Jack of all trades.

Hello Dear Friends and Followers.

Remember my last post about our cracked tiles in the bathroom. We have progress. They say when living on a boat, you need to be a jack of all trades and a master of none, and I think I am beginning to believe I am that jack. The diamond tile cutter arrived and there was nothing for it, but to get on with the job in hand. Now when you do any job on a boat, you have to remember it will probably take twice as long, so we began the process of cutting the tiles in the morning, thinking it would probably require a couple of attempts due to cracked or broken tiles. So you can imagine how amazed we were when having measured everything to within an inch of its life, Keith managed to put the tile first time, and no cracks or breaks. It was a miracle.
Next job was to take the toilet out, which was screwed to the floor. We have had the toilet out before, but this time the screws seemed determined to hold fast. With lots of huffing and puffing, they finally relented, but it was clear they would not be going back after the tiling was done. So Keith nipped down to Torry's our local hardwear store to buy new screws and whilst he was gone, I got on with cleaning the toilet and then getting all the sealant off from around the shower and toilet area. By the time Keith got back, I had done the job and was ready to begin the next step.
We needed to make sure we got the holes for the toilet to be screwed back down in the right place on the new tiles. So my suggestion was, put down a piece of paper down and mark the holes in the paper, then transfer the paper to the new tiles, mark the holes and drill them ( I do come up with good ideas sometimes). This was the process we went through and low and behold it actually worked. With the new tiles sitting in place, we put the toilet on top and again made sure everything lined up. yes it was a slow process, but it was much better to get it right the first time.
Next step was to smother the old tiles with tile adhesive and put the new tiles in place, with match sticks as dividers. It all went incredibly well.

New tiles in place, the adhesive was left to dry. According to the plastic container, the adhesive required at least 24 hours to dry. I know your think, what are they doing for a toilet? We have set it up in the hold for the time being.
This morning with the adhesive pretty much solid, I got on with grouting in the tiles, which will again take time to dry. If all goes well I will be able to seal everything in a couple of days.

Whilst all of this work has been taking place, I have also been doing all the other boat chores, walking the dog, cooking, cleaning and pottering in the garden. The one job I have not done yet and that is to get on with some painting. Since we returned from dry dock, the weather has not been playing ball, so I sit with paint brush ready to get on with the paintwork, which requires attention before the Winter. This morning I did a laundry load and hung it out, but it soon became clear we were in for some of the wet stuff, so I decided to hang the washing in the engine room just in case. Sods law the sun then came out. To late I thought I would leave the washing hung in the engine room.
Because our boat is still all over the place, what with the generator and now the bathroom repairs, our hold is a right state and although I want to do work in there as well, I cannot really do anything until inside the boat is straight. Hopefully this will happen this coming week.