We are renovating our bathroom (DIY newbies) and have had an interesting conversation as to what our budget should be. We have no intention of selling and/or tenanting our house so have decided to spend a bit more getting the original galvanised plumbing (50 years old) + lead waste pipes removed and replaced, along with nicer tapware. We are doing some of the work ourselves and getting tradies to do some (i.e. electrician and plumber). Fully repaired/renovated houses similar to ours are selling in our area for about $500k.
If anyone has any advice or views they are happy to share I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
ceebee2,
Jan 22, 10:03pm
Some pics would be a start.
ryanm2,
Jan 22, 10:18pm
Why do you care what houses are worth in your area if you have no intention of selling? If it were me, (and it was a couple years ago) go gas, get rid of the hot water cylinder, we put a cavity slider in, im a sparky do did that work. All up, it was about 10k - dont buy cheap crap from those cheap and generally crappy places. Placemakers often do good combo deals at pretty sharp prices.
laspaz,
Jan 22, 10:48pm
Watching with interest as gutted our second bathroom today. We just had our first bathroom redone last year, stripped to studs, wet floor shower, toilet, vanity, washing machine hookups. painted. Around 11k.
nzmax,
Jan 23, 2:33am
Something that was suggested by a friends builder was to put extra timber in the bathroom walls so you have something solid to attach accessories to either now or for the future, eg: where the slide shower bar screws to the wall, in the corner of shower area for a caddy, thick block for a wall hung vanity, a line of timber at towel rail height round the entire room etc. Wont cost a huge amount extra, and there will probably be off cuts that can be used in some areas. For your current renovation, you may not use any of the extra timber, but if you plan to stay then it could be very helpful in the future.
opencast,
Jan 23, 9:43am
Thanks for your suggestions, these are helpful. We have brought Methven tapware and good quality vanity etc. Mentioned the market value as thought it may assist people in helping us. and we also want to make sure we don't over capitalise.
opencast,
Jan 23, 9:48am
Thanks, this is helpful. Our budget was about 8k but all up it will come in at around 9k as we made the decision to replace all of the plumbing which added about 1500 to the cost. Whole room stripped back to framing and relined (incl ceiling), new bath, shower, vanity and plumbing. Scrimped in some areas and splurged in others. Good luck with your renovations.
opencast,
Jan 23, 9:51am
Thanks nzmax; this had been suggested to us also by a builder and we have done this. It's a really good idea.
mrsvonflik,
Jan 24, 11:44am
This thread really helpful,Am buying house with not so good bathroom,It's lined with ceratone which has chipped off in the shower,it looks pretty horrible,So now will budget $10,000 for new bathroom,
mullett_007,
Jan 24, 11:52am
We did ours recently. Stripped right back and re gibbed (walls were ceratone) new ceiling as well. New lights, fan, vanity, bath and tiled shower with glass door. Methven futura shower mixer for our shitty low pressure shower which is AMAZING now. We did floor to ceiling tiles. Rimu floors so kept them but sanded back and re varnished. New plumbing as old pipes in the bathroom. We also switched round the positions of the bath and vanity. Didn't get change from $11k
mrsvonflik,
Jan 24, 12:50pm
Your new bathroom sounds great,will add some more $$$ to budget,Hopefully won't have to change position of plumbing,Will have plumber check pipes etc when I move in,
_atomant_,
Jan 24, 4:52pm
I am a sparky to and one thing I always try to get clients to do is put a power point inside the vanity so they can put their electric toothbrush chargers in it and keep them charged. Gives a cleaner look to your vanity top when you don't have that charger sitting there. I have also put them into mirror cabinets as well. Make sure your extract fan is 150mm or more as the newer shower heads atomize the water so well smaller fans can struggle to move the air sufficiently. Don't go for the fan light heat combo units as individuals units work far better. Underfloor heating. whats the point, your only in there for a short time so use a mat. Heated towel rails, put a timer in so they are not heating all day, they won't dry your towels (if they are sopping wet) but will make them warm. My 20 cents worth!
juliewn,
Jan 24, 9:30pm
Great idea to have the power point inside the vanity atomant. wish I'd thought of that, we have one beside and just above the vanity, which is useful for hair dryers too - definitely a must to have a power point in a bathroom.
I've found these have worked well. in our new house, I used Gib Aqualine for walls and ceiling in the bathroom, then the white tile-look Hardiglaze over that for all walls, Seratone for ceiling. it all looks fresh and clean and I have curtains, towels, art work and a plant, sometimes fresh flowers from my garden, for accent - easy to change the look by changing those. I also put Batts into all the walls - not just the exterior wall. this helps with sound-proofing too.
I had the door to the hall placed so it's 15mm from the corner of the bathroom that's behind the door. I placed towel rails behind the door (not on the door), one high, one medium height and a low rail for the bathmat. this means that the rails and towels are out of sight when going into the bathroom.
If your toilet is beside the vanity, place the toilet roll holder on the side of the vanity so it's out of sight when looking from the door. To ensure the screws for the holder never pull through the side of the vanity, don't use the screws provided with the holder, buy small bolts with washers and nuts (Mitre 10, Bunnings, Placemakers, etc.) to fasten it right through the side of the vanity, and to tighten firmly.
The fan is immediately above the shower, making dispersal of steam easily cleared.
The exterior door is great too. easy to come in from the garden, bbq area, etc.
A hand-wash soap dispenser fitted into the vanity near the tap, press down to dispense the liquid soap, keeps vanity top clear too and it's easy to refill.
quillta1,
Jan 24, 10:18pm
Excellent ideas on here. I am thinking about it. But hubby would rather not spend anything on the house.
laspaz,
Jan 24, 10:22pm
Just wanted to add all the walls are Gib Aqualine then Hardiglaze on top. More up front cost but much easier to clean, makes it more water resistant and less cost to finish as no plastering / painting.
gilligee,
Jan 25, 1:43am
The best thing we ever put in our bathroom was the shower dome. They are marvellous. See old threads to confirm my suggestion.
mullett_007,
Jan 25, 2:03am
I have some pics of my new bathroom if anyone is interested to see what can be done. A couple things I wish I did different but nothing I can do about that now.
gary231,
Jan 25, 5:50pm
Don't forget that you need a Building Consent for this work otherwise your house may not end up being worth much at all (if you ever change your mind and decide to sell). Also insurance may be non-existent if you undertake work without the proper consents etc.
markv1,
Jan 25, 6:57pm
I would not think a building consent is required for a bathroom upgrade. So long as you are not doing any structural work and you are replacing 'like for like' no consent would be required? I would still notify the council that work has been done to put on record (I think you pay a small fee for this).
gary231,
Jan 26, 1:07am
Everything you say is correct, sometimes people go past the exempt work limit and do things that require a consent - always best to tell Council what you propose to do
atlantis3,
Jan 26, 2:27am
Love to see pics and that includes everyone so as to get some ideas. Thanks
opencast,
Jan 27, 7:10pm
This is great advice - we were looking at those lights but a couple of people warned us off. Also have installed extra power points for hair straighteners, toothbrush charger etc., never thought to put them in the vanity (we couldn't have anyway). Definitely getting a timer for the towel rail. And yes, no underfloor heating!
opencast,
Jan 27, 7:13pm
Yes, no building consent required. However, we will get the proper paperwork from the tradies (i.e. electrical cert etc.) and keep copies. Have also taken a number of photos of the room back to the framing showing the wiring, new plumbing etc. Have kept receipts for the products we have purchased (i.e. Aqualine) and will take photos when room is lined to show that it has all been done to code.
We will need a consent at some stage in the future when we can get on with our EQC work, so will look at adding this information then if CCC take it.
opencast,
Aug 21, 4:52am
We weren't planning on changing the plumbing. When we got the linings off the old galvanised pipes were in good condition and we thought we would reuse. However, for the Methven 20 yr guarantee to hold you need to install filters or something on the pipes. Plumber recommended that we take the old galv out, get rid of the old lead waste pipes, take the plumbing back to a central point under the floor and fit the filters there. They can then be easily accessed in the future without having to take the linings off of the walls again.
Although the galv pipes looked in great condition on the outside, on the inside they had a lot of scale and also some black gritty type metal stuff so it looked like the pipes were probably deteriorating anyway. They were original (50 years old) so were probably at the end of their economic life. Something to think about and if you can afford the bit extra to refit the plumbing it might save you some heartache in the future. Nothing worse than a leaking pipe in behind a wall.
Good luck with your purchase!
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