Bathroom renovation planning

[Cadwallader]

Hey all,

Im about to start planning a renovation of a bathroom which is not looking too great. This will be my first bathroom renovation so any advice will be awesome!

All of the tiles are lifting and peeling off and I believe the once pulling the ones in the shower off I'll find a significant amount of mould.

I believe I will have to stripe the whole bathroom and start again keeping all pluming in it's original position.

I would like to also remove the wall between the shower and entry and have a two-sided glass shower, although we will be watching our costs very closely.

Hopefully I can build a solid plan soon which will give me the guts to start getting dirty

Cheers

 

[wylie]

What sort of advice are you looking for? Will you be doing this yourself or hiring a builder or bathroom specialist?

We did a new bathroom last year. We moved things around though - easy in a two level house with open area underneath.

Please keep photos coming. And if you want specific advice, just ask.

One thing i would suggest is to get your tiler to do the waterproofing so any leak issues in the future are not able to be fobbed off from one to the other.

 

[bumblegoodie]

Good on you mate with your first major reno.

I did exactly what you did with my bathroom / toilet.

I ripped everything out and that saved $1000, as a note if you could put all those rubbish into boxes , get the council to pick up that will save you with the bins.

the other thing we should have done is pre-plan and order all materials before starting.

So my recommendation is to plan it and buy everything before you sstart demolishing.

 

[Cadwallader]

Wall removal advice

Hey All,

So far we have planned to use 300x600mm tiles with a grey on the floor and white tiles half way up the wall.
We will be removing the shower basin and tiling over, fresh paint, new mirror, vanity and toilet

We are wanting to remove the wall as stated in the first post and have uploaded photos from inside the roof, if any one has suggestions on what to do in regards to removing that wall and if it could be done by ourselves that would be great!

 

[bob shovel]

We did a similar job
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91547

Measure up the job (more than once! Measure twice cut once!) And try to source as much as you can online, we got everything from Ebay! Bargain! Plus they threw in a free gurny .

Knocking the wall out shouldn't be a problem, (please confirm not load bearing first by someone who knows).just start stripping three gyprock back and go from there. Try and keep the existing, or patch as needed to save costs. One of my walls wasn't plumb but the tiller was able to hide it, even still you'd never pick it!


Have you got a layout sketch?i assume one of the wall is the external house wall, chances are it isn't load bearing being near the exterior frame.

 

[depreciator]

Hard to say from that photo whether the wall in the bathroom is load bearing. If a builder sticks his head up into the roof he'll know in seconds.
How old is that bathroom? You might need to careful of asbestos.
Scott

 

[eek]

I'm currently in the middle of a DIY bathroom build/renovation.
It's our old laundry and now converting into an ensuite. I cut through a non-load bearing wall to create a new door way and sealed up an external door way too.

Had to move some plumbing around and also connect up new waste for basin, shower and toilet including vent stack. Waterproofing will need attention, especially if you are having mould problems and will need to check if it's damaged any of the subfloor.

As for wall removal your roof looks like a truss built roof, so 'generally' they are supported by perimeter walls, but you NEED to check with a builder/engineer. Bit hard to tell with that photo.

Be very diligent in waterproofing - either hire someone or read up as much as you can before DIY.

 

[Stockwhizben]

be careful with asbestos. take some samples from the wall and under the tiles before smashing the crap out of the place. Double bag them and send to a lab for testing. Takes a couple of days, cheap as for piece of mind as looks as old place.

 

[dan_89]

be careful with asbestos. take some samples from the wall and under the tiles before smashing the crap out of the place. Double bag them and send to a lab for testing. Takes a couple of days, cheap as for piece of mind as looks as old place.

+1 on asbestos.. I had a bunch in my bathrooms. Had it tested at Prensa for free. $2500 to have all wet area tiles and asbestos lining removed (2 x bathrooms, kitchen/laundry floor and splashbacks)

 

[bob shovel]

Asbestos isn't nice but the best thing is to leave it as is!

If you are taking the wall out there are simple ways to check, usual if the fibro has a brand stamp or writing your all good.by the look of your bathroom your place is 20-30 years old so you'll be right.

A bathroom guy i had come give us a quote told me about asbestos...his father passed away from it and he said wet it if you cut it or if it's getting dusty and then put it at the bottom of the skip bin!

But do whatever you feel comfortable doing!

 

[Angel]

No, according to the WHS course I did two weeks ago, asbestos was being phased out 20 years ago but still being used. It could still be in buildings built through the 90s. Just get it tested.

 

[bob shovel]

Nothing brings people together like asbestos

Don't let it put you off! Your"planning" so have a think don't run of testing or putting hammers through walls

I'd say your going to need a tiller, so call a few get then to c come and give you a quote or get some rates to lay (you supply tiles to save $$) they'll also guide with your walls -what needs replacing and what can stay.

 

[MRCCON]

All your internal walls aren't load bearring, you have a trussed roof, just don't touch your external walls without seeking advice from a local builder

 

[Brian84]

Mrccon truss roofs still have internal load bearing walls sometimes.

 

[MRCCON]

Mrccon truss roofs still have internal load bearing walls sometimes.

Very rarely on most single span residential roofs and certainly not on a bathroom wall adjoining the load bearing outside wall of a house.

 

[Brian84]

I have been doing trusses for 15 years and I have done hundreds of singles with load bearing walls. Most internal load bearing walls are located on a hallway wall and if the trusses have a long span.

 

[MRCCON]

I have been doing trusses for 15 years and I have done hundreds of singles with load bearing walls. Most internal load bearing walls are located on a hallway wall and if the trusses have a long span.

Like I said, the walls adjoining that bathroom won't be load bearing, unless the truss maker was smoking bongs and wanted to makeup a span of about 1m, like you said, the few trusses that are load bearing are in hallways, ie as close to the middle of the house as possible, not a bathroom running off the external side of the house.....

 

[wylie]

We were told that fibro with digital printing is likely new enough (not just ANY printing - digital). But still get it tested.

Load bearing walls - get a builder to poke his head into the roof. Get advice from someone who sees the roof. Don't make assumptions from advice on the internet on something like this.