Tiling and other jobs at home

I have only just got around to tell you about these jobs that we have been doing at home. We had a visit from Warmzone, who confirmed that we were entitled to some free insulation in the loft. The guy went to have a look up there and found that all the rubble from when the roof was replaced (before Alli bought the house) was still up there. He asked us to get it removed which I agreed we would.

However, after having quotes for the job from several different waste removal firms and handy men, we decided that we couldn't afford to have it done. I thought it was a shame to pass on the free insulation, which we desperately needed, so I was going to have a go myself.

I spent the whole day up there and it was the worst job I have ever done in my life. Despite of being donned in goggles, mask and disposable overalls, I was still covered in sot and was blowing it out of my nose for days after. The worst was not being able to see a thing. I gave up with the glasses virtually straight away and the goggles got covered in black sot, which Alli kept wiping away regularly but for no avail. Just after only a few seconds they were black again. I had to just try to remove the rubble by just feeling for it. We estimate that it was approximately 60black bags that we removed and they all had to come down through a very small hatch and through the rest of the house.

It was all worth it in the end. Warmzone put in 3 and a half huge rolls of insulation and now the house is really warm, especially upstairs.

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Alli used to have some tile-look wallpaper in the bathroom instead of tiles. Over the years the seams had gaped open with the damp and it looked generally tired and messy. We were both getting very fed up with having to constantly keep wiping it down to stop the water damaging the wall and avoid it going mouldy.

We went to look at tiles in the Tile Clearance Centre on City road and found exactly what we had been wanting. Large, sturdy tiles with a vague pattern, that isn't at all loud or over-powering. I was convinced that we could do the tiling ourselves if we had the right equipment. The young lad in the shop was very, very nice and helpful. He told us the difference between what we need and what we didn't need and also what we might want and why. Armed with tiles, adhesive, grout and tools, we went home very excited.

Looking back now, I can easily say that the hardest part of the whole project was removing the old wallpaper. I had totally underestimated the time and effort that that took. It was an horrendous task. The tiling was quite easy by comparison.
Alli counted that we put up a total of 55 of those very large tiles. Then we painted the walls and replaced the flooring. Now the bathroom is the nicest room in our house and we did it all ourselves, which feels fantastic. Come for a visit and judge for yourself.