Help wanted for complete newbies renovating a bathroom

[Femster1968]

Hi all.

not only did the ceiling in our bathroom cave in due to wet weather and mould (badly built pre-approval farm house some 40 years old), our bath/shower combo cracked- it’s moulded and has those really horrible old swing doors.

we have already bought a bath. We are going to get a shower curtain rail, and put it across the front of the bath(it’s going to be semi freestanding, on a frame, in almost the same location as the current monstrosity of a unit). We are going to save the swinging shower doors, take them out of the frames, and. Turn them upside down, and use them on the end of the bath as privacy screens, one each end. They won’t swing, they will be fixed.

I must admit I am terrified of doing this ourselves, but I know you guys out there can help. Being pensioners, it will be hard, but I  know that we can do it, despite being newbies.know 

any ideas or tips you have would be great.

I must 

[EricL]

Hello @Femster1968

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about renovating your bathroom.

I'm sorry to hear about all those issues you're having with your bathroom. Would it be possible for you to post a picture of the bathroom and the new bath? This will give our members a chance to assess its condition. We can then make recommendations on how to proceed. 

On the condition that the bath you purchased is the same size as the old bath, there is every possibility that it will sit on the existing frame that you have. We'll need to see those swinging doors to get an idea of how they are installed. There is also the issue of plumbing as the bath drain will have to be removed from the old bath and the old plumbing will need to line up with the new bath.    

These will be some of the things you'll need to keep in mind when you attempt this project. If you need a hand posting the photos, please let me know.

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

Eric

[Femster1968]

[Femster1968]

These ar the photos. Yes, bathroom was badly constructed…. And is currently a combined bathroom/laundry, due to the drought….

the bath is a little longer, and maybe about 5 cms wider than the current bath. I’m not sure on that, hubby has all the measurements.

[EricL]

Hello @Femster1968

Thank you so much for those photos. It sounds like a very achievable project and using the swing doors as blocking panels sounds like a fantastic idea. However, I recommend fixing the leaking roof first before you get fully involved with your bath/shower renovation. The last thing you want to happen is to get all your hard work drenched in rainwater.

Some of the things that concern me will be the plumbing and waterproofing of your walls. Before you start taking things apart, I suggest checking with your local council on the rules and regulations on putting in a new shower/bath. At the moment your moulded shower is self-contained and therefore does not need waterproofing. Any water being used in the shower is held inside the moulded enclosure and directed to the drain.  

Once you take that shower/bath out you'll need to re-line that area with GIB Aqualine and apply waterproofing around the shower/bath area. Some states require that a registered plumber do all this work. So it's best to check before you start your renovation. Have you considered putting in an Estilo 1830 x 830 - 900mm x 855 - 880mm Chrome Shower Screen?

Let me call on our experienced members @Noyade, @TedBear and @Vis-á-vis for their recommendations.

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

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

Eric

[Femster1968]

Hi Eric.

thanks heaps.

roof was replaced a few years ago, but the damage had already set in. The people who put the roof on used wall sheeting instead of roof sheeting, and when we had a massive hailstorm in 2010, well, you can imagine what happened. As I said, pre approval rural house! And they didn’t use wet area gyprock in the walls…..

we are on visually going to waterproof the area behind the bath/shower…. Same sort of thing as the current monstrosity, but obviously not enclosed.

we have seen tonight the acrylic wall sheeting on the site. Just wondering if this would be a better option than tiling the whole wall behind it?

still got ideas running through our heads at this stage. 

[EricL]

Hi @Femster1968

If the acrylic sheets were big enough then it would be a worthwhile option, plus it would be so much easier to clean. Have you considered putting in Wall Art 2400 x 1200 x 3mm New York White Tile Wet Area Wall / Shower Panel? It's ideal for the lining of walls in wet areas such as bathrooms, showers and laundries. This will provide you with the convenience of single-sheet installations rather than tiling. Because of its homogenous nature, it will be just as easy to clean as acrylic.

Let me call on our experienced members @redbournreno and @craftyhopper for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[redbournreno]

Hi Femster 1968,

What a nightmare for you!  This shows just how important approvals and building regulations are, even though they can feel cumbersome. 

My recommendation for this price point is the acrylic panels just as you and EricL suggested.  With a new moulded shower base, or shower over bath.  Number 1 is to ensure the roof is fixed for the future, because nothing else will matter until that is sorted. You may even want to put villaboard or blue board on the ceiling to help with small future leaks, but then you will need more roof beams to be able to fix it appropriately.  When you install the new bath and shower, then do all walls in villaboard sheeting (not even wet area plasterboard) and if the floors need doing then use the ceramic tile quality floor sheeting. Current regulations require a new waterproofing certificate even if you do use acrylic panels, that should cost you $500-800 depending on location. Best of luck. Belinda