# Forum Home Renovation Bathrooms  Bathroom reno guide for beginner

## mum_of_5.5

Does anyone know of a good step by step guide to renovating bathroom. I am planning to completely re-tile, rip out old shower cubicle and replace with a bathtub with overhead shower and rip out old large vanity and put in smaller one (decided against knocking out walls, too much work  :Wink: ).
So I need a how to guide for all this stuff including tools needed etc.
Am on a bit of a time limit as my baby will be born in around 4 weeks and want to get it done before she arrives, starting as soon as tax return is through (already submitted it on 1st July). Will keep me occupied and stop me putting on too much weight in any case  :Tongue: . I really don't want to be doing it after she is born as that is a stressful enough time as it is and will likely be more so with a preemie bub! 
Oh also, does anyone know the best place to buy tiles and tubs in NSW, preferably somewhere that will ship/deliver as I am in the hunter valley and there is only one bathroom shop and one tile shop here in my area (singleton). I'd like to get the best prices possible obviously. I also know what the tile I want looks like but not the name. I want black or grey floor tiles and white wall tiles with frieze or decor tiles (not sure which is which) the designed tiles are black with some sort of gold etching. If anyone has any ideas of what they might be it would be apreciated also so I can search for a cheaper price. Here they cost $3.30 each (that is floor, decor and frieze, all same price) Floor tiles are 200 X 200, frieze and decor are 200 X 250 
Thanks in advance 
Linda

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## Master Splinter

FOUR WEEKS!!!!!  You might just be kidding yourself there!   
Allowing for drying times, it's at least ten days worth of effort.  That's assuming everthing is lined up and ready to go, and that absolutely nothing is waiting on delivery!  If you are on a concrete slab and need to relocate any drains...add an extra two or three days.  Ditto if you de-sheet and find that there is rotting timber that needs fixing. 
If you are intending to do most of the work yourself, my ballpark estimate is that you'd need two days to rip out the old bathroom, take the rubbish to the tip, and do any necessary pre-sheet work. (In my experience, its easier to rip whole walls down rather than try to gently get tiles off, as they will rarely come off cleanly so it ends up a false economy, especially if time is an issue) 
Allow a day for the plumber to shift anything that needs to be relocated, and another day to re-sheet the room (includes making new tub frame or whatever).  Another day for waterproofing (I would not recommend doing this yourself if pregnant, as the fumes from the polyester resin are pretty nasty). 
A day for tiling, and when that's dry put the new vanity in, and grout the tiles.  The next day the plumber can come back and put the taps on and install the shower screen. 
Then you can paint, and leave the paint to dry. 
Tools: Hammer, screwdrivers (straight and phillips), nail puller, nail punch, wrenches to suit plumbing fittings, fiber cement sheet cutter, a few tungsten carbide tipped hole saws, power saw, drill/driver, scrapers, chisels...and possibly a planer, a belt sander, nail gun, non-rotary hammer drill and a four inch grinder (as well as consumables for all of those). 
To start with, I'd suggest you nip down to the local hardware store and purchase maybe 3 or 4 x 20kg bags of tile cement and a 20kg bag of grout.  Buy them one at a time, carry them to the checkout in your arms, and then walk them out to your car which is not parked particularly close to the store...  If you feel tired or sore after this...it might be time to reconsider doing it yourself! 
Best thing to do for tiles is to hop in the car, attach a trailer, and drive to Sydney and hit some of the tile places there; you'll be able to buy a vanity, too.  Stick 'em all in your trailer and drive home.  Prices for tiles range from $20-$50 per square meter up to $100 for the porcelain ones. Vanities - $300 -$1000 ish.

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## Samsman

The advice from MASTER SPLINTER sounds good
except that from my experience things always take far longer than even the most conservative of estimates
anyway the best of luck with the .5 as well as the bathroom
most courangeous

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## mum_of_5.5

Thanks for the reply.
It is only a very (and I mean *very* ) small bathroom (2.3mtres deep X 1.5mtres wide) so a tub is going to take up pretty much one whole length of the wall. I am hoping to not have to move any plumbing, the drain hole for the bath might be the only problem there. I have already started removing wall tiles (and yep it seems to be removing a little of the plaster boards underneath where the glue was, I assume I can't just sand that back?)
Shouldn't need to do any electrical work either I don't think. I'm not moving any light fittings or power points or anything.
I am hoping to have a friend or two help me out with some things, especially heavy lifing that I can't handle myself. One has done alot of renovating herself and her hubby is a builder by trade and my BIL has offered to help out too so he knows what to do when he goes to reno his bathroom  :Tongue:  
Yep 4 weeks as my bub is being induced 6 weeks early at this point which is just over 4 weeks away! 
If I can get alot of the prep work done now will it help? I obviously can't knock the shower out yet as then we would have nowhere to wash ourselves, but I could probably knock it out so that just the main wall is gone, just mean the water will go out into the rest of the floor.
I won't be having a shower screen, will just use a curtain unless I decide to put in a half screen.
I had some pics up here before in another thread, will repost them, but don't know how to do them in clickable thumnails, so they will be a bit bigger  :Redface:  
Showing part of vanity that needs to come out   
Inside shower  
From doorway  
Thanks again 
Linda

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## Gooner

Are you planning on doing all the work yourself? 
There are many similarities here with what you are doing and what I am still in the process of doing. I am renovating a small 2.4 x 1.5mm ensuite. I totally ripped it out and started again, including all tiles, ceiling, flooring, plasterboard, etc. I am doing all myself. 
I started about 2-3 weeks before our baby was born. He was born in early December. It is not July and I am still going! 
Don't know what you have budgeted, but I very much underestimated the cost by a factor of at least 2. Also, I underestimate the job. There have been small things that have taken a fair bit of time. For example, after getting a new shower I realized I had to shorten the width of the window.... I spent a lot of time re-straightened the wall studs...took me two attempts to get the shower base in properly....I tried to repair the paint chips on the ceiling, but then realized it was easier to replace the lot with new plasterboard... etc etc etc. 
Overall, the cost of the new ensuite (including new shower, toilet, vanity, taps, plumbing, tiles, electrical, waterproofing, bathroom accessories, sundries, etc) is around $6K-$8K.. and this was for a small ensuite! 
Since our little boy was born, I tend to do some work on it about once every 3 weekends if I am lucky.

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## mum_of_5.5

Sounds like your doing a bigger job than I 'plan' to. My main concern is having a bathtub which is the whole reason for it. The tiling I thought may as well be done at the same time (as you can see it's awful as is). The new vanity is only because the old one has to come out to fit a bathtub in there. I don't have to do a toilet or anything, that is in the next room over and I will leave the ceiling with exhaust etc where it is.
I have probably under budgeted but if I get different tiles to the ones I realy like I can probably do it for alot less, if I have added it all correctly the tiles I want are going to cost around $1200 but getting tiles from an auction warehouse I can probably cut that back to a couple of hundred  :Shock: 
I had budgeted about $1500 total so I might just have to make do with different tiles. It's not like I can make the bathroom look spectacular with the size it is anyway without doing the whole thing over. I can spend more if necessary. I will still have about 3K left and another 5K after bub is born (really just need the bathtub in and operable before she arrives). 
I won't do all the work myself, will have friends help with some. If i'm lucky I might even be able to get my ex to organise his plumber mate (well mine too) to help us out if need be. Being this is our only bathroom it will be a priority to get it finished!

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## Gooner

..one more thing.. 
You are thinking of removing the tiles from the plasteboard and re-tiling? 
I think it would be much easier to just remove everything, (i.e the plasterboard with tiles), and just put up new plasterboard and retile. 
We have similar dimension rooms and I managed to fit in a toilet, vanity and shower. Just requires a bit of though how it all needs to fit. In my case a 1000x1000 corner shower and some in-wall shelving went a long way in making it all fit. It meant I could have a small vanity without compromising too much on shelf space.  
Also, replacing the normal door with a bi-fold door added some much needed space for the vanity. Without the bi-fold door, the arrangement I have would not work. 
It's a little tight, but I wanted a shower and toilet in the ensuite. I laid everything out in the room and even got the approval from the wife.  :Smilie:

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## Gooner

.. and another thing...... 
You are planning on doing this when your are 8 months pregnant?!?!?! 
I think you are being very optimistic to do a "proper" job for $1.5K. Just the cost of the bath, tiles and vinity will be about that I would have assumed. Are you considering the cost of all the other items associated with doing the work? Adhesives, waterproofing, tools, etc.

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## mum_of_5.5

Yes I guess it could be easier to put in new plasterboard. having a friend with a builder husband should help  :Tongue:  Plaster board isn't expensive is it?
Yes ours could easily fit a shower, toilet and vanity (with a smaller vanity, the one in there runs the whole width of the room). I am happy to have the shower over the bath. I will leave the shower where it is (the attachments etc) just knock out the actual cubicle and put the bath in it's place. That way I should only need to plumb in the taps etc for the bathtub and the shower part should be fine...actually as ours is a handheld shower I may not even need to do that. there may be a way to have it hook onto the bath edge for when having a bath and then hook up higher for when a shower is warranted  :Biggrin: , you know like at the hairdressers with their hand held units., this way the only plumbing I would need would possibly be the pipe to the drain which is currently the shower drain to be cahnged to a bath drain....wonder if there is a way around that also, like just adding some piping?
Hmmmm....talking about it gives me more ideas  :Laugh bounce:

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## mum_of_5.5

Lol...yep, just changed a head gasket in my car too  :Tongue: 
Yeah thats what I was thinking (the added extras) which is why I might go for cheaper tiles from an auction warehouse (found some for $21 for 1.44sq mtr, my total tiling area is 13.3sq mtrs so just under $200 compared to $1200). I'm sure I could find some I like at that price  :Wink:  I might look at getting a tub from auction too, the one I'm looking at is $240 from the bathroom shop, not sure on a vanity as yet.
If the tax is in by saturday I will drive down to the austion in Sydney and see what I can get and make sure to take my floor plan with me with measurements! If I can get all the main things for under 1k then the other expenses will hopefully be only another $500-1000

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## Gooner

Good luck. Will be interested to hear how it goes. 
If you ask me, you should put your feet up, relax and not give yourself the stress of the bathroom renovatin just now... especially seeing it is your only bathroom.

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## Master Splinter

A quick word of warning about getting stuff through auction houses (especially vanities) - the stuff that I have seen (and put in) that has come from supposed 'auctions' is built to a price - a very, very low price, at that.   
Remember, it comes from China, where the rule of thumb is that quality control is the buyer's problem, not the manufacturers!  After having worked with yum-cha vanities, I'd certainly never get one. 
As for the walls - don't use plasterboard, use fiber cement sheeting (villaboard or whatever)...it's soooo much better to have something that won't go soggy when wet, and the price difference isn't all that great. (trying to fill in holes in plasterboard after you have removed tiles is a right pain; trust me, it's quicker and easier to rip the walls out!!!).   
And yes, even though you won't be moving any power points, you will need an electrician, as legally you are not even allowed to unscrew the power points from the wall (not even to paint under them or re-tile!). 
If you are only four weeks away from your due date, and you only have the one bathroom, I wouldn't even think of starting on it...otherwise you might be bathing in the kitchen sink till christmas! (actually my youngest got put in the kitchen sink a lot as a baby bath...she seemed quite happy with it!).  The parts of the job that are more diy-able (tiling, painting) are near the end of the process - just where you are running out of time!

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## mum_of_5.5

Master splinter....Thanks, will look into the board you suggested, as for electrical outlets etc...light and fan switch is outside the bathroom and the powerpoint is above tiles on the one wall that has only a very small area or tiles, so rather than pay an electrician I might just removed the tiles off that wall only rather than the boards unless my BIL can talk his mates into helping us out cheaply (an electrician). I am actually 10 weeks from my due date, they are inducing my baby 6 weeks early, I am actually still very active and only waddle late at night  :Tongue: . The bathtub is to make life easier all round with a new baby, is extremely hard showering the 4 youngest children and the 2 year old just screams the whole time, but loves baths (they all do, as do i).
Thanks also for the Auction house info....the one I was looking at was Laws auctions, have you heard of them? That or maitland Auctions (closer to me but havn't got their lists up yet so don't know what they have exactly or prices) 
Linda

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## mum_of_5.5

O.K trying to cut tile cost, can do this colour scheme with these tiles for around $250, what do you all think...goo/nice...bad/yuck.
Writing has come out small, so top is wall, then border, then wall then floor.

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## mum_of_5.5

> As for the walls - don't use plasterboard, use fiber cement sheeting (villaboard or whatever)

  Sorry would that be 6.0mm or 4.5mm? 
have registered for DIY workshop at bunnings on the weekend to learn how to lay floor tiles, am assuming they are harder to do thatn the walls. Will check out what they have in the way of supplies needed whilst i'm there  :Biggrin:  
Ta

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## Gooner

I am using the 6mm villaboard in my ensuite. As far as I know, it only comes in 6, 9 and 12mm thicknesses. Haven't seen 4.5mm. The recommended villaboard thicknesss depends on the tile thickness and the spacing between your wall studs. The villaboard installation manual has the followin table.
.   *VILLABOARD*  *THICKNESS (mm) .........MAXIMUM TILE THICKNESS (mm)*  .................................600mm Stud Cts................. 450mm Stud Cts 6 ....................................9.............  ...........................13 9....................................13...........  ............................18 12..................................18*...........  ..........................>25*  
Look up the James Hardie web site (http://www.jameshardie.com.au). They have a good "wet area construction" guide as well as all the relevant information you need for villaboard installation. Lots of useful and relevant information.. particularly the wet area construction guide.

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## Master Splinter

I find that there are two types of auction house; there's the real auction house - which can have some good buys from time to time, for example if they are auctioning off the contents of a business that is closing or they are getting rid of a job lot of odds and ends, and then there is the faux auction house which always seems to have endless stock of the same sort of stuff, week after week.   
This inexhaustable stock will be (to use a Simpsons quote) Magnetbox, Panaphonic or Sorny  type brands sourced from interchangeable factories in China.  I view this stuff with the greatest suspicion based on my past experiences - for example, green dye in chipboard here means that the glue is a waterproof grade; from some Chinese based manufacturing places, it simply means that there is green dye in the chipboard glue.(I've actually had the dye stain my hands!)  A tap purchased here with a Watermark standard symbol means that it meets a range of standards; for some of the Chinese made ones, it means that some graphic designer put the Watermark symbol on the box - you can never really tell, as the stock never stays the same very long. 
I look at the faux auction houses as a business model rooted in not providing warranty or backup for the product (sorry, we don't get those anymore) that they sell, so keep this in mind when looking at what they are offering!

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## brettsyoung

Just learned the hard way there is no cheap and quick way to do a bathroom.  It's the endless small things that get you - primers; tints for the grout; cornices; the extra plumbing bits because you set the vanity wrong; the aluminium tile trims; the tile drill; the new door; the new wall paint; the window trims; inside door architraves; the various trowels/squeegees/sponges/scrapers etc; and on it goes.  If you have plenty of cash you can go faster because you can just keeping buying stuff as you need it...and believe me IT WILL cost double what you budget.   
Regarding your schedule....it took three months for me to finally get the plumber in; I waited three weeks for an electrician when I decided the exhaust fan/light needed changing; a couple of weeks waiting for the taps to arrive after I ordered the wrong ones; endless days-off waiting for glues/bog/membranes/grout etc to dry.  Weeks buggerising around with the hob to get it level, square and line up with the drain.  I spent a lot of time looking for tiles and probably saved $500 by getting them when a tile shop had a sale - but it meant months of searching. 
I have no idea how much it all cost (too scared to add it up) but it took about 4 months when I had planned to finish it in 6 weeks.  It's still not quite finished, and my wife has to flog me every weekend or I'd just leave it as it is.  Of all the jobs I've done around the place, the bathroom reno was definitely the most difficult and time consuming.   
My wife reckons I'm now an expert and should start on the ensuite.  I'm considering running away with the circus.

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## mum_of_5.5

Thanks for that Brett  :Tongue:  nah just kidding, thankyou for the info on how yours went. I will honestly be happy to just get the bathtub in and operable before the baby comes, that is my #1 concern, if other things need to wait so be it. I am desperately hoping though that with the offers of help I have gotten and with knowing a plumber and an electrician that we won't have those long waits! My ex will be staying here for 8wks after the baby is born and is taking that 8weeks off work to help me out (I also have epilepsy so have to have 8hrs sleep and need an adult here incase I have a seizure)
I am thinking of heading to bunnings today actually to make a list of all I need and prices and possible ordering anything not in stock!

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## mum_of_5.5

Went to bunnings today, couldn't get prices on everything because kids were playing up (darn school holidays  :Sneaktongue: ) and not even sure on everything I need. But found a nice tub just the right size and changed my mind on the tiles. Will be spending a little more, but not as far to travel and they look good together. Am now going for a nice border 9most expensive tile of what i'm getting) with touches of black, grey, blue, silver and cream from memory, then a row of small black tiles under that. The main walls will be larger cream tiles with small black ones randomly placed in diamond shape. Floor will be black with cream diamonds randomly placed. The floor is area to be tiled is so small I don't think tile colour will make a difference in how big the room looks.
Also got one of those impact hammer drills everyone on this board raves about for $69 (thinking i'll need it to get old floor tiles removed.)
Priced, grout, adhesive, waterproof stuff and caulk. So far comes to $745
I know I will still need to price wood for bath frame, cement for bath trowel (or whatever it's called for spreading grout etc), nails for nail gun (have a gun already) cement sheeting and a vanity...don't know what i'm going to do about that, all the ones I saw today are too large by about 125mm as I only have a small space to put it. I'm sure I will find one somewhere! 
So what am I forgetting  :Tongue: 
Oh I'm also removing the medicine cabinet and going to put shelving in the hole since it is above where the bathtub will be.
There will also be a small gap between the end of the bath and the wall, any tips on how to go about making that a ledge type thing level with the bathtub rather than have a useless space? 
Thanks again  :Biggrin:

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## Gooner

> Just learned the hard way there is no cheap and quick way to do a bathroom. It's the endless small things that get you......;  
> *snip* 
> ....and believe me IT WILL cost double what you budget.  
> *snip* 
> I have no idea how much it all cost (too scared to add it up) ..... 
> *snip* 
> Of all the jobs I've done around the place, the bathroom reno was definitely the most difficult and time consuming.

  100% my experience as well.

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## mum_of_5.5

When removing old floor tiles, how far down do i go without ruining the floor? Have just removed them all but i think I have to go further down because just the actual tiles themselves have come off. Do I have to remove the concrete they were set into as well?
Thanks

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## mum_of_5.5

Well went a bit further and think that was wrong. Rang a friend and she said only a couple of mm until the colour of the glue is gone...oops, hopefully I can use the tile adhesive to fill those gaps or fill them with some concrete. 
Have removed most of wall tiles also and taken out shower wall. It was not waterproofed properly anyway and the wood underneath is wet. Bathroom looks bigger already without that bulky wall looking shower there  :brava:  So even with a tub against the wall i think the overall appearance will be bigger because you will be able to see right to the end of the bathroom now! Still a bit of removing to do. Hoping to get to waterproofing floor tomorrow. This was all since about 4.30pm with alot of breaks in between lol. 
Havn't bought wall tiles yet, starting with floor and bathtub installation then when tax comes in next week (fingers crossed) will do the walls. Will just have to bath with no splashing in the mean time  :Tongue:  
Bath and floor tiles plus tools, grout, wood for frame, concrete etc cost almost $500.
Only have to buy wall tiles and adhesive for those plus vanity and boards now.
Also got a nifty plumbing thing that bends and stretches so I can use existing waste from shower to run from bathtub  :Biggrin:  $15 instead of plumber cost sounds good to me!

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## Ferdelberger

Great work Mum_of_5.5.  Can you post some photos?  I would like to get my missus to do our bathroom and a few piccies would help her get her motivated. She is getting her tax cheque soon too.   :2thumbsup: 
Fred

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## mum_of_5.5

Will do.  
Installed tub today, hopefully did a good enough job! Not sure how long I have to let the mortar bed set for before I can use it though, or if I did it correctly. Built the frame, attached to wall, inserted bath,it's quite high up to make use of existing waste so put some bricks underneath to build it up and then put mortar inbetween bath and bricks and surrounding bricks. Feels pretty darn sturdy though  :2thumbsup:  Then half filled bath will warm water. Have a very slight leak somewhere around plug hole so will put more solastic on that tomorrow night, it won't hurt in the meantime as the fall from old shower is still there and any leaks should go straight down the drain  :Tongue: .
Pics will show that a few corners were cut, like leaving tiles under bath area that were already there and now bath is in looks like will have to get a plumber mate to move the plumbing for the vanity because the bath blocks a tap and not enough room for vanity where drain pipe is..
Have waterproofed floor and behing walls of bath, still have to do other walls and up higher near bath since it will be used as shower also. 
Quite happy to have the bathtub in at least! Has been alot of work so far, I have bruises and sore all over  :Redface:

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## memphis

You sound real handy, took me 5 months to do our new ensuite!

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## mum_of_5.5

Just call me impatient, went I set my mind on something I make sure it gets done, plus today is my birthday and all I wanted was to be able to soak in a bath after 6 months without one  :Wink 1:  ! Might not be quite so quick at getting rest done....we'll see though, probably will be  :Tongue:

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## mum_of_5.5

Finished laying floor tiles tonight  :2thumbsup:  Just have to wait until tomorrow evening to grout them, then that part is done...next is front of bath hob, then walls. Have decided to build a built in vanity rather than buy one and try to make it fit. Will be made out of Pine and stained a dark brown with shelves up the side beside the window. So that wall now won't be tiled at all. Will use a boat type waterproof for it. My friend suggested this and is going to help me build it as well as design it for me with all wood cut measurements  :2thumbsup:  She has built heaps of stuff in her house and everything looks very professional  :Biggrin: 
I'm not 100% pleased with the floor, but I think it's quite good for a first timer! A few imperfections that hopefully no-one else will notice. I'm sure the grout will also make a difference.

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## Ferdelberger

Hi Mum 
Still waiting for the piccies.  Want to get my wifey and her girlfriend to do our bathroom.  Only another few days till the baby is born hey. Good luck.  Are you planning on a home birth. Perhaps you can you fit it in in between the walls and building the vanity.   :2thumbsup:  
Fred

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## mum_of_5.5

Oh alright, but don't give me a hard time o.k  :Blush7:  have done my best  :Tongue:  
tax came through this morning so now I can get stuck into the rest, was at a standstill cause I needed more waterproof stuff and had to buy the rest of the wall tiles! 
No, No home birth, this baby is going to be 6 weeks premmie. 
here are pics 
sorry if they are large, I don't know how to do the thumbnail thing people do oh and floor hasn't been grouted yet, otherwise today I wouldn't be able to do any work in there. 
Before      
Bath in    
Floor done (except grouting)   
All tiles being used (top is walls, bottom floors)   
Vanity may take some time to build, my friends nan is very ill and now she needs to travel interstate to say goodbye  :Frown:  I just hope she gets there in time to say her goodbyes!

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## juan

Great work, it is coming along very well and I like the choice of tiles. 
Just wondering if you will need to move the old basin hot and cold water pipes to the left a bit before you tile. Looks from the photo that it is past the edge of the bath. I figure you will build in your vanity right up to the hob of the bath. 
At least the pressure is off a bit now as you have a bath that you can use and finish the tiling etc at your leisure. 
Keep up the good work. 
cheers

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## mum_of_5.5

Thanks  :Biggrin:  
My friend reckons we can work around the pipes (I asked her before tiling that area) because we are building the vanity over it and will build to fit, some extentions may be needed but hopefully that is all.

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## mum_of_5.5

Walls are now waterproofed, just waiting for it to dry before i can start tiling, front of hob now on (bugger of a job that was  :Eek: ) will tile that today I hope. So all coming together. Doubt the vanity will be done before bub is born as friend still interstate with her nan. But thats O.K, once tiles are done, others can shower again (I'll take the bath  :Wink: )
So I think I can get all but vanity done before baby arrives or at least before i go into hospital in 12 days time  :2thumbsup:  There will be extras to do afterwards too like adding towel rails, mirrors etc...but that type of thing is fine for waiting for.

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## Calamaty Jane

Gee i wish I had half your energy, very well done  :brava:

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## Gooner

I'm a father of 1, and I have a hard enough time renovating an ensuite within 8 months. How have you done all this within a few weeks, be a mother of 5 childern, while being 8 months pregnant????? 
Something's not right here!? 
My vote for Australian of the year.

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## mum_of_5.5

lol...Thankyou, determination & a stubborn streak! 
Have now tiled most of hob and half of largest wall...must say i think the tile combination looks quite good  :Biggrin:  
Only problem now is that bunnings was out of my border tiles, so have to wait for more to come in, in the meantime, will do rest and leave border, had 5 and they are on wall already

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## Ferdelberger

> I'm a father of 1, and I have a hard enough time renovating an ensuite within 8 months. How have you done all this within a few weeks, be a mother of 5 childern, while being 8 months pregnant????? 
> Something's not right here!? 
> My vote for Australian of the year.

  Do you think someone is having a lend of us Gooner? My vote is in the category Bull Artist of the Year.   :2thumbsup:

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## mum_of_5.5

Gee thanks Ferdelberger, I have had a little help, never said otherwise. I had my ex rip up most of the floor tiles and he painted the walls with waterproof for me since I shouldn't be doing that with the fumes (already did it with the floor though). He also mixed the cement for the bath hob for me and helped me lift the bath in, all this he did after alot of nagging from me since it's for his kids as well!
Apart from that I have done the rest with no help. This is in between alot of yelling to stay out of the bathrrom etc with the younger ones, but my eldest is 14 and has been doing her best to keep them occupied while I do my stuff. 3 are at school (wasn't fun while they were on holidays I must admit) and the other 2 go to a babysitter twice a week which gives me some time to get things done, and let me just say the backaches and stomach cramps at the end of the day aren't exactly pleasant  :Mad:  But I have a time limit and am doing my best to get this completed before my baby arrives, there will be no time once she's here, either she will take up all my time with the others that still need alot of attention or i'll be driving a 3 friggen hour round trip daily just to see and feed her....so yeah I have good reason to be doing this as quickly as possible  :Annoyed: 
Others are probably doing their reno's in between work commitments, I no longer work so don't just have weekends, my only other commitments are weekly dr's appointments and they only take up one day. 
To those interested, I will try to post another pic tonight after I charge my camera battery and hopefully semi finish wall 1

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## mum_of_5.5

Here are some pics of the first wall, still have to grout and do the bottom under the baton or whatever you call it  :Tongue:  also as can be seen, only 5 border tiles are up because bunnings had run out.

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## mum_of_5.5

OMG, Can't beleive it! I actually have all the tiles now laid apart from border (still waiting on those to come back in stock)  :2thumbsup: . Now all left to do is clean up of freshly laid tiles and grouting and siliconing the tub edges...woohooo thank god for that, less than 3 days to spare, but the grouting will likely take all day tomorrow, so make that 2 days to spare...lol...hmmm maybe 1 day to spare, probably have to wait for adhesive to dry properly before I silicon, although I should be able to do that same days as grouting right, because I don't grout the joining edges of bath and tiles????? 
Had a few slack days in there, should have realy had it all done by now but some days i just had zero energy, that along with appointments and stuff. Will take pics if my camera isn't at the bottom of hospital bag. Probably way less than professional looking, but a darn sight better than it was before  :Biggrin:

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## hoidey

Mum of 6 now i am assuming.  You are amazing.  I must admit i thought you were kidding yourself when i started reading but to actually get where you did in your last 4 weeks is mind blowing.  Enjoy a long hot bath with bub.

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## bearsway

I have been thinking about renovating my own bathroom and am now eager to get started. Would love to see some pics of the job as it is now. I hope yourself, your little one and the rest of the family are doing well. Any new projects in the pipe line? :Smilie:

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## allie181

I'm in awe of you!  I'm planning a bathroom reno and was intending to get tradies to do it all.  After reading your story I'm now inspired to at least strip out the bathroom myself.  I may even have enough guts to try the tiling myself after I've attending the Bunnings class.     
You're amazing!  How did everything go with the birth of your bub?

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