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I am looking for tips and advice from someone who has done this before, whether as DIY or by hiring tradesmen. I am guessing this will need someone who is experienced as a bathroom tiler, as well as a plumber. Any suitable trades contacts around VIC 3166 will be of great help too, if that type of sharing is allowed here.
What I want to achieve:
Replace the existing floor standing vanity-plus-basin with a new one.
- Existing one: Floor standing vanity cupboard with wash basin shown in the first picture. Ours is quite a new house, handed over in Feb. 2020.
- New one: Ikea GODMORGON / ODENSVIK wall-mounted wash-stand with 4 drawers. Article Number 592.931.43
Why?
- The current basin has developed a crack and a leak at the underside.
- The cupboard format of the vanity is very user unfriendly.
Considerations:
- Going by the photo from the house build, I am presuming that tiling was done after the vanity was installed. I don't have spare tiles or the tile SKU / make and design from the builder. Replacing the existing floor-standing vanity with a floating vanity (like shown in photo #2) could expose untiled wall.
- I prefer to use Ikea vanities because they have a unique waste pipe design which maximises usable drawer space below the wash basin.
- I want a job done well, with good finishing, that improves the value and usability of the bathroom.
Photo #1: Current vanity and basin
Photo #2: Desired vanity and basin
Photo #3: Build-phase photo of current vanity (not the same bathroom but from the same house)
Hi @bazzyboy,
It appears that the vanity could have been installed before tiling, which would be quite unfortunate. I can't imagine why that would be the case, as typically, a vanity would be positioned on top of the tile, and it would be more work to tile around it. You might need to do some exploratory work to determine the vanity's position. Have a look at where the sides of the vanity meet the tile. You'd have to remove the silicone to see if the tile travels behind/underneath the vanity.
You're correct that if the vanity was installed before the tiles, you need a tiler to re-tile the floor. You'd likely have to investigate who built the property to find out where they sourced the tiles. It will be important to match the existing tiles to achieve a good finish. A plumber will also be needed to reconnect or move your pipework.
You might like to consider services like Hipages or Air-tasker to track down licensed trades in your area.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Hi Mitchell, thanks for your reply! To avoid to have to do tiling, I bought a new non-Ikea freestanding vanity (plus a new matching stone top + basin + mixer tap), with all dimensions larger than the existing vanity. Unfortunately, as per the plumber who reviewed the photos of the existing setup and the new vanity, the drain is in the wrong spot to suit the new vanity. There is no kicker or cavity under the new vanity unit to bend the pipe towards the back. Could you please have a look at the photos and suggest a workaround? Perhaps a cutout in the bottom-most drawer of the new vanity will help the plumber get the drain to the existing floor connection and then route it to the back? At present, only the top drawer has a cutout.
This bathroom is at the ground floor and the house has a concrete slab.
Hi @bazzyboy
Thank you for the update on your choice of vanity. Before we take the road of cutting into the cabinet itself, have you considered putting on some Taskmaster 150 x 10mm Hairpin Steel Table Leg to lift vanity off the floor? There is also the Adoored 120mm Square Plastic Cabinet Leg.
One other option is to build your own timber base frame and use that as the base for your vanity providing you with the space you need for the plumbing. The last option of course is to cut into the bottom cabinet drawer so that you can put an elbow and re-arrange the plumbing to the back.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
