Wet on the inside

I have a combined shower sump/pump/float switch box that I bought, but it turned out to be no good.  The water entry pipe to the box was too high up, and ended up at the same height as the wetroom drain.

Time for Plan B (or was it C or D ?), I connected the shower drain to a small "sump", made from a shower drain fitment.  This sump has a float switch in it, and an outlet connected to a Gulper.  The float switch operates a 15 second delay relay, meant for keeping car lights on after the key is removed.  This means that the pump should keep running for 15 seconds after the water is gone, and should remove any problems caused by the float switch bouncing up and down on the "waves".
When operating, the gulper seemed to struggle when the sump was not full. It seems that when the water level is below the top of the outlet, the gulper sucks air instead of water, as the air is easier to pump than water.

A modification to the outlet pipe, using a strange waste fitting that has been in my plumbing box for years, makes sure that the gulper sucks as much of the water out as possible.  The only downside is that this pipe now takes up the room I was going to use for a float switch.

I will try to find a smaller float switch, but for now the gulper has a simple on/off switch.  I just have to remember to turn it one before having a shower!
The laminate and shower fittings are now complete and the wetroom is looking good.

 

I managed to find some "swimming pool changing room" tiles which, although expensive at £35 per meter, look good and are anti-slip.  Having borrowed an electric tile cutter, I spent most of the weekend getting extremely dusty, but overall I am quite pleased with my first tiling attempt.

A night to remember

 

I went to Rochester for the first time in 30 years.
I can't remember a thing about it.

Don't recognize a thing.

Can't remember the pubs...

Can't remember the gatehouse...

I can't even remember the castle.

I think I had a microscope made by Leech a few years ago.

However, have you ever had ideas like this about your boss ?

Anybody got a light ?

Saturday was a mad rush to finish brewing, because Rachael Sermanni was playing at the Met.  She just gets better and better.

The night was great because it was in the lounge at the Met, which is small, but a great atmosphere.  I was slightly disappointed that she didn't play Marshmallow Unicorn, but a great night nevertheless.

Coat after Coat

 Finally after six coats of sealer, the tub is nearly empty and I decided that this was enough coats.
Four days later the sealer was completely dry, and the laminate went on the walls quite quickly.  I am getting used to laminating now.

Lady P has started making the most amazing pies.  Fed up with the variable quality of pies that you can buy, she has now created a range of mini deep-fill Pies, stuffed full of meat, not gravy!

I was at Leeds the other day, and the end of the L&L was quite flooded, and the ducks seemed to be the only "people" enjoying themselves.

Taxing Wardrobes.

 Having looked at various options for bedroom furniture, I decided to build the wardrobe/COD based around a flatpack kit.


A quick trip to Ikea (Yes, it is possible to have a quick trip to Ikea) and I had a chest of drawers called MALM (strange name) which nearly filled the gap betwixt bed and wall.  A few sheets of plywood later, and I had room above for a few shelves and a "coat hanger" section.

This was done just in time to convert the lot into a temporary office while I did my end of year tax returns!

While I was in the mood for cutting ply, I also got the wetroom walls built.

I am getting better at cutting the porthole holes out of the ply - this one is nearly round!

Once all the gaps were filled, the plywood was primed with PVA and then given a coat of wetroom wall sealant.
After leaving it 24 hours to dry I gave it another coat.

I decided that I may as well keep on with more coats until I have used up the entire tub of sealant. However, January is not the best time to do this, as it is taking forever to dry...

Smooth walls

Sunday, and the first job was to clear everything out of the WC ready for the laminate.

I decided that cutting the laminate warranted a new blade for the stanley knife.  I know, extravagant expenses, but without regard to the budget I set off to B&Q.  I have had problems with the staff at this B&Q being idiots in the past, but when I approached the till with some stanley knife blades, what I was not expecting was "do you have any ID?".  Apparently you have to prove you are over 25 to buy knife blades.  As this is the first time I have been "ID'ed" since trying to drink in Preston in the Seventies I was quite chuffed.  However if she thought I looked under 25 then she needs to get a new guide dog, because I know I look at least 28!

The laminate cut really easily, probably due to a fresh blade and sticking it to the wall seems easy as well, even though I expected it to fall straight off again, as soon as you put some decent pressure on it, it sticks.  Even though it seems to take no time at all, soon it was going dark and time to pack up again.
Two walls done and the first porthole liner fixed. I was hoping to have the remaining wall, ceiling and floor done today, but it does take longer than it seems.

 Next week maybe.

Very naughty Shepherds

We saw the Bad Shepherds at the Grand in Clitheroe.  They were very good, but Ade was in great form when he threw the bouncers (on the left in the picture above) out for using his phone!.  It is the first time I have ever seen the bouncers thrown out of a gig, this will probably be on youtube by now!

In anticipation of Christmas, I have been stocking up on "stuff to do".  I now have a huge pile of marine ply, sealant for the wetroom, laminate flooring, laminate walling and laminate ceiling, plumbing bits, paint and all sorts of other clutter acting as a trip hazard at the front of the boat.  One day all this stuff will be stuck onto the boat, hopefully in the correct place.

Swing and Thanksgiving

'Cos Roberto is american (nobody's perfect) we have to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Even when he gets the date wrong!

So we had an amazing meal at Lukes.  Being American, Roberto fell asleep half way through the meal, but Sophie was making up for it by being the party animal!

I saw the Swing Commanders in the theatre in Ramsbottom.  I haven't seen them since they played in Great Harwood, which must have been five years ago.  They were better than I remember, a great night of music.

Having fit the remaining radiators to the boat, and cured all the leaks, I now have a toasty hot boat with ridiculously hot water.  The water pressure is too much for the basin, so I have fitted pressure reducing valves to both hot and cold.  I don't know how much of a difference this will make, but we will see once the plumbing is finished.

I went up to Edinburgh and had a couple of beers near the Queens Hall, before I saw Lau, who were far better than they were in Manchester.  

On the train back, I decided to draw up a list of jobs that need doing on the boat, thinking this will help me organise what I am doing.  By the time I got to Chorley, I had ten pages of jobs.  I decided that a list of jobs to be done is daunting, and is probably not a good idea.