Bathroom tiles refresh

[elmac]

The Dulux Renovation Range was used to refresh old bathroom tiles in one weekend.

• The project
• Tools and materials
• Before and after
• More bathroom renovations

The project

My husband and I bought our house over a year ago and the one downfall was the bathroom – the rest of the house is beautifully painted and has polished timber floors and a large yard. I decided to tackle a renovation project to give it new life and tie the bathroom together with the rest of the house. 

The bathroom tiles are in fantastic condition. It's just the ugly colours that let the space down. The floor tiles needed a very good scrub after painting but we are looking to keep them for now.

We used the Dulux Renovation Range to freshen up this bathroom. We also painted our mirror and hooks with a light blush spray paint after sanding back with 80 and 120 grit sandpaper by hand.

It felt like a giant job and very overwhelming but if I can do it, anyone can. I tackled it with a friend over one weekend and I could not be happier.

Two tips. The gloss paint dries very quickly so if you need to cut in and roll best to have a buddy or use both hands and do small areas at a time. The tape needs to be taken off as soon as you finish that area and then re-tape for following coats.

Tools and materials

• Electric sander – 120 grit (very high gloss and needed to buff back) followed by 180 and final 400 grit before priming. I used 400 grit by hand to lightly sand between coats.

• Dulux 1L Renovation Range Primer

• Dulux 1L Renovation Range Tiles & Benchtops Gloss White in Lexicon

• Dulux 1L Renovation Range Cabinet Doors Satin Ticking

• Rust-Oleum 340g 2X Ultra Cover Gloss Blush Pink Spray Paint for mirror and hooks

• Kaboodle silver handles

• UNi-PRO 100 x 4mm Nap Little Ripper Microfibre Mini Roller Set

• Selleys Sugar Soap

• Microfibre cloths

Before and after

More bathroom renovations

Get inspired to tackle your own bathroom freshen up with our Top 10 most popular bathroom projects.

[jessmale]

I’m wondering what to do if I want the floor be renovated as well? Instead of of getting another tiles? Any paint foe that? 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jessmale. It's wonderful that you've joined us and many thanks for your question about painting floors tiles.

Dulux 1L Renovation Range Floors Satin White can be used to paint your floor tiles. This must be used in combination with the Dulux 1L Renovation Range Primer.

The key to this paint adhering correctly to your floors is preparation. The surface needs to be cleaned thoroughly. All grease and dirt contamination must be removed, or the paint will not adhere and will peel or flake off.

Scrub down all areas with Selleys Sugar Soap and rinse with clean water to remove any dirt, oil or grease, including from grout lines. Use a plastic scouring pad on heavily contaminated surfaces. Repeat this process using clean water at least twice. Fill any cracks or holes with a suitable hard epoxy-based filler such as Selleys Knead-IT Aqua. Sand glossy and semi-gloss tiles to a dull, flat finish using p400 paper before coating. Afterwards, use a clean damp cloth to remove any dust. Next, thoroughly clean the surface using Selleys Rapid Mould Killer and remove all silicone sealant from joints using Selleys Silicone Remover. Allow grout lines to dry for a minimum of 2 hours before painting. Mask using a good quality painter's tape.

Here's a helpful guide for application: How to apply Dulux Renovation range for floors.

Some other items you'll need for your project:

• 38–50mm high quality angled sash cutter 

• 4mm Nap 100mm wide microfibre roller 

• Paint stirrer and drop sheet 

• Painter's tape 

• P400 sanding paper.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to take some before and after images to show our other members.

Mitchell

[Everat]

Hi,

This bathroom @elmac did looks fantastic!

I have a question about a tiled shower area.

I have some hairline cracks in a tile in a tiled shower floor recess. See pics below.

While I have replaced normal floor tiles and even done a shower wall before (at another house), I don't know how to handle a highly wet area such as a shower floor.

How would I go about replacing this tile? I only want to replace 1 tile rather tan the entire shower floor. What products would I need to waterproof it? What steps would I need to take?

Thanks in advance.

[EricL]

Hello @Everat

Thanks for sharing that question about your bathroom tiles. You're absolutely correct there is waterproofing under there. Removing a tile in your shower is a bit of a gamble, you have a 50/50 chance either way. 

If you're lucky, you'll be able to remove the damaged tile without compromising the waterproof membrane. If you're unlucky and you damage the waterproof membrane, your shower frame, and all the tiles on the shower floor along with the wall tiles in the shower will need to be removed. A new membrane will have to be painted on and then you'll need to retile the entire area.

Unfortunately, waterproof membranes need to be homogenous. Some states have very strict rules when it comes to waterproofing and requires a registered tradesperson to actually do the waterproofing. I'm sorry I haven't got any good news for you, I recommend taking a long ponder and deciding how you wish to proceed with this project.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Everat]

Hi @EricL ,

I had suspected this was the case and have already booked in a professional, but I wanted to know if this was something too difficult for a basic DIYer like me to tackle. Which it is! 😅

I appreciate the response.

[KevinMall]

Well done, it certainly lifts the bathroom area.

[mich1972]

Gosh I can’t believe the change, absolutely love it 😊

[alc123]

Hi there @elmac !

looks great!

are you able to give an update on how the tiles are holding up? 

thank you