It Looks Like I’ll be Starting the Bathroom Floor Tomorrow

I Must Have Done Something Bad in a Past Life

After a few days of trying and failing miserably, I finally managed to make it to B&Q to get the bits I’ll need for the bathroom floor. I bought two packs of laminate, a pack of insulation, a couple of jigsaw blades, and an extension reel—it all came to around £150. I’m beginning to think I should open a DIY shop; I could be raking the money in!

There was one fly in the ointment: B&Q no longer sells the laminate I have left over from the kitchen and hallway. I’ve gone with a slightly different color for these two new packs, and I plan to alternate them to create a pattern. I’ll see how it looks once I get started and make a decision then.

I’m really not looking forward to this. The kitchen and hall were simple because they were basically square, but the bathroom means cutting around the sink and toilet. I tend to accidentally snap blades when using a jigsaw, so it's not my favorite tool.

Smart Home Experimentation

For the rest of today, I’m going to try and convince Abi to let me buy some smart plugs from Amazon. The great thing about these is that I can flash the firmware using Tuya-Convert to control them over MQTT, making them an easy integration into Home Assistant. I’m looking forward to experimenting with Home Assistant properly, rather than just using my existing HomeKit-enabled Hue bulbs.

Tips for Your DIY Projects

Since you asked for some help, here are a few things to keep in mind for your bathroom flooring and smart home setup:

• Jigsaw Tips:
• • Blade Choice: Always use a fine-toothed blade (higher TPI, between 10–24) to reduce splintering.
  • Direction of Cut: Because jigsaws typically cut on the upstroke, place your laminate face-down to prevent the decorative surface from chipping. Alternatively, apply a strip of masking tape over your cut line before you saw.
  • Technique: Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the board. Keep the footplate flat against the material at all times to prevent it from "running away" or vibrating excessively.
• Smart Home & MQTT:
• • Tuya-Convert: This is a fantastic tool for flashing Tasmota firmware over the air, but it only works on older devices with specific Wi-Fi chips. Before you buy, check the Tasmota Template repository to see if other users have successfully flashed the specific model you're looking at.
  • MQTT Integration: Once flashed with Tasmota, you'll need an MQTT broker (like Mosquitto) installed in Home Assistant. Configure your plug's MQTT settings to point to your Home Assistant's IP, and use the SetOption19 0 command in the Tasmota console to enable auto-discovery. It will then show up in your Home Assistant integrations automatically!

I’ll let you know in a future post if I manage to get the flooring done or the smart plugs set up. What DIY projects have you put off lately? Do you have any other tips for cutting around tricky bathroom obstacles? Let me know in the comments below!