🖼️
The project:
Our project is a complete DIY renovation by my partner & myself, of our main ensuite bathroom. This renovation took us 7 weeks, between 2 children and limited time!
We completely changed this small and outdated area, into a useful and calming space to relax and unwind. Our goal was to make our bathroom feel like you are in a cave-like retreat. We had to try our best to use such a small space in a more effective way, so it felt like a larger and more luxurious room. Now we feel Like we live in a hotel!
- Materials:
Johnson Tiles 300 x 600mm Desert White Matt Ceramic Floor Tile - 7 Carton - Bunnings Australia
Johnson Tiles 400 x 400mm White Cemento Matt Ceramic Floor Tile - Carton of 9 - Bunnings Australia
EzyLite 300x300mm Square HYBRID SolarLight. Easy DIY Flush Mount Skylight Alternative with Bonus Driver - Bunnings Australia
Mercator 290mm White DIY Plug In Round Exhaust Fan - Bunnings Australia
Mondella Concerto Back To Wall Rimless Toilet Suite - Bunnings Australia
Davco 5kg 136 Rapid Patching Mortar - Bunnings Australia
Bastion 20kg Floor Leveller - Bunnings Australia
Bastion 15kg White Grout - Bunnings Australia
Australian Builders 20kg Type GB Cement - Bunnings Australia
Ramset 300ml Chemset UltraFix Plus - Bunnings Australia
Bastion 20kg Mastic Powder Adhesive Tile - Bunnings Australia
Betta Tilecare 1L Stone & Concrete Sealer - Bunnings Australia
Betta TileCare 1L Tile & Grout Sealer - Bunnings Australia
Paint Partner 100mm Fence Brush - Bunnings Australia
Crommelin 4L Shower Waterproofing Membrane - Bunnings Australia
Crommelin 5m Waterproofing Tape - Bunnings Australia
Bunnings 10L Pail Bucket - Bunnings Australia
SharkBite 16mm x 5 Length PEX Pipe - Bunnings Australia
DTA Australia Lippage Wedges - 100 Pack - Bunnings Australia
QEP Easy Grip Sponge - Bunnings Australia
DTA Australia 1.5mm Wedge Levelling Spacers - 250 Pack - Bunnings Australia
QEP 10mm x 3.0m Silver L Shaped Tile Trim Angle - Bunnings Australia
QEP 10mm x 3.0m Gold L Shape Angle Tile Trim - Bunnings Australia
Metal Mate 20 x 20 x 1.5mm 3m Silver Aluminium Equal Angle - Bunnings Australia
Selleys 300g White Wet Area Waterproof Silicone Sealant - Bunnings Australia
Parfix 300g Clear Roof Gutter Silicone - Bunnings Australia
Arlec 9W Tri-Colour Dimmable LED Downlight - Bunnings Australia
66 x 18mm 5.4m White Moulding Pine FJ Primed Bullnose - Bunnings Australia
- Tools:
QEP 300mm Handyman Tile Cutter - Bunnings Australia
Kango 75mm x 170mm SDS Plus Angled Tiling Chisel - Bunnings Australia
Kango 125mm Continuous Turbo Diamond Blade - Bunnings Australia
QEP 10mm Square Notch Handyman Adhesive Trowel - Bunnings Australia
QEP 12mm Square Notch Handyman Adhesive Trowel - Bunnings Australia
Trojan Pointing & Grouting Gun 610MM - Bunnings Australia
- Step 1:
DEMOLITION:
We removed the vanity & sink, shower screen, toilet, mirror, shower head, towel rail etc. We used a sledge hammer to smash the hob to the shower and then a jack hammer to remove all tiling to the walls and floor. We used a jackhammer and spade bit to remove all of the tile glue from the walls and the cement from the shower base. We blocked off the water pipes with some end fittings and put all of the rubble in the trailer for the tip. We cut the doorway with a brick saw to widen the door frame, so it was larger to walk through. Of course, our little ones were there eager to help!
- Step 2:
CEILING WORKS & DOOR FRAME:
We had an electrician remove & replace the old exhaust fan & install 2 x downlights. We patched the hole for the previous light. We DIY installed the skylight by cutting into the ceiling, then re-painted the ceiling and cornice to freshen it all up. We fitted out the wider door frame with wood and skirting boards to make it look nice from the outside.
- Step 3:
FLOOR PREP AND NIB WALL BUILD:
We built a nib wall to hold our shower products, we did this buy using Ramset adhesive and rio bar in the wall, then building a 9 course high brick wall in single brick. We also built a hob so no water can escape when showering, we used bricks and cement for this, 1 course high.
We had a plumber move the drains to suit where the vanity was going.
We used self leveller for inside and outside of the shower, so the floor is fully level and prepped for tiling, this ensured a perfect canvas and worked great. We also considered the fall for the shower drain.
- Step 4:
PLUMBING AND WALL CHASING:
We chased the walls using a jackhammer, in preparation for the plumber to extend some of the piping for the shower taps and vanity. We also chased the walls in preparation for the electrician to put a light switch and power point. Once these services were complete, I used a rapid set morat to fill in the wall chasing and sanded it all down level in preparation for tiling.
- Step 5:
WATERPROOFING:
We used waterproofing materials and tape to waterproof all areas of the shower, toilet and vanity areas. This was repeated twice as per instructions, we used a brush to spread this material and waited the specified amount of time to dry before tiling.
- Step 6:
FLOOR TILING BEGINS:
We began tiling by laying out the floor tiles, measuring and cutting them to make sure they all fit before we did any glueing.
Once it all was ready I started on the shower floor tiling. I used 300x600 tiles with an angle grinder and diamond blade and all appropriate PPE. I used the glue and a 10mm notched trowel, plus back buttering the tiles before they went down. Once down I used the wedge levelling spacers in between all tiles and once I was happy with how the flooring went down, I secured all of the tiling wedges.
- Step 7:
WALL TILING BEGINS:
Once the floor was dried for 24hrs, I started on the floor to wall tiles. I was able to do basically 1 wall per day. I used a laser level to help me keep them all perfect. I followed the same steps as the floor tiling. I used tile edging around the door frame to finish it off perfectly.
Once all of the flooring and walls were 100% dry, I removed all tile wedges and spacers and mixed up my white grout. I used a scraper to spread my grout between all tile lines.
Once all of the tiling was complete, I used a tile sealer over all tiles & grout lines, I repeated this 3 times to ensure they were sealed well.
- Step 8:
TOILET INSTALL:
We had a plumber come and install the toilet, yay!! best part of the process so far haha.
Once the toilet was installed, we siliconed around the toilet, plus all areas of the bathroom that needed silicone to finish it off. We used a white bathroom silicone and clear gutter silicone.
- Step 9:
STONE WALL BEGINS:
We cut and installed all of the natural stone tiles to our feature wall in the shower and on the nib wall. This process was extremely time consuming and labour intensive, with each tile weighing 16kg each. We used a beautiful gold trim around the nib wall and shower hob to tie in all of the gold fittings.
We used the white grout in the pointing gun to put the grout between all of the lines of the stones, we wiped this down many times to fill in the the gaps. We then used a great quality stone sealer to repel any water.
- Step 10:
FITOUT:
We installed our vanity and sink to the wall, we installed our handmade marri mirror, toilet roll holder, towel rings.
We installed our beautiful fluted shower screen with a U channel, which is secured to the wall.
We had the plumber install the shower head and taps, including the tap that we had put near the nib wall, so that we don't have to step in the shower to turn it on.
We had the electrician install a heated towel rail at the end of the shower, to save space.
