We often dream about having a big bathroom but, small bathroom can be sufficient and very functional. Here is our small bathroom renovation journey, from a separate toilet and bathroom to one useful space.
How did we get to this ?
First, we planned the new layout
Originally we had one toilet and one tiny bathroom. This didn't work for our family of 4 so it was important to us to change the layout by joining the 2 rooms. Another point was that I wanted a bath for the children and my husband wanted a walk-in shower for grandparents staying over frequently and none of us would compromise. So we looked at fitting both on paper :
As the new layout worked on paper, it was time to move on to the next step!
We joint the 2 rooms together (~ 2 weeks)
Luckily, my husband and a friend love DIY! They broke the partition wall between the toilet and bathroom and stripped the walls back to brick. Electrics were carefully moved and taped until the new doorway to the bathroom was created, blocking off the 2 existing doorways.
We paid a company to change the windows so we could carry done doing everything else ourselves.
The bulk of the work (~3 weeks)
The "must do, can't see" work could then start:
The new door way was created, the wall was boarded to block the 2 existing doorways.
The pipe work was done for the bath, shower, sink and toilets.
The ceiling was lowered by building a wooden frame.
Electrics for multiple ceiling lights, air ventilation and new light switch were created and hidden in the ceiling.
Plasterboard were added on all walls. The room next to the bathroom is a bedroom so we chose some soundproofing plasterboard for this wall.
We then skimmed the walls and painted the ones that were not going to be tiled.
We also added underfloor heating for a warmer feel in the winter days.
Tiling time ( ~2 weeks)
Between the floor and the walls (2 full walls), tiling took a long time due to the size of the tiles chosen and the pattern I wanted to have on the wall. It took about 2 weeks to complete just this step and a couple of days to grout.
Bathroom fixtures, fittings and furniture (~1 week)
Where possible, we took time to shop around, to find deals and alternatives to more pricey items we first found.
We found out that sink units were quite expensive and we needed a unit with plenty of storage for our small bathroom. This is where I compromised and opted for a chest of draws instead! We cut a hole in the top of the furniture and bottom of the first draw for the pipework to fit.
We shop around to find fittings at a good price. All our fittings were black and we wanted the radiator to also be black. The style of radiator we liked was not available in black so we bought one in silver and spray painted it black which gave us the finish we wanted.
We didn't compromise on everything. We chose a stone bath for its design as it offered a great size bath and a thin edge which was ideal for a small space. The downside of chosing this bath is that it is really heavy and required 4 people to help lift it. Luckily, some friends and neighbours were happy to help! This was the most expensive item in the bathroom and that we were happy to invest in.
How much did it cost?
In total, this bathroom costed us £7500. We probably saved approximately £4K by doing it ourselves. below is the breakdown of the cost
Chest of draw + Sink and fittings £500
Toilets, tank unit and fittings £1100
Bath £1500
Shower screen and fittings £900
Tiles, adhesive & tools £1500
Sound insulation boards £150
Plasterboard £100
Plastering £250
Wood in ceiling, doorframe, wall rebuild for doorway £250
Under floor heating £300
lights (incl. switches + fan) £100
Accessories £200
Radiator £200
Windows £400
Paint £50
How long did it take?
It took approximately 2 months of work to do it. We were not living at the property during the renovation work so we had the luxury of time on our hands to complete this project.
Don't hesitate to reach out to use if you have any question, we would be happy to help where we can.
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