Bathroom Renovation - UPDATE

Hi all,

Thought you might like to see the final end product of the recent bathroom renovation we did in our 1880s Victorian terrace house in the Inner West of Sydney.

Total cost for full renovation including removal of old bathroom, all fixtures, fittings, painting, tiles, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tiling, all labour etc. $20,758.03

The bathroom is 2.4m x 2.0m

Here's a few before and afters.

 

Sorry about that, I don't know why they came out sidewards!
If i knew how to fix it I would

 

Try an iPad with the screen locked, then just turn the screen to suit the pictures! At least that's what I did.

 

Ok let's try it this way These are the only images I can get the right way up.

Before photos...







And after photos...

 

Yes, very nice. Gorgeous vanity, floor tiles, taps, storage and hook on wall!

 

@wylie Thank you! They are actually white matt hexagonal tiles on the floor, with grey grout.

I read somewhere once that if you don't have a lot of money to spend on a bathroom but you want it to look great then spend money on the "jewellery" - the vanity, storage and tapware. Keep the tiles and the design simple and try to keep the plumbing in the same place or as close as possible. We followed that advice and didn't move the location of any plumbing at all. The most expensive thing is the vanity but we think it gives the wow and makes it look more expensive.

We only tiled 3/4 up the wall with white subways (cheapies!) and put a capping tile on the top as the ceiling actually slants upwards on one side of the bathroom. The top 1/4 of the wall is grey and the ceiling is white.

Not bad for a bathroom costing total just over $20K for absolutely everything

 

Looks great, what comprised most of that costs though?

 

Biggest expense was the cost of the builder at $8,250 which included the demo, rubbish removal, waterproofer, plumber and tiler.
Next biggest cost was the tapware and hooks/soap dish/towel rails etc. at $3,215 and frameless shower screen at $2,480. The vanity was $1,595 and the tallboy was $1,399. The remaining expenses were bits and pieces such as downlights, pendant light (on clearance!) and globe, drain covers, tiles, toilet (discontinued model), mirror, exhaust fan, painting, other random parts etc.

We were going to do the painting ourselves but hubby had a motorbike accident and I had a lung infection and broke a rib from coughing. So we decided to just get a professional to do it. That added a couple of hundred to the total cost.

We saved money by not relocating any of the plumbing and also not tiling all the way to the ceiling.

 

Wow, looks great!! The wall and floor tiles, as well as the taps really suit the era of the house, and nice clean lines. Great work

 

Thanks for all the info. Can I ask where you bought the vanity and tall boy and tapware?

 

Ha! Definitely female

Yes I agree that is the best option. Until we moved into an old house I always thought tiling partway up the wall looked "cheap" - and I still think that way for very new and modern houses but not so much for older houses as it can actually suit the character of the home - particularly in Victorian and Federation style properties. I now think that whether people choose to tile to the ceiling depends on the style and character of the home, the style of the bathroom itself, tile choice and budget. I often wonder if those morrocan style tiles that are so in now (which are gorgeous!) will turn into the hideous florals of the 70s and in 10 years people will be clamouring to rip them out.

 

Hi @WattleIdo !

The vanity and tallboy are the Shaker style and came from Heritage Building Centre in Sydney. Schots in Melbourne also sell them for less $$ - we would have bought from them and had it shipped but they were out of stock at the time we needed the vanity. Even with shipping they are less expensive than Heritage Building Centre.

The tapware is by Astra Walker and is from their Olde English range with the exception of the shower which is from their Signature range. We also opted for the white porcelain handles which cost extra (of course!). We also bought this from Heritage Building Centre but I'm sure you can find better prices on these as they gave no discount at all.

 

Thanks @vtt - very helpful. I love the look!
Edit: @vtt I was going for hexagonals and subways anyway. And on the look out for ye olde english look. Hope you don't mind when you see my before and after photos. Both those bathroom centres will be sold out for months now!

 

No worries! The hex floor and subway tiles gives a really timeless look in my view but still pays homage to the era (not that they had a bathroom in the house originally but you get the drift).

The olde English tapware look also equals a very expensive look! It was really difficult to find tapware and accessories that had the look and were also reasonable quality. Some were really flimsy and others were fantastic but so expensive. The Astra Walker was the best compromise we could find to balance price and quality. They have lots of tap handle and spout options as well so you can do all sorts of combinations. We paid extra to get the jumbo size shower head (300mm), it's normally a 150mm diameter head.

The paint colour is Dulux Tranquil Retreat full strength - it is the same grey as the vein in the marble. Just gorgeous.

Looking forward to seeing your bathroom reno!!

 

Good choice @vtt - we used it in the new bathroom we put in the downstairs area of our raised Queenslander. Will share some photos soon.

 

Before didn't look that bad. But the after photos are pretty awesome.
Well done!

 

Thank you @Azazel What is hard to see in the before photos is that the bath was only 115cm long X 70cm wide. So this meant that the actual internal shower area was about 100cm X 60cm - it was really tight. Unless you are very short (or legless - literally) taking a bath was out of the question.

The vanity area was also an old umbrella stand that had been converted and at some point in the past there had been water leaking from the sink and a lot of the vanity was rotten and crumbling. There was no storage at all in the bathroom and the sink had a large crack in it. The tapware was brass but the polish had come away and the sheen was lost and unsaveable.

The tiles on the floor were also cracked in parts and some were missing. The wall tiles were in great shape though but in real life appeared much more yellow than the photos show. The bathroom actually looked green and yellow! The toilet seat was also originally dark wood but I couldn't take it so replaced it with a white one.

As sad as I was to say goodbye to the homage to the Green and Gold, I'm very happy with the new and improved version!