This was my first DIY project. The idea was to replace the old tiles and shower screen to have a feeling of cleanness. While removing the tiles I punched so many holes into the walls that I've decided to remove them completely. This opened new possibilities such as adding water pipe for bidet, recess in the shower and recessed shaving cabinet. Ultimately, I ended up redoing the entire bathroom which took me several months but we ended up being quiet happy with the result.
Lessons learnt I'd like to share with people starting their first bathroom reno:
1/ Take down the entire walls and put new rather than trying to carefully remove the old tiles while preserving the old walls
2/ Take advantage of plenty YouTube videos - you can really find every help you need; find a channel that suits you and take your time to watch multiple videos
3/ Don't buy tile cutter if your tiles are not large. I bought one but ended up only using my Ozito Grinder with diamond blade.
4/ Buy 360 degree vertical and horizontal laser level - it's a priceless tool for tiling the walls. I've got Ozito which I found best value for money.
5/ Manage your wife's expectation in regards to the duration of the reno :). Based on videos, I thought it would be much simpler and faster than it turned out to be.
Budget: $10,6k out of which:
- Water - pipes and work of a plumber: $750
- Walls and floor (excl. tiles): $700
- Tiles: $1,500
- Cabinet, toilet, shower screen, shower head: $5,800
- Tools: $1,700 (I had nothing when I started so needed to buy everything)
- Rubbish tip: $200
Plumbing was the only paid work. Everything else was DIY.
The Result
After
Before
After
Before - toilet
Shower detail
