DIY - A new kitchen for Mum

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Another man with many skills nice work.

[JR]

Very nice Andy .

[Guest]

Interesting to hear your wife's job Andy.

I find her job fascinating, although I'm sure others wouldn't. She is Reports Manager for one of the countries leading companies in the electrical testing field, which look after some of the largest manufacturing buildings in the UK. We regularly watch a programme called Inside the Factory with Gregg Wallace, and only rarely have they featured a building she doesn't have inside knowledge of :smiling5:

She and her team bring together information and test results gathered on site by the engineers, compare it to historical data, CAD generated "wiring diagrams" and various British Standards, and even study thermographic images of vital areas to look for heat generated by faulty equipment or poor electrical connections.

It's way above my head, but if one of their guys can ensure a place like United Biscuits is electrically safe, I'm happy to let him loose in my mums kitchen!

[Lee Drennen]

Beautiful Andy

[Guest]

Beautiful Andy

Thanks Lee, I've been over to mum's today as it happens so have an update.

This is pretty much how it's been left for the past two weeks while she faffed around choosing tiles. It had to be usable hence the doors and handles are all fitted at the moment. Sorry for the smudged camera phone lens.

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And this is what I've been up to today. I'm not great at tiling and go very slowly, so it doesn't look much for a few hours work, but she's happy. Nice of her to make it easy for me with both mosaic and large format brick pattern tiles! :smiling5: Cutting around the socket was a challenge but I only broke one in the process so happy with that.

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Letting those harden up well before tackling the area behind the extractor.

[Lee Drennen]

Andy
Looking great you have so many great talents

[Guest]

Andy
Looking great you have so many great talents

I prefer to think of myself as a Jack of all trades, Master of none :smiling5:

[Guest]

Managed to squeeze in a bit more tiling today. There are a couple of returns to do around the pipework boxing and in the windows, but I'm waiting for the main sections to harden up fully first so I don't knock them out of square. Again around the sockets was the hardest part. The one in the first picture took 3 attempts as it kept fracturing along a weak point.

Should get the final tiles slapped on tomorrow but the grouting will have to wait. I'm back at work Tuesday then off to France on my jollies Friday.

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[stillp]

I hate grouting, I never seem to get it right.
Pete

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Nice job mate a man of many talents.

[yak face]

Nice tiling andy , looks really nice , your mum should be well chuffed , cheers tony

[Guest]

Thanks guys.

Pete, I can't say it's my favourite job either, but after coming across Bostik Smooth Finish and investing in a decent grouting float, it became a whole lot easier.

[stillp]

Thanks for the tip Andy.
Pete

[JR]

Andy .
I have tiled more than my fair share of kitchens , bathrooms and conservatory floors----------- and throughly enjoyed it .
Just don't apply of attempt to do too much grouting in one session. If you've done it before you will know how hard it can be to clean the surplus grout off the tiles.
Catching the grout at the right moment can give really smooth lines between the tiles. Have as many buckets of clean water as you can have, the cleaner the sponge is the less you have to keep cleaning the traces of grout off the tiles .
Nothing beats the finger for the finishing touch in-between the tiles .

[Guest]

Yes, thanks John.

As a DIYer I do normally try and split it up into small sections to keep it manageable. When I did my own kitchen last year I found a final clean and polish with a damp microfibre cloth really helped, once I'd done most of the cleaning with a sponge and the grout was hard enough not to be "smudged" by the cloth, but still soft enough to wipe off. Like you say, timing seems to be very important.