Order of Trades for Your Bathroom Reno
Having recently undergone a complete bathroom renovation, I found that while the trades knew the process of tasks at hand, I myself was keen to get to know the process to a completed room. In the last few weeks I have built up a knowledge base that I am keen to share with you all, so you too can keep track of timings, cost of your renovation and what order the steps need to be implemented.
So here's my quick guide to a bathroom renovation.
#1: Order your bathroom products
It is best to have your bathroom products ordered and confirmed with your plumber before you start your bathroom renovation. This way, the trades will know exactly what products and dimensions they have to work with.
Remember some products such as custom made vanities can take weeks to be delivered.
#2: Demolition
If you are completing a tiles off renovation, you will be removing the current fixtures and fittings, the tiles, and the wall sheets.
This is a messy process, and one I would recommend moving out of the house for, or at least sealing doorways so the dust doesn't travel too far.
#3: Re-sheeting walls
This step is the main preparation in laying the foundation of the room. Your trades will make sure the walls will be as level as possible in order to make the waterproofing and tiling stage smooth sailing.
If you are changing the plumbing locations in your room, you may want to have the plumber rough in before the walls are sheeted.
#4: Plumber/Electrical rough-in
The plumber will rough in all of the water inlet points to your bathroom. If you have wall mounted taps (usually for the shower bath or vanity), you plumber will need to install the in-wall components to the taps at this stage.
Note that Indigo tapware has a universal in wall body kit, so you can get the in-wall kit at rough in and decide on the tap shape and colour at a later stage - awesome!
This is also the time to get an electrician to rough-in if you are having electrical work done.
#5: Waterproofing
Get a qualified waterproofer to come and complete this task, because you do not want any hiccups in the waterproofing, and as soon as there is the smallest blimp, you will need to start from the beginning.
Waterproofing can take a few days as you will need multiple coats applied for compliance.
#6: Tiler
Once your waterproofing has set, you can call in the tiler. If you have a feature tile, or different tiles making an appearance in the room, make sure you give the tiler clear instruction on what goes where and any particular patterns you had in mind.
The tiler will screed and tile the floor (also mention if you have underfloor heating at this point), then also tile the walls.
If you have a grout colour in mind, be specific with this too, it is best to send the tiler the grout colour reference to avoid disappointment.
#7: Sealing
Once the tiler has finished, take a moment to look at the awesome tile selection you made - cool huh!
Now you will need to seal between the floor and base of the walls so no water can enter this space.
#8: Painting
Before any of your fittings go into the space, now is the best time to call the painter in (or do it yourself). You can easily move a ladder around to reach the ceiling for a fresh lick of paint, and you can also paint any wall space if you didn't tile to the roof.
#9: Plumber/Electrician Fit-off
Now it's time to call the plumber back to fit-off all of your beautiful new products. This includes the tapware, showers, bathroom accessories, toilet, vanity, cabinets, mirrors, drains and bath.
The electrician will need to fit off PowerPoints, any heated elements and lighting.
Now your bathroom should finally be looking like your vision board!
#10: Shower Screen Install
If you are having a shower screen, this is the last item to be installed in the room. The installer will come in and have this done within the day. My hot tip, opt for a good quality glass as it is less likely to show the shower droplets after each shower.
Once you have completed all of the above steps, your bathrooms is ready to go. Now it's finally time to move in, decorate and relax in this beautiful new space you have created.
