Installing the Victoria Plumb bathroom
Well if you have been following our bathroom makeover you will have seen what it looked like originally pre-makeover and you will have followed our designing and planning. Now we are at the installation phase.
I had no idea that having a bathroom makeover would be such a big and challenging job!
With the other rooms in the house we have only really made cosmetic changes but the bathroom has required so much more. This is because it was a shambles ! Because we live in an old rambly, quirky house and because the installation work required has been outside our expertise.
Let me talk you through it.
Victoria Plumb went above and beyond for us and arranged for us to have some lovely Laura Ashley tiles from http://www.britishceramictile.com on our bathroom walls
First of all we arranged to have the old tiles taken down. Assuming this was going to be a quick straightforward job ,we asked our decorator if he would mind doing it and we gave over an afternoon to it. Oh my.
We were in shock when huge amounts of wall plaster and the artexed plaster off the ceiling also came down in huge chunks as the tiles were ripped out. Oh my goodness! All of the lath wooden slats were showing and there was no way it could be tiled over. Re- plastering was called for.
This is how it looked initially, then after removing the tiles – I wanted them to put them back!!!
This set everything back a few days.I sat looking at the disastrous room surrounding me and I could have wept. it was hardly like my lovely vision for the room and my inspiration board.
The plasterer did a great job but and covered the wooden slats with an Aqua panel which could be tiled on. We had to wait till all that was dry before the tiler could get to work.
If it had just been me and my hubby no problem but you can’t not bath mucky kids and send them to school. Oh no! So a few trips to grans were requited to keep the kiddies clean.
The tiler did an awesome job with the little brick Laura Ashley tiles, the plasterer was efficient and tidy and I hardly knew they were here.
I have realised again that throughout this makeover having people who are good at their job, prompt, and tidy make a huge difference. Having products from a great company that are efficiently delivered and are straightforward to install make a real difference too.
Then the bathroom installers came and put on the bath panels, changed the taps, put up the cupboards and fixed the shower and the shower rail. They were speedy and efficient and said the products really helped with a speedy installation because they were good quality
Having the installation organised and overseen by Bathroom Connections made this such a smooth job for us. This mean we weren’t coordinating a plumber, tiler and plasterer and painter ourselves and they they organised everything. Across the board each and every worker was friendly, timely, clean and nice to my kids (SO important.) They didn’t stress about my quirky house and came up with speedy solutions where required.
This could have been a stressful process.
I think having a bathroom installer is a really good option and a big thumbs up to Bathroom Connections for doing such an awesome job.
Colin Stacey owns Bathroom Connections, it is part of The Connections Group which also install lofts and kitchen, Colin told me they love to work with Victoria Plumb products as they look amazing but come at affordable prices. He also highly rated their quality.There is no way we could have completed all this work ourselves although I did manage the toilet seat!
We can’t wait to show you the final reveal
Lessons I have learned from this process are
1) don’t assume any job will be completely straightforward… who knows what lurks behind your tiles so ensuring you have more budget and time than you need is a safe precaution!
2) You will sigh a lot in the process of having your bathroom done!
Here is Colin talking us through the installation:
Installing the Victoria Plumb bathroom – the plan!
Ooh must have been tricky one the plaster came off. Those Laura Ashley tiles are gorgeous. From the sneak preview behind him, it looks like its going to be amazing!
It wlll indeed!
Aww what a job! Well a least you know that it will be nice and fresh behind the tiles, and maybe it’s a good thing the plaster came down. It would have been terrible if you had problems after you put in all the new tiles, so thats good! Can’t wait to see the total makeover!!
It was a tough decision to make when faced with the extra cost, but we were committed to making the bathroom look great, and not just OK. It also wasn’t just loose plaster it was also uneven which wouldn’t allow with small tiles to sit right and it would obvious. The tiles had already been delivered so it was order more tiles that were bigger and would work on the loose plaster. I agree with you it also gave us peace of mind for Becky, so she would never need to worry that tiles would be in her bath one morning.
So glad you did the tiles look so good on a smooth even wall :-0
Love the tiles! I have a feeling it is going to look awesome when it is finished. Look forward to the big reveal! xx
It’ll be up thursday!
Hiring a professional is important because they are trained to solve just about any plumbing problem no matter how big or how small the job may be.
It’s amazing to see what was underneath all of those bathroom tiles. Good to see that it could be repaired but, wow, if you live in an older home, you’re just never sure.
Love the tiles design! I have an inclination it will look wonderful when it is done. Anticipate the huge uncover.