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I'm looking to renovate the laundry on a budget.
The tiles are in good condition, I just don't like the look. Could I put VJ panels over them? Even behind the sink and toilet area.
Adding a picture for reference
Hi @Jastra89,
A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.
Unfortunately, no, you couldn't. Our main supplier for VJ panelling is EasyCraft. On page 14 of their Product Fact Sheet & Installation Guidelines it states -
VJ panels need to be glued and nailed to the studs. This would not be possible with tiles in place.
Unfortunately, if you wanted to install VJ panels in your laundry, you would need to remove the tiles, which would likely have implications in terms of waterproofing.
Perhaps you could paint your tiles using tile paint such as White Knight Tile And Laminate Paint. This could give you a fresh new look without the hassle of removing the tiles.
Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Jacob
Hello @Jastra89
Was there a specific look you were after in regards to your laundry. I propose having a good look at this guide - How to plan a laundry renovation by @Adam_W. I also suggest looking at our Top 10 most popular laundry projects. Painting the tiles or tiling over the tiles is always an option in regards to revamps. Using Kaboodle cabinets and timber panels as benchtops is one way to improve and update the look of your laundry without major structural changes. But it all depends on your budget, if you can give us a ballpark of what you've set aside, we'll try to see what we can recommend based on your budget.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Hello @Jastra89
I believe its possible to renovate this laundry with the budget you have in mind. I suggest getting a quote on a per job basis.
For example:
- Do you think you can do demolition? If you can, then that saves you that job already as you won't have to pay anyone to do it for you. If not, post the job on Airtasker or Hipages and see who gives you the best quote for the tiled wall.
- Get a quote for re-boarding/replastering the wall
- Waterproofing
- Plumbing
- Electrical
Once you have those trade related jobs done the installation of the EasyVJ panels and the assembly of the cabinets you can do yourself. You might need the plumber and electrician to come back for final fit out, but other than that there should be no other trade related jobs that need addressing. Once you have a figure at the end of all the quotes you should be able to see if your budget is enough. Renovating your laundry does not happen all the time and it's best to do it as best as you can with the resources that you have.
Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Good Morning @Jastra89
Thinking of work arounds for the redesign of your Laundry. Something that wont touch the tiles and therefore the waterproofing plus it can be changed over at a latter day if you wish. 
I am imagining a new bench replacing the laundry sink, over the washing machine, then stopping with space for the toilet. Maybe shelving of a cupboard next to the washing machine but leave enough for change of model size if it breaks.
You could put in some shelves on the wall above this new bench (allowing for that dryer hanger if you wish) The space left between the top and bottom could be filled with a splashback, You could go for a timber trim at the rear of the bench and a timber trim at the rear underside of the bench to give attachment points for a splashback with packing to make it not spongy to push on glued to the back of the splashback (not the tiles) You will need to extend your taps a little and maybe your powerpoints.
The segmant above the top shelves I would leave as is.
To the right of the Toilet, I would follow the same styling tho maybe less of the height of shelves.
Not sure what is on the other wall, but you could go for thin boxed shelving (400mm deep) with a hight timber backplane screwed to the rear, then the same splashback along the wall. You could then put straight narrow shelves (200mm deep) above it, maybe with fancy angled brackets?
Laundry retrofit is my laundry, if this was yours then a row of box shelving up high with a splashback between the two is what i am thinking.
With the upper shelving fixed to the wall through the tiles. The base cabinet large and heavy enough to hold its own in place. Then you could potentially change the look of those white tiles without changing the white tiles.
Dave
