Small Bathroom Ideas

chrisb1357

Hi all,

We live in a council flat that has a small bathroom which is around 2m x 3m in size that has a bath, basin and toilet (No shower). The room also has a EnviroVent Exractor fan and heating is from a single radiator as we had a condensation issue before the exractor was fitted.

The previous tenant had used wall paper and a 2 layer of tiles around the bath and basin. We removed the paper a few months back and left the tiles in place so we could see if any mould was present and none was found and we have not had a mould issue where the paper was.

We are now looking to decorate this room but as its a small bathroom we are not sure the best route to take.

The walls are not great and some of the plaster has come away in parts when we removed the paper. The celling had the old style foam tiles which i have removed along with the addsive holding them and is now just plaster.


I am not sure on the best route to take

1, Patch up the area's where plaster has come off when removing the paper and prep, paint the walls leaving the 2 layers of tiles around the bath and basin. Walls not in a great condition.

2, Have all the walls and celling skimmed then paint and re tile just around the bath and basin,

3, Patch up missing plaster then tile from floor to celling


I have my idea set on option 2 but not sure if this is the best route to take for such a small bathroom and is why i like to get other peoples ideas on here as they might see it another way.

I also plan on boxing in the soil / vent pipe as well and other pipes behind the toilet with some kind of PVC sheets fixed to a frame just to hide them.

PS: This is the first time i have re done a bathroom before.

Many Thanks

southcoastrgi

first of all if you are thinking about re-plastering & re-tiling then you need to speak to the council & see what they will & won't allow you to do, some will let you do certain things & some won't & even if you have made the place look 1000% better they may insist it is put back the way it was if & when you move out, get it in writing then you know where you stand & there shouldn't be any probs in the future.

christwodogs

We used Mermaid shower wall to make a shower cubicle in our box room bathroom. Its easy to fit and you wouldnt need to replaster.

There are cheaper alternatives but they are not as good quality.

Took the bath out a waste of space

Space saver toilet and a sink with a decent size to at least wash your face in, as some sinks are actually quit small.

Tidy up any other plaster work and emulsion.

Good luck

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Once you get the OK from them, I would suggest installing a shower/bath (or a large walk in shower, if you aren't fond of long baths) and tiling from bath to ceiling with a shower screen rather than a curtain.

Other than a splashback area for the sink, the rest can be painted. That way you are less likely to start problems with condensation (my old flat bathroom was fully tiled by the previous tenant. After a few years, it was rotten with mould).


Oh, and make sure the flooring is good quality and well insulated underneath. It really makes a difference in terms of sound and cold proofing.

chrisb1357

Hi all,

The council I have spoke to already and they said we need to leave the bath, basin, toilet in place and not change which I am ok with as its nearly new and very clean, I am not a fan of showers and that's just me. We can re plaster ourselves they said as long as the walls are kept the same and no fancy curves etc or they can come and re plaster at a cost LOL.

We are on first floor and the floor has solid tiles down. Not decided on floor yet.

Chris

cyclonebri1

I wouldn't "clad" the soil stack. Since you have to make a frame anyway, and you are having a plasterer round, then simply plaster board over the frame, it will look far better and probably cost no more.

Ok if there is ever a leak the boarding has to be ripped out, but the cladding would too, and may not be reuseale.;)

Beenie

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Once you get the OK from them, I would suggest installing a shower/bath (or a large walk in shower, if you aren't fond of long baths) and tiling from bath to ceiling with a shower screen rather than a curtain.

Other than a splashback area for the sink, the rest can be painted. That way you are less likely to start problems with condensation (my old flat bathroom was fully tiled by the previous tenant. After a few years, it was rotten with mould).


Oh, and make sure the flooring is good quality and well insulated underneath. It really makes a difference in terms of sound and cold proofing.

Are you saying that a fully tiled bathroom is more likely to sprout mould than a half tiled/half painted bathroom? We're on the verge of a re-fit and this is the sort of thing we need to know about!

chrisb1357

Hi

I see what u mean. The frame has to be built around the stack no matter if i glad or plaster and the same around the pipes behind the toilet.

I am just worried about if they leak. I wanted to box in the toilet cisten as well but i think the box will have to go below that as i dont have a way to extend the handel of the cisten.

Chris

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

I wouldn't "clad" the soil stack. Since you have to make a frame anyway, and you are having a plasterer round, then simply plaster board over the frame, it will look far better and probably cost no more.

Ok if there is ever a leak the boarding has to be ripped out, but the cladding would too, and may not be reuseale.;)

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Beenie wrote: »

Are you saying that a fully tiled bathroom is more likely to sprout mould than a half tiled/half painted bathroom? We're on the verge of a re-fit and this is the sort of thing we need to know about!

Seemed to, the mould developed behind the tiles where it was unseen, they weren't particularly well fitted, though.

The condensation was horrendous, despite having central heating and ventilation, and fully tiled was so, so cold.


In my new house, I've got half tiled as I describe. Any condensation forms on the tiles and can be cleaned into the bath, rather than on the other walls and feed mould.


The bathrooms here, one is fully tiled, always cold and already getting little dots of mould on the ceiling and tiles regularly. But the upstairs one, with half and half, is warm and as fresh as the day it was decorated.

Christine_Welby

Hi, chrisb1357! I've read your post and I have some suggestions. To avoid performing major changes and spending a lot of money, you can use your creativity. You can take tiles (simple, different colors maybe) and install them on the affected areas of the walls. Also, in order to save time, you can use a tile adhesive like Bondera Tile MatSet and install the tiles by yourself. Hope that my suggestions will be useful for you! Let us know how did all came out and we’d love for you to post some pictures!

cyclonebri1

chrisb1357 wrote: »

Hi

I see what u mean. The frame has to be built around the stack no matter if i glad or plaster and the same around the pipes behind the toilet.

I am just worried about if they leak. I wanted to box in the toilet cisten as well but i think the box will have to go below that as i dont have a way to extend the handel of the cisten.

Chris

They make "bogs" with in built/hidden sisterns, but of course that would mean changing what you have