Since we bought our boat in 2014, we had done literally NOTHING to improve the shower, toilet or vanity unit. After my lockdown purchase tiles had been staring at us for long enough, we decided that it was literally now or never.
Let the renovations begin……
Not going to lie, simply planning the renovation was a huge feat – we knew that we didn’t need to supply ourselves with everything from the start – (with a Screwfix & Toolstation nearby, who needs the hassle?) but we did need to ensure that we had a small shower tray, low profile shower doors, the shower itself and the vanity unit & basin. Oh, and a new toilet, because why not?
We’d secured ourselves a temporary mooring spot over the other side of the marina, close to the showers, toilet & car park. Our van was to act as a glorified tool shed and the car was the run around for the unexpected bits and pieces, our fridge & cupboards were full, the next 10 days were booked off work and the sun was shining – what could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot actually.
We started the first day with great enthusiasm, ripping out the hateful old shower and vanity unit, then it was the turn of chipping the tiles off. And they were stuck like the proverbial to the blanket. Honestly, I think that there has never been a more adhesive substance known to man that what was previously used to stick those tiles up.
We started dismantling the existing fixtures & fittings with great enthusiasm – It was relatively easy to remove everything except the shower tray – that was wedged in by the tiles and would have to be removed last.
By the end of the first day, we’d only managed to chip off part of the tiles – We had to sacrifice a chisel and literally just chip away, a centimetre at a time. It was long, tedious work and VERY demoralising and it took all day to just clear about 75% of the tiles.
The next day, after a good sleep and time for positive reflection, we started chipping at the tiles with renewed enthusiasm. What a difference a day makes, the job was a lot easier and we finished quickly, save for a few stubborn sections that refused to be chipped – They would have to be sanded, so I armed Marcus with a dust mask & some safety specs, pinned a sheet up in the doorway – (the door was removed first job to allow for easy access) – and let him loose with the sander. If I thought the boat was dusty beforehand, boy oh boy was it dusty now! Pink ceramic tile dust just settled everywhere. Still, it did the job though and soon enough all the tiles were down, the old shower unit was off the wall and with a bit of heaving and huffing & puffing and cutting through gallons of year old dried silicone, the shower tray was freed from where it had laid for about 10 years. Boy, was it disgusting.
We got our first look at the floor and began to assess how the new shower tray and plumbing would be fitted. Handily, there was an oval cut through the floor that would accommodate the trap and pipes, but it did seem a little small, but that was a task for another day.
