Bathroom Renovation Project

[juan]

Hi Doogie

Sorry to hear u have been unwell.

Well the bathroom is not really finished yet. The shower screen has been a nightmare. They measured and cut one panel incorrectly and I asked that it be replaced which they are currently undertaking. They have been very good indeed about it but it is taking time to do.

Bathroom is operational otherwise just chasing a few things to finish it off like another double towel rail, a wall mounted toilet brush(awaiting delivery), a small stainless steel pedal tidy bin, wall mounted soap dispensor and glass holder, wall mounted hair dryer holder and another electric toothbrush. Have not decided about leadlight panels for the window yet.

The underfloor heating looks like it is going to be a big winner from the testing I have done. I will wait until the weather chills out before giving a final verdict on that one though. Same with the heated mirror - need some cold weather to really test it out.

IXL Silhoutte is great both in terms of heat and the exhaust fan.

The Rinnai 26 plus HWS is just fantastic. I have started using this shower rather than the ensuite as I can control the temperature to perfection.

Attached are photos I have just taken 5 minutes ago.
Attachment 70405Attachment 70406Attachment 70407

I have put glad wrap on the glass screens to keep them cleaner as the small one will be chucked and the other one will be eventually treated with Enduro Shield which they kindly gave me.

Whilst everyone has differing ideas on colour schemes the bathroom functions very well and is a massive improvement over what it was originally.
All up with the new 50metre sewer run, new gas and water mains, Rinnai 26 plus HWS and bathroom fitout it will end up costing near $15,000 which was the original budget figure. My labour would be at least that again but I chose to not count that.

Cheers

[madrat]

Juan,
That looks bloody brilliant. Well done! You should be proud.
I have been following your thread, because we are yet to get to our bathrooms and was very keen to see how you went.
The colour scheme is almost exactly what we were looking at, so to see it all put together is great! Looks pretty stylish.
Once again, brilliant job!

[Dirty Doogie]

Hey thats Cool Juan! Looks great!

I like the wall hung timber vanity - ties in with the window frame and the darker tiles. Excellent - but I had bit of chuckle at all the electrical switches - you being a sparky and all LOL!

Shower screens can often go horribly wrong during installation - it has happened to me nearly everytime - and all those little extra bits like shelves and holders take ages to happen.

So now you've finished - What is the next project??

doog

Ps did you ever try any of those self cleaning glass treatments ??

My current project has a "polished" glass in it and the installer warned against using normal soap in the shower - but of course I did use normal soap and now its eaten the polish away GRR! - Not really noticeable until you come to clean it and then you find the glass doesnt sparkle as much as areas around.

[juan]

Thanks for the kind words Madrat and Doogie.

I have the Enduro Shield treatment but will wait till all the glass panels are installed and the shower complete in about 3 weeks and seal it all in one go. That is why I covered the panel with glad wrap - to keep it clean for the installer to silicone seal it and also to make the application of the Enduro Shield treatment easier.

Yeah there are 3 double power points in the bathroom but there are hair dryers, electric toothbrush, heated towel rails which will use 3 GPOs permanently.

Next project will be upgrading the ensuite. Everything in same locations just retile and some new fittings.

Cheers

[madrat]

Next project will be upgrading the ensuite. Everything in same locations just retile and some new fittings.

Cheers

Any chance you will be posting 'as you go pictures' with the ensuite?
Definitely interested in that one too (we too have 'ensuite' on our to do list).

[wonderplumb]

Well done juan, looks the goods mate.

[juan]

Did not plan to publish the ensuite reno Madrat but I will take some pics and post them some time. Not sure when I will get started but it will not be until all the fiddly bits are 100% complete on this one. It is too easy to end up with a series of unfinished symphonies.

cheers

[zacnelson]

Juan, thanks for sharing the latest updated pictures. I too have been keenly following your progress for months and was blown away by the finished job. I particularly like the choice of vanity unit; I love the large profile on the white basin/benchtop part.

I'm amazed that the whole thing cost only $15k. I'm assuming this also includes the cost of the brickwork, the floor slab, rendering, plastering etc also. Do you or anyone else have any idea what the whole thing would have cost if you did none of it yourself? I imagine over $50k?

Did you install the shower screen yourself? How much did it cost? I recently installed a 1200mm x 1000mm frameless 10mm shower screen in my bathroom (pics will be up in a week or two) and it was very very difficult; the largest piece of glass (1200mm x 2100mm) weighed over 100kg! I had to get 2 friends to help me lift it. Making all the fine adjustments to get all the pieces perfectly level with each other and the gaps perfect was a hell of a job.

[juan]

Hi Zac

I am not installing the shower screen myself but am getting it done through a friend of a friend. I also had assistance with plumbing and a plasterer who charged me $500 to plaster inside and also outside of window.

This was a significant project and apart from the above, I did all the work myself which kept costs low. In reality I suspect most people would not want 6 months of major disruption and may not have the time to do all the work themselves. Half the work is chasing cheap prices on things and asking for help on this forum. The help I received from stalwarts like Doogie, Bricks, Mid C, Wonderplumb and many others was incredible and I thank them for it.

I suspect had I shopped around I would have paid around $45K to have it all done by professionals. It certainly would have been less painful but I do not think I would have got a better job done.

Cheers

[patty]

Absolutley brilliant Juan good job !!

[Border boy]

Great job Juan,
I have been a silent follower of this great thread for some time now. I did a bathroom reno at our place about 18 months ago. Gained a heap of how to info from these forums. My reno didn't involve the structural stuff that yours has, but it did involve gutting, resheeting, waterproofing,tiling, instalation of frameless shower screen which I did & outsourced sparky & plumber. I have to compliment you on the style that you have gone for - see pic.
Cheers & enjoy your new room.

[juan]

A beautiful job you have done there Border Boy. A lot of similarities in colours and fittings to ours. Did you seal the glass panels on the shower? Are they difficult to keep clean?

Cheers

[Border boy]

Thanks Juan,
yes, very similar. By sealing do you mean where the glass joins the floor & walls? I ran a bead of neutral cure clear silicone along these joins after masking with some tape. The shower isn't hard to keep clean using one of the many glass cleaning products on the market.
Cheers.

[juan]

I had done some reading about this product http://www.enduroshield.com/products...for-glass.html and I have been given a kit to try out. It seals the glass only although they have a product for tiles as well. The installer will seal the glass to the tiles when the incorrectly cut panel is replaced.

Apparently glass has a semi porous surface which is why the water and gunge adheres to the glass. This invisible treatment seals the pores and the water runs off leaving just a few beads thus eliminating 90% of the cleaning. It is just rubbed onto the inside of the shower screen glass. They claim it lasts up to 10 years before you recoat it. I will try it out and give some feedback later.

It seems you had a window above the old sink/vanity unit. Did you close it over? as I can not see it in the renovation photo. I reckon a large Velux Electric Skylight in your bathroom would look a $1M. I had originally planned to put one in then changed my mind and moved the window. http://www.velux.com.au/inspiration/...oom/bathrooms/

cheers

[Border boy]

Hi Juan,
sounds like an interesting product - look forward to your feedback. Yes I closed the window, it used to look out onto a back veranda, which was enclosed by previous owners - so no light/ view at all. Those skylights do look good - maybe a future project.
Cheers.