Managed to get out there by 7.00 am on Saturday morning.

The first job was to cut back the grouting haze on the tiles after Steve had grouted for us on Tuesday.

Following his instructions I made up a 1 to 15 solution of hydrochloric acid and scrubbed it in to the tiles with a stiff broom.

Then I mopped off with fresh water and threw a couple of buckets of water on to the floor.

This was to rinse it off even further and check that the floor drains correctly.

Next, on to the shower wall.

I needed to spend a fair bit of time working out the tile positions using a spirit level for both the horizontal and vertical grid.

Basically, I stood a full tile up, on top of a spacer, outside the hobb and followed that level all the way around inside the hobb space.

I then had to cut the first row of tiles exactly to size and with just the right taper across the bottom edge of each tile.

Each tile needed to be individually measured, marked, cut and tested.

It must have taken me at least two hours to complete the first row.

The subsequent rows were simple but still probably took about an hour each.

In many placed I needed thin metal shims in addition to the standard spacers in order to achieve standard horizontal edges.

Even on these simpler rows there were still two tiles that needed customisation.

Also, about an hour after laying each row, I needed to scrape the adhesive out of the grout tracks and to wipe all the tile adhesive off the faces of the tiles.

I have found that the flexible (rubberised) tile cement is a lot more difficult to clean off the next day than is the plain cement adhesive.

The tap holes and soap holder were additional complications.

I managed to install five rows - another two to go, next weekend.