Table Of Contents
Home Renovations Involving Your Bathroom
What are the requirements to do a bathroom renovation? How do you choose the right design? In what order should you do your bathroom renovations? Questions like these might make the process of redesigning a bathroom appear daunting. But don't panic; you can tackle it one step at a time.
Continue reading for a summary of the steps to remodel your bathroom. This post will cover how to plan for bathroom renovations and how to create a DIY bathroom renovation checklist and timetable. It will also look at bathroom renovation expenses as well as some top tips for renovating your bathroom. Finally, you will uncover the benefits of hiring professional bathroom installers.
How To Prepare For A Bathroom Renovation
Choosing the proper bathroom design is the first step in preparing to renovate your bathroom. Most people prefer DIY bathroom renovations; however, hiring experienced bathroom fitters is an excellent idea because they can come equipped with fantastic bathroom design ideas.
This includes suggestions for lighting, electrical outlet arrangement, skylight or window positioning, and cabinet installation. It can be difficult and expensive to install recessed shelves, so this is a crucial step, more so if you are running on a tight budget.
In addition, you should consider preparing a bathroom renovation checklist. This will help you manage activities that relate to renovating your bathroom. Furthermore, you may need council approval for home renovations.
The Order To Do Your Bathroom Renovations
You can break down the bathroom remodelling process into five key steps. These steps include:
Deciding what to change
Inspect your current bathroom. What are some of the elements you would like to change? There are many modifications you can do to improve the look of your bathroom. Perhaps you don't require the bath as much as you thought. Consider converting that space into a walk-in shower.
Similarly, you could convert unused space into a free-standing bath if your bathroom is large. Noting down your bathroom renovation ideas and essentials can also help you figure out how much money you need to achieve what you want.
Outlining your budget
Outline the essential cost of your bathroom makeover and transform it into a workable budget. Wall and floor coverings, light fixtures and ventilation, sanitary ware, and furnishings are all costs to consider. You must include labour costs for plumbers, electricians, fitters, and decorators in your budget.
Remember to factor in the size, the scope of the job, and the quality of the materials.
Choosing the right design
Your budget should take into account your bathroom design and finishing touches. So, pick a colour scheme, wall and floor coverings, lighting, sanitary ware, and fitted furniture. Consider heating and ventilation as well.
Here are some beneficial tips to assist you with this step:
Colour scheme
A good colour scheme can improve the mood and tone of your bathroom. Use bright colours like orange, yellow, and green, for example, to improve your mood. Lighter colours, such as white and beige, can also be used to create a relaxing atmosphere.
Whatever colour scheme you choose, ensure that all design components complement one another. For example, if you paint your bathroom walls a soft blue colour, it should not clash with other elements of the room.
Sanitary ware
Visualise what your bathroom will look like when it is done before purchasing sanitary ware. Visit a bathroom showroom to get a feel for how each component will fit into your new decor. This allows you to determine whether the showers, shower stalls, bathtubs, basins, and WCs (water closet) complement one other visually.
For example, the type of shower you select will impact your plumbing design. You can use a rain shower, a dual shower system, or a showerhead.
Wall and floor covering
Standard wall boards, bathroom tiles, and vinyl flooring are excellent choices. Additionally, mosaic tiles are another fantastic alternative. Some people prefer acrylic wallboards or glass tiles. Talk to your bathroom designer if you want to know whether these are suitable for high-shine wall coverings.
Lighting
A bathroom designer can advise you on the best type of lighting to install. The quantity of natural light that enters your bathroom through the windows influences the choice of light.
You can choose between task lighting, downlights, and ceiling lights. Task lights are used to brighten specific areas of your space. Ceiling lights give general illumination, whereas downlights are typically used to highlight bathroom features and provide ambient lighting.
Fitted furniture
Wall cabinets, vanity and storage cabinets, recessed fitted furniture, and bathroom wall recesses are all ideal storage solutions. They can assist you in making the most of the available space. Some people install these to add privacy to their bathroom.
Heating and ventilation
Use underfloor heating and heated towel rails to warm up your bathroom space. Underfloor heating works well in bathrooms that have tile flooring. Proper ventilation is also another vital element to add to your bathroom. Components you can add to ensure adequate ventilation include humidistat fans.
Demolishing the old bathroom
If you decide to engage a professional, have them begin the demolition process as soon as possible. Demolition may entail tearing down the existing bathroom suite, including the walls and floor coverings.
Remove any fixtures that will be replaced while you demolish your old bathroom if it is a full remodelling. Avoid plumbing problems by draining and removing the toilet. Remove the bathroom tiles before removing the bathtub, then take out your shower screen.
Other fixtures to remove include vanity cabinets, wall tiles, and floor tiles. If you install new floor tiles, you may keep your floor tiles and other fixtures nearby. This will make it easier to access them later. Remember to use a protective film to cover your bathroom doorway. Also, provide a skip to assist in the removal of unwanted waste.
Installing a new bathroom
Once you remove the elements you want to change, the next step is installing new features. Installing a new bathroom will include:
- Fixing plumbing and electrical components.
- Covering your walls with new tile or wallboards.
- Covering the floors with new floor tiles such as mosaic tile or vinyl flooring.
- Installing sanitary ware and fitted furniture, including toilets, shower screen, taps, mixers, towel rails, and toilet roll holders. Ensure you position these fixtures so that they are within easy reach.
- Adding finishing touches such as mirrors and bathroom accessories like toilet rolls.
DIY Bathroom Renovation Checklist And Timeline
DIY bathroom renovations may be a less expensive alternative for you because you will pay very little for labour. You may further reduce the project's cost by using low-cost components such as reasonably priced bathroom tiles. If you embark on an extensive renovation job, you may want assistance.
This might entail engaging a structural builder, a cabinet maker, a carpenter, a tiler, a painter, a plumber, and an electrician. Check to see whether they are licensed. Bathroom renovations typically take one to two months. Continue reading to understand the usual schedule and requirements for the bathroom remodelling.
A typical schedule
- The first step is stripping-out, which might take two to three days.
- The builder does structural work, and the time will vary according to the extent of work.
- The carpenter makes relevant modifications. The duration for this will depend on the scale of the renovation.
- Some plumbing work on pipes and drainage is done. It would take roughly one day if you did not strip the plumbing (bath, shower, vanity cabinet).
- The electrician does some wiring work. The plumber and electrician can work simultaneously.
- Work is done to prepare the floor and walls. The tiler can take up to two days.
- The waterproofing membrane can take up to five days to cure.
- After waterproofing, you will install the free-standing bath once the tiling of the floor is complete.
- If necessary, the cornice moulding is installed.
- It can typically take up to a full week to install floor-to-ceiling tiles. If you wish to paint the walls and ceiling, do the ceiling first. This is the point at which grouting is also done.
- The shower screen installer takes measurements of the shower enclosure space.
- The vanity and storage cabinets are installed. This could take between one and three days. Custom-made vanity cabinets should be ordered beforehand so that they are available for installation when needed.
- While the plumber and electrician perform fit-outs, you can get the free-standing bath installed. This stage of the renovation can last up to three days.
- After that, you can get the shower screen, mirrors, and accessories installed.
- End your bathroom renovation with inspection and cleaning.
The primary tools
For the sake of personal safety and efficiency, make sure you have the following essential tools as you do your DIY bathroom renovation; extension cord, safety mask, gloves, tape measure, goggles, chisel, and hammer.
You may also need a flathead screwdriver, pry bar, stud finder, utility knife, silicone sealant, and a caulking gun. Other tools that might be useful include an adjustable wrench, power drill, hacksaw, and spackle.
A cordless drill and a wet-dry shop-vac also work efficiently. Add them to your must-have list of equipment. Rent from a home improvement store if you don't have these tools.
Bathroom Renovation Cost
Your goal might be to update just the fixtures and tiling in your bathroom. Alternatively, you might go for a complete bathroom remodel to update your hot water system. Whichever the case, the cost of remodelling your bathroom will influence how much renovation you can do.
Bathroom renovations typically cost between $10,000 and $30,000 AUD, depending on the amount of work required. This figure does not include the 15% to 20% that you should set aside for unforeseen contingencies and unexpected changes in costs.
Tips For Renovating Your Bathroom
- Drywall mud and tape are great options for covering seams and filling in gaps.
- Cement boards are an excellent alternative to drywall for use in the shower/tub wall.
- Redgard or some other waterproofing membranes are excellent coating materials for cement boards. They help prevent water damage.
- Provide clear documentation of your plans to plumbers and other professionals in your team. This will help them generate accurate costs.
- Keep the contact information of your contractors handy; you might need them in the future. This is especially important where most of the work is under warranty. Call them if an issue arises so that the experts can fix it urgently.
- Perform regular preventive maintenance. For example, clean fixtures periodically. Also, invite a plumber promptly whenever leaks or drainage issues arise.
Hire Expert Bathroom Fitters
Now that you know how a bathroom renovation is structured, what order to do your bathroom renovations, the checklist and timeline, tips, and associated costs, you might choose a DIY bathroom renovation option. However, seeing as it is a very frequently used space, it deserves a professional touch.
You would not want mistakes made during the installation of any element of your bathroom. Errors are very likely to occur during a DIY renovation. You can benefit significantly from the professional design advice and services of an expert bathroom fitter. They know how to fit components, but they also have ideas they can share to ensure your renovation is done correctly and at no extra cost to you.
You can discuss bathroom requirements, the correct order to renovate your bathroom, and budget-friendly bathroom renovation options. All these while having access to competent, licensed, and qualified building and construction professionals.
Gregory Built
