Replacement shower enclosure / hole in tile
Discussion
When we first 'did' the house, we installed one of those walk in shower enclosures with no door.
To be honest, the novelty of that wore off v. fast, but it's only now that I'm seriously considering putting a new enclosure in.
The issue I have is that the current enclosure, as it's doorless, has a brace that holds one glass panel to the opposite wall (so there's a sort of chrome square tube that runs across the shower tray and is fixed to the opposite wall.
If I change the enclosure, there'll be a hole in the wall where the brace is now not.
I'm pretty sure I have a spare tile, but they're big porcelain jobs, and changing one out gives me the fear.
So - can anyone either:
1) Reassure me that tilers do this all the time and it's not that hard, perhaps easy enough for an idiot like me to do it
2) Think of something that might disguise / reuse the hole such that it's not obviously a leftover from a previous installation.
?
To be honest, the novelty of that wore off v. fast, but it's only now that I'm seriously considering putting a new enclosure in.
The issue I have is that the current enclosure, as it's doorless, has a brace that holds one glass panel to the opposite wall (so there's a sort of chrome square tube that runs across the shower tray and is fixed to the opposite wall.
If I change the enclosure, there'll be a hole in the wall where the brace is now not.
I'm pretty sure I have a spare tile, but they're big porcelain jobs, and changing one out gives me the fear.
So - can anyone either:
1) Reassure me that tilers do this all the time and it's not that hard, perhaps easy enough for an idiot like me to do it
2) Think of something that might disguise / reuse the hole such that it's not obviously a leftover from a previous installation.
?
All the time. Cut the grout out all round the tile and i mean all of it right back to the wall with a Stanley knife, keep changing the blade as it will go blunt quickly.
Then break through the tile in the middle by hitting it with a small chisel until you have a hole big enough to get a claw hammer into so you can lever the broken bits of tile out with the prong end.
Remove the rest of the old glue with a scraper and replace with your new tile. This is assuming you have solid walls. It still works with plasterboard walls but you need to be much more careful not to destroy the wall.
Then break through the tile in the middle by hitting it with a small chisel until you have a hole big enough to get a claw hammer into so you can lever the broken bits of tile out with the prong end.
Remove the rest of the old glue with a scraper and replace with your new tile. This is assuming you have solid walls. It still works with plasterboard walls but you need to be much more careful not to destroy the wall.
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