Diy Bathroom.

andrew-b

Indeed patience and lots of time..just remember Rome wasn't built in a day - neither was our bathroom! I think i actually started DIYing our bathroom in summer 2008 and it's not yet finished (mainly decorating to go) - though i haven't really been putting the hours in - if i had i'd have finished long ago!
Although all of it is quite easily done even for the first-timer like me it would be foolish to say it will all go to plan! Property refurbs are never like that! There is always problems to catch you out that you won't know about beforehand.
For example i removed the old toilet to find a hole in the floor (old soil pipe workings) underneath that had been badly filled..what became a simple job of replacing the toilet took much longer as i then had to stop and fill the hole and let cement dry before i could screw the new toilet into it (quick-dry cement saved the day!). WC was still in within a day. No need for second bogs..an old P(ee)VA pot is good enough!:rotfl:

If you DIY it there will be days you wished you'd never started! But ride 'em out and keep going! Plenty of time required, lots of research, lots of shopping around for the best deals. Oh and alternative showering/bathing arrangement are a bonus! Months i spent shaving and cleaning teeth at the kitchen sink!
At what cost? Time and less than £3k in our case..and that's not just a straight swap as everything except toilet soil pipe had to be replumbed! To pay someone to do the lot including tiling, decorating etc your likely talking 2 to 3 times that! Thats for quality gear though for a shower room . Don't be fooled into thinking small bathrooms are easier than a big bathroom - they aren't!
Anyways good luck..and i look forward to all the DIY bathroom questions!

DIY it you know it makes sense!!

punknzippy

Canucklehead wrote: »

With advice like that I wouldn't let you near a bathroom refit.:rolleyes:
The bath has a built in fall.

OP. Sometimes the tiles come off clean, sometimes it takes it back to the brickwork.

GSR.

yes i know baths have a built in fall , a slight fall (literally a fall as in just out of level towards the plug end)as i was told by a plumber helps though , i never had any problems with my bath refit ....
sorry for passing on what i thought was helpful information and didnt cause me any problems

latecomer

digiman97 wrote: »

Hello,

i would get a professional in to do any tiling as this will be a neater job than you could ever do,

Maybe if you are extremely lucky this might be the case. Most tiling jobs I've seen done by professionals are good, very few are great. I'm not saying they dont have the skill to do a great job, just that the price they can charge doesn't generally allow for it

amarg

This shows how to replace a bathroom and the step involved- fitting a bathroom it doesn't show how to fit the bath though.

I,M_SAD

Thank you all so much for your replies,I am very chuffed so many of you took the time to post.
Rather ironically my flush to the toilet packed up yesterday,had trouble locating a replacement as the hole in cistern is small hence not standard size,anyway finally tracked one down ,have fitted it,but the toilet still won,t flush,can,t understand why,there is no stopcock in bathroom,so water not turned off but then that made me wonder where the stopcock is in bathroom,have checked under bath,etc,guess I am having an introduction to plumbing quicker than anticipated!!!

thechippy

How did you change the part in the cistern without turning the water off?

I,M_SAD

I changed the lever with water in cistern.
I did,nt realise how the isolation valve worked,I do now!!
I have to take the cistern off the wall to get at the syphon which may be why the flush isn,t working still,am a bit nervous and will take my time and have started to read a lot about plumbing which is a good thing,think just starting on this flush is no bad thing for now.

noxon

Using the Collins DIY manual someone else recommended and an older version of the Wickes Good Ideas leaflet linked to below I completely refitted a small bathroom myself as I only had £300 available to cover suite, plumbing, flooring etc. As it was a budget overhaul I decided not to retile completely and just cleaned and repaired the grouting, redid the sink splashback and replaced some tiles that got broken when I was removing the bath. That was only an option as I had a box of the original tiles that the previous owner had left behind and they weren't too hideous.

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Good-Idea-Leaflets/Good-Idea-Leaflets/pcat/122newbedroom

(I know the link says "bedroom", it's wrong)

I,M_SAD

Hello,on taking the cistern off the wall the wing nut was jammed solid which attatches to the toilet bowl,gave it a good bang and I have cracked the bowl where the hole is,so only have a hole one side of bowl.

Is there anyway to salvage the loo or will I have to buy a new one,I have put it all back together minus the one screw but it leaks on flushing.
On a positive note the new diaphragm worked!!I feel so frustrated as I just couldnt shift the wing nut,tried every which way.

Anybody else done this or is it a case of bite the bullet and buy a new toilet bowl.
Thank you.

themanbearpig

We've not quite finished, just a few little things left, but I did a semi-diy bathroom refit.

The whole room before was stripped right down to the brickwork where the tiles were (dot and dab concrete fix courtesy of 1970s Hofton builders!).
I stripped the room, toilet, sink etc which was easy...and then got individual tradesman to do the electrics, plumbing and tiling. I did the joinery and decorating. I have no experience of DIY or refurbishment, so if I can do it, you can!
Lots of problems along the way, but luckly I had good tradesman who were happy to give advise. I also got "free" advise from the tradesman that gave me quotes, which helped me out a lot!


We went for a fairly low-end bathroom, all the work and materials from the before to the after pics cost £1600 in total. The suite is armitage shanks sandringham, and the bath screen is from ebay (amazing quality for the price)
Got a bargain bristan thermostatic mixer worth £450 for £50 on ebay too.

BEFORE:





AFTER