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Help with Easy & Quick Bathroom Reno

Hi all

We just purchased a place that we will move into in a few years. However in the meantime we plan to rent it out for a year or two.

The previous owners started renovating the bathroom but didn't get very far. We want to do a full renovation when we move in - to restructure to include a toilet (currently separate) and make it much nicer, but in the meantime we need to make what is there liveable / a bit nicer for rental. I have three questions:

1. How can I make the shower usable? They have removed a few tiles from the floor, or more likely a concrete hob into the shower and you can see the remaining hob is broken also. Whats the best way to fix this shower area (cheaply and easily), knowing we will do a full reno in 3 years. Its on a concrete slab with (from what I understand) no previous waterproofing as the place is quite old. The entire room has been surrounded in brick walls (rest of the house is a fibro cottage).

2. Can I paint floor tiles? In the short term, we plan to paint the wall tiles white and put in a new vanity. I'd love to paint the floor tiles also, but have been advised against this in high traffic areas such as bathrooms (as it will just wear and chip away). Would it last for a few years though to get the renters through until a remodel?

3. Whats my best other flooring options that avoid re-tiling (if no.2 can't be done)? Can I just put vinyl sheeting over the existing tiles or do I need to rip up to put down the vinyl? Can I rip up the tiles and just polish the concrete underneath - or does that require a bit of work and still expensive?

Thanks everyone! This is our first home and first ever renovation!!

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redracer01

If we are on a super tight budget I suggest the following. If you want the plinth back in front of the shower you will have to rebuild it from scratch. A few bricks and a 20kg bag of cement. How ever if you do not wish to build a plinth and just tile over the exposed area, you will have to find either a tile that is similar or very close in color, does not have to be spot on as this is a quick and dirty repair job. As long as the tiling job is clean and smooth and is at the same level as the existing tiles on the floor. As for the exposed dividing wall take off the existing tiles that are at the bottom and re-tile plain square ones that are of the same shape and color ( or as close as you can ). The key here is to repair the damage and the tiling job must be perfect. I would not worry about water proofing as this is a cement base and is on ground level. Not an ideal solution but is a quick turn around to get tenants in and the house rented. If you do paint the walls with tile paint then tile matching for the dividing wall will not be a problem. However you willstill have to match the floor tile. Good luck and hope your repair goes well.

Jason

Hi again @amelia,

Great to see you get some expert advice from one of our most helpful community members.

You might also be interested in seeing what the @MakeItYours team achieved on a very limited budget for a bathroom and ensuite renovation, which included using tile paint.

Jason

MartyH

Do you have the budget to do the bathroom reno now? I'm not a fan of having to do things twice - better to do them right the first time. It should also make it easier to rent the property (and get a higher price) as a good bathroom is going to be important to your tenants.

amelia

I've played with this idea too I admit - I also hate doing things twice. But a full bathroom renovation would mean longer off the market (we need to get it on asap to help with mortgage repayments) and I'm 8 months pregnant which makes big renos a little hard at the moment. Secondly - we only plan to rent it out for 2 or 3 years and then move in, so I think I'd rather save the new bathroom for ourselves, rather than have tenants run it down.

In the larger renovation I actually want to pull everything out and remodel the whole design so its a much larger job. But I did consider it!

gippslandhome

Hi @amelia

To save time and money, I would simply render up all your hob area where the tiles are missing.

Is would patch up all the holes and then paint all the walls inside and around the bath in a white tile paint as well as the walls

Even if this was wearing in say 12 months on the floor area you could simply paint just the floor again.

So it would be a simple little bit of labour and materials and it would look very very fresh.

We've done it to a number of bathrooms of 25 years and it makes a huge difference.

Any other questions please feel free to pm me

Kind regards Rob Colbert 👍😁

amelia

@gippslandhome

Thanks Rob - I think this is what we will do.

I've just bought the tile paint from the new Dulux renovation range so hopefully its good! If it wears down its no problem as we plan to fully renovate in a few years anyway.

For rendering the hob - would you just mix up some cement? Or do I need to use any particular product?

Thanks!!

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