Order of work in a bathroom. Is this right please?

Penny_Farthing_2

Hi
Could someone in the know please check this to see if I've got this right. The quote to do numbers 2 to 8 from my usual builder was higher than I expected so I'm going to do it bit by bit.

1 strip walls/vinyl floor (me)
2 chase out for electrics (me - mates rates electrician is away for 3 weeks)
3 take out loo and sink (me and shower already gone)
4 Plaster walls and ceiling (plasterer)
5 put waterproofing on walls in shower cubicle area (me)
6 tile floor and area for corner shower (tiler)
7 put in loo sink shower and replacement radiator (plumber)
8 electrician fits ceiling light/extractor fan above shower/shaver socket and wall light

I know a good electrician/ plasterer/ tiler but does anyone know a plumber in Cardiff who won't break the bank please?

sparkiedave

schedule looks ok, but tiling is usually done after the shower tray is in, but before the screen is fitted

Penny_Farthing_2

Thanks Sparkiedave. Does that mean the tiler has to come in twice - once for the floor, then, after the shower tray has been fitted he comes in again for the wall? Or does the tray go in then the fllor and walls in shower are done - sorry to be thick

Tucker

I fitted the resin tray as it usually goes on a bed of waterproof mortar. Then you can seal the tray at the back and then tile down to it and do the floor and then seal tray again (tiles to tray, creates a double seal).

Incidentally, the plastering of the walls may not be needed if you are tiling the whole lot. Just treat the plaster board with a primer and tile straight onto that. That's all I did.

A plasterer friend of mine said he gets asked to do loads of bathrooms prior to tiling ans says it pretty pointless as the adhesive is only stuck to a 2 or 3mm skim of plaster. It sticks far better direct to the board.

Penny_Farthing_2

Our walls aren't plasterboarded, Tucker. They are bricks then render then plaster I think (1930s). I've been having a look online and I think maybe this
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/79333/Bathrooms-Showers/Bathroom-Sealants/Dunlop-Shower-Waterproofing-Kit
could go on the plaster. By the looks of it, there was water getting behind the tiles as the plaster was a bit flakey and white there, but not in the rest of the room.

So just to check - you don't have floor tiles going a bit under the shower tray, then - they just butt up to it?

blackshirtuk

Penny_Farthing wrote: »

So just to check - you don't have floor tiles going a bit under the shower tray, then - they just butt up to it?

Correct, fit the tray then tile:T

Penny_Farthing_2

Now you know why I'm not doing too much DIY on this Blackshirt - I really AM that clueless!

Tucker

In that case ignore me..... plasterer is needed to obtain a nice even surface.

There's only one way to find out and learn and that's to have a go. The smart way is to find out first and ask questions.

The not so smart way is to blast ahead and do it wrong, then waste time and effort getting it right.

I've done both!

No questions a daft one if you learn from it.

Yooj_2

You mentioned chasing out for electrical cables, but not pulling in the cables...when would this happen in the schedule? Additionally, will cabling be sealed in the walls before your spark comes to connect up, or is the spark pulling in cables, and then coming back to connect? Is sparky providing you with Part P certs, as this is definately under Part P of the Building Regs?

What type of tiles are you using, as plaster only have a 20Kg/Mtr square weight bearing.

Yooj

Penny_Farthing_2

Yikes Yooj - I don't know about pulling in cables. He's a proper electrician and I'm sure the certs will be provided. We will be leaving this house in long wooden boxes, though. Tricky part is that he's on holidays for 3 weeks and I wouldn't dream of ringing him while he's away. We only found out yesterday that the quote from the builder for everything was too high.

One cable for the existing shaver socket/light combo is already in place. Could he run a shaver socket (fitted to the wall and accessed from the inside of a bathroom cupboard) and a wall light from that cable? Or would he need to 'find' another cable from somewhere? All the cable will run in the wall behind wall cupboards except for maybe 8 inches which would run horizontally in the wall from behind the cupboard to the wall light. So it might be ok to let the plasterer/tiler/plumber do their jobs and just patch over as neatly as possible when the electrician has been. The ceiling extractor fan over the shower should be ok to fit after plaster?

Tiles are these
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9415293&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatal!!!1%2fen_GB&fh_search=sicily+tile&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1279614180717&isSearch=true
and they weigh 1.9kg each

Yooj_2

Penny_Farthing wrote: »

One cable for the existing shaver socket/light combo is already in place. Could he run a shaver socket (fitted to the wall and accessed from the inside of a bathroom cupboard) and a wall light from that cable? Or would he need to 'find' another cable from somewhere?

I am assuming from the above, that you are doing away with the light/shaver combo, and putting in separate shaver and wall light?..If so, my preference would be to have a cable per item, rather than looping the feeds from elsewhere...

Penny_Farthing wrote: »

All the cable will run in the wall behind wall cupboards except for maybe 8 inches which would run horizontally in the wall from behind the cupboard to the wall light. So it might be ok to let the plasterer/tiler/plumber do their jobs and just patch over as neatly as possible when the electrician has been.

Yes, this is possible as long as you do not mind the additional aggro of re-patching nicely finished plaster.

Alternatively, you could run plastic conduit (see here for example) from the ceiling in all of the chases that you have made...Assuming that all the feeds come from the loft. If you do this, to make the sparks life easier and keep costs down, also drill/chase a hole into the loft. If you do this though, beware any pipework and cables in the loft, as you would not want to damage anything up there....As long as you proceed with care, you should be fine. Also, make sure that you ask plasterer not to plaster over the end of the conduit where the cable would exit the wall, as the spark will need to know where this is.

On an electrical note, are all of your electrical circuits in the house covered by an RCD. You will need to check this at the consumer unit...If not, then you will probably need to run a supplementary bond (4 mm earth cable) to things like you radiator and copper pipework in the bathroom...Again, something that you would want to do prior to plastering.

Penny_Farthing wrote: »

The ceiling extractor fan over the shower should be ok to fit after plaster?

Yep, should be fine.

Penny_Farthing wrote: »

Tiles are these
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9415293&fh_view_size=10&fh_location=%2f%2fcatal!!!1%2fen_GB&fh_search=sicily+tile&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=search&ts=1279614180717&isSearch=true
and they weigh 1.9kg each

It is very tight to the 20Kg/Sq-Mtr when you add together the tiles, adhesive and grout...The reality is they they will likely be fine.

It is up to you whether you broach this with the tiler, as they would likely then say that you have to do away with the plaster skim and go for bare plasterboard, or aquaboard or whatever, which would add to your costs...Has your tiler seen the tiles and the tiling surface yet?

Yooj