Do It Yourself Bathrooms

Pedestal bathroom sinks have the great advantage of disguising the pipe work and providing stability to the basin.  Fitting a pedestal bathroom sink is so much easier if you have a helper. To accurately position the fixing holes you will have to balance the sink on the pedestal, make sure it is level side-to-side and fore-and-aft then mark the wall through the fixing holes which are under the basin.  Unless you are a very skilled octopus, having an extra pair of hands will make this task much simpler.

Also when it comes to attaching the hot and cold feed and the waste pipe you will be working with the basin and pedestal unfixed, so, for safety reasons if nothing else, have someone supporting the porcelain parts while you work on the metalwork.  Once everything is connected you can both shuffle the assembly against the wall and make the final fixings.

Wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor tiling may be easy to wash and practical but it can also be so, so boring.  A great way to jazz up the design of your haven of peace is to add decorative tile accents.  Purpose made bull-nose or raised motif mural tiles are on display at your local tile emporium.  Typically as wide as a tile but only one or two inches high, these details are designed to complement the design of a specific range of tiles.  However there are no hard and fast rules and you should feel free to mix and match.

Only a couple of words of warning; try, somehow, to assemble a running yard or so of the tile and the decorative tile accent as this may give you a whole different perspective on the choice.  Also go for contrast rather that matching colors since tiling has a reputation for variability batch-to-batch.

Free standing slipper tubs are very fashionable right now.  They are gorgeous to look at and such a classic piece of design that some people even have one in their bedroom.  For the amateur they only pose one drawback; being free-standing there is no requirement to fit them tightly against the wall, however all of the pipe work is visible and needs to be installed neatly and accurately for the ensemble to look like a professional job.  Slipper bath designs come with or without drilled faucet holes.  This is because the truly authentic slipper tubs had no faucets and were filled using hot water from kettles boiled on the kitchen range and cold water hauled from the pump in the yard.

For the modern slipper tub without drilled faucet holes there are matching faucet and shower head assemblies with an integrated drainage system making the whole installation look very authentic.

Grouting tiles must rank amongst the most tedious of DIY tasks but with a few special tools it can be relatively quick and straightforward.  First choose your grout; most people opt for white or grey but colors are available for those with an artistic flair.  Grout is a very abrasive substance so cover ceramic surfaces and block up drains to prevent damage and blockage.  Never mix more grout than you can easily use in fifteen to twenty minutes otherwise the grout will begin curing and will be useless.  For large tiled areas use a rubber faced float to spread the grout and force it between the tiles. Sweep the float diagonally across the tiles holding it at an angle of 45 degrees.  For awkward corners use a finger or a small spreader.  Clean all tile surfaces when the grout is partially cured. A plastic spatula will add the finishing touch.

You may have seen different types of tile at your supplier and wondered what the benefits and drawbacks might be.  Most ceramic tiles are classified as Non-Vitreous, Semi Vitreous or Vitreous.  These names refer to their ability to soak up water.  Most wall tiles are classified as Non-Vitreous as they have a low density and they are only suitable for indoor use, Semi- Vitreous and Vitreous are stronger tiles and are used for indoor floors and some outdoor applications and some are described as Frost Proof.

Impervious tiles are generally made from porcelain which is a type of ceramic tile manufactured from a special mixture of clays and fired at very high temperatures.  This makes an extremely dense and strong tile that is exceptionally hard and resistant to water and staining.  Porcelain tile is tougher than granite and can be used in all outdoor applications as well as indoor applications.

Fitting a basement bathroom may sound like a really good use of space but have you checked the depth of the main drain.  If it’s not below your basement level then the law of gravity means that your sink won’t drain and your toilet won’t flush unless, of course, you planned your basement bathroom plumbing properly and installed a plastic sump under the floor.  The sump is equipped with a lift pump or sewage ejector pump which grinds up any solid matter and pushes it through a small bore pipe into the main drain.This wonderful device means you can use conventional bathroom fixtures and design your bathroom as you would anywhere else in the house.  Worries about power failure and sewage all over the basement won’t materialize as all that happens is the toilet won’t flush away and the sink won’t drain so, you’ll know that something is wrong.

A tiled bathroom floor is a joy to look at and a treat to clean but on a cold winters night it can be like treading on an iceberg.  There are currently two basic approaches to heated bathroom floors; cheap to fit electric mats or economical to run embedded hot water pipes.

The mats are low voltage units a little like large versions of heated car windows.  A sandwich of insulation, heating mat, a flexible adhesive and tiles finishes the heated bathroom floor. Embedded hot water pipe is an extension of your central heating system.  It works just like a great big radiator under the bathroom floor.  The preparation for this is more drastic as you need to bury the flexible pipe-work in 4 to 5 inches of concrete screed.
If you’re considering a tiled floor it’s worth finding a few extra bucks to install under-floor heating in your bathroom.

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