digress.
You can see here the bath waste located precisely, with the rodding access point of the U bend facing the access. I have also extended the tails of the supply pipes ready to connect the taps. Further, although you can't see much evidence in that photo, I had made the final connections to the radiator on the little wall at the head of the bath. We were ready to finally position the bath:
Note the flexible connectors with isolating valves for the supply, and the black crinkly pipe which connects the bath overflow into the trap. Here's the radiator I mentioned:
Next I made a framework for the bath panel and boxing behind the toilet:
With the loo positioned, I carefully made a template. Here it is with the loo out of the way:
It was at this point that I called the Building inspector in, because once the loo was fixed permanently the drains would no longer be visible, changeable, or accessible. She was perfectly happy, and spent more time chatting about the ducks on the pond across the road. Time to fit the loo, and the bath panel:
The above shows me offering up yet again to locate exactly the hole for the water supply to the cistern.
Again, it wasn't quite as simple as that, as the first syphon system in the cistern was faulty (the shut-off valve wouldn't shut off), and I stripped the plastic connection thread on the replacement. I therefore had to mix and match between the two and make one that worked.
I then had my first bath for 3 years:
_
I added a loo seat. My wife started to domesticate the place:
I have described
elsewhere the restoration of the Edwardian washstand we'd found in a friend's barn locally. Here it is in situ, with the (unfortunately) cut down tile splashback (note the newly delivered hand basin):
Time to make a replacement. I found some old bits of architrave:
I ran them through the router:
and made some new ends:
Glued them together:
Added some turnings rescued from the original (you can see the tiles offered in):
Painted it grey (chalk paint):
Fitted the tiles and the ply backing, and stood it in place:
Soon most of the washstand will be painted to match.
I stuck a few tiles onto the shower walls:
I want the tiles to finish flush with the outside of the shower screen, which I haven't ordered yet, so that is as far as I could go.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us up to date.