This bathroom renovation project in Co Laois started off as any other, with cost headaches and a scramble to find the perfect finish.
In this article we cover:
- The budget and how much was spent so far
- Style inspiration and how hard it is to replicate
- DIY vs expert
- Tile choices
- The importance of shopping around with cost comparisons
When we first did up our house 10 years ago, we put in a brand new bathroom downstairs. Complete with wall hung toilet and panelling. We also went with a polished lime plaster finish, our plasterer’s version of tadelakt, for the shower wall.
We did not, however, put in a shower curtain, which has led to inevitable water damage. The plaster finish wasn’t working at the junction between wall and mosaic tiles, meaning the time had come to reconfigure that section of the bathroom.
The floor tiles in the rest of the bathroom were slippery from the start, so their days were numbered too. We’ve had no falls but plenty of near misses.
While we were at it, we figured we might as well add underfloor heating – the space is small, so a timed, electric cable system would do us. My thinking is if the bathroom is warm and inviting, the
kids will kick up less of a fuss to go have a shower.
When we originally did the bathroom, we put in a thick layer of clay bead insulation under a limecrete floor. This will be plenty to stop the heat from going into the floor instead of into the room.
My only concern here is having to level the floor for the new large format tiles. I’ll let you know how we get on with that in the next instalment.
Style inspo
We started off by gathering inspiration online, then visiting every showroom that was nearby. Not as easy as it sounds when your weekends, (well, the kids’ weekends), are filled with sports and playdates.
One idea we picked up was to include a high shelf with plants on it, over the basin. And incorporate gold brassware, dark cabinets and timber effect wall tiles.
Unfortunately, we quickly realised that inspo images online are, more often than not, unattainable. Compared to when we last renovated, the situation doesn’t seem to have changed all that much.
There is a bit more choice but not that much. Yes, I know Ireland is an island and it’s not easy to get things here. But it’s still a shame to realise anything that’s not standard is still very hard (read expensive) to get.
DIY vs expert
After all of that shopping around, we had a chat with a bathroom specialist, via video link, to discuss our plans in detail. That was really helpful in determining what we could and couldn’t do. It also focused our minds on what kind of finishes we wanted and the overall aesthetic.
Even though there were quite a few follow up emails to clarify things, of my doing, I have to say this bit was by far the easiest. One reason was that I had the peace of mind that the finishes would be good quality and that everything we were getting would fit and work well.
We’d bought some stuff online before for the bathrooms, when we initially did up the house, and wouldn’t do it again. Getting expert advice and guidance really pays off. Plus we’ll be able to rely on our bathroom consultant’s expertise during fit-out, if any questions arise. I’m sure I’ll have a few.
It would have been great to hire a builder but cost was one issue. The other is not knowing any. And even if we did, I’m not sure they’d be available to take on such a small job.
TOP TIP
Shop around:
When you are shown a tile, the salesperson is unlikely to give you the make or model. Just ask for more images of the tile, pictures of it in an actual bathroom, and do a reverse image search online. This will give you the information you need (model and make) to shop around for the tile of your choice.
Tiles
Unfortunately, our bathroom specialist didn’t have the tiles we wanted, which was a warm timber wood slat effect for the walls. We felt that was the best way to tie in the concrete/grey finish of the existing bathroom with the new dark cabinets and gold fixtures.
We found a timber effect tile online that fit the bill and ordered in a sample, well worth the €20 courier fee (samples are free). It was fine but we kept going to showrooms and stumbled upon a tile that I fell in love with. However, the colour was too light for what we had in mind. We still got a sample.
I have to allow myself a rant here in that I found the exact same tile in Spain, in the right colour (it comes in multiple shades), for a fraction of the price we were being charged here (€30 per sqm versus €53 per sqm here). The glitch was the courier cost to get 10sqm of heavy tile shipped to Ireland (€280 excluding VAT).
When I enquired with the showroom where I found the light colour, I was told there was no way to get the darker shade. I suspect the way it works is that they have a certain stock they have to get rid of before they can start ordering anything else.
I rang every company that stocked that brand of tile in Ireland, both north and south of the border, and they all said they didn’t have it in stock. Some offered to bring them in but the courier cost of
hundreds of euros was going to apply no matter what.
One quote was for £40/sqm plus £200 for shipping, making it more expensive than shipping directly from Spain. A place in Dublin quoted €78/sqm plus €120 consignment charge for it being a small order, plus €80 delivery.
At this point we circled back to the light coloured tile and somehow the quote came back way more expensive (€830 including grout and adhesive).
Back to square one and we went with the initial wall panelling tile at half the cost, providing the warmth we need at the right price. And the people I dealt with there made me happy with my choice;
it’s difficult dealing with salespeople who seem to only be concerned with extracting as much money out of you as they can.
Case in point is the fancy showroom in Dublin where we bought our floor tiles; light tiles with a warm marble effect which are lovely and certified slip-resistant. Unfortunately, the overly friendly salespeople ended up giving us too much product for the area we needed to cover.
So do check that you’re only getting an extra 10 per cent of tile (if a tile is accidently broken or cut the wrong way). I’m still fuming over my own mistake, which was not double checking the invoice for the amount of tiles being supplied.
In my defence it was all quite cryptic and I figured they knew what they were doing – so the lesson there is always query anything that isn’t crystal clear. And, as if I needed reminding, it never pays to rush. Quite the opposite.
The restocking fee, i.e. what we would be charged for them to take back the unused tiles, is 20 per cent.
How much will it cost?
A project of any magnitude begins with a budget.
And we gave ourselves a target of €5,000 including paying for the tiler and electrician, as well as buying the underfloor heating, new wall cabinet, vanity with tap, new basin and shower fixtures. Plus the tiles.
At the start, the world was our oyster and we toyed with the idea of installing a fluted glass partition with gold finish. But, because the space was so tight, it just wasn’t going to fit. And when we priced it, we realised it was completely outside of our budget anyway – at well over €1k.
To save on costs, the hubby and myself are doing the grunt work, as in rip out the existing units and floor, making good for the tiler and electrician to come in, and building the stud wall with niche in it.
The hubby will be plumbing the new shower valve too, and the tap.
In the end we spent about €3,000 on the fixtures and fittings, and about €500 for the wall tiles and trims (includes VAT and delivery), and €500 for the floor tiles including VAT. We have the electrician and tiler left to pay, plus bits of materials to buy like lengths of timber.
What we didn’t realise is that tilers charge quite a bit more for large format tiles; the reason is that it takes two tilers to do the job rather than the one.
