What happens when you renovate a bathroom?

15 Jun What happens when you renovate a bathroom?

Having been in construction for over 30 years, I’ve found that bathrooms are one of the most popular renovation projects of the home. It makes sense as it’s one of the most commonly used areas of the house, it’s prone to getting water damage and is a simple and effective way to modernise your home without breaking the bank. 

If you’re considering a bathroom renovation, we take a look at all the ins and outs, what you can expect and how to make the process run as smoothly as possible. 

Before you start talking to renovation companies or knocking down walls, plan, plan then plan some more!

This is where the 7 P’s come into play… Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. When it comes to any renovation project, the more planning you can do before the first tool makes its way into your home, the better chance you have of getting what you want. 

Start with why you’re renovating your bathroom

The best advice we can give is figure out why you’re renovating your bathroom in the first place. Is it because your bathroom is old, tired and needs updating before you sell or are you going for the bathroom of your dreams? Your reasons for renovating your bathroom can change the way you approach it. For example, you may be a huge fan of the quaint, country look for tiles and bathroom accessories, but the location of your home and the types of customers potentially buying your house may skew towards a younger market that are looking for a more modern, simple approach to a bathroom. 

You may have always dreamt of having a stand alone, antique, clawfoot bathtub but the several thousand dollar price tag may put you off a little if you’re working to a budget. 

Take a look at what’s available

Planning can be as simple as visiting several stores that sell bathroom accessories and getting a feel for what you want or visiting websites that have the types of baths, vanities and showers you like to get a feel for pricing and specs, etc. 

Talk with a professional about what’s possible

Once you’ve got a fairly good idea of what you want in terms of look, feel, type and style of bathroom, it’s now time to talk with a professional about what’s possible. Remember that a professional will be able to give you multiple options when it comes to bathroom layouts and also give you advice and ideas you may not have thought about. 

Areas to think about

There are a few key areas to think about when considering a bathroom renovation. Sometimes people just want their shower tray and cubicle replaced, other times it’s a complete teardown and renovation. In general there are some consistent areas that people will have renovated when remodelling a bathroom. These include:-

• Shower
• Bath
• Cabinets & storage
• Lighting
• Electrical work (heat lamps, electrical outlets, etc)
• Windows
• Skylight placement
• Colour scheme
• Fixtures

Now that you’ve planned your bathroom renovation, it’s time to talk with a professional renovation company

There are a few different ways you can approach renovating your bathroom. There’s always the DIY route, but we’re assuming if you’ve landed on our website, that’s probably not the avenue you’re going to go down. 

The next option is to hire separate contractors for each element of the renovation. This can sometimes work out well, but more often than not it will cause more problems than it solves as not everyone will be on the same page when it comes to install times, what’s needed and when, and the overall progress of the renovation. 

We recommend talking with a professional bathroom renovation company that will do everything for you. This means each tradesperson will be answerable to a project manager who will not only keep your renovation moving, but be able to coordinate materials, tradespeople and timings to help reduce the time it takes to get your bathroom renovation completed. 

Once you’ve spoken to a couple of different companies and made your choice on who you’re going to engage for your bathroom renovation, it’s time to start!

Now it’s time for your renovation to begin!

Now that you’ve planned your bathroom renovation, chosen your contractors and are ready for your renovation, here’s a rough idea of what will happen. 

1. Tear down – This is where we take out all the old fittings, strip down tiles and walls and gut your bathroom. This can take 2-5 days.
2. Structural work and water damage – Now we can see what we’re working with. We will evaluate what structural work needs to be done and if there’s any water damage to contend with. This will vary from days to weeks depending on what we find.
3. Plumbing – Once structural repairs are completed, plumbing can be redirected (if you’re moving the positions of showers and baths, etc) or repaired/replaced if plumbing is old and requires replacing. 
4. Electricals – Once the plumbing has been repaired or moved, electrical work can begin making sure your wiring is up to code and will enable you to have powerpoints and light switches where you need them. 
5. Tiling – Now that electrical and plumbing is in, the tiler can make a start preparing the room for tiling. This is usually done on both the floor and walls and can take 1-2 days. The actual tiling will typically happen later. 
6. Water-proofing – We want to avoid any water damage in your new bathroom so waterproofing membranes will be installed in your new bathroom renovation.
7. Cornice and mouldings – Typically we will look at installing new cornice and mouldings if we’re replacing the ceiling (which we almost always do).
8. Tiling, painting and grout – Now the bones of your bathroom renovation are taking shape, it’s time for our tilers and painters to work their magic. This can take anywhere from a day or two to a few weeks, depending on the amount of work needed to be completed. 
9. Shower installation – Once tiling and painting is completed, we can make a start on installing your new screens and shower enclosure.
10. Storage, vanity and cupboards – After we’ve installed your shower enclosure, we move onto installing new vanities, cabinets and any additional storage you may have included in your renovation. 
11. Fit Out – Now your renovation project will really start looking like a bathroom and our plumbers and electricians can start adding things like taps, light switches, mirrors, etc.
12. Final cleanup and inspection – The moment you’ve been waiting for. Everything is in and we make sure it’s all working in tip-top shape so you can enjoy your new bathroom renovation for many years to come.

We hope this timeline gives you a clearer idea of what happens in a bathroom renovation and will help you to plan your future renovation with ease. Remember if you would like to talk with us about bathroom renovations, please feel free to contact us on 0481 536 900.