Small BATHROOM MAKEOVER - didn’t go as planned!

We installed a new bathroom. It was a nightmare. Everything from tiling through to painting was a disaster. That’s why it took over 18 months to make this small bathroom makeover video. Enjoy!
Full video about removing that wall:
• Safely(ish) removing a...
Here’s the full 1920’s semi renovation playlist:
• 1920's SEMI RENOVATION
Fan of the channel? Join the Member Zone for loads of extra stuff:
members.gosforthhandyman.com
Not bothered about extra stuff? Support the channel via Patreon:
/ gosforthhandyman
Support small business and buy stuff from the Gosforth Handyman shop:
gosforthhandyman.com/shop/
Help me let you know about new vids - subscribe to my free newsletter here:
gosforthhandyman.com
TOOLS & PRODUCTS I USE: gosforthhandyman.com/products...
INSTA: / gosforthhandyman
All content on this channel is exclusively owned by MacLellan Creative Limited. Copyright (c) 2022. All rights reserved.
#bathroom #makeover #renovation

[@UberAlphaSirus]

With that tile tape. Not used that one. But the same with plumbers mate during the summer. You stick it in the fridge the night before, otherwise you will be covered in it. At least it wasn't denso ;)

[@christinasibley2791]

That old tiling! 😂😂😂 dot n dab! 😂😂😂😂 shocking workmanship!

[@stepbackandthink]

It's common to tile over plywood, but I wouldn't do it. Either lay 6mm cement board or use a decoupling mat.

[@IAINoodle]

Hi. Does the cement board go over the ply? And do you glue it down?

[@barnstar2077]

The sad thing is that old bathroom looks better than my current one! : )

[@tallblokesam]

Great video! Just a thought, if you cover 1 side of toughened glass in gaffa tape it stays together when smashed and can be rolled/folded and saves loads of time cleaning up 👍

[@wyrdlg]

So I am thinking about a low shower basin... Getting old one day, no stumble... But maintenance of course. Keep things simple... Nice work you did against the odds!

[@normanboyes4983]

Hi Andy, you did an excellent job despite some of the difficulties. The ‘professional ‘job was shocking clearly a Bodgit and Scarper operation. Charlie DIY did a couple of YT vids on painting new plaster, I had a re plastered room to decorate and followed it faithfully after allowing the plaster to dry for six weeks just to make sure. Using Dulux trade emulsion (from a decorating supply outfit rather than DIY shop) , good mist coat and then two full coats on top - I found areas that had ‘filmed’ and not adhered to the plaster.🤷‍♂️ That no nonsense shower tray sealing marlarkey looks like butyl tape - I wonder if putting it in the fridge for a couple of hours would have helped - bit late now.😉 Anyhoo - well done and thanks for sharing.😀👍

[@JoeB_BSc]

Having done a complete makeover after 30 years of frugal decorating, I know how you feel, but now it's complete, it is a wonderful feeling... especially if it and we last the 30 years too 👍

[@lonhowell1]

I can really relate to this. Having just tiled two wet rooms I had an awful time and, until watching this video, I thought it was just me being slow and a bit rubbish. We used Impey Waterguard tape and whilst not as bad as your experience it was a very time consuming/soul crushing job. Initially we used rapid set adhesive and that was horrendous. I had to mix it in 1/3 batches, which makes getting the water ratio correct quite difficult. I used dark grey grout and found that within 15 mins a small litre pot was almost unusable. Being a bit of a perfectionist I do find that a few things catch my eye and irritate me, but I saved myself a lot of money in terms of labour. Plus, paying someone is no guarantee it ends up being done well.

[@purplewombat1923]

The bathroom looks lovely.

[@scottstoker8613]

Thanks for the videos Andy, I really enjoy them, I am a decorator , and my advise on mistcoats, Always thin the first coat for new plaster, 30 or 40% water to 60 or 70% paint, dont worry about coverage on this mistcoat, just a nice thin coat to soak into the plaster rather than sit on top of it, if the plaster itself is chalky/dusty wipe it down first, you should also thin the subsequent coats a little too. If I remember wickes sell 2 types of contract emusion, the cheaper one is no good but the next one up is decent. Also for the grout, mix by hand not with a mechanical mixer.

[@mrporridge2304]

Love the honesty across the whole vid. As a complete amateur, it's sooooo helpful! Thank you and good luck marrah! 👍

[@tonyc1167]

that Zinsser is a life saver, brilliant product, not cheap

[@BB49.]

I bet it felt great smashing that glass!

[@hank3368]

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this video but the intro shattered my expectations

[@bluecurlygirl]

You certainly had your share of issues with that one. But it's looking fabulous now that you've battled through it. Great job.

[@michaelplays2449]

Andy.........the trauma of it all !!!! well done getting it finished, I know some people who try diy projects who have No diy skills or tools and it turns into a complete nightmare, all because they seen a tv show ect and they think its easy....well done again, GREAT video..........can of beer time I think !!!!!

[@Jhongerage]

I used that Mapei but only mixed up and used a tiny batch at a time

[@wajopek2679]

Nothing more satisfyingly than a "back to brick" job.

[@bellabella9918]

Turned out great in the end. I much preferred the Numatric with no paper bags unlike the Henry of today. Numatic wet 'n" dry George was also crackin'

[@highpath4776]

I have always used a bag with any numatic unless is it one with a fine "cover" over the motor/filter housing ?

[@bellabella9918]

@@highpath4776 I can't remember a dust bag...it had a material filter and sure the dust just went into the bucket... it may of had a material reusable bag at a push. The wet and dry may also of been blue not green...I'm going back 30 years haha. I'm stuck with a Henry with paper bags now.

[@highpath4776]

@@bellabella9918 Wet and Dry should be Green, but you can fit a wet top to a blue bucket

[@bellabella9918]

@@highpath4776 Haha Well, that's that sorted! All I know was it washed car seats and carpets and was a bit of a beast...much heavier and taller than the red one

[@terrytopliss9506]

Bathroom looks really smashing Andy.👍👍

[@k.hussain360]

Having used that same stuff when doing the bathroom and toilet in ours, Dad and I found it dried out very quickly as well when we followed the instructions for the mix ratio, when we added more or less double the amount of water it was fine. Funny story we actually used some stuff called no more ply, which is a backer board for floor tiling, ironically though, it's advised to put down plywood before you lay the no more ply board lol. You made the point about ease of maintenance years ago when you did the video on hotel and I always keep it in mind whenever any work needs doing :). Bathroom looks really nice in the end, even if it was more hard work than it should have been.

[@highpath4776]

Presumably does it mean if laying a floor dont use chipboard , and if old dont worry about existing sound floorboards, maybe it means marine ply not needed for the bathroom for this top under cover

[@pumpkinhead456]

I do love a Henry hoover, they just work, and work, and work...

[@fabianmckenna8197]

Agreed, red Henrys are great but big brother yellow Victor is even better... so powerful it lifts up carpet tiles!

[@Captck]

Had exactly the same thing with a mist coat. Had slowly done the whole house over 3 years which was a back to brick renovation. Got to the last room, which was the biggest and the mist coat just did not adhear to the walls. Warning sign was there when I took the Frog tape off and all paint came with it. Sanded back, touched up and left it, but now, if any furniture rubs on the wall a few times, or anything is stuck to it, the paint just basically scratches off!! All walls were clean and dust free, put it down to a bad pot of paint (think it was a Wickes/Homebase own brand) as I hadn't done anything different to the rest of the house. When the time comes for a redecorate, will have to empty the whole room, sand, clean and prep the walls again! Joy!

[@jrooyen]

I recently used Johnstone's Trade Acrylic with a mist coat and also found it peels just from removing blue masking tape. This on walls that had been skimmed a few weeks earlier. Maybe a PVA coat first - though I thought I read somewhere it wasn't a good idea...

[@troyboy4345]

I always enjoy watching your videos .... the candour and genuine application you have is what makes it so entertaining, nice one, yet again !

[@robinr1714]

WOW! What a transformation--looks lovely!

[@hbrealhousewife2270]

We moved into our home a year ago and the ensuite ceiling paint just kept coming off, over the shower first then spreading. I scraped it back and used the zinzer 5 in 1 paint, 2 coats before 2 coats of white bathroom. I’ve just repaired it again where it started coming away again and if it gets too bad over this next winter I am going to have the ceiling scraped and re-skimmed.

[@robthewaywardwoodworker9956]

Great work! Looks awesome. I am glad to know I'm not the only one that runs into those sorts or issues!

[@roberthardy2013]

I have used Wedi board for the floor of a walk-in shower with their own tape for all the joints. Really easy to do,. We used a top access trap, just lift the bits out to clean then run the shower for 30 seconds. All went together like a dream and has been ten years plus with no leaks. We also used Hardie backer board to line out the shower under the tiles - easy to install and again great results. The whole shower was 70 mm above floor level, no door, no lip at the entrance, really easy access.

[@ClarkOVision]

It looks great all finished. Fresh and modern. Great job despite all the frustrations along the way. You are a top lad Andy.

[@sylviagreybe672]

I have heard from other channels that if you mix the grout with a "fast"/electric mixer (e.g. a mix extension paddle attached to a drill) then some grouts go hard super fast. If you mix them by hand then they don't. Weird because they don't usually state that on the package.

[@ricos1497]

Good to know, thanks.

[@jayt9882]

Was that Doug? If so, was the weirdest thing I'd ever heard, poor guy dealt with it courageously but you could tell he was totally fed up.

[@LeoInAMillion]

@@jayt9882 yeah he was. I would have been too 😂

[@mattfletcher]

Came here to say the same thing. Mr DIYferrent in Florida used Mapei grout (different packaging but same brand) and exactly the same thing happened. He contacted the manufacturer and they said it was because it was mixed with power tools. His bag even showed an icon of it being mixed by tools.

[@davidrcordeiro]

One more to reinforce the idea that Mapei grouts should be mixed by hand, specially the Ultracolor FA one. Drill mixing activates the grout fast setting with the added air it puts in the mix.

[@RubberduckbathroomsCoUk]

All came together in the end. Bathroom looks good ad the extra space you added was needed to turn the space into a usable family bathroom.

[@jansteingold2950]

Looks lovely

[@BillsAllotmentDiary]

As a painter decorator I hate going into previously painted new builds as they are never mist coated correctly and I end up having to scrape off and peel stop I tend to lightly sand new plaster to open up the pours as glass like plaster finish just doesn't allow for adhesion glad you got it sorted ps I never use Dulux.

[@djray1031]

WOW Mr Mac grand work, considering the tool problems you had. hope Y`all are well.

[@claudioscola]

I remember taking down old ceilings and chimney breasts in a victorian house. Everyone said that we'd have dust everywhere for months. We hired a big vac and it was amazing at keeping the house clean while we lived in it. A good vac is a great tip!!!

[@toms.6310]

Looks awesome! I am about to start Kitchen and Bathroom renovation in the flat, and your inside is invaluable.

[@pmichael73]

it looks great! Many happy, leak-free years!

[@paulgreene9997]

Well, the end result was very nice - good work on that project!

[@jeanhawken4482]

Looks terrific

[@datsunruss]

Smashing end result Mr Mac. 👍

[@glynprice3815]

Nice work as usual Mr Mac

[@gaz2903]

Chuck the No more leaks tape in the freezer for an hour or so and its easily applied then

[@stewartmcardle8149]

These things are sent to try us all at times. Despite these issues, it's a nice high spec Andy. Well done.

[@stephenedwards9872]

Superb job

[@MK-yo4jn]

Woohoo new video and I've got time to watch it 🤣

[@unclehunty]

I had exactly the same problem with that same grout in my kitchen last week. I ended up doing a couple of 1.5kg batches and spraying the wall down with water before starting. And even then I only got barely 30 mins from each batch. Having said that, the grout behind the hob is very easy to clean and seems to have been worth the effort.

[@raydriver7300]

Hi Andy. What a lovely finished bathroom. I employed someone to fit my shower room and ended up finishing it myself and, even though I’m no plumber, fitted my own bathroom. As a result my son in law asked me if he could help me fit their bathroom! At least it was only an empty Red Bull can and not a jar of …. 🌞

[@BALLOOROOM]

Had the same problem with that grout when I mixed it with a drill, it dried out really quick. When I mixed it by hand with a plastic paint stirrer it was very workable for a good amount of time and turned out perfect. So anyone using Mapei anti-mould grout try mixing it by hand in small batches.

[@utilitarian]

Jeez Mr Mac, you smashing the glass bought back to me just a few weeks ago, about 9am when my glass oven splashback decided to spontaneously explode all over the kitchen while I was in bed 😂 it was not fun cleaning up

[@jonb8241]

06:58 map of Itay in your plaster work 😃

[@artofcode]

Hammer Time!

[@johnsmith-fz3qk]

Smashing what a bit of know how and right attitude can accomplish 🙌

[@jeremyhardacre7539]

I had the same issue with newly plastered walls. The plasterer had used a lot of plasticiser in the mix as it was hot weather. I used PVA mixed into standard emulsion and that did the trick

[@Nonsense62365]

Looks great! Jolly Good!

[@JoeB_BSc]

Fascinating video.

[@thesydmc]

Nice finish.

[@moodogtizer5884]

You can buy a tile chisel for an SDS drill for lifting old tiles. Don't leave the adhesive in the bucket put it on the wall and it won't go off so fast plus you can get slow settings adhesive.

[@nickbell8634]

Love the honest video. I have paint that bubbles in our en suite when shower is used. 30odd years of DIY in various houses and never had a problem! I've used that grout too and had to be quick, never had it set hard but aware of it stiffening up. Adhesive, I did try rapid set once, never again, I'm just not that fast😂

[@hughtattersall7583]

Just fitted a grab rail in our bathroom using Corefix, thanks for the heads up.

[@daviddickson7494]

Great job

[@Get0ffMyBike]

Good video thanks. I’ve just used the same tile grout and also had issues. I’d put it down to me mixing a batch which was too big. You live and learn!

[@BartoszTabaka]

I had the same problem with the 'no more leaks' tape. I was installing it during really hot period as well. What I ended up was putting it in a freezer for 10-15min and that did the trick.

[@adeking2255]

Great stuff

[@davideyres955]

Top tip, if you have a marks and spencer near you then they do small plastic buckets of chocolate, brownies, caramel crunches etc. taste great cost a a few quid and the tub is just the right size to mix up small batches of stuff.

[@primalrenovations7427]

I also add a bit of water to my paint on the first coat of a freshly plastered wall.

[@rudra7615]

Awesome work though, great looking bathroom in the end!

[@searbe]

I use the Classi Seal upstand, pretty good results. It has a rubber section which goes like a lip under the tile.

[@pjaherne2170]

I Second that great product!

[@housesforsale6892]

nice shower room

[@philhario3640]

Hi! Thank you for this video. I really enjoyed the little part around the shower base where you mentioned that in the design of this bathroom, you focused on making sure it was as easy to maintain as possible. We're going through a bathroom renovation. I was wondering if you could make a quick list of similar considerations (bathroom design considerations to ensure easy maintenance) that you had also considered.

[@michaelhartley11]

i had the same premature setting situation when I did some tiling and decided to use ready mixed cement, whilst more expensive it had a good work time.

[@jimmylad8714]

We’ve been using leyland trade emulsion on the plaster Andy it says it for new plaster work and it seems to be ok . Decent value for a big tub of it

[@carllamb6711]

Hi Andy Hope you are well mate, your bathroom looks great mate You’ve done a great 👍 job

[@lfcloyal8284]

Don't be too hard on yourself Andy lad tiling looks fine 👌

[@billconiston8091]

good stuff, thanks for posting this. Just a quick note onHenry - you can get after market HEPA filters for little money off amazon/eBay. The Hepaflow bags are not HEPA. cheers Bill,

[@therealdojj]

we are thinking of doing the same sort of thing to our bathroom, nice to see a price breakdown and brand names

[@stevecallachor]

The roll of tape you had trouble with had been left in a hot car or stored on a hot water heater at some point. Cars can get out to 70/80 degrees Celsius in sunny weather. Stavros

[@alievans7988]

😱 nightmares of that grout. I bet there was a fair amount of oh gosh and darn it through doing the tiling 😉 always enjoy your vids 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@BillsCountrysideAdventures]

Andy I hated tiling myself when had handyman business. But one thing I used all time I used bal orange bag and grout was always good. Bal silicone is good too. Get trade card at topps tiles. You should never use them crap tile cutters. Level tile spacer things work great. We see so many bodges when redoing bathrooms. Our bathrooms are still good ten years later. Quality fittings, taps etc us a must, them cheap ones not worth money. Good job mate.

[@pamelaturnbull6164]

Lovely

[@iwantagoodnameplease]

Did you think about a George instead of a Henry? It's the green wet vac version of Henry.

[@rjp666]

Looking forward to seeing the shower staircase being fitted. Most leaks from showers are generally from poorly sealed trays, and by the time the shower trap needs replacing its time to replace the whole shower room, if by remote chance there's a problem with the trap just cut a hole in ceiling below and replace trap and repair ceiling, shouldn't take no more than an hour start to finish . In 25 years plumbing I've only ever replaced 1 trap but done countless re-silicone jobs.

[@chillievans]

That many problems. But end result is cracking. Beautiful shower room.

[@GM-dc8vr]

top tip - if buying a hoover in uk for this type of thing always buy a wet and dry, they're exempt from max power regulations

[@BenCos2018]

good to know that auctully never heard that one lol

[@pm1104]

Lovely bathroom…..!

[@michaeld_aus_b]

Good choice with the Grohe Grohtherm, I also chose this (the 1000 series). Keep in mind that Grohe and hansgrohe are two separate companies. Cheers

[@Paul_C]

That is what you get when you replace stuff after 20 years, technology evolves too! 🙃 Grohe, for me it is the only tap worthy to install. You really have to hand it to German ingenuity, and that goes for windows and doors too.

[@stevenb007]

4:16 was the shower tray supported on battens with silicone blobs? OMG! 😮

[@James-dv1df]

Found removing tiles with SDS drill to be far easier then using a hammer and screwdriver. Most of the tiles also come up whole rather than having to deal with all the mess

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

A tough journey but we’ll worth it in the end , it looks stunning 🤩. Such a good idea to plan for future maintenance and love the spare waste under the tray , genius idea 💡. Maybe with that awful tape half hour in the fridge might help ? Great job and a very real video Too 👌🏼🧱👍🏼

[@davidbee3736]

Had exactly the same problem with the Mapei grout. Followed the instructions to the letter. Same colour too. Got there in the end though mixing small batches. Similar to you there was a good long rant😂

[@Vacbear58]

Bathroom looks great, even with all the hassles you had with it. Can you let us know how you managed to get the screed under the old floor tiles off so well, it looks like none was ever there. I have the same issue in my own bathroom with ceramic floor tiles laid over the floor boards. Thanks :)

[@awizenwoman]

Prefer a separate WC so if someone is using one the other is not blocked. Who decided that copycat grey is going to be on trend, when the previous bathroom was en trend five years ago. I much prefer a bright and timeless white bathroom that never becomes dated. you did make some valid points.

[@MrLynkz84]

Screwfix do that style loo seat. I bought and fitted one last week!

[@bobuilt10]

I had exactly the same problem with that black Mapei powder grout in a kitchen. I always use the premixed now. I've also had issues with paint peel, I think it's possibly a coshh or environmental regulation thing. I now size new plaster with a high dilution mix of water and PVA, so far that appears to have fixed it. I think the old adage "they don't make it like they used to" is true with modern water based paints, paint strippers and tile adhesive. My local tile sellers own brand adhesive has much better grip and set times than all of the name brands I've tried. And don't get me going on wood preserver or modern gloss paints. 🙄

[@neilsumner1929]

I read manufacturers guidance not to use pre mixed adhesive on tiles with a water proof backer board. This is because the pre mix is water based and relies on evaporation for it to set. With water proof tiles and waterproof backer board it may never set properly. The powder adhesives are a cement based chemical reaction product so don't need to 'dry out' to work. We also had problems with the Mapei tile adhesive and their coloured grout. It was too stiff at the mix ratios given in the packet. We had previously used BAL which was excellent. Couldn't find BAL for sale this time so gave Mapei a try as it seemed to have a lot of good reviews.

[@louisemonks4606]

Hey really enjoy your videos, mum of 2 trying to do things myself and would love if you could do video on how to do dado rails and mouldings around a hall wall and up stairs!!! 👍

[@WIBOMATIC]

Oh wow I have just replaced my own bathroom and I can relate so much to the problems you faced - I literally used the exact same products too! Vitrex cheapy tile cutter from Screwfix - too bendy and regularly shattered the tiles rather than cutting them. Screwed it to a length of wood which helped somewhat but still smashed a lot of tiles, ended up using nippers and a file quite a bit instead. Nx standard set adhesive - this was great, I found it very easy to work with, although I did mix small batches and I had to add more water to the mix than the ratio printed on the packet. Mapei colored anti mould grout - went off very quickly, didn't quite end up with a solidified bucket full, but had to throw it on the wall VERY quickly and wash it off just as quick, several spots ended up pretty rough as I just didn't have time to wipe down fully before it was too hard. No more leaks kit - came off the backer ok, but I didn't feel there was enough surface area along the bath rim for the tape to stick to with good adhesion (since you obviously don't want it to protrude out from underneath once the tiles are on) - wasn't left with a lot of confidence in it Anyhoo, glad you got it all done in the end!

[@gwenscoble6229]

When do babies start taking showers? My 2 under 5 year old great nieces had 2 a day for the fun of it! I usually shower, but as a retired person I have ended up so stiff, (bailing out a pond for example) a half hour soak sorted me out for an evening out. Ì used a combined fill and overflow, so no taps get in the way of the shower screen concertinaing against the wall. The bath is 90mm from the wall to allow a 90mm wide waterproof shelf along it's length. This gives extra elbow room when showering without the extra water required for shower width baths. The shelf is just right for glasses, shampoos, conditioners, bath cleaner etc without a stray arm casting them all in the drain! 3 inch focal length means that all needs to be 'to hand'. My mum wouldn't use a bath in case she couldn't get out, and she thought standing in a shower would mean she may slip. I may have to move if that happens to me, the stairs to the bathroom are winding and steep! I think we get decrepit in different ways. Andy's bathroom looks great, but what a task!

[@juliestreet8688]

Looks fab, put the NML tape in the fridge for a bit before use.

[@9720miller]

No more leaks is a very good product. Never had that problem with it. Maybe on a very hot day put it in the fridge for a bit before use. Will likely be something in the instructions to say don’t use over a certain temperature

[@rush211251]

Mixing tile adhesive is all about feel . You only need about an inch of water in a standard bucket , mix the adhesive until like sloppy ice cream . The adhesive will go stiffer after a few minutes , most adhesives will be usable for at least an hour , so you must have been using fast set !! Unless is a brand I’m not familiar with .