Laundry renovation with timber bench and tiling

[DIYMum]

This laundry was completely overhauled with new tiles, flooring, sink, cabinetry and laminate benchtop.

• The project
• Before and after
• How to plan a laundry makeover
• More inspiration for your laundry renovation project

The project

A long weekend gave me that little bit of extra time I needed to add the finishing touches to my laundry reno. Planning started a couple of years ago and it's been a bit of a slow process, but it's finally done and I'm thrilled with how it looks. It feels so much lighter, brighter and bigger.

Wall cupboards for extra storage and hanging rail underneath, shelf with leather strap brackets.

    

The old laundry was a disaster zone. I got some great advice from members here when I first started planning, then used the Kaboodle online tool to visualise what I wanted. This was great, as I could move elements around to see how they looked before I decided on the final plan. 

The first job was to clear out all the junk and get rid of the shower, toilet and floor tiles. Pulling out the shower frame wasn't too difficult. The floor tiles on the other hand were a right pain. In the end, I took to them with a hammer drill with a tile scraper bit and that made pretty short work of it.

It didn't do a great job at lifting the tile adhesive, so I decided to lift the tile underlay as the easiest option. It then gave me an even surface to lay down the vinyl plank flooring, as well as meaning the floor was the same height as the floor outside the laundry. 

Here is a before photo. The laundry had a shower in it which wasn't used except for storing the chest freezer.

What a mess. And a toilet that never got used.

Tiles from shower removed.

Lifting the tile underlay.

 

Old laundry sink and tiles removed.

Vinyl plank flooring - the hardest part about installing this was working out the lengths to cut them.

Grabbed a bargain at Bunnings on a box of tiles at half price to go around the bottom of the wall.

   

Once all of that was done (as well as painting ceiling, walls, window and door trim) it was time to get the cabinetry in. 

The base cabinet for the sink went in first, then the broom cupboard. Once that was in, we cut the laminate benchtop to size, cut out the hole for the sink and installed. I had decided that to save on costs, I would keep the plumbing in situ for the washing machine (we cut a hole in the benchtop to accommodate the taps) and keep the power point above the bench for easy access when ironing. A strategically placed pot plant hides the taps when you look in from the door.

Base cabinet, broom cupboard, benchtop & sink installed - I could now do washing again.

My son (who's an electrician and was a great source for providing tools I didn't have) installed a new powerpoint under the bench for the washing machine and dryer. His mate, who's a plumber, did the bits of plumbing that were beyond my expertise and capped off the plumbing where the shower was.

It was then time to tile the splashback. I went with white matt penny round tiles. I love the look of them, but they were a pain to grout and silicone. Being on sheets they were pretty quick and easy to install though. It's not a perfect job but I'm happy with them. 

The only thing left to do then was install the wall cupboards and the shelf and replace the ceiling light (thanks again to electrician son) and a few finishing touches. All up, the total cost was around $2000. It helped that I didn't need to pay for any trades.

Now I'm proudly showing my laundry off to everyone who comes to visit, rather than previously closing the door and hiding it.

I would recommend tiling before hanging the wall cupboards. It gives you more space to manoeuvre. In my case it also meant that the cupboards were sitting over the top of the tiles and hiding slight imperfections. 

  

Before and after

How to plan a laundry makeover

Experienced Workshop member Adam has compiled this comprehensive How to plan a laundry makeover, which including space-saving ideas.

 

More inspiration for your laundry renovation project

Community member Kate started from scratch with her own D.I.Y. laundry and toilet renovation.

Workshop member Claire treated her parents to a professional looking laundry makeover for under $300.

Check out our Top 10 most popular laundry renovation projects for more ideas. And for help with your own project, simply start a discussion. We're here to help.

[BoeingFan]

Great work @DIYMum it looks fantastic. May I ask, how did you hold the counter top in place against the wall and broom cupboard?

Cheers,

@BoeingFan 

[Newbie2k23]

Hello, just a question with your reno: Did your electrician put a PowerPoint just behind where the washing machine is? I want the power point under the benchtop too, but I'm not sure where before I call the electrician to do it. Thank you

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @DIYMum 

Now that is a makeover and a half! You have certainly blown out the cobwebs and brought it back to life! Did you do away with the shower area?

I love the description of tiling, I have bought subway tiles, bought the tile glue...Have I installed them in the past two years... Nope You describe well how you did yours and hopefully mine will be easy. (I keep telling myself its a rainy day job when I cant work outside)

I would be showing  it off also!

Dave

[EricL]

Hi @Newbie2k23 

Let me tag @DIYMum to make them aware of your questions. I would probably recommend having the power point inside your laundry tub cabinet for easy access. This means that you won't have to move the heavy machines out of the way should you need to turn the power off. However, it's important to take into consideration the length of the power cord of the washer and dryer.

Having the power point inside the cabinet also means that you'll need to drill a hole at the side of the cabinet for access. Before you make any decisions, I propose speaking to your electrician and asking them if it's safe and permissible to install the power point inside the laundry cabinet.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[DIYMum]

@BoeingFan I used L brackets under the cabinet to secure to the wall and broom cupboard

[DIYMum]

@Newbie2k23 yes, the electrician did put a powerpoint under the bench for the washer and drier. The washing machine stayed in the same place it was before the reno, so it was simply a matter of installing a new powerpoint directly under the one above the bench. I kept the powerpoint above the bench for ease of access to plug in the iron (on the rare occasion that I do my ironing hahaha!)

[DIYMum]

@Dave-1 yes, got rid of the shower completely. With a main bathroom and an ensuite with showers, having a third was overkill and took up precious storage space!

Look forward to seeing yours finished when you get those subway tiles up