a sad story...
being a P & D my bro in law asks me to sort out his bathroom ceiling... he and my sis 'n law have watched some diy makeover programme and decided to redo their bathroom for xmas. He;s begun.. I look ..70's/80's Artex.. being the consumate professional that we all are.. refuse to touch it.. highlight the issues and give him the number of a plasterer i recommend.
Two weeks later... my bro in law calls... can you help me.. very busy etc but being a good egg and he is my wife's sister's hubby I call over..
oh my God...
like all family members/proud office boys he's ignored advice and tackled whole bathroom himself..
Having scraped artex points with a 'filler knife'.. he's sanded the artex (without a mask) .. failing to get a smooth finish he's then brought a Harris wide super scraper and gouged chunks out all over.. then he's brought some Polycell Smooth Over and patched here and there.. finally having decided it looked not quite like on tv he's brought some more textured ceiling covering and re rolled it. I didn't know whether to laught or cry..
So it ends there you think??? Nope... he's ripped out his bath and toilet.. tiled over existing tiles (white) and filled with blue grout (which now sits proudly all over his new albeit wonky tiles in a fine dried mess). His bath sealant is patchy over existing mouldy sealant. He's stopped tiling at the difficult bits (corners, windows, near pipes, pedestals etc and so has bare walls.) you think I'm ready to stop yet.. oh no..
He's taken up his carpet and tried to lay cheap laminate over his underlay.. it bows and bends wonderfully now.. it's like walking on air.. well a bouncy castle anyway.. but he hasn't got tools to cut it around pedestal, pipework, doorframe etc so it all ends abrubtly and sits up about 2inches.. he's laid it around his new toilet which doesn't quite fit the waste pipe and now leaks (ugh) and is cracked all down one side where he BOLTED.. yes I did say bolted it too tightly..and finally he's screwed a new power shower unit to wall with no thought to plumbing or electrical requirements having... tiled over the only access he had to his water supply..
I'm still grimacing and aching inside now.. Can I sort it out before xmas he says.. he'll buy me a beer for doing it..
Oh dear.. Chris I think... advise him to call a range of people I know as I have no free time till Easter.. tell him to expect his bank balnce to reduce dramatically.. and run.. my wife's sister thinks I'm a basta**, my mother in law pleads for me to help her/him as he's got family coming from overseas for xmas. Me? I'm still running....
TV make over programmes don't you just love em for the inspiration they give...
oh well.. back to tiling that little splashback and painting that wall a second coat..
being a P & D my bro in law asks me to sort out his bathroom ceiling... he and my sis 'n law have watched some diy makeover programme and decided to redo their bathroom for xmas. He;s begun.. I look ..70's/80's Artex.. being the consumate professional that we all are.. refuse to touch it.. highlight the issues and give him the number of a plasterer i recommend.
Two weeks later... my bro in law calls... can you help me.. very busy etc but being a good egg and he is my wife's sister's hubby I call over..
oh my God...
like all family members/proud office boys he's ignored advice and tackled whole bathroom himself..
Having scraped artex points with a 'filler knife'.. he's sanded the artex (without a mask) .. failing to get a smooth finish he's then brought a Harris wide super scraper and gouged chunks out all over.. then he's brought some Polycell Smooth Over and patched here and there.. finally having decided it looked not quite like on tv he's brought some more textured ceiling covering and re rolled it. I didn't know whether to laught or cry..
So it ends there you think??? Nope... he's ripped out his bath and toilet.. tiled over existing tiles (white) and filled with blue grout (which now sits proudly all over his new albeit wonky tiles in a fine dried mess). His bath sealant is patchy over existing mouldy sealant. He's stopped tiling at the difficult bits (corners, windows, near pipes, pedestals etc and so has bare walls.) you think I'm ready to stop yet.. oh no..
He's taken up his carpet and tried to lay cheap laminate over his underlay.. it bows and bends wonderfully now.. it's like walking on air.. well a bouncy castle anyway.. but he hasn't got tools to cut it around pedestal, pipework, doorframe etc so it all ends abrubtly and sits up about 2inches.. he's laid it around his new toilet which doesn't quite fit the waste pipe and now leaks (ugh) and is cracked all down one side where he BOLTED.. yes I did say bolted it too tightly..and finally he's screwed a new power shower unit to wall with no thought to plumbing or electrical requirements having... tiled over the only access he had to his water supply..
I'm still grimacing and aching inside now.. Can I sort it out before xmas he says.. he'll buy me a beer for doing it..
Oh dear.. Chris I think... advise him to call a range of people I know as I have no free time till Easter.. tell him to expect his bank balnce to reduce dramatically.. and run.. my wife's sister thinks I'm a basta**, my mother in law pleads for me to help her/him as he's got family coming from overseas for xmas. Me? I'm still running....
TV make over programmes don't you just love em for the inspiration they give...
oh well.. back to tiling that little splashback and painting that wall a second coat..
I thought people like that did not really exist.