Blocked

I only wish it was a blocked nose...or being blocked from Facebook...alas it was a blocked toilet. On the weekend one of my dreaded fears became a reality: our sewerage pipe became blocked and we had a bit of an effluent episode...

Thankfully the overflow was all outside and contained in the one small area, near the drains under the Sow's Ear's deck.  It's  a pretty disgusting thing to see one's ablutions for an encore performance. Eww! Anyway, thank goodness for reliable plumbers.

We haven't had a regular plumber since we moved to the Sow's Ear. Our last plumber moved to the country and is living in semi-retirement mode, so we haven't had a plumber on whom to call in an emergency. And when you own an old house with a yard full of trees, a reliable plumber almost becomes part of the family.

Fortunately, we just stumbled upon a new plumber who  proved to be quite good in his maiden voyage on the Sow's ear.

Plumber's electric eel

With the help of a plumber's electric eel down the sewer pipes, our new plumber was able to remove the mass of tree roots which were the cause of the blockage. There must be a crack in the pipes underground, allowing the tree roots to invade the drain.

The electric eel is a cable/coil which spins as it is fed down the drain. The abrasive motion breaks up all the soft tree roots which are developing through any cracks.

The tree roots which were the cause of the blockage 

Eww again!

The blockage is now cleared and we can all relax and resume normal programming.

Dinky window reveal

That dinky little window in the bathroom is now finished. I probably shouldn't keep calling it that, because it doesn't look dinky at all now it has been primed and has a couple of coats of gloss white.

Single-pane casement window with chrome casement stays and handle

It's a major improvement to what was there.

The old window which was just odd bits of louvre glass which could not open or close.

Dirty little window

Having the window custom made was a good experience for us, especially as we have mostly worked with salvaged joinery. It is so much easier fitting something new than the old stuff according to Jason. It just slotted into position, as it should.

The little window cost $135 not including the fittings. And it is another small project we can tick off our list.

Rainy long weekend

What a wet horrible long weekend we had!

Fortunately for us, it was mostly spent indoors listening to ABC Classic FM's countdown of the top 100 movie scores. Ha! Yes, we are super-geeky.

The boys were listening with us when it came to the last three in the countdown...LOTR, Star Wars, and The Mission

We felt like we were back in the days before TV with the whole family gathered around the radio. The boys were thrilled when the music for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars made it into the last three. They sat there enthralled, as they love these movies. The fabulous music from The Mission was number one.

A well-covered Jason fitting the new bathroom window

And it wasn't all music and movies at the Sow's Ear. Jason fitted the little window in the bathroom...and it looks excellent. The weather was too wet for painting, so the window will come out again next weekend. We're hoping for a few days of good sunshine to paint and finish that little project off.

Single light casement window

I've just ordered a new window to be made up for the bathroom.

We decided against another coloured window, as we thought it would compete with the amber/yellow glass that is already in the bathroom. And as much as we like green glass, the mix of green and the yellow would be too patriotic for us (thanks to the commentator who kindly reminded us of this fact!).

The original plan was to get a small hopscotch casement window made, but we found out that it could not be manufactured with toughened arctic glass...it could only be done with cathedral glass which is not as textured as arctic. Arctic glass is used in most of the windows in the Sow's Ear.

small hopscotch
We will now have just a single light casement instead.

Toughened arctic is limited to how small it can be cut and our window pane sizes were too small. Normal arctic glass does not have this issue but window manufacturers can't sell it to us because of new regulatory standards. The glass must be to Australian safety standards. Who knew this stuff?

cathedral at the top and arctic at the bottom

As a default, we opted for a single light casement with toughened arctic glass instead. It was also the cheapest and easiest option by far.

we've ordered a smaller version with no frame which will then be  primed and painted.

We could have opted for an unglazed hopscotch window which we could glaze ourselves with normal arctic glass (ie glass that hasn't gone through the toughening process) ... For one small window, the bother factor was not high. 'Phew!' sighs Jason.

The window gets made up in over a week. I'll keep you posted. 

Little window

There is a dodgy little window in our bathroom that we are going to replace.

The said dodgy window is just thin bits of mismatched glass slotted into a frame and held in place with wood nailed around the frame; similar to louvered windows...However, you can't open or close the window; it's permanently semi-open.

Small bathroom window

Small window. It's so filthy. But I'm not about to clean it either with its days numbered...
Domestic goddess I am not!

Jason's given me the measurements and has delegated the task to me to get this thing made, as it's not a standard size. He told me to get a single pane with arctic glass casement.

I wish Jason would just go out an order it himself...

So where do I go to get this thing made?  What should it be made of, if that's even an option? And I want to get coloured glass too, but choosing the colour is the big question? Amber, green, rose, or just clear arctic?

All these questions! Can anyone help?

Dragon's tears

I'm partial to a dragon's tear or two, as regular readers would know...

Today, I blinged up the little light fitting in the bathroom with the new Murano crystals that I had acquired last month (read here). 

It's only a very basic el cheapo fitting with acrylic drops but I added a tier of the crystal tear drops which makes it a little more interesting. I didn't dare put the whole lot on as the drops are so heavy and I didn't want it to fall..

One crystal was broken in the process but I guess one casualty is not too bad. 

A bit of bling brightens up the day.

Murano crystal dragon's tears added to a basic light fitting. 

It's a bit 70s retro in a traditional Queenslander bathroom

Nice new knob

Never underestimate the power a new door knob can make to the look of a room.

Jason picked up the 'antique' copper door knob that he had ordered the previous week and put it on the bathroom door on the weekend.

It was a bit hit and miss trying to find a salvaged one...and we wanted to see what the new ones were like...

'Antique 'copper bungalow door handle

It was just the door knob and plate Jason had to replace, so it was quite straightforward. The new hardware was relatively expensive, so we are pretty happy that we only had to replace the one.

To do an entire house would cost a motza! Fortunately at the Sow's Ear most of original door hardware is in good working order. Sigh of relief!

It's amazing how much nicer it looks - like it was always meant to be there. We are all about keeping the heritage Queenslander style so that it matches the other doors in this part of the house. It's all in the details as they say.

Jason in action fixing the door plate onto the bathroom door

Nice work Jason!

Architraves in the bathroom

Jason can't leave well enough alone. And just when we thought the bathroom was done...

On the weekend our new and improved bathroom received some extra architectural bling in the form of decorative window and door architraves (they match the rest of the Sow's Ear). The other bathroom windows had been done a few weeks ago, but we left the main window and the door alone...We weren't too sure how to attach the new mouldings without damaging the tiles.

As it turns out it was much simpler than we thought...just attach them over the existing plain architraves. Perhaps it's a bit unorthodox but it seems to work. After a bit of filler and paint, you would think those architraves were always there.

It must've been bothering Jason to have mis-matched architraves in the bathroom, as he was quick off the mark to buy the timber on Saturday. While he was out he also picked himself up a pair of new King Gees. OMG! He has it in his head that he has to look the 'tradie' part when he does a job around the house. He's gone mad.

Anyway, here are the fruits of Jason's labour on Saturday morning.

new architraves, bullnose and scotia around the casement windows 

We have the splayed  profile as the door architraves

I hope you aren't tiring of all these bathroom posts...we never seem to ever be completely finished at the Sow's Ear!!

Bathroom: before and after

We are happy with how our bathroom looks now. If we had imagined that painting the wall tiles would've looked this good we would've done it at the very start of our sojourn at the Sow's Ear. 

Although we are not really advocates of temporary renovations, sometimes it's just necessary... particularly if you are 'umming and ahhing' about whether you intend to stay in a home forever or planning larger long-term renovations where rooms may need to be changed to accommodate a growing family.

Painting the bathroom tiles was a quick and cheap fix of our bathroom. The old beige tiles and grey grout did no favours to the out-of-square room. Every flaw was noticeable. The higgledy piggledy grouting and dated feature tiles stood out like the proverbial - the white tile paint disguises it so well.

We would totally recommend painting tiles as a temporary measure if you are unhappy with how your tiles look...but Jason and I agree that white is the only colour we would consider for such a task (I'm sure others have had equal success with colours though). 

The total cost of the tile painting was less than $150 for the paint. We used a one litre tin of tile primer and two tins of white tile paint. The process of painting the tiles was quite easy. Prepping the walls is probably the most important step to ensure a nice even finish.

Bear in mind that painted tiles will never really be as nice as a good professional tiling job. It won't have the same longevity...but I guess we will find out as we live with it. But considering how dubious we were of tile paint, it is worth a shot if you are despairing of your tile situation!

Just to refresh everyone's memory, here are some photographs of the Sow's Ear's bathroom from about 2009 when we first moved in.

Before:

Our old bathroom was quite serviceable but just needed a freshen up until we decide what to do with a full bathroom renovation...

Beige tile, grey grout, cream painted wall, ceiling and windows. 

timber vanity, timber mirror and towel rails

Country style bathroom with beige and green decorative feature tile

After:
This mini bathroom makeover has really been a work in progress for the past few weeks but with the huge advantage of allowing us to still access the bathroom. It was never out of action for too long...which is important in a one bathroom family house.

white painted tile, white walls, windows and ceiling.
We also removed the bars across the windows which we think  were installed to stop small children from falling through the opening!

We started with painting the door white, it was originally cream. A traditional chrome hook on the door provides extra hanging space.

After the fiasco of the dodgy chrome towel rails that we purchased earlier, I went out and bought a towel rail ladder. We picked it up at the Bathroomwarehouse in Newstead who provided particularly nice service, hence the shout out. Nice is always good.

A towel ladder gives us more towel hanging space. This is the round profile Heirloom brand.
I also bought a couple of new dark grey towels that were on sale.

We still have some of the el cheapo fittings like the towel ring and toilet holder...we're hanging on to them until  they fall apart. Hopefully they won't, but we're not worried because we know where we can get new ones without too much fuss.

Painted white vanity.
An old Dickies towel from the 70s and makes a cool, yet substantial hand towel

Painting the vanity and changing the handles have made it disappear completely. It never really deserved to be a feature in the bathroom. We like vanities like this to just blend quietly into the background. We also painted the heavy timber mirror frame so that it blends right back into the walls.

I'm loving these new bathroom runners that are around.
It's really soft and will be nice over the winter months...before it  becomes a hot mouldy mess. Ha!
We've left the floor tile as they were.

Jason built new window architraves to match the rest of the Sow's Ear.
He's the details man. The rubber ducks have a nice spot in which to reside.

We still have a few small things left to do on the bathroom, but that's pretty much it for now. Yippee!  You can read all our bathroom posts here if you're not up-to-date with what we have been doing. 

Anyone out there tempted to paint over some ugly tile? Tell me because I know your pain.

Some photos of the bathroom tile painting

I'm just going to do a pictorial blog post tonight regarding our tile painting experiment.

In a nutshell, it's worked far better than we ever, ever expected.

In my next blog post, I will go into some more detail about the whole bathroom makeover, particularly if you are contemplating using tile paint as a renovation option.

For now, you can just have a quick squizz at the nice fresh bathroom feeling that we are currently enjoying.

View of the bathroom from the sunroom.

View of the vanity from the bathroom door

The white tile paint has completely covered the old tile border feature. You'd never know...maybe...

New ladder towel rail

I bought a new resin soap dispenser bottle. And love that it is so plain.

Remember to read the next post where we tell you our thoughts on tile painting and show you more photos.

Changing door plates and knobs

I never realised how much I took for granted my mobility until this week. Having a bad back has certainly been a painful and extremely frustrating experience. Fortunately, I am on the mend and am no longer looking like a shepherd's crook.

Anyway, my immobility has given me lots of time to ponder some of the smaller finishing off jobs that one never really gets around to when living and breathing in a home like the Sow's Ear.

One of those jobs is to replace the bathroom door knob, as it is completely different to any other door knob in the house. It has actually been quite useful as the shortest member of the family (#3 Son) has been able to reach it by jumping up and pulling the lever down. Very useful for emergency toilet excursions.

old chrome door set and handle

Needless to say the mechanism in the door set is damaged from such abuse. It's time to replace it with one that matches the door plates on the other doors.

bungalow door set with oval knob

In the sunroom and study all of our doors have the bungalow style door plate. I know that you can buy them new but I have searched for a salvaged one at our local architectural demolition place...Sadly, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. It may just be easier to get it brand spanking new.

I've told Jason that we should add this job to our Easter weekend to-do list. Ha! The list is just going to get even longer if my back doesn't fix itself pronto. Poor Jason!  

Of dodgy backs and dodgy towel rails

For the past few days my perspective on all things has been mostly horizontal. I've injured my back with just a mere twist and a turn. And I have been lying prone on my bed bemoaning my misfortunes to all unfortunate to be in my presence. Sadly for my family, I'm not a stoic patient... but painkillers are my new best friends.

My cocktail of prescription medicine.

(If it were Jason, he'd have kept calm and carried on while renovating the Sow's Ear...unless he had man-flu)

With me being completely out of action this weekend (not that it really matters on the renovating front), Jason kindly finished the sanding of the first coat of tile paint in the bathroom and applied the final coat of white tile paint (and washed, cooked and performed the domestic minuets to keep the Sow's Ear running).

The bathroom looks so fantastic and has exceeded all our expectations. I won't show you the final photos now, because I still need to give the bathroom floors a good scrub-a-dub-dub and I'd like to get the final bits and bobs to pretty up the room.

Also while Jason was finishing off the sanding he accidentally bumped the new towel rails. You know the towel rails which we weren't entirely happy with...read here.

Well, it seems we were right to be dubious of them because one broke away from the wall and the other towel rail twisted out of  its backing plate when Son #2 hung his towel on Friday. Dodgy! Flimsy as paper were those chrome towel rails. We didn't even get a month out of them - a waste of good time and good money.

Where the towel rails used to hang before it broke.
On a happier note, the tile painting looks fab!

Note well: do not compromise on your fixtures and fittings. Step away from the blister pack. You do get what you pay for with things like bathroom fittings, which really ought to withstand everyday use. We should've known better...

I'll be ordering some new sturdier towel rails this week. 

Bits and pieces for the bathroom

With the bathroom almost complete, it's time to think about getting some new towels and accessories to gussy up the space. Yay! Here's a few of the things I have my eye on.

new soap/lotion dispenser.
Looks kind of like posh hand wash, however I intend to fill it with home brand liquid soap. Lol! Or maybe I should just buy the posh hand wash and refill the bottle when it's finished...?
from here

Australian made towels from Australian cotton by Dri-glo. Awesome towels
from here

Bath tub caddy to hold everyday bath things
from here

Huge bath mat runner.
Love the size of this runner and it would be nice to use on cold winter mornings
from here

Can't wait to hit the shops - such a great treat to have something nice in the newly freshened-up bathroom.

Tile painting kind of weekend

Painting the bathroom tiles has been the big ticket job of the weekend.

I delegated the rest of the bathroom painting to Jason. He's not as slap dash as me and is fairly meticulous with his brush strokes. The entire bathroom has now been scrubbed; primed; holes and missing grout 'sikaflexed'; and the first coat of tile paint applied.

It looks bloody fantastic. If we had known that the tile painting was going to be this effective we would've done it a lot sooner. It is just unbelievable what a difference it has made so far and we still haven't done the second coat.

Here are some photos of the work in progress from our productive weekend.

The old tiles being painted with primer. Jason in designer painting shorts. The crappiness of the toilet  cistern is heightened by its white surrounds

The painted tiles have a glossy sheen

And all-white bathroom 

We are so glad we took the plunge to paint the tiles. Hopefully we can have it all finished by next weekend. 

First coat of white tile paint...

Okay, the first coat of tile paint is on a section of the bathroom walls.

And it's not bad. The tile paint is oil based, so it is a stickier consistency than the water based primer. I stirred the paint really well and then proceeded to brush it on to the primed walls.

Sadly, my painting technique leaves a lot to be desired. I don't have Jason's quasi Master Painter skills which he has acquired over the past three years. Ha! Should've helped him more...

I was probably a bit heavy handed with the amount of paint used, as drips were developing thick and fast. Luckily I spotted most of the drips as I was moving along the wall - they were easily brushed out.

The finish is glossy and tacky to start off with. After about two hours the paint is touch dry and has a very glossy finish. It needs to dry for at least six hours before you can apply the second coat.

Newly painted bathroom tiles. It's not bad and I'm pleased with the results so far.

It also requires a light sand before the second coat goes on; that job will be on the cards tomorrow morning.

I think we are on a winner with this tile paint. We'll have to do the rest of the walls which will be tedious, but at least the results are looking very promising.

First coat of white tile paint. The border tile is goneski!

The bathroom appears to be seamless, with the standard white tile paint going nicely with the new vivid white walls. The magic of paint.

P.S Someone on my Instagram feed asked whether the paint could be used on floor tiles. The answer is no as the product information says it's not recommended for floor tiles or benchtops.

Priming the bathroom tiles

I started painting the bathroom tiles today while the weather was dry and sunny. The plan is just to do one corner of the bathroom wall just to see whether it looks okay.

The tile primer is cream, so the bathroom still looks a bit fugly. Son #1 was completely appalled when he saw my efforts this afternoon. There's always a critic around here (and for a change it's not me!).

Tile primer on old ceramic tiles in the bathroom

I made sure the old ceramic tiles were cleaned, using some sugar soap we already had and a soft green scourer to remove the bits of random mould and grease. You can buy special tile cleaner which is the same brand as the tile paint but I didn't. Let's hope that wasn't my first fatal mistake...

Once the wall was cleaned and dried, I brushed on one coat of primer which is quite matte. It covers well and you can barely see the tile border. It's touch dry in two hours and the top coat can be applied after four hours.

primer coverage - you can barely see the pattern of the feature tile.

So far, so good. The primer finish seems okay and if the weather is good tomorrow, I'll get started on the first of two top coats...or maybe I might be inspired and do it tonight after watching The Block....Ha!

Painting tiles in the bathroom

The beige tiles are not working for us in the bathroom. Painting the walls crisp white just accentuates the 'beigeness' of the existing tiles. So, we are going to paint the wall tiles white to make it appear more seamless.

beige wall tiles and off-white floor tiles
This is a picture of our bathroom at floor level. See how the floor has been built up...we think there might be a couple of layers of tile under here...but we'll wait and see when we do a full bathroom reno later down the track.

I ducked into the local (sadly, not the pub) yesterday afternoon and picked up a couple of tins of tile primer and white tile paint. It wasn't a cheap purchase either, considering the tins are only one litre. Yikes. It's a fairly big bathroom, so double yikes!

Tile paint and primer

It should be an interesting experiment. I'm curious to see whether it will pass the test and look good or whether it just looks like sh*t....

As this is just a mini makeover to bide our time until we can afford to undertake the full-blown bathroom reno, it is a risk worth taking.

Has anyone out there painted tile? Any regrets?

We hope to get started on the weekend. One wall at a time.