My first bathroom project

[Supercoley1]

Hello, I am just setting about doing my first full bathroom DIY job (not pro at all) and have managed to do most things through internet research etc.
The project in question is a bathroom that currently has a shower over bath, W/C, sink and a wall hung radiator. The room is approx 280cm across the breadth (window wall) and 270cm from the door to the window wall. There a dog leg to the room as the airing cupboard is set within this room into a seperate area on the left of the door.
I will be keeping these apart from the wall hung radiator which I want to remove and then put a towel radiator in another place. I don't have a problem with the plumbing and radiator aspect.
We have had the bathroom like this since we moved in 30 months ago and all we did was to change the bath taps for a shower mixer type, tile the shower area on the window and half the bath side wall (It only had a 420mm high splashback around the bath previous to this), put up a shower curtain rail and laminate the floor. Pretty basic 'quick' but ready to use. The picture below shows what this was like:

After planning to redo the bathroom we decided to do it early July and it would take a few months to complete due to the budget (Each month we can afford the 'next step')
So on 10th July we started to plan the bathroom. The W/C and sink will remain in the same place. The Bath will still be on the wall but will be moved so that each end is an equal distance from the wall. A frame will then be built around the bath so that I can tile under the rim and make it look like the bath has been 'sunken'.
The radiator which is currently on the right as you enter the bathroom will be removed and then the plumbing redone to put a towel radiator behind the door as you enter the bathroom.
The area where the bath is will be tiled in black, white and lime green inspired by a picture on Toppstiles here:
Fusion Kiwi Wall Tile | Topps Tiles
however we don't have anywhere near the budget to use those tiles and get the exact design. I have sourced some lime green, black and white tiles that are all a lot cheaper and are 150mm x 150mm. The design of this area is here (These plans are rough guides as they don't allow for grout joints. I will line them up properly when I get the tiles to gauge the number across etc when the tiles come.)
This is the 'fold out' design and what you will see facing the bath. The lime is bit bright in these pictures where the tile I have bought is more subtler more like the ones in the Toppstiles picture:

And this is the plan from above:

The green/black/white combo will only go as far as the bath surround and the rest will be plain white.
This is the lime tile I have bought. 2 boxes:
Tiles, Ceramic Tiles, Wall Tiles, Gloss Lime Green Tile
The floor will also be tiled with white 330x330 tiles. Very crisp very clean, very bright with the single 'feature' area of the bath drawing the focus.
I will update tomorrow on what I have done already.
Regards
AC

 

[david campbell]

you seem to have it well planned mate,theres a lot of work in 150mm2 tiles

 

[Mike]

Hello, I am just setting about doing my first full bathroom DIY job (not pro at all) and have managed to do most things through internet research etc.
The project in question is a bathroom that currently has a shower over bath, W/C, sink and a wall hung radiator. The room is approx 280cm across the breadth (window wall) and 270cm from the door to the window wall. There a dog leg to the room as the airing cupboard is set within this room into a seperate area on the left of the door.
I will be keeping these apart from the wall hung radiator which I want to remove and then put a towel radiator in another place. I don't have a problem with the plumbing and radiator aspect.
We have had the bathroom like this since we moved in 30 months ago and all we did was to change the bath taps for a shower mixer type, tile the shower area on the window and half the bath side wall (It only had a 420mm high splashback around the bath previous to this), put up a shower curtain rail and laminate the floor. Pretty basic 'quick' but ready to use. The picture below shows what this was like:

After planning to redo the bathroom we decided to do it early July and it would take a few months to complete due to the budget (Each month we can afford the 'next step')
So on 10th July we started to plan the bathroom. The W/C and sink will remain in the same place. The Bath will still be on the wall but will be moved so that each end is an equal distance from the wall. A frame will then be built around the bath so that I can tile under the rim and make it look like the bath has been 'sunken'.
The radiator which is currently on the right as you enter the bathroom will be removed and then the plumbing redone to put a towel radiator behind the door as you enter the bathroom.
The area where the bath is will be tiled in black, white and lime green inspired by a picture on Toppstiles here:
Fusion Kiwi Wall Tile | Topps Tiles
however we don't have anywhere near the budget to use those tiles and get the exact design. I have sourced some lime green, black and white tiles that are all a lot cheaper and are 150mm x 150mm. The design of this area is here (These plans are rough guides as they don't allow for grout joints. I will line them up properly when I get the tiles to gauge the number across etc when the tiles come.)
This is the 'fold out' design and what you will see facing the bath. The lime is bit bright in these pictures where the tile I have bought is more subtler more like the ones in the Toppstiles picture:

And this is the plan from above:

The green/black/white combo will only go as far as the bath surround and the rest will be plain white.
This is the lime tile I have bought. 2 boxes:
Tiles, Ceramic Tiles, Wall Tiles, Gloss Lime Green Tile
The floor will also be tiled with white 330x330 tiles. Very crisp very clean, very bright with the single 'feature' area of the bath drawing the focus.
I will update tomorrow on what I have done already.
Regards
AC

are you keeping the shower/mixer taps? if you have a decent boiler why not sink the pipes in the wall and fit a thermostatic shower bar? be very careful with the shelf around the bath under the shower, as it will be getting a lot of water on it. any leak would be catastrophic

 

[Supercoley1]

are you keeping the shower/mixer taps?

Yes. Budget is far too tight for a new shower system 🙂

if you have a decent boiler why not sink the pipes in the wall and fit a thermostatic shower bar?

Because this house is brick wall throughout, no stud walls. There is only a 1" plaster that
I can chisel out from.

be very careful with the shelf around the bath under the shower, as it will be getting a lot of water on it. any leak would be catastrophic

I will be tanking the shelf and all the walls around the shower (plus the floorif necessary.) I am planning on getting a longer 'hose' and positioning the shower in the centre of the wall where there is no shelf on the back wall which may help a little as hopefully the shower curtain will stop a lot of the water getting outside of the bath.

Advice and suggestions are welcome though 🙂 Will be useful to get some second opinions on most things.

AC

 

[Dave Ramsden]

Thats alot of tanking but I like your planning style.
Very well thought out!

Maybe you could keep us posted on how you get on a and follow with the final pics?!

 

[Supercoley1]

Do you think I need to tank the floor considering the shower curtain should hold the water within the bath? If I can just tank the actual bath walls and shelf that would ease the strain on the budget a little 🙂 Especially at the prices for tanking

AC

 

[Dan]

That should be fine mate yeah. No need to tank floors really unless you're creating a wetroom with no shower tray sort of thing.

 

[Supercoley1]

Great stuff. Just got to find some 'almost free' waterproofing now. lol

AC

 

[Mike]

Yes. Budget is far too tight for a new shower system 🙂
Because this house is brick wall throughout, no stud walls. There is only a 1" plaster that
I can chisel out from.
I will be tanking the shelf and all the walls around the shower (plus the floorif necessary.) I am planning on getting a longer 'hose' and positioning the shower in the centre of the wall where there is no shelf on the back wall which may help a little as hopefully the shower curtain will stop a lot of the water getting outside of the bath.
Advice and suggestions are welcome though 🙂 Will be useful to get some second opinions on most things.
AC

even with brick walls you can sink the pipes. just cut through the brick with a 4 inch grindette and chisel out. very messy job but worth it. i would do it but tape up the doorway so the dust remains local

 

[Supercoley1]

You do have the cost of a new set of taps/controls and a new shower head though 😉 Not cheap. I think it's a little too far for the budget at the mo.

The plywood and waterproofing is stretching at the mo. lol

AC

 

[Mike]

You do have the cost of a new set of taps/controls and a new shower head though 😉 Not cheap. I think it's a little too far for the budget at the mo.
The plywood and waterproofing is stretching at the mo. lol
AC

£100 would suffice for the new shower and head, would be a shame not to do it and regret it later. may be better if you could wait a bit till your budget is a bit bigger

 

[Supercoley1]

Re: My first bathroom project - Removing the old - May contain disturbing images 😱

On we go. lol:

25th July and the project became somewhat urgent. Water dripping through the kitchen ceiling and therefore the shower became unusable. We both hate baths so this project commenced earlier than expected.

For a year or so I had noticed that the original tiles (the bath splashback) sounded like they were pretty hollow and you could actually push them backward!!! The tiles I had laid above the splashback for the shower corner were still rock solid.

I set about removing the whole lot ready to re-tile. The pictures at the end tell the story but just some detail.

Behind the original tilework the previous 'tiler' had gobbed some 'hard as nails' or similar (probably sealant. lol) and then pushed some plasterboard onto it. Then the tiles were laid with the old 5 blobs method and jobs a good 'un. :mad2:

Trouble being that what I removed was wet mouldy and black plasterboard that meant the tiles came off in sections rather than individually. the grout on the rear of the tiles was not hard!!! I could use a dinner knife and slice it off in a single 'swipe'. I could have reused these BUT they were old imperial measurements and therefore a few mm larger than the 148 x 148 (150 x 150 for some retailers) that are common place these days.

So now added to the job and eating into the budget is replastering. :lol:

They had also 'bodged' the windowsill with plasterboard and that left me 2 areas at each end to sort out.

This is why I am understanding the advice on here r.e. tanking and not trying to get out of it 🙂

More to follow

Regards

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

28th I made a little 'mock up' of the bath/shower area for my wife to visualise :lol: I do get bored at nightimes :lol:

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

On the 31st July I started the 'real' work including redressing the problem previous 'tiler' had left me.

The wall had been dry for 5 days and was sprayed with some anti-mould disinfectant. So on went the plaster 🙂

I said I am not a tiler and now I will say I am not a plasterer. However this area will be tiled so I see no point in it being skimmed. Just needs to be properly mixed and be level.

While I was at it I decided to remove the skirting boards which were original so they of course took the crumbly plaster with them (old type 6" square nails into mortared in wood fillets through 60+ year old plaster isn't a good mix really.) So I replastered this too.

I already said I'm not a tiler or a plasterer and now I can say I am not a plumber either. lol.

I now turned the stop valve to the toilet, emptied the cistern removed it to the bath and then unscrewed the pan from the floor as I wanted to lift the 6mm ply the council contractors had covered the floor with. Lo and behold another plaster job appeared. The contractor had re-plastered the wall with the cistern in Situ so the wall here was a few mm set back from the rest. The old plaster around the screwholes was also crumbling away so I chipped this all out right to the brick and plastered it up.

I removed the 6mm ply and pulled up some floorboards to see where the pipes were (remember I want to move the radiator and reposition the plumbing behind the door for a towel radiator) and also where the joists were.

After making notes (marking on the walls) where the pipes and joists were I put the floorboards back down. I then walked around felling for movement and screwed down any loose floorboards. At this point I replaced the 6mm ply. Of course I have since been told I need at least 12mm ply so the 6mm ply will be coming back up not just to redirect the pipes but for good to be replaced by some 12mm. Oh happy days. lol

The floor tiling will be the last job so the 6mm floor will be used until then.

You are now up to date as it stands. The lime tiles have arrived and I am currently making the framework for the bath surround. The first tiling won't commence until at least (oh no I just saw the date) Friday 13th August as we are now waiting for the wife's payday. lol

I'll post up some pictures of the frame in the next few days when complete but it won't have an 'inner shell' because I was planning to mount 12mm chipboard on the frame and then tile. I have of course since learnt that this is a no-no. Not a problem as I was going to rob the chipboard from another project now that this project has become the priority.

Regards
AC

 

[faithhealer]

28th I made a little 'mock up' of the bath/shower area for my wife to visualise :lol: I do get bored at nightimes :lol:

AC

I think thats a first mate lol
will you do me a 'Tracy island'!

 

[White Room]

Nice chair😳

 

[andy8758]

Good to hear from you Supercoley.

My first DIY project was tiling our bathroom 10 years ago. I appreciate this is really tough for a DIYer - and I even had a brother-in-law on hand (for advice and help) who knew about plumbing and tiling (council housing maintenance). Even so, it was tough to get it right, whilst having a wife and 3 kids all wanting toilet/bath/sink/shower as well!

I have since taken up tiling as a trade - maybe you will get the bug after doing this!

Good planning, but I would not have plastered anything - probably used something like BAL's Quick Render (can tile after 3 hours - cant tile on fresh plaster for 6 weeks), although use of 12mm tile backer boards is always the best course to take if you can.

Good luck and look forward to seeing how things go for you. :welcome:

 

[Supercoley1]

I doubt I'll do it pro. lol I don't drive 🙂 Hard to get equipment and supplies to addresses on my bike :lol:

AC

 

[Time's Ran Out]

28th I made a little 'mock up' of the bath/shower area for my wife to visualise :lol: I do get bored at nightimes :lol:

AC[/QUOTE
That is a work of art.
Hope the corners line up on the real thing and start with a full tile across the middle line on the bath wall and it will give a bigger cut into the corners.
This is getting interesting.

 

[Supercoley1]

I've used the tiles (and spacers) to work out how many tiles will be needed. Works out at 12 full tiles plus just under a half tile at each side. (So just under 13 in total across the back wall)

The tiles WILL line up in the corners 😉 The walls may be a little more bowed in reality though :lol: remember I plastered most of them. Will upload some new piccies tomorrow. completed the frame today although it hasn't got it's plywood shell on yet.

AC

 

[Mike]

I've used the tiles (and spacers) to work out how many tiles will be needed. Works out at 12 full tiles plus just under a half tile at each side. (So just under 13 in total across the back wall)
The tiles WILL line up in the corners 😉 The walls may be a little more bowed in reality though :lol: remember I plastered most of them. Will upload some new piccies tomorrow. completed the frame today although it hasn't got it's plywood shell on yet.
AC

why have small ones across the back? you should be ok with 13 full ones with a little trimmed off each side

 

[Supercoley1]

you'll hate me here. lol

I want the black and green to stop level with the bath surround. From thereon the whole bathroom will be white so the bath area is a focal point if you like. Therefore to have a full tile level with the edge of the bath surround (and level with the airing cupboard door it leaves a half tile where the side wall meets the back.

Therefore I assumed it would look better if the back wall mirrors the side wall i.e. 2 half tiles meeting each other rather than a half tile meeting a full tile.

Just another idea to 'bounce off' you guys. As said before our budget won't stretch to new shower components yet, nor do I like the idea of cutting 60mm into an outer wall to fit piping and I definately don't fancy connecting to the 'council owned' combi which is serviced yearly by their contractors 😉 .

If at somepoint we want one of those large square shower heads that are ceiling mounted could I connect it up with stainless steel pipe, bent into position and fastened appropriately to the wall and ceiling like the picture below? What do you think (other than the obvious dislike of seeing pipes comments . lol) I just thought this might give us an option if we want it further down the line. Simple 15mm connector with a compression or push fit joint at either end and then 1 single steel pipe bent at the right places. Would fit the current mixer setup.

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

Sorry guys. I've answered my own question after looking at the pic a few times. I think what you would probably think and don't like the exposed pipes either. lol

I guess if I read up well (lol) I could plum a thermo shower into the combi. The wall on the left hand side of the bath as you look at it is actually the only stud wall in the house. built when they first put a boiler in there I suppose. I could link the controls through there and then lead the actual pipe to the shower through the airing cupboard ceiling along the loft floor a little and then down through the bathroom ceiling again to where the shower head would be.

As I said. Whatever route this takes (if any) it won't be for a long time. Little money and a few other projects that have had to wait now that this room has become urgent.

AC

 

[divebommer]

planing looking good just take your time and think things through before hand would like to see the finshing job thanks lee :welcome:

 

[Mike]

Sorry guys. I've answered my own question after looking at the pic a few times. I think what you would probably think and don't like the exposed pipes either. lol
I guess if I read up well (lol) I could plum a thermo shower into the combi. The wall on the left hand side of the bath as you look at it is actually the only stud wall in the house. built when they first put a boiler in there I suppose. I could link the controls through there and then lead the actual pipe to the shower through the airing cupboard ceiling along the loft floor a little and then down through the bathroom ceiling again to where the shower head would be.
As I said. Whatever route this takes (if any) it won't be for a long time. Little money and a few other projects that have had to wait now that this room has become urgent.
AC

you could put the thermostatic shower bar on the stud wall as the pipes are the other side of the wall i take it? the shower head would just come off this with a flexi pipe to the riser. this could be put on later when you have the extra funds

 

[Supercoley1]

I'm getting into the idea of the 'concealed' aspect now 🙂 I think I will go through the wall with the controls and then up through the ceiling and have the ceiling mounted square 'rainmaker' 🙂 That will be done in month 5 though :lol:

Will also keep the mixer shower where it was at the end of the bath but put a shorter flexi hose on it and then have a single holder rather than the riser bar it had before. No idea why the missus needs to take it out of the holder when it is up on the riser but I am always finding the shower head resting behind the taps. lol.

See I knew it was a good idea to go through this process with some help and advice from the pros 🙂

AC

 

[macten]

You're planning this so well mate! My only suggestion at this point is go for 18mm ply instead of 12mm on the floor. 12mm is below British Standards.
I know it's expensive and may cause height issues which is why I personally would use a 6mm cement board (buy an extra sheet or 2 and it's the perfect material to build your bath panel and shelf with as it's great to tile to and won't go soggy or mouldy in wet conditions.

 

[Supercoley1]

I've decided to change the actual tiling plan now. Rather than the lime and black lines being the whole bath area it will just be the rear wall and bath 'panel. The sides of the bath will now be completely white.

Reason : I've been measuring and drawing on the walls and with the side walls having the lines it became a third of the room rather than a focal point.

It will however mean I have some coloured tiles spare which means I can now get a little closer to the original Topps Tiles inspiration and have wider and bolder lines of lime and green. I am just drawing up a new 'perspective' of the room so I can se what it 'may' look like. Will post it up along with the shelf 'frame' that I have just uploaded. Cheers guys.

AC

 

[Supercoley1]

Quick question.

If I use Mepeigum for the tanking wil I need to 'prime' the walls first?

Also is the Mira tank tape any good? very cheap for 25m rolls.


AC

 

[united]

Quick question.
If I use Mepeigum for the tanking wil I need to 'prime' the walls first?
Also is the Mira tank tape any good? very cheap for 25m rolls.
AC

Yes prime with mapei primer g

 

[Supercoley1]

So what to do 😉

I can get a mapei waterproofing kit for £35 + shipping OR

I can get a 5kg mapegum WPS for £14 + shipping (Judging from research on this forum the waterproof kit would be 2x or so what I need

and then get a 25m roll of Mira tanking tape for £9 +shipping.

waterproof kit pros: has the primer with it. Works out cheaper

Cons : 10kg will be too much, 5m tape may not do all the corners I need.

So I know I 'can' prime the walls first. What I want to know really is do I need to.

Problem being:
Wall on left is stud and plasterboard. Back wall is render apart from the patch at bottom (where the existing 'bath' tiles were) I have plastered. The right hand wall is rendered fully.

Then we come down to the bath and shelf surround. Shelf will be ply fixed on and then tiled.

Question is do I need to prime and if so will 1 tub of primer be suitable for all the surfaces? wood, plaster, plasterboard and render?

Sounds like a large area but I am just talking about doing the walls surrounding the bath and also the shelf. Not doing lower than the bath and the side panel of the bath as it will have a U shaped curtain rail.

I am leaning a little towards 'put it up bodged and then do it properly in a year or 2 when we can afford to at the moment. I can just about afford to spend £50 on the waterproofing as I am only doing the immediate bath area this month but above that we are really struggling.

Reason I am considering 'bodge job' to last a couple of years is we have now been without shower for a month already and we both hate baths. lol Missus is 15 stone and pretty aggressive too. (Portuguese temperament to boot) lol

The reason I 'assume' the bodge will last a couple of years is that the previous non waterproofed tiling was put there by me 2½ years ago and was fine. It was the councils existing dot and dab around the lower area surrounding the bath that failed so miserably. That was done just before we moved in so nearly 3 years.

Please help me guys I want to do it properly but desperately need to get at least the shower usable this month with a stupidly tight budget. 🙂

AC