The explanation
Some time ago, not very long, maybe a week, "no-one" noticed the tiles around her bath/shower combo were bowing out away from the wall.
She notified the landlord, who conveniently lives right next door and he hustled around to have a look. Right away he phoned one of his old friends who does this kind of repair work and the friend arrived the next day and together he and the landlord began removing the tiles.
It was a weekend, so "no-one" was home. Behind the tiles they discovered a very wet wall and eventually a broken pipe was revealed as the cause of the leakage which had apparently been going on for some time. This was repaired and a large sheet of plastic hung so that "no-one" could still shower.
Once the wall dried out, the two men got to work and the dried wall was painted with a waterproof layer, which had to be left overnight to dry. the next day being Monday, of course "no-one" had to be at work. This is where I stepped in, catching an early bus to the city, then another bus to "no-one's" home so I could let the tiler in to begin recovering the wall.
here is the wall with some of the new white tiles in place over the dark blue waterproof layer,
and the completed wall. The orange markers are holding the tile spacers in place while the tile adhesive dries.
At this point I came home and prepared to return the next day, Tuesday, when the grout would be applied and then the silicon seal at the edges of the bathtub.
That should have been the end of it.
But (there's always a but), the tiler had forgotten to replace the shower curtain rail before placing the silicon sealant. He would need to drill holes for the screws which would rain dust down onto the sealant and it wouldn't dry properly.
Now we were looking at a third day away from home for me.
I got there early this morning and waited for the tiler to arrive. Measuring and drilling for the screws to re-attach the curtain rail didn't take long though the drill was noisy. Once that was done, the tiler packed up and left while the landlord hung around with a bucket of paint and touched up a few chips in the wall.
A chipped patch at the left of the tiles there.
and here is the completed job. Looks really nice doesn't it?
How marvelous is that then R, a brand new beautiful shower and it does look great - may you have many wonderful showers in it.
ReplyDeleteMargaret D; not my shower, I was just there to let the workman in and lock up after he left.
DeleteOh ok, trust me to read it wrong!
DeleteThat is how landlords should treat their tenants. Well done to him and his hirees, and to you for the effort you went to, to ensure all went smoothly.
ReplyDeleteAndrew; he is an excellent landlord and does the same for all his properties. 'No-one" has been there since 1998, when I first rented the property and she stayed on as the rest of us moved on.
DeleteThat was a good explanation - and a job well done, worth spending some tiring days for.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte; it was very well done, it looks lovely.
DeleteIt went well. And yet one still has to be around to notice the little problem at the end. This is also the time frame in which to complete such things. Good on ya'
ReplyDeleteCodex; it did go well and now this 140 years old house will stand longer.
DeleteWhat an ordeal! But nicely done in the end!
ReplyDeleteDebra She Who Seeks; the hardest part was for "no-one' to not be able to shower for one of the nights, for me it was just tiring to sit there for hours reading and the waiting at bus stops wasn't fun either.
DeleteI'm lad it was sorted quickly for your daughter. How lucky she is to have you available to house-sit for her while she's at work.
ReplyDeletejabblog; it is handy that I am retired and can be called upon at short notice. My cat, Lola wasn't at all happy, but she will get over it.
Delete*glad
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! I like seeing the stages of progress. No-one is lucky to have you. And to have such a good landlord, too.
ReplyDeleteVal; a good landlord is a treasure.
DeleteI don't know if I've ever seen tile pieces that big. Interesting!
ReplyDeleteMike; they are big, which means less grout to be cleaning over the years. I have seen bigger, but not many. Most older places still have the small ones and use bigger more modern tiles in the extensions they have built.
DeleteQuite an up and down! Luckily here and at home we have a glass door at the shower as these curtains are so friendly they always try to hug you - eeek ;-) "No one" is really lucky to have you stepping in! And to have such a good landlord, too!
ReplyDeleteIris; curtains are a problem in a small shower space. Mine is bigger and the curtain is fine, while "no-one's" hangs along the bathtub edge. Good landlords are a treasure. He does look after all his properties very well.
DeleteWhat a relief to get it done!
ReplyDeleteJenn Jilks; it really is.
DeleteIt looks great, looks like they caught it in time before there was more damage, and how wonderful you were able to step in and help.
ReplyDeletemessymimi; there was damage before with blistering paint on the kitchen side of that wall, but they couldn't find where the damp was coming from, this time they found the broken pipe when the bathroom tiles came off. I am glad I was able to help.
DeleteIt looks fabulous.
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteNice that they can shower again.
ReplyDelete