Onoff

Getting there. The bottom batten with be fixed direct to the concrete floor. An access tile will allow loosening of the two coach bolts and hopefully allow that "half" of the box to be pulled away so as to remove the bath. Similar detail the other end. This batten to the floor, first thought was drill and put in studs with Fischer resin. Would CT1 or similar do as well?

I used sharp sand. Felt soft sand might "filter" down through the Type 1. If it had been REALLY out of level then I'd have probably used some form of grit.

If you went for PIR could you shop around for seconds to offset the cost difference above EPS? If you don't re-level / whack you're still going to have to fork out for finer aggregate to achieve some sort of near level.

A quickly installed level drag board will give you a reference. It will also let you see your progress when the going gets tough. The danger with attacking a big area as a whole is you'll jump about with no real plan, take too much out here, not enough there and be doing unnecessary work.

She'd kill me if I started helping anyone else! Maybe when the divorce comes through..... Just a thought, could you roughly calc the volume that needs removal and dig a "big hole" in the middle of the area of a similar volume. Then rake in towards the hole. Just thinking having the hole might help the "mass" collapse in. EDIT: I've just reread the OP. 40-50mm down? If you remember my floor, prior to concreting I ran a couple of level rails down the opposite walls. Maybe do that. Get the pick out and loosen with the pick, rake & shovel keeping an eye on your guide board.

I've got a piece of timber maybe 10' long that came out of the bathroom ceiling here. It was odd to the rest so in passing I queried it. Supposedly came from Charlton football ground when they knocked the old grandstand down. Got to be worth a few quid. I did think of cutting it into sections and flogging on eBay with a "certificate of authenticity" as the previous owner of the house actually collected it himself from Charlton. I'm going to put up a "What Have You Hoarded?" thread!

Thinking about it if you mention my name it'll probably be £10K

Try my fabricator, P & W Nash (Engineering) Services Ltd in Hoo near Rochester. Tel: 01634 250986 and ask for Stuart. Been using for 30 years at work and for home. They're first class. They also have an excellent relationship with Medway Galvanising so can supply in that finish depending on size etc. (It does add a fair bit to the cost). Tell Stuart Clive said to call. http://www.pwnash.co.uk/

Couldn't (wouldn't? ) have done it without you lot. It's not for nothing I wake up screaming "KNOCK DOWN REBUILD!" when I dream of having to do similar to every room in the house! At least I'll be able to retreat to a luxurious WARM bathroom.

Have a look at my epic. I excavated (personally), by HAND, down to a similar depth and basically stopped when I hit firm clay/chalk. Whatever, it was solid and I was peed off digging. I knocked in a few pegs and then compacted (5kN electric wacker) down a minimum 50mm of homemade Type 1 - basically hardcore I graded through a 40mm mesh. I then levelled it with sharp sand and it was flatter than a flat thing. Immediately over that went 25mm of EPS to protect the following DPM from and sharp bit s of the Type 1 poking through. My thin depth of hardcore was another reason for the mesh as in it's a floating "raft" almost. And just for any new fans out there: The original floor 60mm higher than the rest of the house to start with: Not too bad once I got going: The original floor level was where the white painted wall stops: Levelling pegs: Home made Type 1 going down: My purchase off of Preloved when I abandoned making my own electric wacker (watch this space 'cos it's back on the cards): Quite satisfying. The missus said "It makes it look bigger!": Like a billiard table: I think at one point I may have laid naked on this and kept putting the level on it and smiling: The moral is to do better at school so you can pay some other **** to do it for you!

H&S wise it reminds me of the local sawmill where we'd get free sawdust and wood shavings for our pet rabbits as a kid. The BIGGEST circular pit saw imaginable. They would barely turn off the saw on the wall and then let us get down in the pit next to the blade telling us to mind our heads! Everyone was happy, they got rid of some waste, animal welfare was maintained. Nobody got hurt (or if they did nobody knew or sued). This is why I'm voting LEAVE!

One of my reasons that. Plus I was losing the slab where the bath is sunk. That and that I'll be doing the wet room corner later. It's busy here today, is a certain Welsh plumber waiting along with everyone else for a football match to start?

Fame at last! MyMemory are doing a 128GB USB 3.0 stick for about £23 if you wanted to get one and keep it handy for the rest of my stuff.....maybe get TWO http://www.mymemory.co.uk/USB-Flash-Drives/Kingston/Kingston-128GB-DataTraveler-SE9-G2-USB-3.0-Flash-Drive---100MB_s Yes both mesh AND panels. Jeremy I think mentioned the A142 mesh first which is what he used on his build. I think it just lessens the worry about the slab cracking. I've basically stolen ideas from everyone and had a go. Bear in mind when I joined eBuild I only knew PIR as "Passive Infra Red" any insulation NOT fluffy and on a roll was "Celotex".....even if it had Kingspan or Knauf written on it. I found it necessary to tape some of the panel joints where I'd overlapped by the bare minimum as I had no spare panels. Also when you overlap 2 or 3 where they meet it can get springy / "lifty". Yes, they clip together nicely but I can't believe its good enough a seal to stop some wet concrete slurry getting underneath. Dry screed probably a different matter. Did the best I could with tape and foam. Still kicking myself I forgot to add fibres to the concrete!

I used the PolyPipe panels albeit with another brand of generic, (16mm) Pex-Al-Pex pipe. I just laid my A142 mesh on top. The panels go a long way to satisfying the neat freak in me. This was my FIRST time:

A friend who's a qualified spark with his 236 went into our local Screwfix to set up an Electricfix account. Equipped with his old C&G certs the staff made a big play of checking them etc. They then turned to his LABOURER who was idly flicking thru the catalogue in the background and said "Would you like one too?". No checks nothing. Often depends on which member of staff is on. I always try and go to the Electricfix counter with my card even if I'm buying "wood preserver" for home. I rang and got my card but they actually took details of my C&Gs. It was a new thing back then though. The "exclusive" entrance away from the peasants, always free tea/coffee and occasionally doughnuts and sausage rolls do it for me! One weekend when the trade counter was shut I was standing behind Joe Public who was buying a consumer unit and back boxes. The S'fix bloke said "It might be worth you getting an Electricfix card if you're going to be buying a lot of stuff". They're more interested in pound notes than C&Gs.

So Nick's saying flexi grout sticks tiles like doo doo to a blanket if the ply's on the floor but not if the ply is up the side of the bath. I'd say it must be to do with the board orientation and maybe migration of the solvents etc in the grout. If laid flat they can "sit there" and do their thing until fully cured. With half my bath boxing in being removable anyway I could tile the bulk of the side panel laid horizontal (like a floor) then turn thru 90deg once the grout has set.

Cheers I'll switch back to my specific boxing in thread on this if anyone wants to lock this one.

Lucky I know a bloke to ask about tiling! Once in "kit form" the woodwork will all get sanded, glued together and treated, possibly in two contrasting colours to highlight the removable half". A couple of subtle access panels will allow getting to the st/st bolts that'll keep it all together. Should contrast well with the grey floor paint under the bath. Nobody'll ever see it but I'll KNOW it's there. So tiling.....this'll all get clad in 12mm marine ply. You said else where to stick tiles down with ordinary silicon at 100mm blob / spacing. How thick does that silicon bed end up at? And what then just a flexible grout?

Seems to be doing it's job on the tapered bath carcass. All loose at the mo and unglued but getting there:

My wife weighs somewhat more than this. On that basis she'll have to spend LESS time waiting for the silicon to cure. Seems I should be doing all I can to encourage her to lose a few pounds!

Asked my chippy mate if I could borrow his biscuit cutter and he said I could HAVE his "second" one (which he was given) as he doesn't really use it. Can't think of the make of his favoured one which I've used before but back then he mentioned me having this one I've now got. For him it's the fact it doesn't have a rack & pinion on the height adjustment . But STAYER, never heard of it and can't find out much about the make, any good?

I'd say do it yourself. Make sure you cut the pipe with proper pipe cutters. I bought this dirt cheap pair from S'fix and they do in fact leave a lovely clean cut: http://www.screwfix.com/p/plastic-pipe-cutter-26mm/59590

I know where I am with galv, it's <50mm below the surface etc. Then I'll only have to fret over whether I'll ever get the end rusting where I put it into the coupler, even though I'll clean and zinc spray after threading. That and the whole air tightness thing with the conduit running up through the VCL! Off to find some stainless conduit now.....

I'm an accidental landlord for about 20 years. A long story but I rent two, 2 bed terraces about 15 miles from where we live. As for tenants: Had close family who were a bit of a nightmare when a marriage broke down and they left owing money which we wrote off. Not a lot but when someone runs up a cable porn bill in your name etc! Had one house we suspect used as a brothel - that tenant had excellent references. Had a foreign tenant found and credit checked etc by an agent who was the worst ever. The house was getting post for about 15 different names all of the same nationality. Ended up evicting etc. Whatever you do get rent protection. Best tenant ever was a good friend of a good friend. On paper would never have entertained them as the guy had CCJs, couldn't get a bank account etc. Genuinely down on his luck due to a failed marriage. I initially said no but the guy offered 6 months rent, cash up front. Was in there for I think 6 years. Paid early every month and did all the repairs as he was a self employed builder. Said he owed me for giving him a chance. Sorry to see them go when it got too small for their expanding family. You never can tell. It's really not the money spinner people think it is. I've got the top British Gas landlords package on both and I pay 40% tax on my earnings from them. Saying that I wish I'd invested my money in a few places back when I could have done.

I'm trying to figure an LED strip detail for my bath side alcove. Had a play with a cheapo plug in set (LIDL were doing them for I think a fiver). Useful just to have a play with. What I didn't want was them glaring at you as you're lying relaxing in it. It'll therefore be some sort of roll over lip. Seeing them lit I also think something dimmable and coloured rather that pure white will be better: Going to stick a length of 20mm galv down the wall within the PIR as a duct for supplying whatever I go with.