Monday 17 September 2012

Renovation project new shower and welcome back wild cat - Thursday 13th September

Renovation project new shower and welcome back wild cat - Thursday 13th September
The shower is being installed, there was not a bathroom in the attic before so all new pipes have to be laid and fitted. Each bedroom had a sink in it so there are some old water pipes but, these are not much use as whoever fitted them, did not do a fantastic job, and the pipes meander around the whole house, going out into the old utility and through where the old boiler was, this was another reason why the hot water did not work, by the time it got to the tap you were using it had gone cold again!
The shower has taken a little longer than expected as I was not very well yesterday so was about as much use as a chocolate teapot.
First we have to level the base, we gave up trying to get it square with the walls, this was just not possible, and it’s going to be easier to just build a new wall! Square rooms are obviously not popular in France; our spirit level is a little bit redundant here!

Next we have to make sure the pipes are correct, which means John gets to play with his blow torch again.

As you can see from this wall, there is not a single bit of old wall paper left, I am so glad I spent 3 days stripping every last speck of paper now that we are going to put a new wall there!

Here is the shower being connected, this is one of the best moments in my life!!!!!!!!




                                                                                       IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!   
There is no soil pipe in place so John has to work out where it is going to go and how it can be hidden, it also has to be in the correct place for the bathroom on the floor below, once it is all worked out, John has the fun of trying to get it through a 3foot thick stone wall, all the pipes will be hidden in walls or the ceilings and where it cannot be hidden, John will make some boxing in and turn it into a feature (but this is towards the end of the job)




 once we have worked out the path for the soil pipe it has to go into the utility, and the spot it comes through that wall is exactly where all the electricity wires were installed, so now Andy’s beautiful work of art will have to be moved!

For the time being John as temporarily connected the waste to some old pipes so the shower can be used tonight, it works!!!!! It is wonderful; it is amazing I can’t believe how much I have missed my showers!



Thats John modelling the shower!

The cat also came back, and is getting braver, he actually had a sleep on the little roof and let me feed him, still not brave enough to be stroked but give him time, we may have a new pet, or as my daughter said we have a new cat that uses us for food!





I had to pop to the shop today and realised I havn't actually included any photo's of our town square, this is approx 100 yards (or should I know say metres???) form our house



Top Tips
1.       Work out where your soil pipes are going before fitting the electrics!
2.       When using temporary fittings on old pipes have a bucket ready for the leaks
3.       Have plenty of silicone, you will need it.

4 comments:

  1. This is coming on by leaps & bounds, great progress.

    BTW - if you guys are using solder for plumbing (and I wouldn't blame you) be aware that that is not normal in France and does not comply with building codes. French plumbers solid braze everything.

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  2. thanks for the tip, John is on it, I maybe need to be a bit more technical in my blogs :)

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Boiler piping problem while shower is my worst experience! Sometimes I think if anything goes wrong with boiler and you don't get water then what's the situation.

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