My First Bathroom Reno Is Finished!

[anawanahuanana]

Hooray!
I have finally finished my first bathroom reno. I ripped out the old en-suite months ago, and it has been in use for a while now, but only in the last couple of days have I finished all the little jobs in there. So, I have attached some pictures of my handiwork, as frankly, I'm feeling a bit proud.....

I put mosaic around the wastes for no reason other than to save me the job of cutting the floor tiles, but I actually really like it now. Unfortunately, I got a bit forgetful with the camera when I was doing the walling and tiling, but hey ho, you can see the end result.

SWMBO had a lot to fit onto the walls, so it took a bit to make it all go on!
The only thing I didn't do was the shower screen. Had that made and installed by someone who knew what they were doing.....

[anawanahuanana]

And the finished product.....

[ausdesign]

Looks good. Who's the mirror unit by ?
Now that you've finished is there anything you'd do differently ?

I'm probably going to be the only one who hasn't seen them before but I came across a square floor waste the other week - looked impressive & modern.

[OBBob]

Looks like a good job. Aren't bathrooms a pain ... you can never get the whol thing in a photo ... need a fisheye lens like the realestate agents!

[anawanahuanana]

Thanks guys.
The mirror unit is from the local Ceramic Tile Warehouse. About $115 in the sale if my memory serves me correctly.
As for things I will do differently when I do the main bathroom soon....

1: I'll not build a hob again! I found this to be a bigger job than I expected, and even though I spent ages on it, there are still a couple of tiles in the shower that water pools in. I'll be purchasing a shower tray for the main bathroom........

2: I'll screw, not nail, the villaboard sheets. The nails worked fine everywhere, except the small wall behind the toilet under the window. The vibration from nailing the board on cracked a join in the copper pipe leading to the toilet tap. Only found out the next day when the floor was a big puddle, so had to rip the new wall off, and have a plumber come round and solder the join. Fortunately it was a friend of a friend, and so he came that day after work and only charged me $50! I screwed the board on after this....

3: Wear good trousers and long sleeved top when removing tiles! I had so many small cuts on my limbs after chipping them off.

4: Buy a good quality dust/vapour mask. Although I sweated like a pig in mine, I think my lungs are worth it. Too much dust of different types to be breathing in, in my opinion.

5: If you're reusing any drain fittings from the old vanity, either don't bother, or at least buy new seals all round.

That's about it I think.

It was a whole heap of hard work, and spending such a long time in a small space like that really p*ssed me off sometimes, but I'm now a lot more confident on tackling the main bathroom.

[OBBob]

You really will find the next one easier. You will be better prepared and know what you need in advance. You'll also find that you get quicker at each of the processes and your finish will improve (if it was lacking anywhere). Good stuff!

[Bleedin Thumb]

Looks very good Anawa.......whatever.

I'll make sure my wife does see the pictures, its hard enough keeping those lifestyle mags away from her.

The bathrooms next for me, I'm afraid.

[anawanahuanana]

Thanks again guys.
To be honest, I wouldn't have even attempted it if it wasn't for the excellent advice I was given on this site.
Thanks to all those who helped me. :2tsup:

[pawnhead]

SWMBO had a lot to fit onto the walls, so it took a bit to make it all go on!Well that wall mirror of hers looks awesome, but if you hadn't put in that vanity mirror of yours there'd be more room, so stop complaining. ;)

[seriph1]

nice job! I for one, lament the loss of that swirly fake marble vanity top though......AND the Almond Ivory dunny

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[celeste]

Looks good. Who's the mirror unit by ?
Now that you've finished is there anything you'd do differently ?

I'm probably going to be the only one who hasn't seen them before but I came across a square floor waste the other week - looked impressive & modern.

Hi all
:2tsup:
Firstly, the bathroom looks excellant - cool use of mosaics.

Secondly, I spotted the square floor wastes a while back - that all I use now, so much easier cutting the tiles - I also lay my tiles so that the waste falls in the corner of a tile.

Celeste

[pawnhead]

Secondly, I spotted the square floor wastes a while back - that all I use now, so much easier cutting the tiles - I also lay my tiles so that the waste falls in the corner of a tile.

CelesteYou can also get a square smartile (http://www.blaxlandtiles.com.au/assets/images_accessories/plumbing/BLXAC11_full.jpg) from Iplex. You insert a piece of your own tile in it to give a very streamlined look to your floor. I've used them a few times.

[celeste]

You can also get a square smartile (http://www.blaxlandtiles.com.au/assets/images_accessories/plumbing/BLXAC11_full.jpg) from Iplex. You insert a piece of your own tile in it to give a very streamlined look to your floor. I've used them a few times.

Hi pawnhead

that looks cool :cool: . I think I might get me one of those. how much $

I justed finished gutting the bathroom of my latest project, so my try one.

Celeste

[pawnhead]

It's a while since I've bought one, but from memory they're comparable in price to a decent floor waste, but dearer than a cheap CP plastic one obviously. Most decent plumbing supplies stock them if you give them a call.
There's the same disadvantage with any accurately positioned waste if you want it to line up with your tile grouting. You have to be careful setting out the tile position for the plumber. It's often easier (if you've got sub floor access, and sheet flooring) to have the plumber climb under and hook it up after the tiler has set out where he wants it on the floor.

More detail here (http://www.iplex.com.au/pdf/smartile.pdf).

[Davem1]

for all inspired by your work what did it cost all up approx????

[bricks]

NIce work !

[anawanahuanana]

What did it cost? To be honest, I haven't yet added it all up. However, I still have all the receipts, so I'll do the maths when I get a chance over the next day or 2, and let you know. :D

[makka619]

I love it, look brilliant!

What is that little mirror thing next to the mirror? It's plugged in?

[seriph1]

Hi Makka - thats the base for the mirror (mirror swings out from the wall) - when SWMBO is doing makeup, she can turn the light on and illuminate her face (not recommended for Monday mornings)

[anawanahuanana]

Spot on Sepiph1!

The good lady is blind as a bat without her glasses on, and when doing her eye make up, she had to bend right over the vanity and get within a couple of inches of the mirror to see what she was doing. Nice view for me, not so nice for her....... Hence the illuminated, magnifying mirror she can now just pull out. I'm taking all my many receipts into work for the night shift tonight, so I'll put together some final figures when it's quiet, and post them on here, so you can all tell me how I could have got it done cheaper by using a tradie!:;

[anawanahuanana]

I've sat down with all the receipts I can find for the stuff I used in the bathroom, and the grand total was approx $3500. Of this almost $2000 was on the fittings, and the rest was on the wall sheets, tiles, adhesive, grout, paint, tooling etc etc. I was fortunate enough to be gifted all the waterproofing stuff except the bond breaker, so that helped a little.

As an aside, the main mirror/shelf unit was $145 from the local CTM, and the make-up mirror was purchased earlier for $180 from The Shaver Shop.

So there it is.

Now to begin the next one. This one should be easier in some ways, seeing as I have a little experience now. Although I do have to build a bath frame in the next one, which concerns me a little.

Thanks again for all your positive comments and assistance. See you back here for round 2 soon! :2tsup: