A day in the life...

[Joe 90]

I'm just going to drop the kids of at the pool.

I'm going to spend a penny.

I'm turtling and need to destroy the shit house.

I say , could you direct me to your nearest Dunny.

Spot the phrase that isn't British?

[Joe 90]

Heh Mendy, save yourself a load of aggravation and take the tiles back.

Painting is the way forward...


Give Your Bathroom Tiles a Makeover.

[helge]

Spot the phrase that isn't British?

Spot the Phrase ?

[Topper]

Make sure your tiles have a bit of texture to them so they aren't slick as shit when you're walking around on them.

[cyrille]

I would say "I really need to use the bathroom, urgently." because we're all polite and shit.

So in that circumstance you wouldn't call it a restroom.


Thanks for clarifying.

I'm still puzzled though.

We just say 'Toilet'.

You lot seem to be hovering.

Dwellers on the threshold.

[Topper]

Dwellers on the threshold.

Isn't , "Dwellers on the threshold" a polite English phrase to say you're about to have an Indianish colon blast that might harm someone?

[Joe 90]

Isn't , "Dwellers on the threshold" a polite English phrase to say you're about to have an Indianish colon blast that might harm someone?

That's a " White knuckle ride".

[BLD]

Gotta go , there's one banging on the backdoor

[Ghost61]

In NE Thailand - maybe could use "Netty"

[Mendip]

'Touching cloth' was always my phrase of choice, if I was in time of course.


Anyway, I discovered today that 'Oiy' hasn't got time to fit in the job. He didn't tell us of course, that would have been way too considerate. He just ceased communications, so leaving it for the gardener to search him out during his Ya Dong evening sessions (because of course it hadn't crossed their tiny minds to exchange phone numbers). So, 'Oiy' can fukk right off.

Also this morning, after sharing the news about 'Oiy', the gardener also told me there was another guy coming at 9am to price the job. I no longer really care.

The smallest guy I've ever seen turned up soon after nine, he really was one of those miniature Thais that you see and no way did he make 5 ft. I reckon he probably had a touch of dwarfism.

He said that he'd do the job for 5k Baht. I agreed, seemed reasonable enough for 3 days work, him and a labourer. I mentioned that he could maybe pick up the remaining materials required (bearing in mind that I have the tiles and bricks), and he said OK, 8.5k Baht all in.

FFS, they just can't help themselves... cement, grout and plastic edging for 3.5k Baht? I gave him a look and said OK, no problem, I'd supply all materials. I reckoned on 2000 Baht max.

I sent the gardener off to procure all required materials... for 1035 Baht, including a new padlock for the front door.

Cement, grout and plastic edging were dumped by the back door, covered by a tarpaulin due to Yogi and Tommy's habit of spraying anything new to their territory.



The tiles are already waiting outside the 'bathroom/toilet' room...



And I dragged out the bags of bricks from storage and hosed them all down, to be ready for use in the morning.



Yes, because my new tiler is starting tomorrow... I never did get his name, but a pound to a penny it will be 'Lek'.

I didn't mention the Buddha room job because no way that 'Lek' will be able to reach the ceiling, even with the help of my step-ladder. And maybe discretion is the better part of valour and I should really discuss demolishing the wife's Buddha room with said Kommandant before going ahead with he project.

Rumours are that she'll be back in Sunday... and I thought this was supposed to be a three week Songkran, FFS...

[cyrille]

That is a wise move, on the prayer room.

Sort of pretending to care about something obviously nobody cares about.

It's a sort of grouting.

[DrWilly]

Even money he won’t turn up tomorrow

[Mendip]

^^ I think so Cyrille.

It's like I explained to the daughter, 'you've gotta learn how to manage your mum'.

Go slowly slowly with anything, if she's in one of those moods, then just fucking eat it and say it's nice, and if you really need something that costs, only tell dad and bin all the packaging and receipts.

And if none of that works, just fucking bribe her... she's Thai after all.

[helge]

Even money he won’t turn up tomorrow

If he does, will he then turn up and finish the job ?

Will Mendip give him an "It's Songkran advance" on the Pay ?

Will the girl get her Shower ?

This and more on the next episode of ........Shower, Soap and Shampoo, Soon if not Later

That is a wise move, on the prayer room.

It should be made 'en suite'.

She would enjoy that, I think

[Mendip]

Well, 'Lek' did turn up today at 9am. The gardener had said he'd arrive 'about 8', so I guess that was a result.

He worked until noon and now seems to be on an extended lunch break.

He'll get no money until finishing the job and as I have supplied all materials he needs nothing up front. I'm really hoping that he finishes this over the next few days as for me, Songkran is dead time and it would be good to get something achieved.

The status after the morning session... all now ready to build the wall up. He's keyed up the tiles and the plan is to also drill rebar into the existing wall between each course of bricks. Should be strong enough.



Helge, the 'Buddha' room could be made into an en-suite for the daughter as it neighbours the main en-suite and so plumbing could easily be tied in, but I think it more important that she has a study area away from the continual blaring of the TV downstairs.

To be honest I don't really want her having a computer in her room at this age, but then again she needs it to study, so a difficult one. I may add a hanging blind to divide her room into a bedroom room and a study room, if indeed the project goes ahead. I can't just convert the Buddha room into a study for her as it's just too small, hot and airless and will benefit from the aircon in her room already, and her big window and door onto a balcony.

The Kommandant's due back on Sunday when negotiations will commence.

[malmomike77]

the plan is to also drill rebar into the existing wall between each course of bricks.

The Kommandant's due back on Sunday when negotiations will commence.

I noted you'd made her a reduced meat pie

[Mendip]

^ I try not to encourage her to eat pies and the like. She needs to look after herself.

[Mendip]

End of Day 1, with ...

I asked the gardener what his mate's name is, having already assumed it was 'Lek' due to his dwarf-like stature. The gardener said that he doesn't know and just calls him 'chang' (the universal name for a worker).

Not for the first time living here I think, 'what the absolute fuck... you drink Ya Dong with him most nights, you recommend him to do my tiling yet you don't even know his name', ???

Anyway, Lek by stature, Lek by name as far as I'm concerned. I don't need to know his name either.

Lek did a decent job I reckon, tidy, and in a most un-Thai like manner he even staggered the joins between bricks for different courses.



It was baking hot in the 'bathroom/toilet' when I took these photos and I started to think this had all been a mistake... it's a rarely used room so a bit of an unknown. And then I remembered that going-off cement is an exothermic reaction, making an already baking hot house even more baking hot.

OK, so a little bit narrow but I reckon a good, easy compromise all round to get this job done. I've certainly done the deed in tighter shower spaces than that, not that that has any relevance at all, and also not something that I'll be pursuing with Mrs Mendip for the foreseeable future.



And a tidy little pile of equipment left after Day 1.



OK, so the lawn has taken a bit of a beating and 15 years ago that would have annoyed me... but now it barely even registers.

It'll grow back.

[BLD]

I learn something everyday, exothermic reaction from going off cement is indeed new to me. Geologists are full of the info

[malmomike77]

^ You are married so you should be familiar with endothermic reactions when you get into bed with Mrs BLD

[BLD]

I wish

[Mendip]

^ My wife can certainly be pretty exothermic at times.


End of Day 2 and I have to say that 'Lek' isn't the best tiler that I've ever employed, and not the fastest either... but seeing as I'm paying for the job I guess the latter doesn't really matter.



It has immediately become apparent that the white tiles don't match very well... I don't know whether there was an 'off white' option or whether this is just due to the existing tiles having been on the wall for 17 years. But who wants matching tiles anyway? I think that is vastly overrated.

The orange tiles don't match particularly well either, and they were from the same batch as are on the walls... so maybe this is all just due to exposure to light over time? I'm sure that after a couple of years of never being cleaned, all the tiles will blend nicely together.

Due to the shortage of orange tiles I have resorted to just having a few, here and there in an artistic manner. In the past I've often thought that Thai bathrooms/toilets had been tiled quite artistically but now realise that it's purely due to endemically not ordering enough matching tiles and making do.



And speaking of bathrooms/toilets never getting cleaned, the trouble's due back home tomorrow and I reckon at current progress,'Lek' has at least two days more work, probably three to go. That's a shame because I was hoping to surprise the wife with a finished job and clean upstairs because there's enough exothermic reactions going on already around here.



And then we can start 'discussing' getting rid of the Buddha room...


And as I post that last photo I see that 'Lek' has forgotten to replace the wad of cloth in the drainage pipe and I will immediately head upstairs to replace it.

Thanks, Tax!

[helge]

'Lek' has at least two days more work, probably three to go.

How about a ...week ?

[Topper]

How about a ...week ?

I'm betting 8 days....just over a week.

[helge]

9 then