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How to renovate this tiny laundry?

dchur
Having an Impact

How to renovate this tiny laundry?

Hello DIYers.

 

My partner and I live in an apartment and this is our small laundry that we're wanting to do a makeover on. We have already purchased some stick on floor tiles because we don't want to deal with replacing the tiles at this stage. We also aren't in a position to re-arrange the position of the taps or HWS.

 

Neither of us are particularly handy but willing to DIY as much as possible, we are also thinking if it's worth getting the Bunnings "in-home" team to come and look at it (they charge $99 that is then redeemable)?


This is what we're thinking roughly but open to ideas, suggestions and any advice. We're hoping that for the most part all of this can be sourced from Bunnings without too much custom work.

 

* Remove existing sink and splashback

* Single piece of wood table top that goes over the top of the washing machine with a hole for a (new) sink

* Replace taps

* Leave enough gap above the washing machine to have a small drawer (otherwise if it's flush with the washing machine the taps for the sink are too high)

* very small (18cm wide) custom pullout tall drawer for brooms etc on the far left against the post

* Cupboard above the powerpoint

* Stick on splashback tiles (vinyl)

 

Where we're stuck is actually moving forward from here. Like I mentioned, neither of us are handy people so we're unsure how to piece everything together, so appreciate any pointers, advice or general thoughts about how to make this small space look great.

 

 

PXL_20230415_001113246.jpgPXL_20230415_001130863.jpg

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: How to renovate this tiny laundry?

Hello @dchur 

 

Thank you for sharing your question about renovating your laundry. I suggest having a quick look at this guide - How to plan a laundry renovation by @Adam_W. In it you'll find excellent suggestions and things to consider before you begin your renovation. 

 

There are conservative methods to refresh the look of your laundry. I suggest looking carefully at your budget and seeing what can be achieved with a few cabinets, new benchtop and paint. I've placed a sample sketch below to give you an idea of what can be accomplished. 

 

Here is a link for ideas and inspiration: Top 10 most popular laundry renovation projects

 

Here is one of our featured laundry projects: Budget Bunnings laundry renovation by @prettyliving 

 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

 

Eric

 

 

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dchur
Having an Impact

Re: How to renovate this tiny laundry?

@EricL thank you for your assistance, I can't believe it has been 9 months since we posted this!

 

We've revisited this project and have decided to go with a layout that is very similar to yours with some additional storage mounted on the wall.

 

The question I have now is, when we are installing the cabinets and their support brackets into the wall, how do we ensure we do not hit any pipes?

 

This room is riddled with piping, and as you can see there are the taps for the sink as well as the laundry. The isolation valve is also in the corner of the room below the existing laundry tub and that "column" actually hoses piping as well.

 

I'm not too keen on causing a major water issue but we need to drill in several support bracket holes so not sure how best to do this.

 

It's a 1970's brick apartment, and we're on the top floor of 2 if that helps.

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: How to renovate this tiny laundry?

Hi @dchur,

 

There's no real way to determine where the cables and pipework will be. Typically, cables run vertically or horizontally from powerpoints, so it is best not to drill in that vicinity. If it's a double brick wall, then most of this routing is down within the cavity, and you should be fine drilling into the wall. However, if there is a significant amount of pipework in that wall, I suggest employing the services of a professional to mount that cabinetry. At least then, they'll be responsible for repairing any damage to pipes or cables.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Mitchell

 

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Re: How to renovate this tiny laundry?

Thanks @MitchellMc , upon removing the existing laundry there are wall plugs there that give us an indication of a 'safe area' to add new ones too. We'll go slow and cross our fingers.

 

I have another query about the flooring. As you can see from the pictures the current flooring is very small tiles, which are original to the unit.


We had originally planned to use some 300mm x 300mm peel and stick tiles on the floor however the adhesive on these is not good, especially with smaller tiles.

 

I had a thought to use an additional adhesive such as sellys "hold up" which I've used with other projects. I did a test tile in an area that would be covered by cabinets and it worked perfectly, the tile is completely stuck down and definitely won't be budging.


My only concern about this is things like "tenting" and expansion of the stick on (vinyl) tiles. Given that the room is only 1.5m x 1.8m, is there any real risk of these issues? I have read some posts in other forums from people who have laid vinyl over ceramic tiles and then those tiles start to tent because they can't breathe properly.

 

Thanks, as always.

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: How to renovate this tiny laundry?

Hello @dchur 

 

I understand your worry concerning the peel and stick tiles. A lot of improvement has occurred in adhesive and materials regarding peel and stick tiles. Vinyl stability and adhesive longevity are now much better and have significantly reduced the phenomenon you are referring to. 

 

However, I can't give you a 100 percent guarantee that the tiles will not lift. Factors such as age, temperature, moisture exposure and everyday use affect the tiles performance. 

 

Because the laundry area is not so large, I propose having a look at installing Hanwood Hybrid Waterproof Flooring. You'll probably use a maximum of two packets to cover the flooring and it will look very similar to your flooring outside. The advantage of having clip-on flooring is that it is relatively easy to replace and repair.

 

In regards to the Selleys glue, I can't tell how it will react with the tile's current adhesive. But since you've already tested it, only time will tell how long it will stay down.

 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the start of laundry revamp.

 

Eric

 

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dchur
Having an Impact

Re: How to renovate this tiny laundry?

Thanks Eric

 

We decided to just give the Shelly's a go on the tiles. The test has been fine for a number of days now but I guess time will tell.

 

This stuff is super strong so I'll be surprised if there's any lifting.

 

Worst case scenario if it completely fails we will just get the laundry retiled properly.

 

Not sure how those boards you linked would work because the floor isn't that even so there'd be undulations.

 

I'll report back how the Reno is going. Thanks!

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