Gondor's Grumblings

[Rick Lowe]

Agree, completing something is always good.

Want more pics of the build, please! 

[zenrat]

...Another neighbour has died over the weekend. Across the road an older woman passed away, I had seen her out the previous day and aparantly the police got involved, probably something to do with the fact her daughter had been involved with drugs which is what I am led to believe.

Gondor

All this death.  Where do you live?  Midsomer?   

[Old Wombat]

...Another neighbour has died over the weekend. Across the road an older woman passed away, I had seen her out the previous day and aparantly the police got involved, probably something to do with the fact her daughter had been involved with drugs which is what I am led to believe.

Gondor

All this death.  Where do you live?  Midsomer?   

Could be Cambridge.

[Gondor]

...Another neighbour has died over the weekend. Across the road an older woman passed away, I had seen her out the previous day and aparantly the police got involved, probably something to do with the fact her daughter had been involved with drugs which is what I am led to believe.

Gondor

All this death.  Where do you live?  Midsomer?   

Could be Cambridge.

Stirling, former Capital of Scotland and former home to the Scottish Nationals where I first met some of the reprobates from here 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Found out that I got the wrong information about who died over the road, it was the daughter who had died, an ex drug user/dealer which as the death was unexpected as she had no medical condition that may have caused her sudden demise this explains the police visit.

As posted in the stash additions, I bought the wrong version of F6F to do a Mk.II Hellcat which I am planning to do real world. This does however leave me with a kit that I can whiff if I wish, Dutch maybe, possibly Far East markings, not sure if that makes sence or whether to do it in Post was RN colours but still do it Dutch. Need to check who operated what before I decide.

Also glad that the Mod's have given an extension the LHC GB, I now stand a small chance of finishing one or two builds while I still make inroads into the bathroom tileing. This is the first time I have done tileing to any great extend, my previous experience is adding some edging tiles around those fitted when the flat was built. This is adding a border and then tileing the rest of the walls. THe project is growing legs though, above the sink there was a gap, too big for another row of edging tiles and too small a space to lower the position of the border above the sink.

I have decided to raise the border above the sink which means I now have a 9cm gap to play with. This will now get a wooden board fitted to it which will have a shelf for toothbrushes and toothpaste extending from it, well that's the plan.

Gondor

[Gondor]

Well I removed the tiles above the sink that needed to be raised, along which a fair amount of plasterboard 
Some of it decided that the adhesive was to nice to let go of so it stuck with it rather than the rest of the wall    The hole was that bad that you could see the inside of the back sheet of skin of the plaster board. The hole is now partly filled with the adhesive where it is deep so it can dry out. The rest of the dents and bit that came away with the tiles have been filled and once all the holes are filled I will sand it all flush so that there are no steps between tiles. So while that is drying not much to do other than modelling and pottering around.

Gondor

[zenrat]

Thats normal mate.  Tile glue is stubborn stuff and loves to hang on to the under lying substrate.  If planning on replacing tiles I would always expect damage.
TBH you were lucky you didn't get a hole all the way through the board.
However, sounds like you have it under control but dry wall filler might have been a better choice to fill the hole as some adhesives can be hard to sand down.

[scooter]

Check your local home improvements store, they may have drywall patch kits that include both mud and patches.  I've had occasion to use them, and they work a treat.

[Gondor]

When I say adhesive I should have said the same filler that I am using to fix the tiles to the wall and for grouting as it's multi purpose, so I just decided to extend the purpose a little 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Not much to report except that there is nothing to report.

The above is not necessarily true, modeling wise it is true, DIY unfortunately not. Currently doing some 1:1 PSR in the bathroom where I decided to move a set or border tiles one pattern higher so I had some usful space to work with. I have a saw with interchangeable blades that I gained ownership of from my father a few years ago, and it was taking me ages to saw through a small section of wood, I only fouond out after a while I was using the wrong saw blade, five minuites later, job done where it had been taking me ages with the blade I had in the saw to start with 
Everything is now cut, some hole drilling tomorrow I think. I am putting a batton on the wall where the shower door will be, I had one previously but as I am tiling the wall I decided to fit a longer batton so it reaches the ceiling as it will also act as an edge for the tiles to go up against. It also saves me drilling through tiles to mount a new shower door.
a section of MDF has been cut roughly to the same size as one of the tiles that are going on the wall, this will take part of the soap dish holder that I was using and would look out of place and also require drilling through tiles to mount, this gets arouond that problem with the screws to fix the dummy tile to the wall hidden behind the soap dish insert.
You may notice that I don't relish the idea of drilling through tiles. It's something I have never done and something that with a little thought I can and will get around if I can. I may have to bite the bullet when it gets to the shower itself, unless I can drill the mounting point holes where two tiles meet horizontally then I will have to, needless to say, the wall the shower is going on will be the last to be done.

Gondor

[scooter]

From This Old House
How to drill through tile

Steps for Drilling Through Tile
Step 1: Figure out what kind of tile you have
In general, there are three kinds of tile:

Glazed ceramic tile is the most common, what you'll find in almost every older home, and the easiest to drill through.
Glass tile is used more as an accent and has only been around for 15 years or so.
Porcelain tile looks a lot like regular ceramic tile, but it's much harder.

Step 2: Have the right bit for ceramic tile
Standard drill bits don't work on tile, but not to worry. Ceramic tile can be drilled with a carbide bit, while glass and porcelain call for a diamond-tipped bit.

While that sounds expensive, a ¼ inch diamond tipped tip costs under $20, and a carbide bit of the same size can be had for less than $10. When in doubt, buy the diamond bit. It will drill any type of tile.

Step 3: Layout the wall for success
They say to measure twice and cut once, but given the consequences of drilling a hole in a tile wall in the wrong place, it's a good idea to measure three times and drill once.

First, adhere masking tape to the wall in the area where you'll drill. It's easier to accurately mark the hole location on tape than on tile.
For accessories such as towel bars with two mounting brackets, use a level to make sure both sets of holes align.
Try to locate the hardware close to the center of the tile – the edges crack more easily.

Step 4: Drill slowly
The tape not only makes it easier to mark the wall but also helps to keep the drill bit from skidding when starting the hole.
Go slowly, particularly at first, to make sure the hole ends up where you want it.
Once the hole is started, you can increase the drill speed, but don't run it at full speed.
Steady pressure and a medium speed will drill the hole without overheating and damaging the drill bit.

Step 5: Speed up at the end
You'll feel a change in resistance when the bit gets through the tile. Now you can speed the drill up while backing off the pressure. This will extend the hole into the drywall or backer board with minimal damage.
Once you're done drilling, push the anchors in place, screw the hardware home, and vacuum up the small amount of dust.

For the shower (if its for the head)
How to Drill a Large Hole in Tile Without a Hole Saw
But what if you need to bore a 2-inch hole for a plumbing stubout? Contractors typically use expensive hole saws with carbide-grit cutting edges, but there is another way.

Draw the hole outline on the tile with a felt-tip pen or grease pencil.
Use a ¼-inch masonry bit to drill a series of closely-spaced holes around the circle. Then take a hammer and very lightly tap the tile along the ring of holes.
Tap inside the outline and be patient, as it could take a couple of minutes before the center of the hole breaks free. The hole edge will be rough, but you can hide it with a decorative escutcheon plate.
This drill-and-tap technique can also be used to make a square or rectangular cutouts in tile.

[Gondor]

That's all very well but I will try and avoid haveing to do so if I can. With the wall being a stud and plasterboard wall I will have to insert some kind of fixing, probably a butterfly kind of fiking that grips the back of the plasterboard as well as the front so may not be able to make such large sized holed in the tiles required. I may be able to find a vertical stud to screw into.
This is the shower that I am fitting and I think , off the top of my head, that it requires only two screws to attach it to the wall so they had better be good attachments!

Gondor

[Gondor]

Got to work this morning to find that I had a Hospital appointment this afternoon, consequently I didn't have the appointment letter with me 
I have started to take scans of letters for appointments so that I can add them to requests for time off work, just to show that I really do need the time off, so I managed to print off a copy from that!
Further good news was that the trip to the Hospital was uneventfall so I arrived over fifteen minuites early and I had no difficulty finding a parking space. Once I finish writing this I am going to buy a lottery ticket!
The appointment was with the eye surgeon who did my cataracts. He was very happy with the resuslts so has discharged me from his care! I definitely should buy that lottery ticket 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Things are progressing on the DIY front as well. Got the major parts of the border stuck to the wall above the sink this evening, see picture below. Hope to get the last of the black edge tiles on tomorrow which require trimming to fit and the same with some of the other tiles as well. The main thing is that it is getting there, maybe slowly at times but it is getting there!

You cannot view this attachment.

Gondor

[Rick Lowe]

Forward progress is forward progress, no matter how little. ("don't ask, etc etc").