My Perfect Sink

I want a counter-top sink.

I didn't know that's what it is called when I first knew I wanted one. Sinks can be pedestal, wall-hung, counter-sunk, semi-counter-sunk (which is altogether too many hyphens) and counter-top. A counter-top sink is one that sits on top of a counter so I suppose what I really didn't know is that what it sits on is called a counter - isn't that something you get in a shop?


Anyway, what I really like is that it looks like you could just pick it off the "counter" and move it. In reality you can't because it's fixed via the water feed pipes and waste. The counter can be a cupboard (vanity unit is such an old-fashioned term) or a shelf.

The really cool ones are on floating shelves with the pipework totally hidden but I don't want to worry about the weight of the sink or people leaning on it so I prefer the idea of a strongly supported sink.
I also want a rectangular sink with an overflow hole to avoid floods. This means the waste (plug hole) has to be the right sort, otherwise the overflow overflows to nowhere so it's worse than not having one.



I only want a short length of countertop and eBay is great for reclaimed kitchen stuff. I get two 1.5m lengths in a wood effect for £12. They've 4 "hot rods" stuck to them - a kind of built-in trivet. These come off easily and I sell them for £5 so (after eBay/Paypal fees), the countertop only cost me about £8! The sink is an "as new" item on eBay, ie it was bought and then never used. It's still in it's (broken) box but no instructions - Google is a wonderful thing for getting instructions... The tap and waste are new items, also purchased through eBay.

I start building the support structure but I'm planning to get the plumber in to install the sink - I don't do plumbing (see earlier post). When it comes to it, Paul wants to have a go so he completes the structure and does a much neater job than I would have achieved. He does install the sink but needs some Plumbers Mate to seal it so the plumber comes to finish it off (see earlier post on why I don't do plumbing).











In these photos you can see the interim job done. It's going to have a couple of shelves underneath which will hide the pipework and I need to decide whether to paint the supports or go for a wood finish.

The mosaic tiles behind the sink couldn't be done until the sink was installed as it sits against the back wall. We've bought enough of the tiles to fill the gap should we ever replace the sink. The rectangular gap is for a mirror and, if you look closely, you'll see the connections for wall lights.

I would like to point out that I will never do a block of variable height/media mosaic tiles again! It is a nightmare to grout. The grout gets into all the irregularities and you have to carefully wipe it off each one while the grout is still soft without disturbing the grout that you want in there. I'd do a border in the same stuff or I'd do a mosaic of uniform tiles. Despite that, I love the effect I've ended up with...

Tiling the shower

It's June 2016.

Tiling - my favourite thing to do. People say it's hard but it's not. You've just got to make sure everything is ready and then you get on with it. The right tools are important too.

Up to the mosaic row

I tile the inside of the shower enclosure first. I'm thinking that I want to get the shower installed asap. It doesn't work out that way but here's where I start anyway.

Tiling onto new plaster requires some sealant. There's all sorts of discussion online about what you do and don't need and it's difficult to get a straight answer. I get the stuff that Tile Warehouse sell to be on the safe side.

This is the bit I was particularly pleased with myself for - look at those pipes coming through the tiles! The wall tiles are made of ceramic: not as hard as the porcelain, floor tiles but still tricky to drill through. I got an adjustable tile drill bit, put the tile on some foam wadding, marked the centre by knocking the drill gently and then started drilling slowly, wetting the head as I went to keep it cool. It took about 20 minutes for each hole.

Look how close to the edge that 2nd hole is! I couldn't believe that I managed to do it right on the first tile. I did do a practise hole on a waste bit of tile first.

The tiles were all stuck on with flexible adhesive. This wasn't necessary on the plaster but it made it easier than messing about with different adhesives. I used a dark grey because it was on offer. This meant I would have to use a dark grout because it would show through a light one unless I did a lot of careful trimming. I'm happy with that but you do need to be careful with these choices.

After the bottom section of tiles, it was time for the mosaic layer, lining it up with the inset shelf.

The mosaic tiles were Homelux Mosaic Mixed Media - Tucson from Homebase. The individual tiles come on a 12x12 net which you can cut to size and stick up in blocks. My border has 9 mini-tiles which worked quite well. It's nearly impossible to cut the mini-tiles neatly so they have to be "managed" into the space needed.

After the mosaic tiles had been added I had to wait for that adhesive to set. Adding the large heavy main tiles above the mosaics before it set would have squashed the mini tiles together.

These next 2 photos show the tiles completed over the mosaic border. I haven't done inside the window recess nor behind the WC yet and none of it is grouted.


















Before the new WC can be fitted, the tiling and grouting needs to be completed and grouted behind and underneath it.

If you don't do that first, once the new WC is fitted, all the tiles will have to be cut around it, not an easy job, especially the porcelain floor tiles.





In this last photo, the tiling is complete and grouted. You can just see the half-tile skirting used on the non-tiled walls.  There's a wooden skirting around the shower enclosure. This is screwed in place so it's easily removable if access is needed under the tray. The top of the half-wall and window board still needs finishing - see next post.

Half the height, twice the difficulty

April 2015 and we're getting on with the bathroom.

You know when you do a job and then you forget to photo-document it?

Here's the photo of our lovely loo before starting the remaining shower walls:

And here it is with the half-walls built, semi-clad and the floor tiles nearly completed!

It's a bit of a time-lapse, I grant you. Here's the order of jobs:

• The end and side half-walls for the shower enclosure have been built. If you look at the previous post, they couldn't be built until the shower tray had been installed. They were really wobbly when I first built them but the application of lots nails and screws sorted that out. They have to be really rigid because I'm tiling them. Flexible adhesive & grout is really only designed for very minor movement. Anything major and it'll crack right off.
• The wall behind the WC has been studded out (not sure that's the right term...) as the down waste is too far from the external wall. No-one, and I repeat, NO-ONE wants to move the WC waste. It's at times like this that we really miss Paul's dad in a very practical way. As a general builder he would have shown up the day after we'd told him about it and sorted it out. Ah well, padding out the wall will give us a nice deep window board.
• The shower walls have been clad in ply. Exterior grade on the inside and standard (cheaper) on the outside.
• Most of the floor tiles have been laid. I chose to lay them with a join at the corner of the shower enclosure. It's always worth working out how to have the minimum corner cuts. Floor tiles are made of porcelain to maximize their strength. This makes anything other than straight cuts a real challenge.

You might have noticed that the WC is at a strange angle? This is a handy feature of having it's waste going down - it was easy to rotate it to lay the floor tiles underneath, waiting for one lot to set before rotating back to finish. The cistern is not operational, of course, but a bucket of water suffices as a flush when necessary!It's a bit basic having to use a bucket to flush the WC but it's worth remembering that we still don't have the luxury of a door on the bathroom at this point so...not many friends wanted to visit us at this point!

More about tiling in the next blog