Paint bathroom floorboards?

[LadyArowana]

The boards outside the bathroom door don't look too bad, ( assume those are the ones that can be seen from the hallway ) and I wonder if you might regret painting them later. As a quick MIL fix I would go with a mat/ cheap kelim/ whatever that almost fills that bit of floor and some classic bathroom ones for inside. Doing anything that is difficult to reverse just because it's a quick fix might "bite you in the bottom" to use my electricians favorite phrase!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Joce - Is that your new hall curtain we can see in the first pic? Looks very nice - any chance of a full view?

I also like the idea of painted floors. I painted my stairs and landings before fitting a runner. The boards had previously been painted many times, including in fake oak, and were much chipped leaving a very rough surface. I just painted over the whole thing in dark grey and rather like the textured surface.

I havnt tried paint effects on floors (except the dining room of my first house - a tiny workman's cottage in Surrey - which I covered in hardboard and painted to look like marble slabs) but they can also be effective.

The difficulty with bathrooms though is waterproofing. You may not want water to go down through the cracks between the boards, especially if there is a ceiling below.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Many thanks for your ideas you two. Another thing against carpet or anything thick is that the two doors will need to be taken off, have their bottoms shaved, and re-hung.

I take your point, Lady A, about a quick fix leading to future nightmare, but if a painted floor is good enough for Nigel Watts then it's certainly good enough for me!

Joce - Is that your new hall curtain we can see in the first pic? Looks very nice - any chance of a full view?

What, that old thing? :wink: Oh, alright then - reluctant to post pics as it appears a (very) pale imitation of yours. It's still very much work in progress - swags, tails, new poles, to come . (and I diddn't make them, I just bought the gold ready mades in Laura Ashley and carefully stitched on the bobble trim.)

Pic of new gorilla-murdering mirror and table too.

 

[Schoolmarm]

Gorgeous.

 

[AMc]

Hmmm, it seems there's no easy answer.
Any kind of painted/ varnished/ osmo polyxed surface needs redoing after a few years I guess?

Mine have only been done for a few months but as reapplication of Osmo Polyx is only a mop and half an hour with a brush and half a summer day to dry I'm not too worried. You don't need to sand back each time. If you want to colour then the Osmo colour foundation stains the wood. Deep scratches do go through the bare wood though and need to be touched up if you're fussy.

Wax would be a nightmare in a bathroom.

We have Osmo Polyx on floorboards in all our bathrooms and on the floor bricks in the downstairs look. Water beads up on contact and toothpaste etc. just wipe off. It's not slippery either. I can't see why this would be a nightmare?
Anyone I'm a fan of the polyx but each to their own

 

[robgil]

Great bathroom Rob. Where do you wash? :lol: Or, in true period style, you've given that up?

we have a temporary bathroom at present in the utility room , the toilet is also on this side of the house so its not as bad as it looks , i am starting from scratch on the new bath room though. Those floor boards don't look that bad at all , a quick sand and seal would have them looking fantastic. you could try some wood filler where they have been filled already or perhaps scarfing in a little bit of new wood then staining it to match the old boards.I thought by your description that they were worse than they look , or is the camera being kind to them?

 

[Penners]

I can't see how painting your floorboards will harm the breathability of the room that much

Joce - I rather agree with Feltwell. I can understand your intense desire to do right by the house (as always), but I honestly can't see that a suspended floor is going to contribute much to, or detract much from, the overall ventilation of the room. Particularly if you have an extractor fan in there (which, IMO, is much more important).

And judging by your photos, the floorboards aren't really bad. If you wanted to put a clear finish on the bare wood, I certainly don't think you'd need to do a major industrial-style sanding job You could probably scrape or lightly sand off those paint splotches, without spoiling the patina of the wood.

By the way, I apologise for my somewhat flippant first reply to your OP. I took your question to be a purely aesthetic one (de gustibus non est disputandum).

 

[JoceAndChris]

There is absolutely nothing to apologise for, dear Mr P! Horas non numero nisi serenas.

an extractor fan

Is it possible to fit an extractor fan in a wall over 2 feet thick, or is it desirable to remove a wobbly pane of antique glass to do so? I am uncertain on how this would be done.

i am starting from scratch on the new bath room though.

Good luck, Rob. It looks like you have rather a lot to do.

I can't see why this would be a nightmare?

I stand corrected, clearly it isn't with this particular product.

I think what's really putting me off the thought of preparing this floor for a wooden finish is the meticulous sanding and splicing and titivating that will be needed for such a finish. 2 floors, 13 doors, 4 windows, all the kitchen units - done. 14 windows to go. I'm so tired. I've had enough! Dear Barrett home, all freshly painted, where are you?

Gorgeous.

Thnakyou.

 

[Penners]

Is it possible to fit an extractor fan in a wall over 2 feet thick

Absolutely. Drill a 110mm core-hole (angled slightly downwards inside-to-outside to prevent rainwater trickling in) and fit a piece of 110mm plastic waste pipe into it. Make the pipe about 5mm shorter than the thickness of the wall, so that it doesn't protrude at either end. Grout around the pipe as necessary.

Fit the extractor fan to the inside end of the pipe, and a louvred grille (with insect mesh) over the outside end.

If your dear papa is going to be fitting the fan, I'm sure he will know to supply it from the lighting circuit with a three-core-and-earth cable, so that you can have an unswitched supply to the run-on function of the fan. This enables it to continue running for a few minutes after you've switched off the light. Do be sure that you buy a fan with this function built-in.

 

[Feltwell]

(de gustibus non est disputandum).

Horas non numero nisi serenas.

Please bear in mind those of us for whom "culture" means penicillin - those of us for whom education was a state-financed affair, who think that there is a posh sort of tea called "Lapdog Shoesnog" and who (even if they were deranged enough to want to) are far too much of an "oik" to ever be considered for a Conservative cabinet post.

Anyway, I thought an extractor fan was a man who used to be keen on Massey Fergusons.

With due acknowledgement to the 5 year old who first thought of that joke.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Curtains are great - I love the bobbley bits.

 

[Feltwell]

Curtains are great - I love the bobbley bits.

That's better Nigel - "bobbley bits" is the sort of technical drapery term I can cope with. No "reverse pleated tuck folds with sideways embroidered ribbon tape stitching" this time.

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

and Penners, thanks for the technical explanation on how to fit an extractor fan, but can't I make table leg ruffles instead? - you're right I'd make my poor Dad fit it!

Not sure about that spelling "bobbley" Nigel, but glad you like them.

 

[MdB]

If your dear papa is going to be fitting the fan, I'm sure he will know to supply it from the lighting circuit with a three-core-and-earth cable, so that you can have an unswitched supply to the run-on function of the fan. This enables it to continue running for a few minutes after you've switched off the light. Do be sure that you buy a fan with this function built-in.

and maybe a fan isolation switch and the usual caveat about getting bathroom work part P checked.

 

[Schoolmarm]

.......and humidistat not lighting or timer. 8)

 

[Moo]

.......and humidistat not lighting or timer. 8)

Now I feel even more dim - I just can't fathom that out.
Our fans are connected in some way to the lights* so they come on automatically. They've also got some sort of adjuster so that it's possible to alter the length of time they go on running after the light's been switched off.


* which, because neither the downstairs loo nor the shower rooms have windows, have to be switched on every time someone enters.

 

[Schoolmarm]

I could be wrong because I have only read it in an advert but it can be set to come on and off at certain relative humidities. You can alter this setting for how sensitive you want it to be.


I understood this to mean it will only come on when needed and not every time you nip for a quick wee.

 

[JoceAndChris]

We had one in our London bathroom, it was wonderful. Quiet and to the point.

 

[Moo]

Thanks for that, 'Marm. Not a lot of use for us, what with having no windows, but it sounds a really wonderful idea for normal people.

 

[AMc]

As I understand it, humidistat fans keep running until the room is below a certain relative humidity, but they must also be triggered from the lights and use an overrun timer too?
This eBay guide (must be gospel ) indicates that the humidity is measured inside the fan unit, so you'd need the fan to move air for the sensor to work at all suggesting it should be triggered by the lights or a switch?
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Extractor-fans-with-Humidistats-for-homes_W0QQugidZ10000000003211301

There are some reasons why you would want to ventilate a bathroom that aren't related to moisture. For that reason my electrician fitted fans with overrun timers.