I really thought we would be able to make a start on it this weekend.

Linda and I had worked to make sure that we had all the elements in place.

On Friday afternoon Linda went on a great circuit of Midland to pick up everything that we needed.

From Midalia she picked up a 3.75m length of 50 mm x 50mm x 3mm angle iron so that I could sort out the problems on the step.

From Reeces she bought a mixer tap with a larger base to fit in to a trough (as per Wayne's instructions)

From Bunnings she bought a laundry trough.

Saturday, I was out on site at 7.00.

I wished to grind the step down by 3mm so that the angle iron would rebate in to it.

To avoid filling the building with dust I spent about 20 minutes taping black plastic curtains up to create a working chamber.

I ground away for 40 minutes but I think that I probably only removed 0.5 mm from the very hard cement.(Ross later told me that I should have used my diamond blade angle grinder).

The grinding had squared up a number of surfaces however and provided a nice sharp edge to mount the brass edging.

I decided to go ahead and install the steel.

I drilled and countersunk a number of holes in to the top and front edge of the steel.

I then used these to lightly drill through in to the concrete behind and then a masonoray drill bit to create holes for rawl plugs.

Linda arrived at this point and did something that I had not thought to do - she checked the general floor level near the step - it turned out that it dips slightly here and I already had the correct level without rebating the cement any more.

So then I applied "liquid nails" liberally and screwed down the angle iron - this gives it a nicely dressed, neat appearance, ready for the brass tile edging piece to go on top.

Next, I started work on the vanity basin that Linda spotted at Eldgridges.

This is twice as large as the original design for the bathroom caters for - however, there is just enough room to squeeze between the vanity cabinet and the shower cubicle to get to the toilet.

Linda quite likes this cabinet - it gives her a lot more storage and she bought it for $200 whereas a new one costs over $600.

It will need some repair work done on - I had to refix some of the panelling with additional screws and the old copper and waste lines had to be cutout.

Also there is a hole in one end from the old entry point - I will need to patch this and repaint the sides.

I need to do all this work at this stage because we realised that we will achieve a much better finish if the cabinet is installed on to the bare cement floor with the tiling coming up to it and stopping.

This will allow a much neater seal and prevent dust and rubbish accumulating under the vanity cabinet.

Linda and I placed the cabinet a number of times to measure and work out the positioning of holes for copper in and waste out.

The laundry trough was a great disappointment.

I was keen to install the mixer tap in to one corner as I was anxious to see if we had the correct tap base size that prevents it from working loose.

Regardless, this is best installed before the cabinet is finally positioned as there is a lot more access room for hands before the trough is placed in to the cabinet.

Linda went to a lot of trouble to choose exactly the model that she wanted off the display shelf at Bunnings, Midland.

When we unboxed it, it turned out to be the incorrect model - she rang the store and they were prepared to courier the correct model out to Wooroloo immediately.

However, it turned out that what Linda had selected off the shelf did not in fact exist as a model - someone had mixed the bowl and the cabinet from two different models when they originally set up the display.

So we will have to wait at least a week before we obtain the correct trough.

I also found that the toilet suite that we had purchased from Bunnings last Sunday was missing a part, plus no instructions in the toilet pan box - so we will have to chase that up also.

Meanwhile, Moose, a previous Woofer, had come back to visit us for a few days.

I set him to work paving the area just outside the back door.

We need this finalised so that we will be signed off for the plumbing and be authorised for the delivery of gas bottles.

With the way that the plumbing and ground levels ended up, I was not quite sure if there was enough headroom to use ordinary red bricks as opposed to paving bricks.

So the whole exercise was a bit of an experiment to some extent.

It all worked out very well and Moose gained some new skills in the areas of surface preparation and laying pavers.