My new bathroom!

[Novice2DIY]

Hi, as you can tell from what you are about to read I am a complete novice to any DIY! I have bought a house which is only 18mnths old. Stud walls etc. We want to install a mixer shower in the bathroom over the bath. We don't want mixer taps or an exposed shower so hoping all the pipes etc will be 'in the wall'. Going to tile the hole room after its all fitted. What I really need to know is will the plasterboard on the wall where the shower will be sited need to be completely removed or can i simply cut a trench for everything to sit in and then tile over it?

Also any tips on removing tiles from plasterboard and installing a heated towel rail?

 

[Novice2DIY]

P.S. Also in what order would I go about this? (Haven't a clue where to start)

 

[bengasman]

P.S. Also in what order would I go about this? (Haven't a clue where to start)

Maybe you should reconsider doing this yourself if you have no idea how to go about it.
And make sure you have adequate insurance for leaks, including making good of the damage caused by the leak.

 

[charliechaplinspants]

What I really need to know is will the plasterboard on the wall where the shower will be sited need to be completely removed or can i simply cut a trench for everything to sit in and then tile over it?

If you want the pipework concealed your only option is to chase out the wall and sit the pipes in, cover them with a protective casing then fill in and tile. if there is a possibility that you can drop your feeds from above into a room that may back on to your bathroom wall then pop through into bathroom this may be another option. You can then box in pipework in other room.

Also any tips on removing tiles from plasterboard

Lump hammer and cold chisel.

and installing a heated towel rail?

How long have you got. Have you tried a search on this Forum?

 

[Richard C]

If you want the pipework concealed your only option is to chase out the wall and sit the pipes in, cover them with a protective casing then fill in and tile. if there is a possibility that you can drop your feeds from above into a room that may back on to your bathroom wall then pop through into bathroom this may be another option. You can then box in pipework in other room.

Or if it’s an external wall, build a false stud wall in the bathroom; in many cases it’s the only real option unless you want to end up in the cavity; not a good idea.

Lump hammer and cold chisel.

How long have you got. Have you tried a search on this Forum?

That’s very good advice; have a good read up on the tiling, plumbing & plastering & forums, it’s all in there & then come back with specifics for advice on what you’re not sure about.

 

[Novice2DIY]

Many thanks for your advice. We've found a handyman who can do both the tiling and the installation etc, I'm just trying to get some scope on what is involved as a whole. My bathroom is very small and unfortunately its not convenient to bring the pipes in from the ceiling or an adjacent wall. The external wall by the bath has a window sited right where the shower would ideally go!!! Just really looking to find out what is needed to install everything. My partner and I are just paranoid of wrecking our 18 mnth old house!!!!!!!

The heated towel rail should be n problem as it will be replacing the current radiator in the room, although we were hoping to have an electrical heating element installed in it as well as running it off the central heating. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

(Gosh I do go on don't I!)

 

[Richard C]

We've found a handyman who can do both the tiling and the installation etc, I'm just trying to get some scope on what is involved as a whole.

The heated towel rail should be no problem as it will be replacing the current radiator in the room, although we were hoping to have an electrical heating element installed in it as well as running it off the central heating. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I always get a very nervious when I hear the term “Handyman”; unfortunately they sometimes aren’t very handy at all when it comes to plumbing, plastering, tiling &, god forbid, electrics. Electrical work in a bathroom, requires a Part P registered electrician + a compliance/test certificate for the work & your everyday handyman or even a qualified spark cannot do this unless he is Part P registered. Botched plastering, tiling done on the cheap & shower/plumbing installations also crop up with monotonous regularity so just make sure you do some research so you at least understand what your “Handyman” is supposed to be doing otherwise he may well do a pretty good job of wrecking your 18 month old house for you!

 

[bengasman]

... We've found a handyman who can do both the tiling and the installation etc,....

Handyman: jack of all trades, master of none.

The reason he is a handyman, rather than a tradesman, is that he is not good enough at anything in particular to make it a business. It is also unlikely that he will have the proper tools that are needed to do a job as it should be done.
But it is cheap. Well, at least short term.

Am in the process of redoing a bathroom for somebody who had bathroom done by a "handyman"
Shower connection leaking in the wall.
Bath leaking at pipe connection for tap as well as waste.
floor boards cut to shreds and covered with waterproof plasterboard, covered with laminate.
Joists were slaughtered so far that they had lost about half the strength, so had to be reinforced.
Screw that was too long for the board had nicked a waterpipe, so goodbye ceiling below.
Bonding was hidden and installed incorrectly.
Basin was leaking
Bog was leaking
Tiling was awful.
Mildew on wall and ceiling.
Wrong paint used, which was peeling of the wall.

Very similar job last month for client where bathroom was done along the same lines. They decided that 4 leaks was enough and asked me to redo bathroom. Turned out all the pipes under the floor were done in compression fit, and more than half showed signs of leaks.

 

[charliechaplinspants]

Handyman : Oxford English Dictionary quote:









































































































































































































































































































Please see `wa*nk`.

 

[Novice2DIY]

Thanks for the advice! I've found out more from these last few posts than i did a week ago when we began planning what to do!!! At the moment we are still looking for somebody to do the job, the 'handyman' came up when i searched for local tradesman on Googlejavascript:emoticon(''). He has pictures etc on the web of his work (which I know could be anyones pictures!!!). But we have decided to ask around for some reputable tradesman. I was tempted to ask the guys that originally built the house, because they are finishing up the final house on the estate but we'll see.

Any ideas the cost of the work? Basically I need a mixer shower installed, the room tiled floor to ceiling (room is 1.7m x 2.3m) and a heated towel rail swapped in for the radiator. Some estimate of the cost would be appreciated!

 

[charliechaplinspants]

Fit shower, tile wall if it is already prepared and fit towel rail about 600 squids, depends on which part of country you are in. You are in Cornwall make that 2 Grand.

 

[Goldspoon]

Very hard to quote without seeing but I think £600 is extremely cheap. I would be estimating closer to £1,000 and would still wish to come view the job.

 

[Novice2DIY]

Many thanks. Just gives us some idea as to how much it will all cost.

 

[0161coop]

Start by finding tiles and a shower you like. By the time you add on labour, pipe, fittings, tile adhesive & grout you'll be looking at least double.